Engineering Commons^™

Continuous Time Convolution Model For Generation Synthetic Hydrographs, Cheryl Brooks

Retrospective Theses and Dissertations

Synthetic hydrographs are often used in stormwater management to provide estimates of peak rate, volume and time distribution of stormwater runoff. A hydrograph model based on the mathematical technique of convolution was developed using an exponential routing response function and the basic watershed continuity equation. After incorporating the model into a computer program, it was calibrated using hydrographs from four urban and three rural watersheds. The watersheds are located in regions of west and south Florida and range in size from 14.7 to 3500 acres. Two other hydrograph models, the Soil Conservation Service's Unit Hydrograph (SCS-UH) mode 1 and the …

Optimization Of Storm Sewer Construction Costs Using A Microcomputer Program, Dawn E. Fetter

Retrospective Theses and Dissertations

When designing a storm sewer system there is a material and labor cost trade-off between changing pipe diameter for a specific flowrate while keeping physical pipe slope constant, and changing physical pipe slope for the same flowrate while keeping the pipe diameter constant.

To calculate costs associated with every possible combination of pipe diameters and excavation depth to find the optimum design for a storm sewer network without the use of a computer would be a very cumbersome task indeed. In fact, a minimum cost solution may never be found.

This paper presents a microcomputer program which assists the engineer …

Investigative Study Of The Reliability Of A Rotating Turbine Blade, William Stuart Beal

Retrospective Theses and Dissertations

-Turbine blading incidents are a concern to electrical utilities since they can result in power plant unavailability. The reliability of a particular turbine blade is investigated in this report to determine if it can be replaced with a more reliable blade design. The majority of incidents concerning this blade have been attributed to stall flutter vibration that has been the result of unit operation at low load levels with high back-pressures in the steam condenser. Stall flutter can be avoided by limiting back-pressure levels during low load operation and is thus not a concern here. Another potential cause of unreliability …

Comparison Of Subsurface Cavity Investigations Using Earth Resistivity, Seismograph And Ground Penetrating Radar, Dennis M. Filler

Retrospective Theses and Dissertations

Sinkhole formation in the Central Florida area has become a serious problem. The subsurface exploration method for cavity detection is indeed needed prior to sinkhole development. this research study compares the effectiveness of earth resistivity, seismograph and ground penetrating radar (GPR) methods in the detection of subsurface cavities. A resistivity instrument measures a material's resistance to electric currents. The seismograph measure the propagation velocity of a medium refracting compressional waves. The GPR transmits and receives electromagnetic pulses reflecting off subsurface interfaces.

Tests were conducted at two sites: a model test site at the University of central Florida, Orlando, and a …

A Study Of The Reaction Kinetics For The Thermal Oxidation Of Dilute N-Heptane Vapors In A Plug Flow Reactor, Steven Hunter Ramsey

Retrospective Theses and Dissertations

During August through October, 1986, experiments were conducted with the aim of devel oping kinetic relationships for the thermal oxi dation of dilute n-Heptane vapors in air using a Lindberg tube furnace reactor. This project was designed to be the first step in the ultimate goal of research ing the effe cts upon the combustion of dilute organic vapors when certain chemicals are added to the combustion stream. These chemicals are postulated to form free radicals and thus enhance the oxidation of organ i cs . Comparison of the kinetics before and after the addition of t he free radical …

Finite Element Analysis Of A Glass Fiber Inclusion, Jeffery R. Southland

Retrospective Theses and Dissertations

This analysis investigates the micromechanical behavior of a fiber-reinforced composite. Two realistic deviations from the typical set of simplifying assumptions are considered: nonhomogeneous matrix properties and imperfect fiber/matrix bonds. The stress effects due to a soft matrix interlayer at the fiber interface and the loss of a portion of the fiber/matrix interface bond are examined. The analysis is performed with the ANSYS finite element program. The effects of higher order shape functions and different mesh densities are studied. The final results are compared to a previous analysis performed at Florida Technological University (now University of Central Florida) which utilized a …

Axisymmetric Wave Propagation In A Finite Linear Elastic Cylinder, Brian D. Johnson

Retrospective Theses and Dissertations

This work addresses the linear elastic analysis of axisymmetric wave propagation in a finite elastic cylinder. The waves are generated by the Fast Triaxial Device (FTRXD), which fails soil specimens at very rapid rates. The very short duration of the triaxial tests requires the consideration of wave phenomena in the analysis of the test results.

The soil specimens are modeled as linear elastic cylinders which are compressed in the axial direction. The resulting axisymmetric waves are analyzed with the wave equations which are cast in finite difference form, allowing the solution of displacements and stresses throughout the cylinder as a …