Digital Commons Network^™

Development Of A Waterjet System For Direct Delivery Of Granular Iron And Activated Carbon To Remediate Contaminated Aqueous Sediments, Gavin H.R. Risley, Andrew Curtis Elmore, Joel Gerard Burken, Grzegorz (Greg) Galecki

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

While the Techniques and Technologies Associated with Contaminated Sediment Remediation Are Relatively Mature, There Are Several Issues Associated with These Practices that Make Them Unattractive. the Inability of Currently Used Mechanical Mixing Implements to Place Amendments in Aqueous Environments and their Intrusive Behavior toward Benthic Communities Are Just Two Examples of a Necessity for an Improved Delivery Method. Waterjets May Be a Viable Option for Placement of Particulate Remediation Amendments, Such as Activated Carbon and Granular Iron, at Depth. a Custom Waterjet Nozzle and Injection System Has Been Fabricated by the Authors to Examine This Delivery Concept. the Developed Injection …

The Bioactivity And Ion Release Of Titanium-Containing Glass Polyalkenoate Cements For Medical Applications, A. W. Wren, N. M. Cummins, F. R. Laffir, S. P. Hudson, Mark R. Towler

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The ion release profiles and bioactivity of a series of Ti containing glass polyalkenoate cements. Characterization revealed each material to be amorphous with a T_g in the region of 650-660°C. The network connectivity decreased (1.83-1.35) with the addition of TiO₂ which was also evident with analysis by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Ion release from cements were determined using atomic absorption spectroscopy for zinc (Zn^₂₊), calcium (Ca^₂₊), strontium (Sr^₂₊), Silica (Si^₄₊) and titanium (Ti4+). Ions such as Zn^₂₊ (0.1-2.0 mg/l), Ca²⁺ (2.0-8.3 mg/l,) Sr²⁺ (0.1-3.9 mg/l), and S^{i4+ …}

Predictive And Adaptive Game Development A Practical Application Of Development Models To The Independent Video Game Industry, Liam A. Hunt

Theses : Honours

Through the process of researching a number of game and system development models, this study defines two archetypical development models - the predictive and the adaptive. Using each of these models, two video games have been developed in order to measure the practical effect that they can have on the design, development process and player experience of a game. Using the knowledge gained through playtesting and an analysis of the relationship between each game and its development methodology, a number of development guidelines and recommendations have been specifically constructed for use by independent games developers. The practical development and written …

Spiking Neural Networks And Their Applications, Cameron Eric Johnson

Doctoral Dissertations

"Artificial neural networks (ANNs) have been developed as adaptable, robust function approximators for at least the last quarter-century. They have progressed through two generations, and the third is now under development. Spiking neural networks (SNNs) seek to improve on previous generations in two ways: by using a more biologically-inspired neuron, they are shown to be capable of more complex calculations; incorporating polychronous properties of highly-recurrent networks with delays of different lengths on each synapse to achieve large numbers of possible patterns with relatively few neurons and synapses.

Abstracted spiking neurons have been used as a third-generation activation function in a …

Surface Modification Of Micro-Fluidic Devices, Zhan Gao

Doctoral Dissertations

"The surface modification, fabrication and characterization of microfluidic sensor systems for oxygen and glucose measurements with the use of polymeric materials were investigated in this dissertation. This dissertation is prepared in publication format. The first manuscript focuses on the surface modification of SU -8 layer to enhance the wettability. The improvement of wettability is critical since biofouling can be minimized during bioanalysis. A novel in situ photopattemable grafting technology was used to attach biocompatible polymer layers on SU-8 surface, changing its property from hydrophobicity to hydrophilicity. The results were confirmed by contact angle measurement and Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectra. …

Waste Paper Generation In University Of Malaya., Poopak Sotoodehnia

Student Works (2010-2019)

The average global paper production growth was 4% annually. However, in some dynamic region such as China, this amount exceeded 8% in the last decade. Total production capacity of Malaysian paper mill reached 1.3 million tonnes/year while the consumption of paper is more than the production capacity. In Kuala Lumpur, the capital city of Malaysia, the second most abundant component of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) is paper. Paper and pulp sector are one of the main consumers of fibrous wood resources which, has significant impact on the climate change by effecting forest resources. University of Malaya as an academic institute …

