Engineering Commons^™

Factors Affecting Algal Biomass Growth And Cell Wall Destruction, Alicia E. Simosa

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Research using microalgae Chlorella vulgaris was conducted in order to determine the maximum CO₂ concentration under which algae can grow, within the emission range from oil and natural gas burning plants (0-20%).

After choosing the optimal CO₂ percentage, pH and alkalinity were determined; and finally, an electrochemical (EC) batch reactor connected to DC current was applied to achieve algae cell annihilation, and therefore, facilitate anaerobic digestion, methane production and energy recovery.

It was determined that algae can grow under 20% CO_2, being 15% CO₂ the most effective (pH of 6.64 and alkalinity of 617.5 mg/L CaCO …

Fault Discrimination Algorithm For Busbar Differential Protection Relaying Using Partial Operating Current Characteristics, Monir Hossain

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Differential protection is the unit protection system which is applied to protect a particular unit of power systems. Unit is known as zone in protection terminology which is equivalent to simple electrical node. In recent time, low impedance current differential protection schemes based on percentage restrained characteristics are widely used in power systems to protect busbar systems. The main application issue of these schemes is mis-operation due to current transformer (CT) saturation during close-in external faults. Researchers have suggested various solution of this problem; however, individually they are not sufficient to puzzle out all mis-operational scenarios. This thesis presents a …

Numerical Computation Of Transient Response Of 2d Wedge Impact, Naresh Kumar Koyyapu

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

The diverse applications of advanced marine craft ascribed to their high speed and technological advancements has led to the use of stronger and lighter metals in such crafts. High speed, in effect also increases slamming loads as higher speed increases frequency of wave encounter while operating in waves. The present study is limited to wedge impact models. Fundamentally, the study is thus about two-dimensional (2D) wedge impact in water. In an attempt to predict the structural response to impact hydrodynamic force, a beam element based finite element (FE) computer program is written and the results of the code are presented …

Optimal Dg Placement: A Multimethod Analysis, Saiful A. Ratul

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

With Power System being restructured in the vision of Smart Grid, it is important now more than ever to find suitable locations to place Distributed Generators (DG). Distributed generators, which may be renewable, are not limited to specific locations as in the case of conventional generators. Several papers have been published that make suggestions on where the optimal location of DG should be in a system. Objectives ranging from loss minimization to total cost minimization have been the factor for such studies. In this study, a new method is introduced that hopes to improve a current system in three ways …

Measuring Access To Employment To Guide And Evaluate Public Transit Service Planning In New Orleans, Kevin Harrison

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

New software and technology is making it easier than ever before for public transportation planners to evaluate how quickly residents can reach jobs and other destinations. Because in the past it was difficult to measure access to opportunities, these concepts remained primarily in the theoretical and academic realms of research. This thesis reviews methods that could be used to evaluate routine bus service improvements and performs a comparative analysis of different methods in the context of New Orleans. There are many different variables in how the analysis could be performed, but this thesis focuses on the role that time of …

Spice: A Software Tool For Studying End-User’S Insecure Cyber Behavior And Personality-Traits, Anjila Tamrakar

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Insecure cyber behavior of end users may expose their computers to cyber-attack. A first step to improve their cyber behavior is to identify their tendency toward insecure cyber behavior. Unfortunately, not much work has been done in this area. In particular, the relationship between end users cyber behavior and their personality traits is much less explored. This paper presents a comprehensive review of a newly developed, easily configurable, and flexible software SPICE for psychologist and cognitive scientists to study personality traits and insecure cyber behavior of end users. The software utilizes well-established cognitive methods (such as dot-probe) to identify number …

Sustainable Ambient Air Quality Monitoring System, Poojitha Aleti

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Deterioration of air quality is a growing concern in the world. Air pollution causes serious health problems and also can sometimes result in death. In order to assess air quality, long term and continuous monitoring of pollutant levels in ambient air are needed, such monitoring is often expensive, cumbersome, and resource intensive and so the monitoring programs often fail to succeed.

