Digital Commons Network^™

Remediation Of Soils And Ground Water Contaminated By Aromatic And Chlorinated Hydrocarbons And Metals, Inez Hua, P. Suresh Rao, Linda S. Lee, Barry K. Partridge, Ben Lawrence

JTRP Technical Reports

Many of the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) sites are contaminated with aromatic hydrocarbons and chlorinated solvents; these contaminants often occur in the form of light non-aqueous phase liquids (LNAPLs) or dense non-aqueous phase liquids (DNAPLs). Considerable effort has recently been focused on developing in-situ technologies for removing or destroying NAPL source zones, and several potentially viable methods have emerged, including in-situ chemical oxidation (ISCO). ISCO has become an attractive remediation option to managers at many contaminated sites. The three oxidants that are most often applied in-situ are hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) with iron catalysts, potassium permanganate (KMnO4), and ozone (O3). …

Continuum Modeling Of Cell Membranes, Eveline Baesu, R. E. Rudd, J. Belak, M. Mcelfresh

Department of Engineering Mechanics: Faculty Publications

In this paper, we develop a finite-deformation model for cell membranes with a view toward characterizing the local mechanical response of membranes in atomic force microscope (AFM) experiments. The membrane is modeled as a 2-D fluid continuum endowed with bending resistance. The general theory is used to obtain equations that describe axisymmetric equilibrium states. The membrane is assumed to enclose a fluid medium, which transmits hydrostatic pressure to the membrane, and a point load is applied at the pole to simulate an AFM probe. Both types of loading are associated with a potential and the problem is then cast in …

Ferroelectricity At Molecular Level, L. M. Blinov, A. V. Bune, Peter A. Dowben, Stephen Ducharme, Vladimir M. Fridkin, S. P. Palto, K. A. Verkhovskaya, G. V. Vizdrik, S. G. Yudin

Stephen Ducharme Publications

he synthesis of ultrathin ferroelectric nanostructures by the Langmuir-Blodgett method and their properties are reviewed. It is shown that ferroelectricity exists in one monolayer of the ferroelectric P(VDF-TrFE) copolymer, i.e., at the molecular level. The specific characteristics of switching of ultrathin ferroelectric films are established.

Computer Programs For Temperature In Fins And Slab Bodies With The Method Of Green’S Functions, Kevin D. Cole

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

Heat conduction in fins and slab bodies, a traditional undergraduate topic, is treated with the Green’s function (GF) method. A variety of boundary conditions and heating conditions are included. Computer programs are described which are designed to improve student learning of the GF method. The programs are available from the author.

Learning To Learn-Concepts In A First Power Engineering Course, Badrul H. Chowdhury

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Three well-known and widely accepted concepts in educational psychology are revisited. These are "inventory of learning styles," "taxonomy of educational objectives," and "metacognition." Relationships among these concepts are highlighted. Often, a student can develop his (or her) own learning style by the process of metacognition. Ideas are borrowed from these concepts for use in a first-level power systems course. It is beyond a doubt that both cognitive and metacognitive skills are necessary for students to succeed in any course. While a semester-long power systems course leaves little time for critical thinking and passive reflection for students, certain activities may very …

Navigation Of Mobile Sensors Using Pso And Embedded Pso In A Fuzzy Logic Controller, Ganesh K. Venayagamoorthy, Sheetal Doctor

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This paper presents novel structures for optimization and communication of a swarm of mobile sensors or robots for maximizing local and global tasks such as firefighting, landmine detection, radioactivity detection, etc. The navigation of the sensors is carried out using two strategies. The first strategy is based on particle swarm optimization (PSO) and the second strategy is based on a swarm of fuzzy logic based controllers. In addition, the membership functions and the rules of the fuzzy logic controller (FLC) are optimized using the PSO algorithm. Navigation of mobile sensors is considered in this paper to locate desirable target sources …

Optimal Pso For Collective Robotic Search Applications, Ganesh K. Venayagamoorthy, Venu Gopal Gudise, Sheetal Doctor

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Unmanned vehicles/mobile robots are of particular interest in target tracing applications since there are many areas where a human cannot explore. Different means of control have been investigated for unmanned vehicles with various algorithms like genetic algorithms, evolutionary computations, neural networks etc. This work presents the application of particle swarm optimization (PSO) for collective robotic search. The performance of the PSO algorithm depends on various parameters called quality factors and these parameters are determined using a secondary PSO. Results are presented to show that the performance of PSO algorithm and search is improved for a single and multiple target searches.

