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Full-Text Articles in Engineering

Modeling The Effect Of Gusty Hurricane Wind Force On Vehicles Using The Lsu Driving Simulator, Jose Manuel Rodriguez Jan 2014

Modeling The Effect Of Gusty Hurricane Wind Force On Vehicles Using The Lsu Driving Simulator, Jose Manuel Rodriguez

LSU Master's Theses

While traffic planning is important for developing a hurricane evacuation plan, vehicle performance on the roads during extreme weather conditions is critical to the success of the planning process. This study was designed to lay a foundation for modeling driving behavior and vehicle performance as an assessment tool in the decision making process for planning evacuation routes during hurricane and tropical storms. The study explores how the parameters of a driving simulator could be modified to reproduce wind loadings experienced by three vehicle types (a passenger car, an ambulance, and a bus) during gusty hurricane winds, through manipulation of appropriate …


Minimization Of Transportation, Installation And Maintenance Operations Costs For Offshore Wind Turbines, Tasnim Ibn Faiz Jan 2014

Minimization Of Transportation, Installation And Maintenance Operations Costs For Offshore Wind Turbines, Tasnim Ibn Faiz

LSU Master's Theses

Although it is a sustainable source and there is abundant potential for energy, cost of energy generated from offshore wind is still high compared to other sustainable energy sources. Apart from the manufacturing cost of turbines, cost of energy is significantly affected by costs of transportation and installation operations of wind turbines and maintenance operations of turbine components. Through optimum selection of decision variables, such as turbine installation method and rated power output of each turbine, cost of transportation and installation operations can be minimized. The first model in this study investigates the impact of these decision variables and effect …


Ultrasonic Pretreatment Of Energy Cane Bagasse For Biofuel Production, Niyaz Ahamed Methrath Liyakathali Jan 2014

Ultrasonic Pretreatment Of Energy Cane Bagasse For Biofuel Production, Niyaz Ahamed Methrath Liyakathali

LSU Master's Theses

High demand for energy and increasingly expensive petroleum prices led to development of new alternative fuels for transportation, such as bio-ethanol and bio-diesel. Even though a cost reduction in the production of cellulolytic enzymes is occurring, the conversion of plant cellulose into sugars still remains an expensive and slow process. Pretreatment of lignocellulose materials to remove lignin and alter physical/chemical structures significantly improves hydrolysis of cellulose to give high yield of sugars. In this study, ultrasonic pretreatment of energy cane bagasse was used in the presence of ammonia (NH4OH) to enhance the saccharification process by separating lignin, cellulose and hemicellulose …


Effect Of Process Mixing On The Size Distribution And Mean Diameter Of The Thiol-Triacrylate Microcapsules, Rubaiyet Abedin Jan 2014

Effect Of Process Mixing On The Size Distribution And Mean Diameter Of The Thiol-Triacrylate Microcapsules, Rubaiyet Abedin

LSU Master's Theses

An important limitation in the development of the microparticles is the difficulty to develop a precise size distribution. Microparticles have a wide spread applicability in different fields including medical, pharmaceutical, textile, cosmetics, pesticide, printing industry, etc. The large and growing impact of microencapsulation in different fields of technology has made this process important. Microparticle size is a primary determinant of control release mechanism and the reaction kinetics and also impacts the allowable routes of administration, The main objective of this research work is to evaluate the effect of the process mixing on the size and size distribution of the trithiol-triacrylate …


Carbon Nanotube Inkjet Printing For Flexible Electronics And Chemical Sensor Applications, Ryan P. Tortorich Jan 2014

Carbon Nanotube Inkjet Printing For Flexible Electronics And Chemical Sensor Applications, Ryan P. Tortorich

LSU Master's Theses

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are becoming a promising new material for use in many fields including the field of electronics. Their mechanical and electrical properties lend themselves to be used in a new generation of electronic devices, namely flexible electronics. Although many deposition methods for carbon nanotubes exist, inkjet printing offers many advantages including superior patterning ability and low-cost fabrication. Presented in this work is the use of inkjet printing in order to deposit carbon nanotubes onto a flexible transparency film. The methods for developing and printing an aqueous single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) ink and an aqueous multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) …