This research focused on designing an ambient air monitoring system by integrating (1) low-cost sensor with a battery, (2) repurposed materials to fabricate all-weather housing for air monitors, and (3) electronics needed to download the data to an on-site …

Experimental Study And Numerical Simulation Of Methane Oxygen Combustion Inside A Low Pressure Rocket Motor, Mine Kaya

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis, combustion processes in a laboratory-scale methane based low pressure rocket motor (LPRM) is studied experimentally and numerically. Experiments are conducted to measure flame temperatures and chamber temperature and pressure. Single reaction-four species reacting flow of gaseous methane and gaseous oxygen in the combustion chamber is also simulated numerically using a commercial CFD solver based on 2-D, steady-state, viscous, turbulent and compressible flow assumptions. LPRM geometry is simplified to several configurations, i.e. Channel and Combustion Chamber with Nozzle and FWD. Flow in a Bunsen burner is simulated inside Channel geometry in order to validate the reaction model. Grid …

A Hybrid Technique Of Energy Harvesting From Mechanical Vibration And Ambient Illumination, M Shafiqur Rahman

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Hybrid energy harvesting is a concept applied for improving the performance of the conventional stand-alone energy harvesters. The thesis presents the analytical formulations and characterization of a hybrid energy harvester that incorporates photovoltaic, piezoelectric, electromagnetic, and electrostatic mechanisms. The initial voltage required for electrostatic mechanism is obtained by the photovoltaic technique. Other mechanisms are embedded into a bimorph piezoelectric cantilever beam having a tip magnet and two sets of comb electrodes on two sides of its substructure. All the segments are interconnected by an electric circuit to generate combined output when subjected to vibration and solar illumination. Results for power …

Analysis Of Optimization Methods In Multisteerable Filter Design, Philip Zanco

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this thesis is to study and investigate a practical and efficient implementation of corner orientation detection using multisteerable filters. First, practical theory involved in applying multisteerable filters for corner orientation estimation is presented. Methods to improve the efficiency with which multisteerable corner filters are applied to images are investigated and presented. Prior research in this area presented an optimization equation for determining the best match of corner orientations in images; however, little research has been done on optimization techniques to solve this equation. Optimization techniques to find the maximum response of a similarity function to determine how …

A Study Of Three Paradigms For Storing Geospatial Data: Distributed-Cloud Model, Relational Database, And Indexed Flat File, Matthew A. Toups

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and related applications of geospatial data were once a small software niche; today nearly all Internet and mobile users utilize some sort of mapping or location-aware software. This widespread use reaches beyond mere consumption of geodata; projects like OpenStreetMap (OSM) represent a new source of geodata production, sometimes dubbed “Volunteered Geographic Information.” The volume of geodata produced and the user demand for geodata will surely continue to grow, so the storage and query techniques for geospatial data must evolve accordingly.

This thesis compares three paradigms for systems that manage vector data. Over the past few decades …

Volatile Organic Compound (Voc) Emission During Cured-In-Place-Pipe (Cipp) Sewer Pipe Rehabilitation, Elena Bourbour Ajdari

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

The maintenance or replacement of deteriorated pipes and culverts is a constant and significant concern for municipalities and transportation agencies in the United States (Donaldson and Wallingford, 2010). Trenchless technologies and especially the Cured-in-place pipe (CIPP) method have become increasingly common ways to preserve infrastructures owing to their feasibility, cost-effectiveness, and fewer social impacts (Jung and Sinha, 2007). Therefore, there is a growing need to understand the direct and indirect effects of pipeline rehabilitation activities on the environment. Nearly all past CIPP studies have focused on its mechanical properties, and its environmental impacts are poorly investigated and documented (Allouche et …

Simulation And Performance Evaluation Of Algorithms For Unmanned Aircraft Conflict Detection And Resolution, Jeffrey H. Ledet

