Digital Commons Network^™

Predicting Ash Deposition In A Cyclone-Fired Coal Boiler Under Variable Load Conditions, Evan Bloom

Theses and Dissertations

Today, a significant number of coal-fired power plants are required to decrease the operating load as a result of intermittent power availability from wind or solar sources. Low load conditions introduce a number of challenges for these plants, such as decreased efficiency and degradation of system components due to cycling. Ash deposition on heat transfer surfaces makes these problems even worse. The overall goal of this project is to improve the understanding of fireside ash deposition behavior as the load fluctuates, thereby allowing for more efficient operations. To accomplish this goal, a computation fluid dynamic (CFD) based simulation methodology was …

Applying Human Error Framework To Explore Prevention Strategies For Wrong Surface Events, William Bowers

Theses and Dissertations

Wrong surface events are a serious and ongoing risk to aviation safety in the United States National Airspace System. A wrong surface event occurs when an aircraft lands, departs or attempts to land or depart from a surface other than the intended landing or takeoff, also including aircraft landing at the wrong airport. This research examined the contextual factors that contributed to human error ultimately leading to wrong surface events, assessed the efficacy of technology that can be used to prevent, and aviation professional’s awareness of wrong surface events in order to determine prevention strategies that can reduce occurrences in …

Spectral Classification Of Eight Stars In Open Cluster Ngc 457, Anthony Braden

Theses and Dissertations

This project aimed to perform spectral analysis and classification on eight target stars in the open star cluster NGC 457 with the University of North Dakota Space Studies Observatory. Selected targets came from a search in the SIMBAD database with a radius of two arcseconds around the cluster's center. The eight brightest stars in the visual spectrum were chosen, which did not have luminosity classifications. Six observing sessions were performed over two years to maximize data quality, given the unpredictability of terrestrial observations. Spectral data were acquired in both high- and low-resolution mode. The spectral data were calibrated and analyzed …

Tribo-Mechanical Behavior Of Cold Rolled And Directed Energy Deposited Niti Alloy For Space Applications, Hyunsuk Choi

Theses and Dissertations

The manufacturing industry is constantly looking for ways to improve processes and reduce costs while maintaining or enhancing material properties. Nickel-Titanium (NiTi) alloy, also known as Nitinol, has unique properties such as shape memory and superelasticity, which make it a valuable material for various applications in the medical and aerospace industries. However, due to its high toughness, strength, and ductility, NiTi is difficult to form and machine, leading to severe tool wear and high cutting energy. Conventional manufacturing processes have limitations in producing complex or porous designs, restricting NiTi's potential applications. Additive manufacturing techniques have been explored as a way …

United States Coast Guard Aviation Safety Climate Assessment Instrument, James Robert Cooley

Theses and Dissertations

The United States Coast Guard (USCG) implemented an aviation safety survey prior to this research (ver. 0). Cooley (2019) uncovered opportunities to improve the survey’s validity, creating a psychometrically-sound safety climate instrument. Inconsistencies with what and how to measure safety climates still exist in the corpus of literature. More attention is needed on safety management systems’ (SMS) predictive metrics, particularly for Coast Guard aviation outfits throughout the world. This research study used an exploratory sequential mixed methods design followed by an additional phase of quantitative research methods. Extensive deliberation with USCG stakeholders produced survey research questions, guiding the survey design …

Self-Identification From The Professional And Social Perspectives Of Flight, Carly Lane Crockett

Theses and Dissertations

The development of one’s identity is connected to the level of effort willing to be committed to goal achievement. Per Velleman (2006), what someone cares about, determines what they must do for survival (p.336). While identity has been dissected, the applicability of connection for social and professional ties within aviation has not been thoroughly processed. General aviation flying and that of airline pilots has been compared regarding skill and safety association, but not in identity construction. A population of airline pilots was researched, that may or may not have been actively participating GA, with attempt to establish factor recognition of …