Field And Numerical Investigation Of Wave Power And Shoreline Retreat In Terrebonne Bay, Southern Louisiana, Kyle Ryan Parker Jan 2014

Field And Numerical Investigation Of Wave Power And Shoreline Retreat In Terrebonne Bay, Southern Louisiana, Kyle Ryan Parker

LSU Master's Theses

The marshland in southern Louisiana is a vital resource that many people and wildlife depend on. Terrebonne Bay was chosen for this research because it has experienced one of the largest wetland loss rates among Louisiana estuaries. Investigations of wave power and shoreline retreat rate could provide decision makers with a better understanding of the contributing wave force responsible for local shoreline retreat. A strong relationship has been shown to exist between wave power and shoreline retreat [Schwimmer (2001) and Marani et al. (2011)]. Whether or not this strong relationship exists in Terrebonne Bay is the subject of this research. …


Power System Differential Model With Application To Grid Dynamic Simulation, Boyu Wang Jan 2014

Power System Differential Model With Application To Grid Dynamic Simulation, Boyu Wang

LSU Master's Theses

Nonlinearity of power system is always one of the difficulties when dealing with dynamic simulation of power systems. Solving differential-algebraic equations representing power systems are difficult without losing nonlinearity, especially for large power systems. This thesis shows an alternative method to solve nonlinear dynamical power system by producing a purely differential representation of the power systems. This new representation converts the algebraic equations to differential equations in order to have an absolute differential system. By using Runge-Kutta algorithm to solve this differential system, the results of the power system simulations are compared to trapezoidal integration algorithm commonly used to solve …


Physical Stability Of Poly (Lactic-Co-Glycolic Acid) And Plga/Chitosan Nanoparticles And Chemical Stability Of Entrapped Alpha-Tocopherol And Lutein, Meocha Whaley Jan 2014

Physical Stability Of Poly (Lactic-Co-Glycolic Acid) And Plga/Chitosan Nanoparticles And Chemical Stability Of Entrapped Alpha-Tocopherol And Lutein, Meocha Whaley

LSU Master's Theses

The published benefits of polymeric nanoparticles as a system for antioxidant delivery have encompassed topics of improved oral delivery, bioavailability, and modified release to name a few. Generally accepted as safe polymers Poly(lactic-coglycolic acid) and the mucoadhesive chitosan were selected to entrap alpha-tocopherol and lutein. This study proposed to assess the physical stability of PLGA and Chi/PLGA nanoparticles with entrapped bioactives in varying biological suspension medias ( water, pbs, hbss and cell media). Also, to assess the chemical stability of the entrapped antioxidants lutein and alpha-tocopherol within the same media as deemed relevant for in-vitro and and in-vivo studies. Of …


Determining The Location Of Congestion Hot Spots In Urban Areas Using Image Analysis, Aditya Mokkapati Jan 2014

Determining The Location Of Congestion Hot Spots In Urban Areas Using Image Analysis, Aditya Mokkapati

LSU Master's Theses

The identification of congestion hot spots plays an important role in congestion monitoring of highway and arterial systems. Traditionally, vehicle detection systems or probe vehicles are used to measure travel time and identify congestion hot spots. This approach is time-consuming and resource intensive. With the advent of new technologies like crowdsourcing, travel time can be collected more cost-effectively using fewer resources. The research presented in this paper develops a new methodology to identify congestion hot spots in an urban area using freely available historical speed data gathered by Google and published as a traffic layer in Google maps. The methodology …


Chronic Toxicity Of Nano Metallics On Red Swamp Crayfish (Procambarus Clarkii) In Laboratory And Mesocosm Studies, Jake Andrew Farlow Jan 2014

