Digital Commons Network^™

Exhumation Of The Nacimiento Block: A Thermochronologic Analysis, Lisa Marie Arnold Lori

Masters Theses

"Through the analysis of both U-Pb and (U-Th)/He ages from detrital zircon grains we can constrain thermal histories by establishing ages which correspond to crystallization and exhumation events, respectively. This combined geo-/thermochronologic approach is used here to constrain the history of the polyphase Nacimiento fault. This fault traverses central and southern California and has accumulated at least 150 km of slip since Late Cretaceous time. Major displacements along the structure occurred between 75 and 56 Ma, with Neogene to Holocene strike-slip remobilization linked to the San Andreas fault system. Detrital zircon U-Pb geochronology from Franciscan subduction assemblages west of the …

Characterization Of Insertion Sequence Is605 In Halanaerobium Hydrogeniformans, Michael C. Sadler

Masters Theses

"Insertion sequences are the smallest prokaryotic transposable elements. These genes play a significant evolutionary role by promoting genome plasticity. Insertion sequences are highly diverse elements that have largely been uncharacterized. As such, the ability to accurately identify, annotate, and infer genomic impact of insertion sequences is lacking. The study of new insertion sequences contributes knowledge to their annotation and evolution. Halanaerobium hydrogeniformans is a unique organism with an abnormally high number of insertion sequences. A family of insertion sequences, IS200/605, showed several interesting distinctions from other elements in the genome, including severe open reading frame degradation, and was characterized in …

Characterization Of Fracture Initiation In Non-Cylindrical Buckle Folds Using 3d Finite Element Analysis, Eli Jacob Steinbeck

Masters Theses

"The spatial distribution of fracture sets associated with buckle folds has been well documented in field studies. There are difficulties, however, in placing accurate constraints on the timing of the initiation of individual fracture sets during the deformation history of the fold under in-situ conditions. This study investigates specific conditions that give rise to the initiation of various fracture sets in the hinge and limb of a pericline, based on an analysis of the effective stress evolution during the processes of buckling and erosional unloading. A 3D finite element modeling approach is used to simulate the effective stress evolution in …

Carbon Transfer From Magnesia-Graphite Ladle Refractories To Ultra-Low Carbon Steel, Andrew Arthur Russo

Masters Theses

"Ultra-low carbon steels are utilized in processes which require maximum ductility. Increases in interstitial carbon lower the ductility of steel; therefore, it is important to examine possible sources of carbon. The refractory ladle lining is one such source. Ladle refractories often contain graphite for its desirable thermal shock and slag corrosion resistance. This graphite is a possible source of carbon increase in ultra-low carbon steels. The goal of this research is to understand and evaluate the mechanisms by which carbon transfers to ultra-low carbon steel from magnesia-graphite ladle refractory.

Laboratory dip tests were performed in a vacuum induction furnace under …

Managing Risks Of Market Price Uncertainty For A Microgrid Operation, Sriram Raghavan

Masters Theses

"After deregulation of electricity in the United States, the day-ahead and real-time markets allow load serving entities and generation companies to bid and purchase/sell energy under the supervision of the independent system operator (ISO). The electricity market prices are inherently uncertain, and can be highly volatile. The main objective of this thesis is to hedge against the risk from the uncertainty of the market prices when purchasing/selling energy from/to the market. The energy manager can also schedule distributed generators (DGs) and storage of the microgrid to meet the demand, in addition to energy transactions from the market. The risk measure …

Understanding User Experience In Gaming, Sri Chaitanya Sanaboina

Masters Theses

"This research examines the effect of virtual reality gaming versus desktop based gaming on spatial presence, social presence, and intention to play. It draws on cognitive theory of presence, social presence theory, and theory of reasoned action to generate the research hypotheses and explain the observed phenomenon. A within-subject experimental design (N=53) was used to evaluate the effects of virtual reality versus desktop based gaming. The results suggest that both spatial presence and social presence were significantly enhanced in the virtual reality gaming environment while intention to play was significantly greater in the desktop based gaming environment"--Abstract, page iii.