A Generalized Approach To Partitioning Weighted Points In A Plane, Jacob Denault

Theses and Dissertations

A theorem commonly known as the Discrete Pancake Theorem states that for two finite disjoint sets S and T of points in a plane where the union of S and T contains no three collinear points, there exists a line that simultaneously bisects |S| and |T| within an error of at most one. This thesis considers a more general situation in which each point is assigned two non-negative weights and, instead of simply bisecting the plane to obtain a balance in the number of points, we prove there exists a line that simultaneously balances weight one and weight two accumulations …

Religion-Justified Childhood Maltreatment And Adult Psychological Maladjustment, Hannah Doctor

Theses and Dissertations

The perpetrator of religion justified child abuse relies on spiritual beliefs (religious texts, context, or authority) to justify acts of maltreatment. This form of abuse can be manifested in many different contexts including infamous scandals of sexual abuse committed by catholic priests and the physical/sexual/emotional maltreatment occurring at Native American or other boarding schools for troubled youth. Parents and caretakers often claim "to spare the rod is to spoil the child”. Previous research has suggested that maladjustment outcomes after traumatic events are less severe among victims with strong religious beliefs. This study hypothesized that religious justified abuse would be associated …

Using Electroencephalographic (Eeg) Measures Of Working Memory In The Context Of Binge Drinking: Analyzing Theta/Gamma Ratios, Michelle Jeanne Duffy

Theses and Dissertations

Neuronal degeneration resulting from excessive alcohol use, such that occurs with binge drinking behavior, is proposed to be linked to both impairment in neuronal functioning and corresponding psychological deficits in executive functioning such as working memory. A total of 73 undergraduate students (mean age = 19) completed a series of questionnaires assessing drinking behaviors and mental health. Upon completion, subjects were assigned to one of two groups based on their reported drinking behavior. Subjects completed a series of psychomotor tasks that required working memory demands under temporal processing conditions from the Senaptec Sensory Station tablet as well as two traditional …

Mitigating Global Temperature Change Through Industrial Sector Improvements: A Case Study In Automotive Manufacturing, Alec Joseph Ernst

Theses and Dissertations

Manufacturing is an integral part of our country’s flow of products and people and a top contributor to carbon emissions, promoting global temperature rise. During processing, toxic substances are emitted across the value chain. These emissions account for nearly 25% of all greenhouse gas emissions in the United States and the World. Until 2023, an accessible pathway for manufacturing companies to transition to net-zero emissions hasn’t been made readily available. The current research was conducted to determine if reducing carbon emissions in manufacturing facilities through efficiency improvements, process optimization, and technology advancements can mitigate global temperature change.This quantitative, mixed-method approach …

Parental Telemental Health Satisfaction During Covid-19, Desiree Giesen

Theses and Dissertations

The outbreak of Coronavirus-19 (COVID-19) rapidly became a global pandemic in early 2020, forcing the wide spread implementation of social distancing safety precautions. Most mental health services across the United States shifted from traditional in-person services to telemental health (telehealth) in order to safely treat their clients. Using a Grounded Theory theoretical framework, participants were interviewed using a semi-structured format regarding their telehealth experience during COVID-19. Participants were 12 parents whose children had received telehealth services. Themes emerged from their coded responses and were organized into four categories: COVID-19 Impact on Mental Health, Positive Elements of Telehealth, Negative Elements of …

An Investigation Into Impacts Of Microphysics Parameterization Schemes On Radiation Fog Within A Large Eddy Simulation Framework, To Small Unmanned Aircraft System Operations, Joseph Lafayette Gufford

Theses and Dissertations

Fog is a threat to the operations of small unmanned aerial systems (sUAS). Improved fog forecasting will allow for more timely dissemination of warnings, allowing operators to maximize operational time and to minimize flight cancellations. The impacts of grid spacing and microphysical parameterization were examined to study their influences on fog formation in the Weather Research and Forecasting numerical weather prediction model. An ensemble of forecasts was produced, wherein varying grid spacings (1 km and 0.333 m) were permuted with different microphysics schemes (single and double moment) for two different fog events. It was found that sub-kilometer grid spacing improved …

