Engineering Commons^™

Process Modeling And Techno-Economic Analysis Of Thermo-Catalytic Dimethyl Ether Synthesis And Microwave-Based Aromatics Production Technologies From Shale Gas, Chirag Mevawala

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Production of dimethyl ether (DME) and direct non-oxidative methane dehydroaromatization (DHA) to aromatics via conventional and microwave (MW)-assisted processes are investigated in this research. Plant-wide models of the shale gas to DME process with integrated CO₂ capture via direct and indirect synthesis routes have been developed. Optimal parameter estimation, and model validation are undertaken for various sections of the process including the pre-reforming reactor, auto-thermal reforming reactor, DME synthesis reactors, CO₂ capture units and separation sections. A novel DME separation process has been developed for efficient separation of DME, syngas, and CO₂. Plant-wide techno-economic optimization is …

Rail-To-Rail Operational In Low-Power Reconfigurable Analog Circuitry, Jared Dale Baker

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Analog signal processing (ASP) can be used to decrease energy consumption by several orders of magnitude over completely digital applications. Low-power field programmable analog arrays (FPAA) have been previously used by analog designers to decrease energy consumption. Combining ASP with an FPAA, energy consumption of these systems can be further reduced. For ASP to be most functional, it must achieve rail-to-rail operation to maintain a high dynamic range. This work strives to further reduce power consumption in reconfigurable analog circuitry by presenting a novel data converter that utilizes ASP and rail-to-rail operation. Rail-to-Rail operation is achieved in the data converter …

Experimental And Field Evaluation Of Frp Pedestrian Bridge Decks, Kalrav Singh Tomer

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Traditional materials such as steel, timber, and concrete have continued to dominate their usage in civil infrastructure. They offer great advantages like strength and stiffness but at the same time they pose major issues in terms of durability and maintenance. Fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) exhibits outstanding properties like lightness, excellent corrosion and wear resistance along with superior thermo-mechanical properties. Glass FRPs (GFRPs) have emerged as one of the best alternatives in the field of civil infrastructure. It has been more than four decades since fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) composites have gained notable applications in civil infrastructure industry. However, FRPs have …

Synthesis Of Graphene Using Plasma Etching And Atmospheric Pressure Annealing: Process And Sensor Development, Andrew Robert Graves

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Having been theorized in 1947, it was not until 2004 that graphene was first isolated. In the years since its isolation, graphene has been the subject of intense, world-wide study due to its incredibly diverse array of useful properties. Even though many billions of dollars have been spent on its development, graphene has yet to break out of the laboratory and penetrate mainstream industrial applications markets. This is because graphene faces a ‘grand challenge.’ Simply put, there is currently no method of manufacturing high-quality graphene on the industrial scale. This grand challenge looms particularly large for electronic applications where the …

Modeling And Tuning Of Cvt Systems For Sae® Baja Vehicles, Sean Sebastian Skinner

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Continuously variable transmission (CVT) describes a family of transmission styles. These systems serve the same purpose as their traditional counterparts; transmitting power while offering a variable gearing ratio. The difference lies in the CVT’s ability to change ratio continuously between a minimum and maximum without halting power transfer. They offer many benefits of an automatic transmission while being significantly lighter. For this reason, CVTs are often used on Baja SAE^® vehicles to control gearing ratio.

WVU’s Baja team has used mechanical CVTs for many decades. These systems are simpler in the sense that they don’t require power to operate. …

Study On The Thermal Properties Of Concrete Containing Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag, Fly Ash And Steel Reinforcement, Bekir Erdem Bas

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

In this study, the thermal and mechanical properties of two types of concrete were measured. The first type contained ground granulated blast furnace slag, and the second type contained Class F fly ash. The compressive and splitting tensile strength, static elastic modulus, thermal conductivity, adiabatic temperature rise, shrinkage, and compressive creep of the two concretes were measured. Then, the experimental shrinkage and compressive creep results were compared to ACI 209.2R-08 using the material properties of each mix design. Additionally, two semi-adiabatic designs were made and compared with the adiabatic calorimetry measurements. Also, in this study, the thermal conductivity of concrete …