Artificial Neural Network Approach To Predict Blast-Induced Ground Vibration, Airblast And Rock Fragmentation, Raymond Ninnang Tiile

Masters Theses

"Blasting has been widely used as an economical and cheap way of rock breakage in mining and civil engineering applications. An optimal blast yields the best fragmentation in a safe, economic and environmentally friendly manner. The degree of fragmentation is vital as it determines to a large extent the utilization of equipment, productivity and mill throughput. Explosive energy, besides rock fragmentation, creates health and safety issues such as ground vibration, air blast, fly rock, and back breaks among others. As a result, the explosive energy impacts structures and buildings located in the vicinity of the blasting operation, and causes human …

Bridging The Gap Between Supply Chain And Consumer Experience, Cui Zou

Masters Theses

Many researchers agree that supply chain management is at the root of addressing customer values and increasing customer satisfaction. However, in reality the route to accomplishing these goals is not so clearly defined. The studies herein attempt to shed some insight on a special perspective to bridge the gap between supply chain and customer experience. The ideas behind these studies explore the notion that customer experience can be impacted by a vast spectrum of factors from suppliers to even the specific mobile commerce (m-commerce) tools they use.

To gain insight into the supplier dimension of the supply chain, a survey …

Conceptual Parameters Necessary For Modeling Wettability Alteration In An Enhanced Smart Brine-Chalk System, Ahmed Abdulkareem Hussein Albahrani

Masters Theses

"Achieving higher recovery of oil from proven carbonate reserves around the world is not an easy task. One promising new method, especially for carbonate reservoirs, is the use of "Smart Water" technology, which is an injection water with carefully determined, optimal ionic composition and salinity. Recent experiments have shown good recovery results, but the mechanism of wettability alteration by this fluid are still not well understood. The goal of this study is to review the high and optimal salinity and ionic composition literature plus perform dimensional analysis of key variables in order to shed light on the physical and chemical …

Analysis Of Va Sacramento Medical Center Capacity Using Discrete Event Simulation, Tatiana Alejandra Cardona

Masters Theses

"The development of simulation models continues to provide effective solutions to a wide range of problems in healthcare systems. In the research presented within this thesis is the development of a representative and validated discrete event simulation model for the purpose of evaluating additional capacity. The study consists of a detailed exploratory analysis, verification and validation tests of the simulation results, and a thorough design of experiments. The exploratory analysis consisted of developing simulation models that provide similar characteristics found in the data. The design of experiments consisted of generating scenarios of various bed additions in the hospital units of …

Exploring Reservoir Connectivity With Production Data: Two New Methods And A New Technique, Ghazwan Faisal Jasim Al-Khmaysawee

Masters Theses

"This study presents two new, simple methods to explore reservoir connectivity, which has a significant impact on field development strategy. Identifying reservoir connectivity during primary depletion plays an important role in achieving the most cost-effective and highest production possible. It is also very important in future secondary and tertiary oil recovery, particularly when costs dictate a limited number of wells such as those in deepwater environments.

The presented methods are reciprocal-productivity index versus total field material-balance time trend lines and reciprocal-productivity index versus time trend lines. Those two methods are quick, simple, inexpensive, and only need rate and pressure data …

Sensitivity Analysis Of Geomechanical Parameters In A Two-Way Coupling Reservoir Simulation, Hector Gabriel Donoso

Masters Theses

"Currently reservoir simulators model geomechanical effects such as compaction, subsidence, fault reactivation, breach of the seal integrity, etc. using only the rock compressibility to change the pore volume. However, rock compressibility as a scalar quantity is unfit to represent the true rock mechanics in the reservoir. In order to accurately represent geomechanical effects in a reservoir simulation, a two-way coupling simulation of the stress analyzer and the reservoir simulator was done. Based on the poroelasticity theory during the production or depletion of the reservoir the porosity and permeability changed due to the stress or pore pressure changes.