Soil Bacteria Composition In Conservation Reserve Program Grasslands Of The Great Plains, Lydia M. Kantonen

Theses and Dissertations

The Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) is a grassland restoration program that allows landowners to remove degraded land from crop production, seed it with a perennial seed mixture, and leave it fallow for the remainder of the contract, which usually ranges from 10-15 years. While some ecosystem functions quickly improve upon CRP enrollment, soil organic carbon is slow to return to pre-agricultural levels. One explanation is that particulate organic matter left by litter takes several years to degrade even with a full bacteria community. Alternatively, it is possible that different chemical components of organic matter require different bacteria communities for full …

Enhancing Resin Composite Using Nanoparticle Embedded Jute Fiber And Exploring Plant Polymer For Biomedical Applications, Md Sultan Mahmud

Theses and Dissertations

The severe detrimental effect of nondegradable and toxic synthetic materials on the environment in the last couple of decades has led researchers to focus more on eco-friendly products such as building materials, medical instruments, sports, textile, and automobile industries. Lignocellulosic plants and their fibers are the first choices for both material and biological science researchers due to their chemical structure, abundance, low cost, and nontoxic nature. These plants are composed of three major biopolymers such as cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin. Cellulose is the most abundant polymer. In the recent past natural fibers have attracted substantial importance as potential structural materials …

The Impact Of The Authority Gradient Created By Rank Imbalance On The Role Effectiveness Of U.S. Coast Guard Safety Officers, James Bernard Mccormack

Theses and Dissertations

Coast Guard air station commands have three department heads referred to as the Tri-P, consisting of the safety officer, operations officer, and engineering officer. The safety officer is generally junior in rank to the other members of the Tri-P despite what is advertised as an equal position within the command structure. The purpose of this study was to explore rank imbalance for Coast Guard safety officers at air stations throughout the United States by examining their perceptions in a quantitative survey. All current Coast Guard safety officers were eligible for participation in the survey. The survey revealed that safety officers …

Exploring Organizational Recidivism With A Focus On Federal Environmental Crime, Isaac M. Mvula

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation explores the recidivism rates of organizational offenders convicted of federal environmental crimes. Individual recidivism has received considerable attention from re-searchers over the years. This is not so with organization recidivism. This dissertation aims at put-ting greater light on this subject. The study focuses on environmental crime because of the critical need to preserve the earth’s ability to sustain life. Federal environmental criminal prosecution da-ta maintained by the EPA was the study population. The population included prosecutions of organizational offenders from 1994 to 2013. The total number of organizational prosecutions was 73625 and the total number of organizational offenders …

“Blue” Hydrogen & Helium From Flare Gas Of The Bakken Formation Of The Williston Basin, North Dakota: A Novel Process, Martin R. Leipzig

Theses and Dissertations

Is it possible to curtail flaring in the Williston basin while simultaneously sequestering carbon dioxide, harvesting economic quantities of natural gas liquids, helium and other valuable products? Utilizing a novel approach described here, diatomic hydrogen and elemental helium, as well as other products, can be profitably extracted from the gas streams produced from horizontal, hydraulically-fractured Middle Bakken Member wells, in the Devonian-Mississippian Bakken Formation of the Williston Basin, North Dakota, USA.However, there are two vastly different methods employed to extract these gasses. Hydrogen is harvested from the gas stream by physically reforming methane (CH4) through the application of one or …

Serving Their Communities By Preserving And Explaining Their Past: North Dakota County And Local Museums, Austin Allen Olson

Theses and Dissertations

Museum scholars and professionals continue to debate the purpose of museums and their relationships to the public. These contentious debates revolve around the institution’s roles within contemporary societal issues. The purpose of this study is to analyze the expanding roles of county and local museums in North Dakota have in their communities with the goal to understand how these museums can thrive and provide positive outcomes to the communities they serve. This thesis argues that local and county museums must undertake an active role in their local communities to continue to positively preserve and interpret the area’s history. Utilizing interviews …

A Data Driven Approach To Optimize Re-Fracturing Operations In The Williston Basin, Joshua Kroschel