Towards Large Eddy Simulation Of A Staged, Pressurized Oxy-Fuel Combustor, Alain Islas Montero

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Identified by the DoE among the novel and transformational technologies, staged-pressurized oxy-fuel combustion (SPOC) is a promising low-cost, low-emission, and highly efficient tool for carbon capture utilization and storage (CCUS), with pulverized coal burning under elevated pressures and low recycled flue gas. A lab-scale SPOC facility, under establishment at Washington University in St. Louis (WUSTL), causes the critical need to develop accurate and reliable computational models to assist the ongoing WUSTL experiments. This constitutes the driving motivation of the present work. Specifically, comprehensive three-dimensional Large-eddy simulations (LES) of the lab-scale SPOC reactor, with most of important characteristics of a multi-phase …

Plasmon-Enhanced Optical Probes For Sensing Of Drug Metabolite, Jennifer Boryczka

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

An Au@SiO₂ core-shell nanostar structure was synthesized along with CuInS2 quantum dots. The quantum dots display near-infrared fluorescence. In this work, the nanostar structure was functionalized with antibodies and then was utilized as a SERS probe for drug metabolite detection. Drugs are an illicit substance that police, medics, and hospitals need to know if an individual is under the influence of but that individual will not always be willing or able to provide that information. A sensor based on this new probe has been developed for detection of drug metabolites in buffer.

Route Planning For Long-Term Robotics Missions, Christopher Alexander Arend Tatsch

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Many future robotic applications such as the operation in large uncertain environment depend on a more autonomous robot. The robotics long term autonomy presents challenges on how to plan and schedule goal locations across multiple days of mission duration. This is an NP-hard problem that is infeasible to solve for an optimal solution due to the large number of vertices to visit. In some cases the robot hardware constraints also adds the requirement to return to a charging station multiple times in a long term mission. The uncertainties in the robot model and environment require the robot planner to account …

Environment Search Planning Subject To High Robot Localization Uncertainty, Jared Joseph Beard

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

As robots find applications in more complex roles, ranging from search and rescue to healthcare and services, they must be robust to greater levels of localization uncertainty and uncertainty about their environments. Without consideration for such uncertainties, robots will not be able to compensate accordingly, potentially leading to mission failure or injury to bystanders. This work addresses the task of searching a 2D area while reducing localization uncertainty. Wherein, the environment provides low uncertainty pose updates from beacons with a short range, covering only part of the environment. Otherwise the robot localizes using dead reckoning, relying on wheel encoder and …

Sustainability-Based Expert System For Additive Manufacturing And Cnc Machining, Josage Chathura Pamuditha Perera

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

The development of technologies which enable resource efficient production is of paramount importance for the continued advancement of the manufacturing industry. In order to ensure a sustainable and clean energy future, manufacturers should be able to contrast and validate existing manufacturing technologies on a sustainability basis. In the post COVID-19 era of enterprise management, the use of artificial intelligence to simulate human expert decision making abilities will open new doors to achieving heightened levels of productivity and efficiency. The introduction of innovative technologies such as CNC machining and 3D printing to production systems has redefined the manufacturing landscape in a …

Evaluation Of Control Strategies For Overhead Work Using Electromyography Of Rotator Cuff Muscles, Hossein Motabar

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) of shoulder have a significant impact on overall health and economics in the industrialized nations. Rotator cuff is the most frequently injured region in the shoulder complex. Overhead work is considered as one of the most predominant causes of rotator cuff injuries. The workers in construction, automotive, and aerospace industries are routinely exposed to overhead exertions. Elimination of overhead work is nearly impossible due to various task and technology constraints. Therefore, appropriate intervention strategies based on the engineering and administrative controls opt to be used to prevent the hazardous impact of overhead exertions. The objective of …