Chronic Toxicity Of Nano Metallics On Red Swamp Crayfish (Procambarus Clarkii) In Laboratory And Mesocosm Studies, Jake Andrew Farlow

LSU Master's Theses

Nanotechnology has become integrated in commercial, industrial and medical products, and its use has grown exponentially in the past several years. Although potential applications of nanoparticles (NPs) are numerous, concerns about their water quality, environmental, and human health impacts remain unclear. Crayfish are ubiquitous to streams and wetland habitats, are used as a food source, and inhabit areas that could be impacted by water quality issues. Numerous studies have been conducted on the toxicity of various classes of agricultural pesticides and oils to crayfish (Procambarus clarkii) as a non-target organism. However, there is little evidence published on chronic toxicity of …


Association Of Lean Implementation On Perceived Organizational Maturity Levels Of Managers And Staff In The Public Sector, Patrick Eduardo O'Mara Jan 2014

Association Of Lean Implementation On Perceived Organizational Maturity Levels Of Managers And Staff In The Public Sector, Patrick Eduardo O'Mara

LSU Master's Theses

Extensive research has shown the impact of Lean implementation at the process level of an organization to increase quality, reduce cycle time, and reduce operational costs. However, little research has been done to associate Lean with improvement at the strategic level of an organization. The objectives of the present research were to (a) study the association of Lean implementation with maturity levels of employees (b) study the relationship between Lean implementation in the levels of agreement with cohesion between managers and staff in evaluating perceived current state and desired state of organizational practices (c) identify potential barriers of Lean implementation …


Laboratory Evaluation Of Asphalt Mixtures And Binders With Reclaimed Asphalt Shingle Prepared Using The Wet Process, Alejandro Jose Alvergue Jan 2014

Laboratory Evaluation Of Asphalt Mixtures And Binders With Reclaimed Asphalt Shingle Prepared Using The Wet Process, Alejandro Jose Alvergue

LSU Master's Theses

The objective of this study is to conduct a laboratory evaluation of asphalt mixtures and binders containing RAS prepared using the newly-developed wet process. In the proposed wet process, RAS material is blended with the binder at high temperature prior to mixing with the aggregates. The proposed wet process offers the potential to better control the Superpave Performance Grade (PG) of the binder blend, to stimulate chemical and physical interactions taking place in the blend between asphalt binder in shingles and virgin asphalt binder in the mix, and to reduce maintenance issues at the plant due to the high content …


A Thermographic Method For Remaining Fatigue Life Prediction Of Welded Joints, Paul Thomas Williams Jan 2014

A Thermographic Method For Remaining Fatigue Life Prediction Of Welded Joints, Paul Thomas Williams

LSU Master's Theses

A non-destructive thermographic technique is adapted and applied to study the fatigue life and behavior of welded specimens made from two different materials. Results show good agreement between experimental predictions of consumed fatigue life and predicted fatigue life. Further, the thermal evolution of the specimens is used to calculate Damage Parameter, which is also used to make fatigue life predictions with promising results. To gain further insight Buckingham Pi theorem is also applied to determine the role of the important parameters involved in a dimensionless form. For this purpose, a series of experiments were performed and used for the analysis …


Mechanical And Thermal Properties Of Fly Ash-Based Geopolymer Cement, Fenghong Fan Jan 2014

Mechanical And Thermal Properties Of Fly Ash-Based Geopolymer Cement, Fenghong Fan

LSU Master's Theses

The geopolymer concrete is a more durable and green material with less CO2 emission and less energy consuming as compared with the widely used Portland cement (PC) concrete. In this thesis, an experimental study of the thermo-mechanical properties of a cement prepared using a class F fly ash and three different alkali-activators (NaOH activator, NaOH and Na2SiO3 mixture activator, and KOH and Na2SiO3 mixture activator) is presented. The mechanical properties, including the compressive strength, shrinkage, weight loss, and chemical composition, are investigated utilizing several key tools, such as X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), and Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy …


Biodegradation Of Mc252 Crude Oil After Mobilization By Washover Events On Coastal Headland Beaches, David Nelson Curtis Jan 2014