Theses and Dissertations

Because of the recent paradigm shift focusing heavily on cost minimization, many operators are now re-developing existing assets at much lower costs instead of developing newly drilled wells. Although it may seem that the hydraulic fracturing process on a well would be easier after initial stimulation, this is not usually the case and is often more difficult. Being able to identify high margin effects of treatment parameters will help engineers design hydraulic fracturing treatments to minimize average STP (STP) and minimize costs. This research develops a feature engineered multivariate regression model that identifies several high margin areas for STP reduction. …

Natural Fractals And Facial Emotion Recognition, Nathaniel Joseph Pagel

Theses and Dissertations

The psychological benefits that come from visually processing natural imagery have been widely studied. The components of natural imagery that provoke positive responses are not fully understood. This study uses a mixed design approach to identify if the acute exposure to statistical fractal imagery, of both a high-range or mid-range complexity, affects cognitive workload, physiological arousal, and gaze patterns in the recognition and identification of emotions through facial expressions. Participants were undergraduate students fulfilling a partial course requirement (N = 87). Eye-tracking metrics were used to compare exposure to fractal complexities. Participants were randomly assigned to either be exposed to …

Determining The Optimum Ground Coal Bottom Ash Content For Sustainable Concrete Infrastructure, Sandip Poudel

Theses and Dissertations

Cement production requires a high amount of energy and natural resources which has a high impact on the environment due to harmful gas emissions. Coal bottom ash (CBA) or Coal Boiler Slag (CBS) is the byproduct of coal-fired power plants that has pozzolanic properties. CBA or CBS can be mechanically ground to obtain Ground Coal Bottom Ash (GCBA) or Ground Coal Bottom Slag (GCBS). GCBA has the potential to replace cement in concrete which will reduce the waste in landfills, make economic benefits, preserve natural resources, and reduce health hazards. This research was performed to determine the optimum GCBA or …

Understanding How North Dakota Teachers' Knowledge, Beliefs, And Confidence Are Constructed In An Asynchronous Professional Development Course, Mckenzie Rabenn

Theses and Dissertations

Many researchers have argued that teachers are the most important school-related factor to increasing a student’s academic performance. In turn, schools often turn to professional development (PD) to strengthen educators’ performance and knowledge levels. Indeed, PD can be a prime tool to improve school performance. However, its efficacy is determined by how it is perceived by teachers.

This study examines the experiences of North Dakota elementary teachers who, in response to statewide legislation, enrolled in an online PD and how their experiences shape their knowledge, beliefs, and confidence. Research has demonstrated that these three constructs (knowledge, beliefs, and confidence) have …

Survey Of National Junior College Athletic Directors On The Top Things They Wish They Knew During Their First Year: First-Year Athletic Director Manual For Success, Jayden Olson

Theses and Dissertations

The responsibilities of being a first-year athletic director have never been greater. Although being an athletic director may seem like a simple, common job, no two people with the title of athletic director have the exact same responsibilities or tasks required of them. Furthermore, many athletic directors come from a variety of backgrounds. Due to these factors, a manual could be beneficial to all first-year athletic directors. A survey consisting of demographic questions, and questions relating to the top 10 most important things to know as a first-time athletic director, job preparedness, resources relating to the job of an athletic …

Application Of Dynamic Techno-Economic Assessment: A Case Study In Rare Earth Element Extraction, Michael Ryder

Theses and Dissertations

Rare earth elements are critical materials for many technologies driving the energy industry forward. However, there is increasingly low security and lack of sustainability of current supplies. New sources and processing methods are needed and are being intensely investigated among U.S. energy leaders such as rare earth extraction from lignite coal in North Dakota. A critical need is to confirm the technological and economic viability of these approaches, aspects which are inherently interconnected, would benefit from a dynamic approach. The current approach is Techno-Economic Assessments (TEAs). TEAs evaluate the economics of the process and commercialization of the technology for viability …

Evaluating The Potential Of Wrought And Additively Manufactured Co-Cr Alloy For Prosthodontic Applications, Sudip Saha