Cu-Based Electrocatalysts For Carbon Dioxide Conversion To Value-Added Chemicals, Qingyang Li

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Massive usage of fossil fuel has being causing considerable emission of CO₂, which increases the temperature of the planet and greatly threaten human living environment, such as soil degradation, lower agricultural productivity, desertification, less biodiversity, fresh-water reduction, ocean acidification, ozone sphere destruction, etc. A number of technologies are being developed to reduce the CO₂ amount, however, all existing technologies except utilizing CO₂ as a feedstock, are hardly to essentially close the anthropogenic carbon loop. Currently, considering the economy and operability, electroreduction of CO₂ seems to be the most promising strategy to convert CO₂ to …

Next Generation Of Applications Of Metal-Organic Frameworks For Energy And Environmental Sustainability, Qian Liu

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

My PhD work aimed at using Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) for mitigating the environmental issues and energy crisis associated with anthropogenic activities. Specifically, we developed robust platforms and/ or systems using MOF as “scaffolds” to allow for model pollutant detection and CO₂ sequestration and benign transformation respectively.

First, I detailed how photocatalytic properties of 2,5-furandicarbocylic acid (FDCA) in its alone and its MOF- integrated form (MIL-160) were used for the first time for the reduction of Ag⁺ at room conditions. Such photocatalytic activities could then be used in user-designed hybrids (i.e., Ag/MIL-160) to form sensorial platforms for prevalent phenol …

Comprehensively Improved Electrochemical Performance Of Lithium-Sulfur Batteries By “Chemical Anchors” And Lithium Anode Modification, Zhipeng Zeng

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Lithium-sulfur battery is considered to be one of the most promising contenders for the next generation high-energy storages due to their high theoretical energy density (~2600 W h kg^-1). However, a series of issues, especially for the dissolution of lithium polysulfides (LiPSs) with their “shuttle effect” and dendrite formation on the lithium anode, greatly limit their widely commercial applications. Starting from a brief overview of conventional methods to solve these problems, the achievements spotlighted in this research work mainly focus on the structure design of cathode materials by employing “chemical anchors” to effectively suppress the diffusion of LiPSs, …

Adaptation Of Coal Mine Floor Rating (Cmfr) To Eastern U.S. Coal Mines, Sena Cicek

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Floor heave—the excessive deformation and failure of floor strata—is a serious problem for many underground coal mining operations in the U.S. There is an accepted floor heave design methodology developed for the Illinois basin coal mines (Gadde, 2009). However, for Eastern U.S. coal mines in the Appalachian region, there is not any systematic design method to assess floor heave potential. In order to prevent stability problems associated with floor failure and to ensure the safety of the miners in this region, a systematic and proactive method to assess the potential of floor stability that also takes the floor failure mechanisms …

Effects Of Supplementary Cementitious Materials On Early-Age Tensile Creep And Shrinkage Of Concrete, Lucas James Bucklen

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Determination of early-age tensile creep properties is critical for the performance of mass concrete structures at an early age. Due to the stress relaxation that tensile creep induces in concrete structures, accurate quantification of creep deformation is needed to determine the stress profile of the structure. Conventional methods of measuring tensile creep include the direct tension test where the concrete is subject to constant tensile stress. This method requires large quantities of concrete with embedded strain gauges which can only be used once. In this paper, the tensile creep parameters of concrete are found by using the restrained concrete ring …

Implementation Of Radial Basis Function Artificial Neural Network Into An Adaptive Equivalent Consumption Minimization Strategy For Optimized Control Of A Hybrid Electric Vehicle, Thomas P. Harris

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Continued increases in the emission of greenhouse gases by passenger vehicles has accelerated the production of hybrid electric vehicles. With this increase in production, there has been a parallel demand for continuously improving strategies of hybrid electric vehicle control. The goal of an ideal control strategy is to maximize fuel economy while minimizing emissions. The design and implementation of an optimized control strategy is a complex challenge. Methods exist by which the globally optimal control strategy may be found. However, these methods are not applicable in real-world driving applications since these methods require a priori knowledge of the upcoming drive …