Biodegradation Of Mc252 Crude Oil After Mobilization By Washover Events On Coastal Headland Beaches, David Nelson Curtis

LSU Master's Theses

Washover events on coastal headland beaches occur when storm surge from cold fronts, high tides, tropical storms, and hurricanes move across the beach, reworking and depositing sand in the back marshes and shallow mudflat areas. On Fourchon Beach, Louisiana, a 9-mile coastal headland beach impacted by the Deep Water Horizon oil spill, these washover events have intermittently moved oil from the subtidal and intertidal portion of the beach to the supratidal mudflats and marsh areas. In order to determine the impacts of washover events on oil fate, 3 complementary studies were undertaken. First, washover areas (N=59) have been mapped and …


Quantifying Phase Configuration Inside An Intact Core Based On Wettability Using X-Ray Computed Tomography, Dinara Dussenova Jan 2014

Quantifying Phase Configuration Inside An Intact Core Based On Wettability Using X-Ray Computed Tomography, Dinara Dussenova

LSU Master's Theses

The ability to evaluate rock and fluid properties on the order of a few microns opens new areas in reservoir engineering and reservoir simulation. Multiple studies have been done on the application of x-ray computed tomography (microCT) for the pore-scale evaluation of fluid interfaces and rock-fluid interaction. A majority of the fluid flow governing interactions occur at the pore scale level and is usually overseen on large reservoir scales. Hence, it is important to carefully investigate such interactions. Multi-fluid-phase distribution and interaction of two immiscible fluids such as oil and water is one of the most important and constantly investigated …


Low Frequency Improvements To Commercial Geophones, Brian Michael Holden Jan 2014

Low Frequency Improvements To Commercial Geophones, Brian Michael Holden

LSU Master's Theses

Commercial geophones have been used in the field of geology for many years. They are commonly used to detect oil and gas deposits and create three dimensional simulations of the earth. Geophones are commonly made up of a spring mounted magnetic mass moving back and forth in a wire coil to create a voltage. The response of the coil is proportional to the velocity of the ground. At various frequencies, seismic events can be measured using a geophone. However, most commercial geophones only allow accurate measurements of frequencies down to approximately five hertz. By using a feedback circuit, an attempt …


Efficient Dense 3d Reconstruction Using Image Pairs, Padmapriya Ravi Jan 2014

Efficient Dense 3d Reconstruction Using Image Pairs, Padmapriya Ravi

LSU Master's Theses

The 3D reconstruction of a scene from 2D images is an important topic in the _x000C_eld of Computer Vision due to the high demand in various applications such as gaming, animations, face recognition, parts inspections, etc. The accuracy of a 3D reconstruction is highly dependent on the accuracy of the correspondence matching between the images. For the purpose of high accuracy of 3D reconstruction system using just two images of the scene, it is important to _x000C_nd accurate correspondence between the image pairs. In this thesis, we implement an accurate 3D reconstruction system from two images of the scene at …


Using Eye-Tracking To Investigate Strategy And Performance Of Expert And Novice Control Room Operators, Christina Marie Koffskey Jan 2014

Using Eye-Tracking To Investigate Strategy And Performance Of Expert And Novice Control Room Operators, Christina Marie Koffskey

LSU Master's Theses

There is lacking research within the Petrochemical Industry that uses eye-tracking to explore the differences between the strategies of expert and novice control room operators as they monitor and address process parameters that could be used to improve novice training programs and interface design. Scan paths and three eye-tracking metrics (Fixation Frequency, Gaze Duration Mean, and Gaze Percentage) were used to investigate the differences in eye behavior of three expert control room operators and six novice students as they monitored and corrected a Crude Refinement simulation. A 2x2x2 mixed factor design was used to explore the effects that expertise (expert …


Removal Of Sustained Casing Pressure By Gravity Displacement Of Annular Fluid, Efecan Demirci Jan 2014

