Anaerobic Digestion Modeling Of A High Rate Acidification Pre-Treatment Technology, Connor Pritty

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Through the application of a computerized model (BioWin), anaerobic co-digestion (AcoD) of source separated organics (SSO) and a high rate acidification technology (pretreatment) for a conventional wastewater treatment plant was reviewed. Through this combined approach of high rate acidification, and co-digestion techniques it was found that the experimental modeling scenarios offered increases when compared to the existing base scenario production levels. With the addition of the high rate acidification technology and application of source separated organics the maximum increases in biogas production came when an OLR of 5.24 kg-COD/m³/day and 97g COD/L/d was experimentally modeled. It is therefore, recommended that …

High Strain Dynamic Test On Helical Piles: Analytical And Numerical Investigations, Mohammed Fahad Alwalan

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Helical piles are currently considered a preferred foundation option in a wide range of engineering projects to provide high compressive and uplift resistance to static and dynamic loads. In view of the large capacity of large diameter helical piles, there is a need to determine their capacity using accurate and economically feasible testing techniques. The capacity of piles is usually determined by conducting a Static Load Test (SLT). However, the SLT can be costly and time consuming, especially for large capacity piles. The High Strain Dynamic Load Test (HSDT) evaluates the pile capacity using dynamic measurements generated through subjecting the …

Application Of Bayesian Networks To Integrity Management Of Energy Pipelines, Wei Xiang

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Metal-loss corrosion and third-party damage (TPD) are the leading threats to the integrity of buried oil and natural gas pipelines. This thesis employs Bayesian networks (BNs) and non-parametric Bayesian networks (NPBNs) to deal with four issues with regard to the reliability-based management program of corrosion and TPD. The first study integrates the quantification of measurement errors of the ILI tools, corrosion growth modeling and reliability analysis in a single dynamic Bayesian network (DBN) model, and employs the parameter learning technique to learn the parameters of the DBN model from the ILI-reported and filed-measured corrosion depths. The second study develops the …

The Effect Of Stiffness Anisotropy Of A Glacial Clay On The Behaviour Of A Shallow Wind Turbine Foundation, Jesús A. González-Hurtado

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Shallow wind turbine foundations are designed based on investigations of the ultimate, serviceability and fatigue limit states. The serviceability limit state design approaches in particular are based on simple isotropic elastic half-space analyses that ignore coupling between loading directions, and soil non-linearity and elastic anisotropy. Many of the wind farms in Ontario are constructed around the Great Lakes basin and a number of these areas are characterized as stiff clayey glacial tills. It is recognized that many of these glacial materials exhibit some degree of strength, stiffness and fabric anisotropy. This research aimed to characterize the anisotropic geotechnical properties of …

Effects Of Building Scale Parameters On Pressure Equalization Capacity Of Roof Paver Systems, Matthew Sparks

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Roof pavers are commonly installed with a cavity beneath the paver that develops an internal suction pressure. These cavity pressures reduce the net pressure felt by a roof paver subject to uplift. Paver-scale parameter effects are well-understood, in this study, the effects of changing building-scale parameters such as height, aspect ratio, afterbody length, small and large scale roof obstructions, and paver to roof size ratio on cavity pressures are investigated. To do so pressure measurements were taken at the University of Western Ontario’s Boundary Layer Wind Tunnel Laboratory on a modular flat roof building model at four different heights with …

Structural Optimization Of Cable-Stayed Bridges Considering The Action Of Permanent And Transitory Loads, Carolina Almeida Novaes Dos Santos

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Cable-stayed bridges are complex structures with several advantages such as aesthetical appeal, economic use of materials, and efficient construction method. Due to these advantages and the extensive knowledge gained from projects over the years, longer cable-stayed bridges are being constructed. As span lengths increase, structures become more flexible, which makes the accurate evaluation of wind loads critically important in the design of cable-stayed bridges. A large number of variables are involved in the design of cable-stayed bridges. Those include overall geometric dimensions, cross-sectional dimensions, number of stay-cables and pre-tensioning forces to be applied to the cables. Taking all variables into …

Risk Analysis Of Natural Gas Distribution Pipelines With Respect To Third Party Damage, Joseph S. Santarelli

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The objective of this study is to develop a quantitative method of evaluating the risk of third party damage (TPD) on natural gas distribution pipelines using available industry data and practical engineering experience. A risk model for TPD of gas distribution pipelines is developed to allow for a more robust decision making process and better prioritization of the allocation of resources for operators of natural gas distribution pipelines. The model consists of likelihood and consequence classification procedures to estimate the severity of TPD events within an area.

The TPD model consists of a fault tree (FTA) model to estimate the …

Full-Scale Measurements To Evaluate Single-Ply Metal Roof Performance Under Extreme Wind Loads, Mahshid Nasiri

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This study focused on assessing the performance of single-ply metal roofing system under high wind loads. Full-scale measurements were conducted at Insurance Research Lab for Better Homes at the University of Western Ontario, on a full-scale standing seam metal roof (SSMR) system in order to investigate the load sharing among the clip fasteners. A pressure loading approach was used for applying pressure distributions with spatial and time variation on the roof system as the induced loads on the clips were measured using installed load cells. The influence functions of clip reactions were measured. It was observed that the area of …

A Network Approach To Interdependent Infrastructure Resilience Assessment For Natural Hazards, Howard Tong

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Natural disasters are increasingly costly to society as they disrupt basic infrastructure functions. Infrastructure managers face challenges from growing urbanization, climate change, and aging infrastructure. Infrastructure resilience is an emerging concept that has been suggested as a solution to this problem; however, it is not yet mature. This thesis proposes to extend an existing dynamic infrastructure resilience quantification methodology to include infrastructure growth capabilities while relaxing some of the original constraints. The methodology uses a complex networks approach to model infrastructure interdependencies that is applied to a case study in the City of Toronto using a newly developed web tool.