Engineering Commons^™

Wind And Thermal Effects On Ground Mounted Photovoltaic (Pv) Panels, Chowdhury Mohammad Jubayer

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

A combination of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations and wind tunnel experiments are carried out to investigate the effects of wind on the aerodynamic loading and heat transfer of a ground mounted stand-alone photovoltaic (PV) panel with tilt angle of 25^o in open country atmospheric boundary layer. Several azimuthal wind directions are considered: Southern 0^o, Southwest 45^o, Northwest 135^o and Northern 180^o. Three dimensional Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) approaches with an unsteady solver using Shear Stress Transport (SST) k-ω turbulence closure are employed for the CFD simulations, whereas Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) and …

Influence Of Water Chemistry Parameters On The Dissolution Rate Of The Lead (Ii) Carbonate Hydrocerussite, Caitlin Se Kushnir

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This work has focused on the kinetic dissolution of the lead (II) carbonate hydrocerussite (Pb₃(CO₃)₂(OH)₂) under four pH conditions (7.5, 8, 9, 10), three dissolved inorganic concentrations (DIC; 10, 20, 50 mg C/L), and three initial hydrocerussite concentrations (10, 20, 50 mg/L) in batch experiments. Experiments were performed in at least duplicate to determine total dissolved lead dissolution curves at short time scales (hr.). All equilibrium dissolved lead concentrations were achieved in 40 minutes or less, and matched trends from previous studies; pH 7.5 and pH 10 corresponding to the highest and …

Probabilistic Modeling And Bayesian Inference Of Metal-Loss Corrosion With Application In Reliability Analysis For Energy Pipelines, Hao Qin

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The stochastic process-based models are developed to characterize the generation and growth of metal-loss corrosion defects on oil and gas steel pipelines. The generation of corrosion defects over time is characterized by the non-homogenous Poisson process, and the growth of depths of individual defects is modeled by the non-homogenous gamma process (NHGP). The defect generation and growth models are formulated in a hierarchical Bayesian framework, whereby the parameters of the models are evaluated from the in-line inspection (ILI) data through the Bayesian updating by accounting for the probability of detection (POD) and measurement errors associated with the ILI data. The …

Wind-Induced Pressures In Air Permeable, Double-Layer Roof Systems In Regions Of Separated Flow, Jeong Hee Oh

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This thesis is concerned with the wind-induced pressure distribution acting on air permeable, double-layer roof systems placed on low-rise buildings. Because of the pressure transmission into the cavity between layers, the pressure difference in the double-layer systems differs significantly from that in a single layer. The interior pressures (in the cavity between layers) are highly correlated with external pressures at the openings on the external surface of the outer layer and thereby, the net wind load for the design of the outer layer is considerably reduced by the pressure equalization between the external and internal surfaces of the outer layer. …

Response Of Transmission Line Conductors Under Downburst Wind, Haitham Aboshosha

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Electricity is transmitted by Transmission Lines (TLs) from the source of production to the distribution system and then to the end consumers. Failure of a TL can lead to significant economic losses and to negative social consequences resulting from the interruption of power. High Intensity Winds (HIW), in the form of downbursts and tornadoes, are believed to be responsible for more than 80% of the weather-related failure of TLs around the world. The studies reported in this thesis are part of an ongoing extensive research program at Western University focusing on the response of TLs under HIW. Previous investigations conducted …

Physical Sulphate Attack On Concrete, Ahmed Ramadan Suleiman

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Field experience with concrete exposed to sulphates has often shown that concrete can suffer from surface scaling above the ground level caused by physical sulphate attack. This type of attack has been ignored and, in some instances, confused with chemical sulphate attack. In addition, current standards that evaluate the performance of concrete under sulphate attack, only deal with the chemical aspects of sulphate attack. This lack of information has led to confusion and contradictory views regarding the mechanisms of concrete deterioration due to physical sulphate attack. In the current thesis, the performance of concrete exposed to environments prone to physical …

Full-Scale Tests Of A Wood-Frame Structure Under Extreme Wind Loads, Derek A. Stedman

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Tornadoes can produce some of the strongest winds on earth; these highly localized storms can cause massive damage. Assessments of tornado wind speeds are done using post-event observations of damage via the Enhanced Fujita Scale.

A very commonly observed failure occurs at the roof-to-wall connection where the roof breaks up or flies away, typically leaving the walls in place. However, once the roof is gone the walls are more vulnerable to the wind. If a wall subsequently fails, it increases the risk of injury or death for occupants. Significant research has been done for failures of roof-to-wall connections and roof …

Shear Capacity Of Reinforced Concrete Beams At Elevated Temperatures, Mohamed Diab

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Fire safety is an important design aspect that ensures structural integrity of a Reinforced Concrete (RC) building during fire events. As new codes are moving from prescriptive methods to performance-based methods, design engineers are in need of rational design tools to assess the capacity of RC elements during a fire event. Previous research work focused on the flexural and axial capacities of concrete elements exposed to fire. Research addressing the shear capacity of concrete elements exposed to fire is limited in the literature.

An analytical method to predict the shear capacity of RC beams exposed to elevated temperatures is proposed. …

Structural And Durability Performance Of Precast Segmental Tunnel Linings, Safeer Abbas

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The use of precast concrete tunnel linings (PCTLs) has been escalating due to its efficient and economical installation process compared to that of normal cast in-situ lining practice. Normally, PCTL segments are designed for 100 years of service life. However, tunnel structures often suffer premature degradation primarily due to reinforcement corrosion, which requires costly repair and maintenance. Hence, addressing and solving such durability-sustainability dilemma of tunnels is a must. The main aim of this dissertation is to evaluate the structural and durability performance of full-scale conventional reinforced concrete (RC) PCTL segments in comparison to steel fibre-reinforced concrete (SFRC). Moreover, the …