Polymer Based Microfabrication And Its Applications In Optical Mems And Biomems, Guocheng Shao

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Due to its ease of fabrication, low cost and great variety of functionalities, polymer has become an important material in microfabrication. MEMS devices with polymer as the structure material have found applications in various fields, especially in BioMEMS and optical MEMS. In this dissertation, three polymer based microfabricated devices/components have been developed and tested. Various polymer based fabrication techniques, such as high aspect ratio SU-8 photolithography, three dimensional polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) soft lithography, multi-layer soft lithography and PDMS double casting technique have been developed/studied and employed in the device fabrication process. The main contribution of this dissertation includes: (1) Developed two …

Modeling Of First-Flush Reactor For Stormwater Treatment, Shaowei Sun

LSU Master's Theses

Stormwater runoff is one of the most common sources of non-point source water pollution to lakes, rivers and estuaries. Nitrate-nitrogen in stormwater runoff is an important limiting factor to the eutrophication phenomenon. While most pollutants and nutrients, including nitrate-nitrogen, in stormwater are discharged into receiving waters during the first-flush period, no existing Best Management Practices (BMPs) are specifically designed to capture and treat the first-flush portion of urban stormwater runoff. In addition, nitrate-nitrogen removal rates of most existing BMPs are relatively low. This thesis presents results from both laboratory experiments and numerical modeling of nitrate-nitrogen removal in a designed first-flush …

Design, Development, And Testing Of A Multi-Agent Autonomous Surface Fleet For Environmental Applications, Daniel Davis Smith

LSU Master's Theses

As costs have decreased and both computational complexity and robustness have increased, the use of autonomous vehicles in real-world environments has increased dramatically. The development of a fleet of autonomous surface vehicles able to coordinate their actions through communications provides a significant tool for numerous water-based applications such as the reduction of predatory birds on aquaculture ponds, tracking of pollutant gradients, and water quality mapping applications. A fleet of three autonomous surface vehicles (ASVs) was developed using the best characteristics from earlier designs. Each vehicle is a dual-pontoon, dual-paddlewheel design powered by batteries recharged using a vehicle-mounted solar array that …

Hydrodynamic Focusing Micropump Module With Pdms/Nickel-Particle Composite Diaphragms For Microfluidic Systems, Jeonghwan Kim

LSU Master's Theses

In this research, a rapid prototype of multi-fluidic speed-modulating (MFSM) micropump which enables modulation of hydrodynamic focusing in micro-fluidic flow has been designed, fabricated, and characterized. The size of the entire module is 33 mm x 25 mm x 8 mm and comprises of three MFSM micropumps to achieve hydrodynamic focusing. These pumps are simultaneously operated by the same actuation source. Each micropump consists of Tesla-type valves in the bottom layer and PDMS/Ni-particle composite (PNPC) diaphragm in the middle layer. The deflection of the diaphragm is obtained by the external pneumatic force, and the permanent magnet controls the displacement resulting …

Environmental Factors Impacting Coastal Beach Health, Kevin Michael Chenier

LSU Master's Theses

The objectives of this research were to 1) determine the variability of fecal-indicator bacteria in Gulf of Mexico marine waters, 2) determine the effect of environmental variables on enterococci concentrations, 3) determine if beach sand at Holly Beach, LA was capable of acting as a reservoir for fecal-indicator bacteria, and 4) determine if a model could be developed to reduce the time it takes to issue a beach swim advisory. Fecal-indicator bacteria concentrations varied from year to year in historical data collected from a Gulf Coast beach. Afternoon fecal-indicator bacteria concentrations were consistently lower than morning concentrations, demonstrating daily variability. …

The Effect Of Exopolymers On The Compressibility And Shear Strength Of Kaolinite, Rick Alton Nugent

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Erosion and subsidence threaten coastal infrastructure and natural habitats throughout the coastal United States, and this threat is especially significant along the Louisiana coastline since wetland clays are generally weak and highly compressible. Hydraulic pumping of dredged sediment is a common method for combating damage caused by erosion and subsidence, but the high water content slurry deposited is very compressible with low shear strength. Although conventional soil amendments are effective for reducing compressibility and increasing shear strength, these stabilizers are often caustic or toxic, making them too risky to use. Exopolymers, however, have the potential to improve sediment stability without …