Electrical Breakdown In Polar Liquids, Shu Xiao

Electrical & Computer Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Hydrodynamic processes following the electrical breakdown in polar liquids, mainly water and propylene carbonate, are studied with electrical pulse-probe systems and optical diagnostics including shadowgraphy and Schlieren techniques. The dielectric strength of water in a repetitively pulsed power system is found to be 750 kV/cm and 650 kV/cm for pulses of 200 nanosecond and 8 microsecond duration, respectively. For energies less than 1 J, the discharge plasma decays in approximately one microsecond. The mechanical effect created by the expanding plasma is a shock wave which has an initial pressure of 1 GPa and decays within approximately 5 microseconds. The observed …

Preparation And Characterization Of Thermally Stabilized Ceria And Ceria Containing Materials, Leena Ali Rashid Al-Kaabi

Theses

Ceria, CeO₂, is one of the most important catalytic materials that can play multiple roles owing to its ability to release and uptake oxygen under catalytic reaction conditions with the preservation of it fluorite structure. Textural and thermal stability is a critical issue in determining the promoting and metal supporting functions of CeO₂ in its catalytic applications in the three way catalysis. Therefore, significant efforts have been made by industry on finding ways to improve the thermal stability of ceria both by modification of the synthesis of CeO₂ and by looking at possible stabilizers.

In the …

Spectrum Visualization And Measurement Of Power Parameters Of Microwave Wide-Band Noise, Marina Koledintseva, Alexander A. Kitaytsev, V. A. Konkin, V. Radchenko

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

A method for an adequate visualization of a microwave intense noise spectrum envelope in a wide frequency range (several octaves), measurement of its power parameters, and detection of a narrow-band signal with unknown frequency and power against the noise background is presented. This method is based on an application of a nonheterodyne principle of microwave frequency (and power) conversion using a gyromagnetic converter, which operates in two regimes in turn: the resonance detection and the cross-multiplication. A block scheme and an operation of a two-channel measuring device combining the mentioned functions are discussed.

Pperfgrid: A Grid Services-Based Tool For The Exchange Of Heterogeneous Parallel Performance Data, John Jared Hoffman

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis details the approach taken in developing PPerfGrid. Section 2 discusses other research related to this project. Section 3 provides general background on the technologies utilized in PPerfGrid, focusing on the components that make up the Grid services architecture. Section 4 provides a description of the architecture of PPerfGrid. Section 5 details the implementation of PPerfGrid. Section 6 presents tests designed to measure the overhead and scalability of the PPerfGrid application. Section 7 suggests future work, and Section 8 concludes the thesis.

Technology Forecasting Using Data Envelopment Analysis, Oliver Lane Inman

Dissertations and Theses

The ability to anticipate future capabilities of technology products has broad implications for organizations. Technological forecasting allows management to improve resource allocation, make better staffing decisions, and more confidently plan facilities and capital expenditures. Technology forecasting may also identify potential new markets and opportunities, such as finding ways to exploit current technology beyond its originally intended purposes.