Theses and Dissertations

Tribological analysis of metallic implants for orthodontics applications is a long-studied topic of research. The study covers human mouth anatomy, implant types, and major wear mechanisms, materials, and manufacturing techniques commonly used for dental implant materials. Common contributing factors to evaluate the mechanical performance of metal implants includes tribological behavior analysis in varying physiological conditions, material properties, corrosive responsiveness and manufacturing techniques. By conducting systematic experiments to cover these areas, this study aims to evaluate the performance of wrought and additively manufactured Co-Cr alloy for metallic implants for orthodontics applications.For the tribological test and corrosion experiments laboratory prepared artificial saliva …

Faculty Experiences Of Implementing Co-Teaching Strategies, Krystie Lynn Seese

Theses and Dissertations

Co-teaching is defined as two or more certified teachers working together to meet the needs of the diverse learners in their classroom, especially students with disabilities. Co-teaching is a widely implemented method used in public schools to educate children with and without disabilities in the general education setting to comply with state and national legislation requirements. There are six commonly used co-teaching strategies and approaches: one teach, one observe; one teach, one assist; parallel teaching; station teaching; alternative teaching; and team teaching. The research questions asked and answered were: What approach is most widely used and most effective at the …

Machine Learning And Data Mining To Validate The Prognostics And Predictive Breast Cancer Biomarkers On A Large Racially Diverse Population, Kalli Scheafer

Theses and Dissertations

Breast cancer biomarkers have great potential in providing clinicians more individualized information about the composition and outcomes of a patient’s breast cancer. However, many breast cancer biomarkers have not been evaluated on a large scale or in groups of patients with diverse characteristics, leading to difficulty in their translation to having an impact on patients. In this study, we compile a large, pooled breast cancer patient data cohort and evaluate breast cancer biomarkers on patients with diverse characteristics. Biomarkers are found to have varying expression patterns within the different breast cancer subtypes, validating the need to evaluate biomarkers on patient …

The Experiences Of Black Male Teachers In International Schools In East And Southeast Asia, Myson Jonathan Sheppard

Theses and Dissertations

Although substantive research examines the issues surrounding the lack of Black Male Teachers (BMTs) nationally, limited studies involve their experiences in international schools. This is troubling when juxtaposed with their experiences researched and documented during teacher training, hiring practices, and on the job in the U.S. Although the issue is complex, many stem from explicit and implicit racial discrimination from the white racial majority. Given the problems preservice and eventual BMTs face in the U.S., examining BMTs narratives in the international school industry was necessary. Kanter’s token theory suggests that any slice of a social group comprised below 15% of …

Exploration Of Early Career Teachers’ Perspectives On Preservice Training, Classroom Experiences, And Retention, Ashley Smalley

Theses and Dissertations

To promote the advancement of teacher recruitment, retention, and reduce attrition, K-12 teachers need to be fully prepared for the complex nature of being in a classroom, a classroom filled with students of all types. There is a unique nature to education and one must recognize the complexity of each individual student. The context of this study explores early career teachers’ perspectives on their preparedness for teaching. This research examines teachers’ perspectives in their first to fifth years of teaching who graduated from a North Dakota college. Each participant answered 13 questions regarding their perspectives on the preparation they received …

Studying Phase And Morphology Of Hydrocarbon Petrochemicals In Inorganic And Organic Microdroplets Using An Electrodynamic Balance, Fafa Tackie-Otoo

Theses and Dissertations

Wastewater from the petroleum industry contains large amounts of inorganic salts, hydrocarbons, mercaptans, oil and grease, phenols, and other organic chemicals. All these compounds can be found in highly complex solutions in the petroleum industry’s discharged water, and there is no common treatment method, which precludes reuse paths in other sectors such as irrigation of farmland. In order to reuse produced water, the water must be treated and these harmful chemicals must be removed. To treat and potentially reuse oily waste outside the energy sector, researchers typically use membrane technology, photocatalytic degradation, oxidation processes, electrochemical catalysis, and other methods. The …