Two-Dimensional Numerical Modeling Of A Proposed Freshwater Diversion From The Bonnet Carre Spillway To The Labranche Wetlands, Josef Patrick Hoffmann

LSU Master's Theses

Engineered modifications to the lower Mississippi River within the past century have limited the magnitude and frequency of flood events in wetlands along the Louisiana coast. Without this natural delivery of freshwater, sediment, and nutrients, the ecological health of these wetlands are now degrading. A recent study within the Bonnet Carre Spillway has revealed that the 7,623 acres of floodway between the Mississippi River and Lake Pontchartrain is one of the few areas in Louisiana that is actively accreting land as a result of pulsed sediment-laden freshwater input during high discharge events in the Mississippi River. On the other hand, …

Characterization Of Biocompatible Parylene-C Coating For Biomems Applications, Quoc Phuc Nguyen

LSU Master's Theses

This thesis characterizes parylene-C films with respect to biological micro-electro-mechanical system (BioMEMS) applications. BioMEMS devices have fueled the growth and research in the area of detecting, analyzing and identifying pathogens rapidly with precision in the bio-medical applications, thereby positively impacting millions of lives and made it extremely popular among researchers. These devices are fabricated using state-of-the-art techniques usually involving more than one material which typically has different biocompatibility and is not acceptable for various BioMEMS and biomedical applications; therefore, a special biocompatible coating is required. The parylene polymer is an example of such a coating as it is known for …

Development And Validation Of Biomechanical Models To Quantify Horse Back Forces At The Walk In Three Horse Breeds, Laxmi Raghunandana Kaidapuram

LSU Master's Theses

Therapeutic horseback riding is a common component of physical therapy programs. Quantification of the horse back forces will provide vital information to match therapeutic riders with equine partners. To meet this medical need, a model to quantify the horse back forces from ground reaction forces was developed to test the hypothesis that the forces transferred to a static weight on the horse’s back can be predicted given horse breed and weight. Simultaneous, real time kinetic, kinematic, and back force data on a static weight were collected from 7 adult horses: 3 thoroughbreds, 3 quarter horses, and 1 paso fino. An …

The Transient Wave Effect And Real Losses Correlation-Frequency, Temporal, And Spatial Analysis, Dina Sa Knight

LSU Master's Theses

Water distribution systems are prone to transients since pumps need to be started and stopped, pumps may have sudden flow changes, human blunders can occur, equipment may fail, or other unavoidable natural events may ensue. Surge modeling techniques are available to calculate variations in pressure, under extreme or normal operating conditions, serving as a tool to predict extreme events in order to design a suitable system and, or, to aid in the implementation of proper measures to mitigate transients. However, modeling an entire water network system may not be cost effective and may require extensive research and time especially in …

Comparison Of Different Integral Histogram Based Tracking Algorithms, Sriharsha Atluri

LSU Master's Theses

Object tracking is an important subject in computer vision with a wide range of applications – security and surveillance, motion-based recognition, driver assistance systems, and human-computer interaction. The proliferation of high-powered computers, the availability of high quality and inexpensive video cameras, and the increasing need for automated video analysis have generated a great deal of interest in object tracking algorithms. Tracking is usually performed in the context of high-level applications that require the location and/or shape of the object in every frame. Research is being conducted in the development of object tracking algorithms over decades and a number of approaches …

Catalytic Process For The Conversion Of Synthesis Gas To Ethanol For Use As An Alternative Fuel, Nitin Kumar

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Higher alcohols are increasing as a proportion of the transportation fuel market, and can be used as neat fuels, or as blends with conventional fuels. For a number of reasons, these C2+-alcohols will be of interest in the foreseeable future. Large-scale production of higher alcohols will likely be carried out via syngas, which can be produced from a number of feedstocks, including coal, natural gas and biomass. Rhodium-based catalysts have been found to be the most active/selective for higher alcohols. However, the literature shows that the yields of C2+-alcohols that can be achieved with current catalysts, even the most active/selective, …

Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy Substrates Based On Nanoporous Silicon And Pattern Transfer, Pallavi Rao Malempati

LSU Master's Theses

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering enhances the weak Raman scattering by using a roughened metal-coated surface as a catalyst. Roughness in the nanometer range provides the best enhancement. The nanostructures for the surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) substrates, in this work, are generated using an electrochemical etching process on silicon substrates. The patterns of nanoporous silicon thus generated are transferred onto transparent polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) substrates using the “lift-off” process. An incomplex sputtering technique is employed to coat this substrate with a ~20 nm aluminum layer. Rhodamine 6G (R6G) molecules, when adsorbed to this metal surface, form the final SERS substrate that undergoes Raman …

Silicon Nanowire Anode For Lithium-Ion Batteries: Fabrication, Characterization And Solid Electrolyte Interphase, Wanli Xu

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Depletion of fossil fuels and concerns over CO2 emission have driven the development of electric vehicles (EVs) with high-energy efficiencies and low emissions. Lithium-ion rechargeable batteries, compared to lead acid, nickel cadmium, nickel metal hydroxide, and other popular rechargeable batteries, are considered as the most promising candidates for EVs for their high operating voltage and high energy density. Silicon nanowires are considered as lithium-ion battery anodes for their ultra high capacity at 4200 mAh·g-1 (10× higher than conventional graphite anode), as well as stress accommodation for reversible lithiation and delithiation. Silicon nanowires were fabricated via metal assisted electroless etching, and …

Stochastic Modelling Of Eukaryotic Cell Cycle, Murali Krushna Koneru

LSU Master's Theses

Stochastic models are developed to capture the inherent stochasticity of the biochemical networks associated to many biological processes. The objective of the present thesis is to present a detailed picture of stochastic approach for the mathematical modeling of eukaryotic cell cycle, to demonstrate an important application of such model in chemotherapy and to present a methodology for selecting the model parameters. The stochastic cell cycle model, developed using stochastic chemical kinetics approach, leads to the formation of an infinite dimensional differential equation in probabilities of system being in a specific state. Using Monte Carlo simulations of this model, dynamics of …

Numerical Studies Of Flow In Porous Media Using An Unstructured Approach, Nathan Matthew Lane

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Flow and transport in porous media is relevant to many areas of engineering and science including groundwater hydrology and the recovery of oil and gas. Porous materials are characterized by the unique shape and connectivity of the internal void structures which give rise to a large range in macroscopic transport properties. Historically an inability to accurately describe the internal pore-structure has prevented detailed study of the role of pore structure on transport. In recent decades however, the combination of high resolution imaging technologies with computational modeling has seen the development of fundamental pore-scale techniques for studying flow in porous media. …

A Biomimic Self-Healing Shape Memory Polymer Based Syntactic Foam For Smart Structural Composites, Jones Nji

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This study explored the development of a new self-healing Polystyrene Shape Memory Polymer (PSMP) based syntactic foam for service life extension in structural polymeric composites. The objective was to self-heal structural-length scale damage in an autonomous, efficient, timely and repeatable manner at the molecular-length scale. Self-healing is achieved through a novel two step close-then-heal (CTH) self-healing scheme, designed to mimic the natural biological process of wound healing in humans. A new methodology to fabricate three-dimensional (3-D) fiber reinforced shape memory polymer syntactic foam for structural applications was developed. The effect of impact energy on the ability for the 3-D fiber …

Photochemical Reaction Products Of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons Adsorbed At An Air-Water Interface, Franz Stefan Ehrenhauser

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) are ubiquitous pollutants resulting from incomplete combustion and hence normally unavoidable. The kinetic aspects of the environmental degradation process have received considerable attention; however, not much is known about the degradation products themselves. Aqueous solutions of naphthalene, acenaphthene, 9H-fluorene, phenanthrene and pyrene were subjected to UVB light in a bulk-phase and a thin-film reactor to assess the identity of the formed photodegradation products. To aide in the challenging analysis of these mixtures, a novel analytical technique based on high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) coupled to UV diode-array detection and dopant-assisted atmospheric pressure photoionization mass …

