Digital Commons Network^™

The Construction Of The U.S.S. Monitor, Stephen C. Thompson

History Theses & Dissertations

In the centuries preceding the American Civil War, the large wooden sailing ship was the mainstay of the world's navies. Then, in the spring of 1861, Stephen Mallory, Secretary of the Navy of the Confederate States of America, issued a challenge to the United States Navy: the South was going to fight the numerically superior wooden Navy of the U.S. in ironclad ships. The Union responded to the challenge with its own ironclad, the Monitor, but the South had the advantage of an earlier start.

The Merrimac was designed and built to fight wooden ships; the Monitor was created to …

Topology And Grid Adaption For High-Speed Flow Computations, Jamshid Samareh Abolhassani

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Theses & Dissertations

This study investigates the effects of grid topology and grid adaption on numerical solutions of the Navier-Stokes equations. In the first part of this study, a general procedure is presented for computation of high-speed flow over complex three-dimensional configurations. This includes the grid generation and solution algorithm for Navier-Stokes equations in a general three-dimensional curvilinear coordinate system. The flow field is simulated on the surface of a Butler wing in a uniform stream. Results are presented for Mach number 3.5 and a Reynolds number of 2,000,000. The O-type and H-type grids have been used for this study, and the results …

Direct Simulation Of Hypersonic Transitional Flows Over Blunt Slender Bodies, Vincent Cuda Jr.

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Hypersonic transitional flow has been studied using the Direct Simulation Monte Carlo method. The cylindrically blunted wedge and spherically blunted cone were examined for body half angles of 0°, 5° and 10°, at a flight velocity of 7.5 km/s, zero angle of incidence and altitudes of 70 to 100 km. Those geometries and flow conditions are important considerations for hypersonic vehicles currently under design. Surface chemistry was examined for diffuse, finite-catalytic surfaces. Nonequilibrium chemistry and nonequilibrium thermodynamics were considered for both configurations at all altitudes.

Numerical simulations showed that rarefied gas effects, such as surface temperature jump and velocity slip, …

Stress Assignment In English, Said Abdessamad

English Theses & Dissertations

The aim of this thesis is an examination of some aspects of word stress assignment in English. A survey of the literature shows that there has been controversy regarding the status of the phonological cycle as a mode of rule application as well as the role of suffixes in stress placement. To shed some light on this controversy, various hypotheses about the phonological cycle and the rule of suffixes are presented, among other related issues.

In regard to the phonological cycle, this paper is limited to an exposition of the different hypotheses about the validity of the cycle as a …

Cross-Shore Sediment Transport In Relation To Waves And Currents In A Groin Compartment, Hyo Jin Kang

OES Theses and Dissertations

In nearshore areas waves are generally irregular, and the irregular wave-induced currents have different peak velocities (magnitude asymmetry) and durations (duration asymmetry) between forward and backward motions. These asymmetries may produce a net cross-shore sediment transport in one direction. The sediment transport mostly occurs as bedload where the waves are non-breaking.

Sediment transport on a sloping bed is also affected by gravity, and accordingly the Shields parameter should be re-evaluated for a grain on a sloping bed. It was also found that the affect of a steady current that interacts nonlinearly with the waves was important for the cross-shore sediment …

Processes Which Create And Destroy Stratification In The South Atlantic Bight During Gabex Ii, Rebecca Lynn Lovingood

OES Theses and Dissertations

The stratification present on the South Atlantic Bight (SAB) during the summertime is influenced by creative forces, namely surface heating, precipitation, fresh water runoff and advection of Gulf Stream water, and destructive forces, these being wind, bottom currents, tides, evaporation and cooling. During the summer of 1981 the Georgia Bight Experiment II (GABEX II) was conducted to evaluate the Gulf Stream intrusions on the shelf dynamics. Calculations using potential energy as an indicator of stratification showed that the mixing forces were strong enough to destroy the stratification if the advection of buoyancy is ignored. During this period, however, the potential …

Laminar Viscous Effects On Longitudinal Dispersion In Tidal Froude Models, Larry H. White