Modern technology forecasters use an array of forecasting methods to predict the future performance of a technology, such as time-series analysis, regression, stochastic methods, and simulation. These quantitative methods rely on the assumption that past behavior will continue. Shortcomings include their lack of …

Multifunctional Nanocomposite Co-Containing Diamondlike Carbon Thin Films, Fengli Wang

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Metal-containing, hydrogenated carbon films (Me-a-C:H) is a special class of nanocomposite films of particular interest since they can be multifunctional through the synergistic interaction of their individual components. Thus, nanocomposite thin films possess high potential in a wide field of engineering applications, especially in small scale devices. A series of multifunctional nanocomposite Co-a-C:H thin films have been synthesized by a hybrid chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and physical vapor deposition (PVD) process to uncover the relationship between synthesis, microstructure and properties. The effects of deposition parameters on the microstructural evolution and properties have been systematically studied. The results showed that the …

Numerical Simulation And Field Verification Of Inclined Piezocone Penetration Test In Cohesive Soils, Lei Wei

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

A large strain finite element analysis is performed to analyze the effect of soil anisotropy on the inclined piezocone penetration test in normally consolidated cohesive soils. The piezocone penetration is numerically simulated using the commercial finite element code ABAQUS. The saturated clay is modeled as a two-phase material and the effective stress principle is used to describe its behavior. A frictional contact interface utilizing Mohr-Coulomb's theory was chosen to represent interactions between the surface of the cone and the soil. The Anisotropic Modified Cam Clay Model (AMCCM) by Dafalias (1987) was chosen and implemented into ABAQUS through user subroutine UMAT. …

Numerical Modeling Of Strain Localization In Granular Materials Using Cosserat Theory Enhanced With Microfabric Properties, Mustafa Alsaleh

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Finite element solution in the updated Lagrangian frame is used to investigate the strain localization phenomenon "shear bands" in granular materials. The micro-polar theory was used as the mathematical foundation for the continuum formulations. A laboratory testing results are used for verification and comparison with the numerical simulation. Silica sand and glass beads with different shape indices, size and surface roughness were tested under biaxial and triaxial loading conditions to investigate the physics of the problem. The shape non-uniformity and the irregular surface roughness of the grains were studied carefully to evaluate their effect on shear band characteristics. To this …

Bacterial Plume Dynamics In The Marshland Upwelling System Employed In The Near Freshwater Conditions, Benjamin Kojo Addo

LSU Master's Theses

The marshland upwelling system (MUS) was installed in a floatation marsh along the banks of the Bayou Segnette Waterway, Louisiana. This site was characterized by native groundwater of low salinity regime. Previous studies focused on the removal of fecal pathogens from settled/raw and secondarily treated wastewater under high saline groundwater conditions. The objectives of this research were to: 1) quantify the impact of natural die-off on bacterial removal within the MUS, 2) determine bacterial retardation rates in laboratory-repacked sandy loam soil columns, and 3) evaluate the effectiveness of the MUS in removing fecal pathogens from settled, raw wastewater. Varying salinities …

Optimal Rate Of Freezing Biological Systems, Sreedhar Thirumala

LSU Master's Theses

This thesis addresses optimization techniques for cryopreservation of biological systems. A part of the thesis (Chapter 2) reports a simplified procedure to predict the optimal rate of freezing biological systems once the cell level parameters are known a priori. The key cell level parameters investigated were, reference permeability of the membrane to water (Lpg), apparent activation energy (ELp), inactive cell volume (Vb), diameter (D), and the ratio of the available surface area for water transport to the initial volume of intracellular water (SA/WV). The simplified procedure was developed by performing a thorough analysis of the water transport model over a …

Assessment Of Shearing Phenomenon And Porosity Of Porous Media Using Microfocus Computed Tomography, Bashar Adeeb Alramahi

LSU Master's Theses

Microfocus x-ray computed tomography (μCT) is a powerful non-destructive scanning technique to study the internal fabric of granular materials. In this thesis, μCT was applied to two cases. The first case involves studying the behavior of particles in a triaxial specimen during shearing. Three-dimensional translation and rotation of the particles were tracked throughout the shearing process, and they were used to calculate the local strain distributions. Moreover, the local dilatancy angle distribution was calculated throughout experiment. These distributions were compared to study the changes in the behavior of the particles at different stages of the test. It was noticed that …

Synthesis, Characterization And Tribological Behavior Of Nitrogen-Doped Chromium-Diamond-Like Carbon Nanocomposite Thin Films, Sunil Kumar Pal