A sensitivity analysis …

Design Methodology For Behavioral Surface Roughness Modeling And High-Speed Test Board Design, Xinyao Guo

Masters Theses

"A behavioral model is introduced, which can predict low-loss and low surface roughness transmission line time- and frequency- domain performances. High data rates push for better performance of PCB transmission lines. However, the roughness of copper foil has a considerable impact on the signal integrity performance of transmission lines at high data rates and long propagation distance. Existing models for low-loss transmission line surface roughness are inadequate. A new behavioral model to represent the surface roughness has been developed. The model is applied in the design process by adding a dispersive term to the bulk dielectric permittivity to represent the …

Accurate Imepdance Measurement Of O Clip And Near Field Coupling Estimation Using Equivalent Dipole Moment Model, Qiaolei Huang

Masters Theses

"As cellphones and electronic devices moves towards higher date rates yet smaller form factor, designer face more electromagnetic interference (EMI) and radio frequency interference (RFI) problems. In order to better guide the early design; designers want to know the exact electrical performance of small components, coupling estimation between components.

In Section 1, a de-embedding method is proposed to measure the impedance of an innovative O-shape spring contact, for frequency up to 30 GHz. The measurements are performed under the same condition when it's actually used in cellphones. De-embedding method will be applied to remove the fixture effects of the measurement …

Bioresponsive Polymer Coating On Nanoparticles, Tunyaboon Laemthong

Masters Theses

"Nanotechnology incorporated with molecular biology became a promising way to treat cancer. The size of nanoparticles enables them to overcome the side effects noticed in cancer treatment like chemotherapy and surgery. Various types and shapes of nanoparticles have been synthesized and used in drug delivery to tumor sites. However, one of problems of using these nanoparticles is the aggregation after injecting them into human body due to flow rate of bloodstream. The coagulation and aggregation will result in clogging blood vessel and lower therapeutic efficacy.

In this thesis, a solution to the aggregation problem was proposed, which is coating biopolymer …

Study And Development Of Robust Preformed Particle Gels For Conformance Control, Yifu Long

Masters Theses

"To improve the oil recovery of mature reservoirs, technologies referring to conformance control have been widely developed and implemented. Among various technologies, preformed particle gel (PPG) treatment has attracted increasing attentions. PPGs, as a kind of deformable plyometric superabsorbent, could be pumped through injection wells as plugging agents to block the fracture or high-permeability zone in a reservoir.

In decade usage of PPGs, an intensively employed material is poly(acrylamide) (PAM) based hydrogel. However, conventional PAM gel did reveal deficient in formidable conditions, such as formations with high temperature and high salinity. Therefore, a novel PPG based on starch-grafting-poly(acrylamide)/nano-composite (SAC) hydrogel …

Hidden Markov Model Based Non-Intrusive Load Monitoring Using Active And Reactive Power Consumption, Paulomi Nandy

Masters Theses

"This work presents a residential appliance disaggregation technique to help achieve the fundamental goal in Non-Intrusive Load Monitoring (NILM) problem i.e. simple breakdown of energy consumption based on the appliance type in a household. The appliances are modeled using Hidden Markov Model by utilizing both their active and reactive power consumption data. The data was recorded by attaching Power Standards Lab PQube measurement device to the appliances. Granularity of the power readings of the disaggregated appliance matches with that of the reading collected for individual device. The accuracy of the model is compared with other models developed using only active …

Computational Fluid Dynamic Analysis In High Permeability Hydraulic Fractured Horizontal Gas Wells, Hrithu Vasudevan

Masters Theses

"Hydraulic fracturing of horizontal wells in unconventional reservoirs has become the dominant type of well completion performed in the United States. In very low permeability reservoirs (~.00001-.0001 mD), the wellbore is aligned with the minimum horizontal stress, and the completion includes multiple transverse fractures. These fractures may be placed with either open hole sleeve type completion systems (OHMS), or cased hole plug and perf systems (P-n-P). In slightly higher permeability reservoirs (1 to 10 mD) multiple longitudinal fractures have been found to be preferred to completions with transverse fractures.