OES Theses and Dissertations

A laboratory investigation was designed to test the ability of a tidal Froude model operated according to the minimum Reynolds number criterion of 1400 to simulate the longitudinal dispersion of its turbulent, laboratory prototype in the absence of depth distortion and density stratification. To examine the model's performance, comparative tracer-dye dispersion tests were conducted in the model and in the prototype to determine spatial and temporal longitudinal dye distributions. Froude similitude of cross-sectional mean tide heights and current velocities was achieved. The minimum Reynolds number criterion did not guarantee turbulent flow throughout all tidal stages, prolonged periods of laminar flow …

Computation Of 2-D And 3-D Natural Convection Heat Transfer In Closed And Vented Cavities, T. O. Mohieldin

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The natural convective heat transfer in closed and vented cavities has been studied numerically, using the primitive variables formulation. A two-and three-dimensional enclosure, and a two-dimensional Trombe Wall channel geometries are considered. The flow has been assumed to remain Laminar, and Boussinesq approximation is invoked for solving the governing equations, The finite-difference method used in this study, is based on the SIMPLER algorithm which uses a combination of central and upwind differencing scheme to obtain stable numerical results.

For both geometries, namely the closed and vented cavities, the fundamental nature of the fluid dynamic and heat transfer characteristics is revealed …

The Influence Of Transverse Magnetic Fields On The Current-Voltage Characteristics Of Glow Discharges, Thomas J. Powers

Electrical & Computer Engineering Theses & Dissertations

In low pressure discharges, operated in electronegative gas mixtures to the right of the Paschen curve minimum, the discharge resistance can be increased by application of transverse magnetic fields. In this range of operation, both the mean free path and the larmor radius are small compared to the discharge dimensions. The relationship between the electric field and the magnetic field is therefore controlled by electron- molecule collisional processes. Specifically, the magnetically induced increase in the discharge resistance is caused by a downward shift of the electron energy distribution which leads to an increase in attachment and a reduction in ionization. …

Software Tools For Performance Evaluation Of Concurrent Processing, Rodrogo A. Obando

Electrical & Computer Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The development and use of software tools for performance evaluation of concurrent processing is presented in this thesis. The particular concurrent processing architecture proposed by Stoughton and Mielke is investigated. The modelling of this architecture is based on Petri net theory and it can be studied making use of circuit theory. Computation of lower bounds for Time Between Outputs (TBO) and Time Between Input and Output (TBIO) can be accomplished by using principles of circuit theory, among others. This new modelling needs to be deeply evaluated and studied. This evaluation and study is accomplished with the tools developed and presented …

Structural Sensitivity Analysis On A Parallel Computer, Niu Kian Teck

Civil & Environmental Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Substructuring formulation using adjoint variable approach has been developed for design sensitivity analysis and optimization of large scale structures. In this study, the procedure for statics and sensitivity analysis are re-examined to propose a programming scheme which can be implemented either in a sequential or parallel environment. The computational times of the substructuring formulation using a single processor versus multi-processors are compared to see the effectiveness of the formulation in the concurrent computing environment.

Determination Of Amino Acids And Chloramino Acids In Municipal Wastewater, Jeffrey Taylor Jewell

Chemistry & Biochemistry Theses & Dissertations

It is well known that unchlorinated municipal wastewater contains high levels of organic and inorganic amino nitrogen compounds, the single most abundant amino-N species being ammonia. Upon chlorination, these compounds are transformed almost instantaneously and quantitatively into N-chloramino derivatives. The organic chloramines have been shown to

interfere with disinfection and have lower disinfection capacities than their inorganic counterpart monochloramine. The environmental effects imposed by the discharge of these compounds into natural receiving waters is unknown. This study has shown that amino acid precursors for N-chloramino acids range in concentration from 1.4 X 10^-7 M to 9.0 X 10^{-7 …}