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

The problem of aircraft conflict detection and resolution (CDR) in uncertainty is addressed in this thesis. The main goal in CDR is to provide safety for the aircraft while minimizing their fuel consumption and flight delays. In reality, a high degree of uncertainty can exist in certain aircraft-aircraft encounters especially in cases where aircraft do not have the capabilities to communicate with each other. Through the use of a probabilistic approach and a multiple model (MM) trajectory information processing framework, this uncertainty can be effectively handled. For conflict detection, a randomized Monte Carlo (MC) algorithm is used to accurately detect …

Seismic Design Of A Prestressed Concrete Bridge, Alperen Ozel

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Latest advancements in software have become an indispensable tool in structural analysis. The main goal of this thesis is to examine dynamic responses of bridges in seismic activity with the help of such tool as CSi Bridge. Therefore, throughout this study, a prestressed concrete bridge model will be thoroughly designed. In the first section, the required materials and structural components will be introduced. The following section will cover calculations required for modeling. The actual modeling of the structure will be carried out in Section 3. In Section 4, the set of required analysis for seismic design such as modal, pushover …

Sensitivity Analysis Of Synchronous Generators For Real-Time Simulation, Sowmya Munukuntla

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this thesis is to validate generator models for dynamic studies of power systems using PSS/E (Power System Simulator for Engineering), EMTP (ElectroMagnetic Transient Program), and Hypersim. To thoroughly evaluate the behavior of a power system in the three specified software packages, it is necessary to have an accurate model for the power system, especially the generator which is of interest. The effect of generator modeling on system response under normal conditions and under faulted conditions is investigated in this work. A methodology based on sensitivity analysis of generator model parameters is proposed aiming to homogenize the behavior …

Test Plan For Real-Time Modeling & Simulation Of Single Pole Switching Relays, Ram Mohan Sanaboyina

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

A real-time simulator (RTS) with digital and analog input/output modules is used to conduct hardware-in-the-loop simulations to evaluate performance of power system equipment such as protective relays by exposing the equipment to the simulated realistic operating conditions. This work investigates the use of RTS to test relays with single-pole-switching (SPS) feature. Single-pole switching can cause misoperations due to fault arc during reclosing of the breakers. Through this investigation, a test procedure appropriate for the testing SPS relays has been developed. The test procedure includes power system modeling for real time simulation, relay test setup, and test plan. HYPERSIM real-time simulator …

Odor Monitoring At The New Orleans East Bank Wastewater Treatment Plant, Felicia R. Figinsky

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Hydrogen Sulfide is a corrosive, odorous, and hazardous gas that can cause issues for wastewater collection systems and treatment plants. When evaluating hydrogen sulfide concentrations it is important to consider the source, odor causing mechanism, and its level of toxicity. In this study, continuous hydrogen sulfide monitoring was performed for 8 locations within the New Orleans East Bank Wastewater Treatment Plant for a span of 5 months. Hot spots within the plant are located and data analysis is performed based on daily and hourly averages of hydrogen sulfide concentrations. The data was configured to show peak hydrogen sulfide concentrations at …

Utilization Of Distributed Generation In Power System Peak Hour Load Shedding Reduction, Nandu Balachandran

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

An approach to utilize Distributed Generation (DG) to minimize the total load shedding by analyzing the power system in Transactive energy framework is proposed. An algorithm to optimize power system in forward and spot markets to maximize an electric utility’s profit by optimizing purchase of power from DG is developed. The proposed algorithm is a multi-objective optimization with the main objective to maximize a utility’s profit by minimizing overall cost of production, load shedding, and purchase of power from distributed generators. This work also proposes a method to price power in forward and spot markets using existing LMP techniques. Transactive …

A Numerical Study Of Compressible Lid Driven Cavity Flow With A Moving Boundary, Amer Hussain

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

A two-dimensional (2-D), mathematical model is adopted to investigate the development of circulation patterns for compressible, laminar, and shear driven flow inside a rectangular cavity. The bottom of the cavity is free to move at a specified speed and the aspect ratio of the cavity is changed from 1.0 to 1.5. The vertical sides and the bottom of the cavity are assumed insulated. The cavity is filled with a compressible fluid with Prandtl number, Pr =1. The governing equations are solved numerically using the commercial Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) package ANSYS FLUENT 2015 and compared with the results for the …