This study presents an evaluation of gas well productivity for both …

Development And Testing Of A Fracture Energy-Based Model Of Explosive Asteroid Deflection, James A. Veerkamp

Masters Theses

"While asteroid deflection has been studied for the past half century, efforts have generally been directed towards methods that attempt to minimize disruption of the rock body. In order to widen the base of research, a fracture energy-based model of asteroid fragmentation was developed and applied to both asteroid scale and lab testable scale cases. Modeling of the orbital case suggests the capability to deflect a 100 meter diameter asteroid on a 10 year timescale. The model's predicted energy transfer is then compared to laboratory testing using a ballistic pendulum. The results of this testing suggest that the model as …

Data Analysis For Driving Pattern Identification And Driver's Behavior Modeling In A Freeway Work Zone, Hari Narayanan Vijaya Raghavan Nadathur

Masters Theses

"A variety of methods are used by Departments of Transportation (DOT) for informing drivers about upcoming work zones. One such method is work zone signage configuration. Signage plays an important role in work zones to provide guidance to drivers when conditions on the road vary from normal. Therefore, it is necessary to evaluate the effectiveness of different configurations, by law, before implementation of new signage designs that deviate from the national standards.

The Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) is a compilation of national standards for all traffic control devices, including road markings, highway signs, and traffic signals. In …

Correlation Anaylsis Of Magnesite Dissolution Rate And Magnesite Spatial Distribution, Yao Wang

Masters Theses

"This thesis presents a correlation analysis of the spatial distribution and permeability of magnesite dissolution and focuses on its overall rate and average porosity. Magnesite dissolution is affected by several aspects.

A reservoir's large spatial distribution can make capturing the magnesite dissolution difficult, so in this study, a variogram was built in Petrel using a percentage variation of magnesite and sand. The variogram also handles different major and minor directions in anisotropy. After building the magnesite model, simulation of magnesite dissolution was achieved in Cruch Flow to get the magnesite dissolution rate and average porosity.

For correlation analysis, a regression …

Design Of An Adaptive Force And Stiffness Controlled Compliant Device For Robotic Polishing, Mohammad Masud Parvez

Masters Theses

"Polishing is a repetitive task done in an unhealthy environment. Often more than half of the manufacturing time is required to polish a die. The manual polishing process is a tedious work actively rely on a skilled human worker. Industrial Robot has replaced the human in performing these tasks. For robotic polishing to control the polishing force, an active compliant device is used. Due to the compressibility of air, a pneumatic system is preferred as the actuator of the device. The force of the actuator is controlled by regulating air pressure in both chambers of the cylinder. However, to improve …

A Comprehensive Study Of Lost Circulation With Application In The South Rumaila Field, Iraq, Abo Taleb Tuama Al-Hameedi

Masters Theses

“Drilling mud losses and problems associated with lost circulation while drilling account for a major expense in drilling oil and gas wells. By industry estimates, more than 2 billion USD is spent annually to combat and mitigate this problem (Ali et al., 2015).

The South Rumaila field in Iraq is one of the largest oilfields in the world. Wells drilled in this field are highly susceptible to lost circulation problems when drilling through the Dammam, Hartha and Shuaiba formations. Lost circulation events range from seepage losses to complete loss of the borehole and are a critical issue in field development. …

Nx 10 For Engineering Design -- Learning Edition, Ming-Chuan Leu, Amir Ghazanfari, Krishna C. R. Kolan

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

NX is one of the world’s most advanced and tightly integrated CAD/CAM/CAE product development solution. Spanning the entire range of product development, NX delivers immense value to enterprises of all sizes. It simplifies complex product designs, thus speeding up the process of introducing products to the market.