A Numerical Study Of Three-Dimensional Vortex Breakdown, Robert Edward Spall

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Theses & Dissertations

A numerical simulation of vortex breakdown using the time-dependent Navier-Stokes equations was performed. Unlike previous studies, the numerical algorithm, formulated in terms of the velocity and vorticity, was not restricted to axisymmetric flows. Prototype vortices were parameterized in terms of their Reynolds number and Rossby number. Two cases were studied extensively. In one case, a vortex was imbedded in a uniform free stream. In the other case, the axial velocity of the free stream was decelerated in the streamwise direction. For both cases breakdown occurred when the Rossby number was below a critical value. Vortex lines, particle traces and velocity …

On A Moving Boundary Problem Of Transitional Ballistics, Jen-Ing G. Hwang

Mathematics & Statistics Theses & Dissertations

A major problem which arises in computer simulation of the firing of a gun weapon is the development of numerical schemes which effectively account for the physics of projectile motion. The chief difficulty is that away from the projectile the calculation is ordinarily accomplished on a fixed numerical grid, whereas due to projectile movement some cells of the grid near the projectile undergo volume changes as the calculation proceeds. A local finite volume scheme is developed which accounts for the expansion or compression of cells fore-and-aft of the projectile. Through the process of numerical experiment, the effectiveness of the scheme …

The Effects Of Nonlinear Damping On The Large Deflection Response Of Structures Subjected To Random Excitation, Chunchu Bhavani Prasad

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Effects of both nonlinear damping and large deflection stiffness are included in the theoretical analysis in an attempt to explain the experimental phenomena of aircraft panels excited at high sound pressure levels; that is the broadening of the strain response peak and the increase in modal frequency. Beams and symmetrically laminated plates subjected to acoustic excitation are considered in the analyses. The excitations are ergodic and Gaussian with zero mean. A polynomial containing both linear and nonlinear damping terms is considered as a damping model. Galerkin's method is used to derive modal equations. Direct equivalent linearization is used to solve …

The Stratigraphy Of Late Quaternary Deposits In The Payan Mining District, Narino, Colombia, South America, Richard Alan Barringer

OES Theses and Dissertations

Late Quaternary terrace deposits along the Rio Magui consist of cobble or pebble gravels with thick volcanic ash caps. These gravel terrace deposits unconformably overlie a cemented volcanic tuff (Ananias Formation), and are subdivided into two formations (Antigua and Panambi formations) based on the cobble lithology and size, depth of weathering, geomorphic relationships, and heavy mineral assemblages. Carbon-14 dates from wood suggest that the Antigua fan deposits are older (greater than 40,000 YBP) than the lower Panambi alluvium (less tahn 25,000 YBP) which is restricted to lower terraces within the modern river valleys.

Two separate ash units identified by differences …

Finite Element Methodology For Nonlinear Free And Harmonic Forced Vibrations Of Beam And Plate Structures, Kamolphan Decha-Umphai

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The literature and experiments have shown that nonlinear vibrations produce significant effects in structural analysis, especially the frequency-amplitude-force relation and the analysis of strain. An analysis was developed to predict both the frequency-amplitude-force relation and strains of beam and plate structures. Two finite element methods were developed, namely, the iterative single-mode method (method I) and the multiple-mode method (method II). The harmonic force matrix was developed to analyze nonlinear forced vibrations. Nonlinear free vibration was a special case of the general forced vibration by setting the harmonic force matrix equal to zero. The harmonic force matrix represents the external applied …

Experimental Study Of Shock Wave Interference Heating On A Cylindrical Leading Edge, Allan R. Wieting

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Theses & Dissertations

An experimental study of shock wave interference heating on a cylindrical leading edge representative of the cowl of a rectangular hypersonic engine inlet at Mach numbers of 6.3, 6.5, and 8.0 is presented. Stream Reynolds numbers ranged from 0.5 x 10⁶ to 4.9 x 10⁶ per foot and stream total temperature ranged from 2100 °R to 3400 °R. The model consisted of a 3-inch-diameter cylinder and a shock generation wedge articulated to angles of 10, 12.5, and 15 degrees. The primary goal of this study was to obtain a fundamental understanding of the fluid mechanics of shock wave …