Removal Of Sustained Casing Pressure By Gravity Displacement Of Annular Fluid, Efecan Demirci

LSU Master's Theses

Sustained Casing Pressure (SCP) is the undesirable casing head pressure of a well annulus that rebuilds when bled-down. As the conventional methods for SCP removal using rigs are expensive, there is a need for improvement. Annular intervention for replacing the fluid above the leaking cement with a heavier fluid to stop gas migration is a solution for SCP removal; however, previous attempts failed due to miscibility of injected fluids. Using hydrophobic heavy fluids for the purpose is a newly proposed technique to the technology. Potential of theoretically selected and produced immiscible heavy fluids are investigated in characterized annular fluids. A …


Analyses Of Online Monitoring Signals For A Gmaw Process Before And After Improvement, Aniruddha Joshi Jan 2014

Analyses Of Online Monitoring Signals For A Gmaw Process Before And After Improvement, Aniruddha Joshi

LSU Master's Theses

The ability to detect the onset of welding instability is a very powerful tool in welding process monitoring and control. Toward this goal, this study investigates a gas metal arc welding (GMAW) process by analyzing online monitoring signals. Two separate data sets are obtained from the process, which correspond to (a) a stable process after improvement and (b) a relatively unstable process which tends to exhibit spatter and poor weld bead geometry. Voltage, current, wire-feeding speed and line speed signals for both data sets are analysed and features are extracted from the raw signals using different signal processing techniques. Specifically, …


Assimilation, A Biological Nitrogen Removal Strategy For Freshwater Ornamental Fish Hatcheries, Fatemehsadat Fahandezhsadi Jan 2014

Assimilation, A Biological Nitrogen Removal Strategy For Freshwater Ornamental Fish Hatcheries, Fatemehsadat Fahandezhsadi

LSU Master's Theses

Freshwater ornamental fish production is a major component of aquaculture in the southeastern United States. Closed recirculating aquaculture systems (RASs) allow freshwater ornamental fish hatcheries to mimic native water quality conditions for sensitive species. Total ammonia-N (TAN) removal is the major concern for closed RASs. Biological nitrification is the common method to control TAN. However, the nitrification process might be impaired in acidic water condition with pH<7. Another issue of using the nitrification process for TAN removal is that the nitrification is not sufficient to compensate for the amount of ammonia released in larval production systems because of slow growth rate of nitrifying bacteria. To address these issues, this study suggests an aerobic assimilation strategy in which fast growing heterotrophic bacteria directly convert TAN into microbial biomass. The heterotrophic bacteria needs an external carbon source. This study employed polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) that is a solid insoluble bioplastic, as a carbon source in the aerobic assimilation process to avoid releasing carbon into the system. In order to understand the applicability of an assimilation process instead of nitrification, this study compared the ammonia-N removal rate by aerobic assimilation biofilters operating @ pH 8 and 6.5 in a batch system. The study also quantified the performance of an aerobic assimilation strategy under different continuous nitrogen loading regimes. This investigation can be used to establish the biofilter air pulsing frequency, which is the optimized air pulsing frequency that avoids clogging in the system. The results showed that there was no apparent release of carbon in the water tank. Unlike nitrification, assimilation strategy for TAN removal was not significantly different in two pH of 8 and 6.5 @ 28 ° C. The average consumption rate of the PHB was found as 21.93± 0.43 grams of PHB consumed per gram of TAN. The results from the continuous system, at a continuous feeding rate of 350 mg-N/d, suggested that the optimum air pulsing frequency through the PHB bed for releasing the excess biosolids was about 6-hour. In general, the study found that the aerobic assimilation using polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) as a carbon source is an applicable method for ammonia-N removal particularly for freshwater ornamental fish production systems. The drawback against this approach is that the PHB beads are expensive. However, our investigations show that the average cost of the PHB beads have been decreased dramatically during the last few years. This might indicate that the assimilation using PHB beads can be a reasonable choice for ammonia-N removal particularly for freshwater ornamental fish production systems.