Bio-Implantable Microdevices And Structures For Functional Electrical Stimulation Applications, Naga Srinivas Korivi

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation describes the development of microstructures and devices for applications in functional electrical stimulation. A nerve cuff electrode design has been developed for applications in neural electrical stimulation and recording, which addresses limitations with existing cuff electrodes. The developed clip-on micro-cuff electrode design consists of a naturally closed cuff with inner diameter in the micro-scale or above. A novel pinch-hinge feature allows a user to easily open the cuff and place it on target nerve tissue for stimulation or recording purposes. Upon release of the pinch-hinge, the cuff assumes its normally closed nature. The device conducts and reads electrical …

Blind Yield Detection In Steel Structure For Automatic Nondestructive Testing Using Ultrasonic Sensors, Hongting Zhang

LSU Master's Theses

Detection of yield zones using nondestructive testing (NDT) technology for assessing the structural integrity of the existing steel buildings/bridges is extremely important. The average energy over the “effective echoes” (in “good” signal quality) is a robust feature for the yield detection in steel structures. Nevertheless, this average-energy feature extraction requires rigorous manual data-acquisition and human operation. Therefore, in this thesis, we make the first-ever attempt to design a totally-blind and automatic steel-structure yielddetection mechanism, which requires neither the a priori information about the signal nor the human effort in calibration, operation, or data analysis. This new scheme is built upon …

Alternative Pretreatment Of Sorghum Bagasse For Bio-Ethanol Production, Cong Chen

LSU Master's Theses

The majority of the world’s energy needs are currently met through the use of fossil fuels. The possible depletion of fossil fuel resources and environmental concerns has prompted the search for alternative renewable and environmentally friendly energy resources. The goal of this research was to develop a microwave-assisted dilute ammonia pretreatment technology for the conversion of sweet sorghum into ethanol. Conversion of biomass into ethanol requires a pretreatment step to open up the structure and decouple the cellulose, and hemicellulose and lignin in the biomass. In the first study, sorghum bagasse was pretreated with 28% ammonium hydroxide, and water at …

Assessing The Suitability Of Various Feedstocks For Biomass Gasification, Akshya Sharma

LSU Master's Theses

Ten different types of feedstocks available in Louisiana were assessed for their suitability to produce SYNGAS in a down-draft biomass gasifier. The feedstocks tested for this research include: pine pellets, hardwood pellets, cypress mulch, pine bark nuggets, corn stover pellets, switchgrass pellets, sugarcane bagasse pellets, dairy manure pellets, and poultry litter pellets. The feedstocks were first analyzed for volatile & ash content, high heating value, moisture, and mass density. Feedstocks that met the analytical criteria and available in a form that is suitable for the down-draft gasifier at LSU were tested for gasification. The temperature profile within the gasifier and …

Simulation Of Cell Seeding And Retention In A Disordered Polymeric Scaffold, Tejaswini Narayana

LSU Master's Theses

Historically, bone repair has been performed using materials like metals, ceramics, cements and bioactive glass. The major problem with all these materials is that they do not perform the necessary non-structural functions of bone. Engineered tissue, created by growing bone cells on porous biodegradable material (scaffold), will address this issue with current bone repair techniques. Improving engineered tissue treatments requires a thorough understanding of factors affecting cell seeding and proliferation inside a disordered porous material which is not feasible using current experimental techniques. A model for particle transport in a disordered porous material that can predict the particle deposition pattern …

Integrated Weather Sensor Platform And Decision Support System For Improved Sweet Potato Production, Jose Pablo Rojas Jimenez

LSU Master's Theses

Water management represents an essential component in all agricultural activities, where significant improvements can be achieved through the implementation of field measuring devices and irrigation scheduling models. The methods that integrate these tools may be based on information regarding the soil, crop, and weather. Evapotranspiration (ET) is one of the most important components of the soil water-balance used in modeling. A number of estimation methods have been developed to determine Reference Evapotranspiration (ETo) under various types of weather conditions. In this research, an analysis was conducted between different ETo estimation methods and ETo calculated from soil water content measurements and …