Using Ai And Machine Learning To Indicate Shale Anisotropy And Assist In Completions Design, Cole E. Palmer

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Operating companies in the unconventional Marcellus shale play have all faced a similar and problematic issue, while attempting to produce natural gas over the last decade. Companies have quickly realized that not every perforation along their horizontal wells are producing gas. In fact, producing perforations are only ranging from 15%-70% of the total perforations along the horizontal wellbore [1]. This unexplained issue results in millions of dollars in lost revenue per well, in addition to the sunk cost of paying for completions that are not actually yielding any produced gas.

What is causing these perforations to have no produced gas? …

Improving The Biological Control Of Persicaria Perfoliata (Polygonaceae) Using Rhinoncomimus Latipes Korotyaev (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), Jaewon Kim

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Persicaria perfoliata (L.) H. Gross (Polygonaceae; Mile-a-minute weed) is a rapid-growing invasive vine introduced from eastern Asia to northeastern United States in the 1930s. This vine has been invaded in disturbed areas and reforestation sites in 15 states in the U.S. and forms dense, monocultural patches that may inhibit natural forest regeneration. To control this weed, a host-specific biocontrol agent, Rhinoncomimus latipes Korotyaev (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) has been released in the P. perfoliata invaded states in the U.S. during the past 15 years. Currently, R. latipes is released by hand to the invaded area where the presence of the weed is …

Energy Forensics Analysis, Rupa Das

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

The energy consumed by a building can reveal information about the occupants and their activities inside the building. This could be utilized by industries and law enforcement agencies for commercial or legal purposes. Utility data from Smart Meter (SM) readings can reveal detailed information that could be mapped to foretell resident occupancy and type of appliance usage over desired time intervals. However, obtaining SM data in the United States is laborious and subjected to legal and procedural constraints. This research develops a user-driven simulation tool with realistic data options and assumptions of potential human behavior to determine energy usage patterns …

Effect Of Particle Concentration, Sealing Condition And Breathing Rate On Total Inward Leakage For N95 Filtering Facepiece Respirators, Taoreed T. Lawal

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Several researchers have considered the relationship between total inward leakage (TIL) and other parameters such as sealing condition, particle concentration, type of particulate material breathing parameters, etc., however, there is dearth of information on the effects of varying particle concentration on the penetration efficiency of filtering facepiece respirators (FFRs), hence, this study aims to study the effect of varying NaCl particle concentration, sealing condition and breathing rate on the TIL as a result of the filtering efficiency of the filters.

To achieve this, we followed the sampling procedure used by He et al., 2014. Four different sealing conditions (SCs) namely; …

Risk Assessment Of Architecture Technical Debt, Mrwan Omar Kh. Ben Idris

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Technical Debt (TD) is a metaphor that refers to short-term solutions in software development that may affect the software development life cycle cost. Researchers have found many TD types. These TD types include but are not limited to code debt (CD), design debt (DD), and architecture technical debt (ATD). Several methods have been used to detect technical debt, such as bad smells, software metrics, and code comments. Although TD has received many researchers’ attention, ATD has received less attention compared with CD and DD. We found a lack of tools to deal with ATD in contrast to CD and DD. …

Exploration Of Unknown Environments Using A Tethered Mobile Robot, Danylo Shapovalov

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Exploration with mobile robots is a well known field of research, but current solutions cannot be directly applied for tethered robots. In some applications, tethers may be very important to provide power or allow communication with the robot. This thesis presents an exploration algorithm that guarantees complete exploration of arbitrary environments within the length constraint of the tether, while keeping the tether tangle-free at all times. While a generalized algorithm that can be used with several exploration strategies is also proposed, the presented implementation uses a modified frontier-based exploration approach, where the robot chooses its next goal in the frontier …