LSU Master's Theses

Diamond-like carbon (DLC) films have been extensively studied for more than two decades due to their highly attractive properties. These films exhibit unique mechanical, chemical and electronic properties and thus, possess great potential for applications in tribology. However, two drawbacks in the DLC films are high level of internal stress developed during growth preventing deposition of thick films and low thermal stability. Synthesis of Me-DLC (Cr-DLC and N-doped Cr-DLC) presents a way to overcome these drawbacks. In the present study, DLC, Cr-DLC and N-doped Cr-DLC films were deposited on Si substrate using a hybrid Plasma assisted CVD/PVD process. Film characterization …

Design And Operating Strategies For Bioreactors Treating Dynamically Varying Concentrations Of Gas-Phase Volatile Organic Compounds (Vocs), Congna Li

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The dynamically varying concentrations of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in most waste gas streams present a challenge in design and operation of biofilters treating such off-gases. Studies described in this dissertation were directed toward development and experimental testing of two design modifications/operating strategies that have the potential to improve biofilter performance during unsteady-state loadings. In the first design modification studied, activated carbon was incorporated into biofilter packing media and a novel periodic operating strategy, Sequencing Batch Biofilter (SBB) operation, was tested under “normal” and various “shock” loading conditions treating methyl ethyl ketone contaminated air. Results demonstrate how the operational flexibility …

Material Length Scales In Gradient-Dependent Plasticity/Damage And Size Effects: Theory And Computation, Rashid Kamel Abu Al-Rub

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Structural materials display a strong size-dependence when deformed non-uniformly into the inelastic range: smaller is stronger. This effect has important implications for an increasing number of applications in structural failure, electronics, functional coatings, composites, micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS), nanostructured materials, micro/nanometer fabrication technologies, etc. The mechanical behavior of these applications cannot be characterized by classical (local) continuum theories because they incorporate no ‘material length scales’ and consequently predict no size effects. On the other hand, it is still not possible to perform quantum and atomistic simulations on realistic time and structures. It is therefore necessary to develop a scale-dependent continuum theory …

Fabrication And Assembly Of An Array Of Micro Fuel Injector Nozzles For A Trapped-Vortex Combustor, Tracy Ettel Morris

LSU Master's Theses

An array of four fuel injector nozzles, each with micrometer-scale swirlers and a microhole, is created on a single coupon. The nozzles are intended to atomize fuel to blend with swirling air before ejecting into a trapped-vortex combustion chamber. A first-generation metal prototype is fabricated in order to form the micro features, supply the fuel and gas to the nozzles, and guide the mixture to the combustion chamber. Microfabrication methods and precision machining are used to create a multiple plate laminate assembly. The central plate contains the four microholes, which atomize the fuel, and facilitate the swirler structures needed to …

Stabilization Of Flue Gas Desulfurization Sludge For Application In Marine Environments, Tej Kour

LSU Master's Theses

Flue Gas Desulfurization sludge (FGD, CaSO4·2H2O, CaSO3·1/2H2O) is a waste by-product produced when sorbent slurry is passed through wet scrubbers. FGD contains higher concentrations of Ca, S, Si, Fe, Al and Br making it of great environmental concern. Presently only 16% of 24 million metric tons (MT) of FGD sludge produced is being recycled; the rest is disposed in landfills. This research was focused towards stabilizing FGD sludge with Portland Type II cement and Class C fly ash to produce lightweight fill material to be used in the construction of coastal devices. The specific objectives included the development of a …

Tissue Interactions With Lasers And Liquid Nitrogen: A Novel Cryopreservation Method, Deepak Kandra

LSU Master's Theses

The importance of the imposed cooling rate in cryopreserving native cells and tissues has been long recognized in the field of cryobiology. When biological tissues are subjected to cooling rates in excess of thousands of degree C per minute, the characteristic structural and physical manifestations of the ice formed are such that the traditional damage due to ice formation at lower cooling rates are suppressed. Hence, achieving high cooling rates in tissues and cells of biologically relevant sizes (mm’s and cm’s) has been a long standing research problem. In the present study, we present a novel technique to achieve high …