The NX software integrates knowledge-based principles, industrial design, geometric modeling, advanced analysis, graphic simulation, and concurrent engineering. The software has powerful hybrid modeling capabilities by integrating constraint-based feature modeling and explicit geometric modeling. In addition to modeling standard geometry parts, it allows the user to design complex free-form shapes such as airfoils and …

Direct Position Control Of Dielectric Barrier Discharge Filaments, Matthew C. Paliwoda, Joshua L. Rovey, Mitchell Wainwright

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Controllable patterns of plasma filaments are being explored for reconfigurable metamaterial applications. When operated in a filamentary mode, volume dielectric barrier discharges are known to produce patterns of self-organizing plasma filaments. In this work the presence and intensity of a single filament at a fixed location is controlled by an isolated and independently electrically adjusted needle electrode. Time-averaged normalized light intensity, current, and voltage are measured while varying the voltage of the needle through a self-biasing resistance. For a 7.5 kV, 3.2 kHz DBD, the needle-controlled filament discharges similar to adjacent filaments at low potentials but stops discharging at a …

Mass Spectrometry Of Selected Ionic Liquids In Capillary Electrospray At Nanoliter Volumetric Flow Rates, Shawn W. Miller, Benjamin D. Prince, Raymond J. Bemish, Joshua L. Rovey

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Capillary-based electrospray thrusters allow user-enabled control of the volumetric flow rate of the propellant. This control, coupled with mass spectrometry techniques spanning a large mass-to-charge range, enables elucidation of the composition of the electrospray beam and through further analyses, a better understanding of the physics occurring at the liquid/vacuum interface. In this work, mass spectra of selected ionic liquids electro sprayed from a capillary emitter are measured, using time-of-flight mass spectrometry, over a wide range of volumetric flow rates. The time-of-flight mass spectrometer enables simultaneous acquisition over a mass-to-charge range of 20 amu/q to ~500,000 amu/q in a single pulse …

Quantification Of Radicals Generated In A Sonicator, K. O. Badmus, J. O. Tijani, C. P. Eze, O. O. Fatoba, L. F. Petrik

Mining Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The hydroxyl radical (OH•) is a powerful oxidant produced as a consequence of cavitation in water. It can react nonspecifically in breaking down persistent organic pollutants in water into their mineral form. It can also recombine to form hydrogen peroxide which is very useful in water treatment. In this study, terephthalic acid (TA) and potassium iodide dosimetry were used to quantify and investigate the behavior of the generated OH radical in a laboratory scale sonicator. The 2-hydroxyl terephthalic acid (HTA) formed during terephthalic acid dosimetry was determined by optical fiber spectrometer. The production rate of HTA served as a means …

The Coupled Photothermal Reaction And Transport In A Laser Additive Metal Nanolayer Simultaneous Synthesis And Patterning For Flexible Electronics, S. Tsai, Y. Liu, Heng Pan, C. Liu, M. Lee

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

No abstract provided.

Stress-Induced Birefringence And Fabrication Of In-Fiber Polarization Devices By Controlled Femtosecond Laser Irradiations, Lei Yuan, Baokai Cheng, Jie Huang, Jie Liu, Hanzheng Wang, Xinwei Lan, Hai Xiao

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Optical birefringence was created in a single-mode fiber by introducing a series of symmetric cuboid stress rods on both sides of the fiber core along the fiber axis using a femtosecond laser. The stress-induced birefringence was estimated to be 2.4 x 10^-4 at the wavelength of 1550 nm. By adding the desired numbers of stressed rods, an in-fiber quarter waveplate was fabricated with a insertion loss of 0.19 dB. The stressinduced birefringence was further explored to fabricate in-fiber polarizers based on the polarization-dependent long-period fiber grating (LPFG) structure. A polarization extinction ratio of more than 20 dB was observed …

Decomposition Of A Double Salt Ionic Liquid Monopropellant On Heated Metallic Surfaces, Steven P. Berg, Joshua L. Rovey

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

A monopropellant consisting of 59% hydroxylammonium nitrate and 41% 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium ethyl sulfate by mass is tested for decomposition on heated platinum, rhenium, and titanium surfaces. It was found that the propellant decomposes at 165 °C on titanium, which is the decomposition temperature of HAN. The onset temperature for decomposition on platinum was 85 °C and on rhenium it was 125 °C. This suggests that platinum and rhenium act as catalysts for the decomposition of the monopropellant. From the experimental data, Arrhenius-type reaction rate parameters were calculated. The activation energy for platinum was 3 times less than that of titanium suggesting …