Fundamental Studies On The Recovery Of Rare Earth Elements From Acid Mine Drainage, Xue Huang

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

The Rare Earth Elements (REEs) are a group of 17 chemically similar elements that are essential raw materials for modern society. Given their increasing importance in civil and defense applications, many national governments, including the US, have denoted the REEs as critical materials and emphasized the need to identify and develop both conventional and unconventional resources to meet the growing demand. To address this challenge, the US Department of Energy has recently spearheaded efforts to evaluate the technical and economic feasibility of recovering REEs from coal and coal byproducts, which have been shown to contain REEs at an elevated concentration …

Solutions To Some Mine Subsidence Research Challenges, Jian Yang

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

The objective of this work is to address three challenging topics, (1) effects of overburden key strata on subsurface subsidence; (2) effects of longwall subsidence on interstate highways and highway bridges; and (3) effects of dewatering mine water on surface subsidence over inactive room-and-pillar mines, in mine subsidence and to continue improvement of mine safety and health by reducing mine-subsidence related hazards.

Surface and subsurface subsidence events induced by underground mining activities are often capable of causing significant disturbances not only to surface structures, but also to subsurface structures. In this work, models and techniques to study three challenging topics …

Design And Development Of A Multi-Nodal Methane Detection System For Longwall Coal Mining, Amber P. Barr

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Methane (CH4) explosions pose significant dangers in longwall mining that may lead to injuries and fatalities. Safety is improved through diligent monitoring of CH4 concentration. Currently, regulations require a CH4 monitor be placed on the shearer, downwind of the cutting head. Portable monitor measurements must be taken at various times and locations. If any CH4 monitor measures a concentration greater than 1%, a warning signal must be given. Based on previous research and the location of the CH4 monitor mounted on the shearer (closest monitor to the face), if 1% methane is measured, the concentration at the face may be …

Procedure For Asphalt Mixture Friction Evaluation For Wvdoh, Danielle Marie Hoyer

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Monitoring asphalt skid resistance in the laboratory could aid in improved friction prediction capabilities and provide insight for developing alternative asphalt mixture designs in the future. The West Virginia Department of Highways (WVDOH) sought the design of a laboratory accelerated asphalt polishing machine to further expand on current skid resistance measurement practices. The design is modeled after the North Carolina State University (NCSU) polishing machine detailed in ASTM E660. The purpose of this research was to develop a testing procedure for the polishing equipment. Friction was monitored with the British Pendulum Tester (BPT) according to ASTM E303.

Specimens were prepared …

Upstream Tailings Dam - Liquefaction, Mladen Dragic

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

The collapse of Dam I, tailings dam, at Vale S.A.’s (“Vale”) of the Córrego do Feijão Iron Ore Mine in Brazil was an accident that caused over 270 casualties and made irreparable damage to the surrounding environment. The exact reason for the failure is not known however, liquefaction was suspected to be the most influencing factor in the failure. Liquefaction failure of impoundment is increasing concern in the mining community and especially mine planners who will have to design and build the tailings dam. Different design methods are available with varied degree of challenges. Upstream construction methods, as one of …

Development Of Software-Only Simulation Test Beds (Sost) For Spacecraft And Smallsats, Scott Alan Zemerick

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Software-only-Simulation Test Beds (SoST) are beginning to become more popular among aircraft, spacecraft, and smallsat embedded system developers due to the high cost of duplicating hardware test beds.

SoSTs provide a software-only, or virtual test bed, that creates a “digital twin” that contains software models of the ETUs and often includes modeled components such as flight computers, busses (e.g., MIL-STD-1553, SPI, I2C), compact PCI (cPCI) backplane cards, sensors, and actuators. The ultimate goal of a SoST is for it to run the native system software compiled-binary on its native CPU architecture (e.g., PowerPC, LEON3/4, ARM) on a standard X86 personal …