Bilateral Eda Measurement Of Females During Simple And Complex Listening Tasks, Rory Craig Montero

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The present study sought to measure hemispheric response to positive, negative and neutral stimuli using a dichotic listening paradigm. Subjects were required to attend to either their right or left ear to enhance any potential hemispheric asymmetry that might occur during emotional processing. Measurement of bilateral EDA was conducted while subjects were presented positive, negative and neutral stimuli both dichotically and binaurally. Twelve subjects met the research criteria and their responses were used in the analyses. A 2x2x2x2x5 mixed model ANOVA was conducted. Significant main effects for Trial, Ear Attention and Stimuli were found as well as a significant interaction …

The Effects Of Task Difficulty On Pupil Diameter In A Choice Reaction Time Task, Coleen Thornton

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The effects of task difficulty on pupil diameter in a choice reaction time (CRT) task were investigated. Pupil diameter data were collected from 24 subjects using the NASA Langley Research Center oculometer system. Task difficulty was defined by the number of paired stimulus-response alternatives and stimulus-response compatibility. A unique S-R ensemble which required an oculometeric (eye-movement) response and graphic symbols as stimuli was employed in the CRT task. The procedures used replicated Hick's Law for the first time on an oculometer. The S-R compatibility effect was not found to influence this linear trend. The results indicated that pupil diameters for …

Community Development Through Industry And Education Partnerships: An Integrated Evaluability Assessment Of A Cooperative Training Alliance Between Industry And An Urban Community College, Richard E. Witte

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

Conceptualizing community college/industry training linkages as unified programs with established evaluable outcomes will allow practical assessment of their value as a community development tool.

The purpose of this study was to conduct an evaluability assessment of the training linkage between Tidewater Community College and Norfolk Naval Shipyard. This alliance was formed to provide professional academic instruction as an element of the shipyard apprentice program. The study established the documented program expectations and the program expectations of state and local community development policy makers, community college leaders and shipyard management. The study evaluated all identified expectations for compatibility across partnership interests, …

Experimental Parametric Study Of A True Airspeed Sensor, Adel R. Ibrahim

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The results of an experimental parametric study of a true airspeed sensor are presented. The objective of this study was primarily to investigate experimentally the parameters that effect the frequency response of the true airspeed sensor. A secondary objective was to identify the sensor configuration which achieved the best performance. The model used to conduct these experiments basically consisted of swirl generator and vortex tube sections and pick-up signal system. A regression analysis was performed on the experimental results to obtain the effect of each parameter individually on the frequency response. The most significant parameters were selected by the regression …

Provenance Of Sands Within The Lower Chesapeake Bay Based On Ilmenite Composition, Edward Augustus Council Iii

OES Theses and Dissertations

Surficial sands deposited in the Chesapeake Bay are a mixture of sands derived from the bay's shorelines, from offshore, and from relict deposits. Direct fluvial input is probably minor except from the James River, which may serve as a local source of sands in the Thimble Shoals area. Sands in the western half of the bay are primarily derived from the erosion of the adjacent shoreline. In contrast, the eastern half of the bay has two major sources of sand. Shoreline erosion is the dominant source north of the town of Eastville, Virginia, while the offshore is the major source …

Ignition Of A Combustible Solid With Reactant Consumption, D. Glenn Lasseigne, W. E. Olmstead

Mathematics & Statistics Faculty Publications

The effects of excessive reactant consumption on the ignition of a combustible solid are introduced through a revised scaling of the heat release constant. Large activation energy asymptotics then yields a new one-parameter integral equation governing the temperature evolution near ignition. Analysis of the integral equation reveals a critical value of the parameter which distinguishes between the cases of ignition and nonignition. © 1987 Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics

The Hydrogeology Of Nags Head Woods, Dare County, North Carolina, Janet Salyer Emry

OES Theses and Dissertations

Nags Head Woods, a coastal maritime forest located on a barrier island in eastern North Carolina, stabilizes a back-barrier dune system bordering a tidal marsh. The purpose of this study is to provide basic information about the groundwater geology in Nags Head Woods and to predict the effects upon water levels due to municipal pumping of Fresh Pond, a large lake near the center of the island.