Zooplankton Visualization System: Design And Real-Time Lossless Image Compression, Dattatreya Reddy Tetala Satya Surya

LSU Master's Theses

In this thesis, I present a design of a small, self-contained, underwater plankton imaging system. I base the imaging system’s design on an embedded PC architecture based on PC/104-Plus standards to meet the compact size and low power requirements. I developed a simple graphical user interface to run on a real-time operating system to control the imaging system. I also address how a real-time image compression scheme implemented on an FPGA chip speeds up image transfer speeds of the imaging system. Since lossless compression of the image is required in order to retain all image details, I began with an …

Numerical And Experimental Investigation Of Transport Processes In Biological Systems, Yimeng He

LSU Master's Theses

This thesis focuses on optimization techniques for transport process during the cryopreservation of biological systems. In the first part of this thesis, a well established shape independent Differential Scanning Calorimeter (DSC) technique was used to measure the dehydration response during freezing of Pacific oyster sperm cells. Volumetric shrinkage during freezing of diploid and tetraploid pacific oyster sperm cell suspensions was obtained at cooling rates of 5 and 20 ˚C/min in the presence of extracellular ice and CPAs. By fitting a model of water transport to the experimentally obtained volumetric shrinkage data the best fit membrane permeability parameters (L_pg and …

Online Heat Transfer Measurement And Analysis For Sugar Mill Evaporators, David Timothy Solberg

LSU Master's Theses

Fouling and scaling in evaporators has been an area of great interest to raw sugar mills for a number of years and many of the mechanisms causing the scale and the rates of scaling are unknown. In an attempt to quantify the scaling rates and measure the scaling, an online model has been developed to model a system of evaporators. Monitoring the heat transfer coefficient as a function of time enabled measurement of the scaling rate by monitoring the heat transfer coefficient as it decreased with time. It is assumed that the scaling on the juice side of the evaporators …

Design And Development Of A Process Control Temperature System For Eastern Oyster Crassostrea Virginica Research, Praveen Kolar

LSU Master's Theses

A process-control temperature system was designed and developed for facilitating somatic cell research on eastern oyster Crassostrea virginica. The system consisted of sixteen independent tanks capable of individual temperature regimes controlled by a central computer. Food grade 250-L tanks were used to hold 60 oysters per tank. Each tank was equipped with heating and cooling mechanisms. Immersion heaters were used for heating and a pump and a stainless steel heat exchangers immersed in chilled water (~ 7°C) were used for cooling. Type-T thermocouples along with a CIOEXP32 multiplexer board (Measurement Computing Inc.) were used to measure water temperatures. Control was …

Mems Accelerometer: Proof Of Concept For Geotechnical Engineering Testing, Keith Nicholas Hoffman

LSU Master's Theses

Geotechnical engineering materials are inherently variable, which leads to many simplifications when trying to model their behavior. The materials must always be characterized prior to any design work so that the engineer knows which direction he must progress to have a reliable design. Although subsurface characterization techniques and geotechnical design steadily improve, they are by no means infallible. The combination of geotechnical subsurface characterization along with geophysical techniques for improved design and construction monitoring has begun to surface as a viable alternative to the standard techniques in geotechnical engineering. This is important because there is a lack of Quality Control/Quality …

Small And Large Strain Monitoring Of Unsaturated Soil Behavior By Means Of Multiaxial Testing And Shear Wave Propagation, Oscar F. Porras Ortiz

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The deformation and strength behavior of dry and saturated soils is controlled by the effective stresses as defined by Terzaghi. However, Terzaghi’s definition of the effective stresses fails for unsaturated soils, as capillarity force influence is also important. The effects of capillarity forces in soil are evaluated by the concept of matrix suction. Several techniques are used to evaluate soil suction however their applications involve difficult calibrations and tedious methodology. Furthermore, suction is a microscopic property and it is influenced by interparticle soil attraction, which can change by sampling disturbance. This research program evaluates the effect of suction on stiffness …