Clean, fine-to-medium sands dominate the top of the surficial (water table) aquifer, underlain by silty fine-to-coarse sands at -4 m elevation. A silty clay bed of very low permeability is present at -12 …

Coupled Bending-Torsion Steady-State Response Of Pretwisted, Nonuniform Rotating Beams Using A Transfer-Matrix Method, Carl E. Gray Jr.

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Using the Newtonian method, the equations of motion are developed for the coupled bending-torsion steady-state response of beams rotating at constant angular velocity in a fixed plane. The resulting equations are valid to first order strain-displacement relationships for a long beam with all other nonlinear terms retained. In addition, the equations are valid for beams with the mass centroidal axis offset (eccentric) from the elastic axis, nonuniform mass and section properties, and variable twist. The solution of these coupled, nonlinear, nonhomogeneous, differential equations is obtained by modifying a Hunter linear second-order transfer-matrix solution procedure to solve the nonlinear differential equations …

Comment On "Orientation, Alignment, And Hyperfine Effects On Dissociation Of Diatomic Molecules To Open Shell Atoms", Mark D. Havey, Linda L. Vahala

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

A recent paper in this journal [Y. B. Band e t a l., J. Chem. Phys. 8 4, 3762 (1986)] reported parameters describing orientation and alignment produced, in an axial recoil limit, by one photondissociation of diatomic molecules. Reported also were values, applicable to the resonance transitions of the alkali atoms, for orientation and alignment depolarization coefficients. Most of the numerical values reported for the coefficients were incorrect, in some cases by as much as a factor of 2. We report a tabulation of correct depolarization coefficients applicable to the resonance transitions of common alkali isotopes. Further, the coefficients …

Implementation And Performance Analysis Of Numerical Algorithms On The Mpp, Flex/32, And Cray/2, Raad A. Fatoohi

Electrical & Computer Engineering Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation presents the results of the implementation of a number of numerical algorithms on three parallel/vector computers. The object of this research is to determine how well, or poorly, a number of numerical algorithms would map onto three different architectures and to analyze the performance of these architectures using these algorithms. These algorithms are: a relaxation scheme for the solution of the Cauchy-Riemann equations, an ADI method for the solution of the diffusion equation, and a compact difference scheme for the solution of two-dimensional Navier-Stokes equations. The computers were chosen so as to encompass a variety of architectures. They …

A Criterion For Vortex Breakdown, R. E. Spall, T. B. Gatski, C. E. Grosch

CCPO Publications

A criterion for the onset of vortex breakdown over a wide range of the Reynolds number is proposed. Based upon previous experimental, theoretical, and numerical studies, as well as a new numerical study, an appropriately defined local Rossby number is used to delineate the region where breakdown occurs. Comparisons are made with previously suggested criticality parameters and the unique features of the proposed Rossby number parameter are shown. A number of previous theoretical studies concentrating on inviscid standing‐wave analyses for trailing wing‐tip vortices are reviewed and reinterpreted, along with the previous numerical and experimental studies, in terms of the Rossby …

Fracture Detection In A Volcanic Oil Reservoir Using Discriminant Analysis Of Well Log Data, Joseph William Cross

OES Theses and Dissertations

A new method of detecting fractures using well logs is presented. The technique uses discriminant analysis to distinguish fractured from unfractured reservoir rock and was developed for the volcanic pay zone of Jatibarang oilfield, West Java, Indonesia.

The a priori information required to derive the discriminant function was provided by 22 wells known to penetrate intervals of either fractured or unfractured volcanics. The samples consisted of these 22 intervals digitized in one-meter increments (1256 meters total thickness). The discriminating variables were the petrophysical measurements made by 10 different types of well logs.

Discriminant analysis correctly classified 94.2% of the total …