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2019

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Gorgeous Gold Peacocks: Exploring Masculinity In Professional Wrestling, Scott Philip Karasick Jan 2019

Gorgeous Gold Peacocks: Exploring Masculinity In Professional Wrestling, Scott Philip Karasick

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

This thesis is a historical comprehensive case study on masculinity that explores stereotypes of masculinity in professional wrestling. Working from theories about gender roles, hegemonic masculinity, misogyny (with its disdain for femininity) and heteronormativity, this study utilizes a content analysis of American professional wrestling to look at the gendered basis of how and why wrestling characters are created and how they are successful. Professional wrestlers historically have created characters based in American popular cultures and specifically American gender ideologies of masculinity that are based in hetero-patriarchal cultural ideals. By looking through the history of masculinity and gender stereotypes in professional …

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Hurricane Irma Impact And Post-Storm Beach Morphology Evolution In Boca Raton, Fl, Richard M Iii Hart Jan 2019

Hurricane Irma Impact And Post-Storm Beach Morphology Evolution In Boca Raton, Fl, Richard M Iii Hart

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

Beach morphology changes naturally with seasonal and event-driven variability in the wave climate, as well as due to anthropogenic activities such as erosion mitigation efforts. In 2017, category four Hurricane Irma caused beach erosion and dune overwash in Boca Raton, FL. Immediate post-storm perigean spring tides coupled with typical winter high-wind conditions imposed a regime of spatially and temporally extended meteorologic and morphologic variability. This study evaluates the morphologic evolution and post-storm recovery in the first year following Hurricane Irma. Time-series topographic surveys and surface sediment samples were collected. Patterns of accretion and erosion were evaluated with regionally measured water …

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Government As A Stigma Moderator: The Case Of Palm Beach County’S Addiction Recovery Industry, David Moura Jan 2019

Government As A Stigma Moderator: The Case Of Palm Beach County’S Addiction Recovery Industry, David Moura

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

This dissertation investigates how government affects stigmatization processes. This line of inquiry is important for two reasons. First, existing models of stigmatization leave government out of stigma processes, or only mention government as a sanctioning body that comes in after stigma processes are complete. Organizational theory research therefore underplays the extent to which government action can influence its citizens. Second, stigma research in public administration and government research is limited to examining how government can assist stigmatized groups, and not on how government affects stigma processes. This inadvertently gives the impression that government is not part of stigma processes. While …

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Hippocampal Neurogenesis In The Sert Ala56 Mouse Model To Autism, Mase Julieta Maria Di Jan 2019

Hippocampal Neurogenesis In The Sert Ala56 Mouse Model To Autism, Mase Julieta Maria Di

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

The causes of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are not all known, but it is suspected that the serotonin transporter (SERT) plays an important role for some subjects with ASD. Mutations in the SLC6A4 gene, that encodes SERT, including the Ala56 mutation (Gly56Ala), have been found in some autism patients. This mutation makes the transporter more active and reduces the probability of serotonergic neurotransmission in the brain, which is linked to behavioral changes that are associated with core domain deficits of ASD 1. Depression also has been linked to decreases in the availability of serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine; 5-HT) in the central nervous …

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High Spatial Resolution Measurements Using Hydrogeophysical Methods Reveal The Presence Of Hotspots Forbbiogenic Gas Accumulation And Release In The Florida Everglades, Troy Bole Jan 2019

High Spatial Resolution Measurements Using Hydrogeophysical Methods Reveal The Presence Of Hotspots Forbbiogenic Gas Accumulation And Release In The Florida Everglades, Troy Bole

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

It is well known that biogenic gas emissions (mainly methane and carbon dioxide) vary both spatially and temporally in peatlands. While most studies have focused on northern systems, several recent studies in tropical and subtropical peatlands (like the Everglades) have revealed the presence of areas of increased gas accumulation and emissions, or hotspots, that may be related to physical and/or biogeochemical changes within the peat's matrix. However, these studies are often limited in terms of sampling volume and resolution or are based in laboratory studies that may not be totally representative of field conditions. In this study we investigate the …

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Hydrodynamic Performance Of An Unmanned Catamaran Vehicle In Head Seas, Bijoy Prasad Jan 2019

Hydrodynamic Performance Of An Unmanned Catamaran Vehicle In Head Seas, Bijoy Prasad

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

This study analyzes the hydrodynamic performance of an advanced catamaran vehicle using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations and experimental testing data in support of system identification and development of a physics-based control system for unmanned surface vehicle (USV) operations in coastal waters. A series of steps based on increasing complexity are considered sequentially in this study. First the steady flow past the static vehicle, then the vehicle with a fixed orientation advancing in calm water, and finally the vehicle moving with two degrees of freedom (DOF) in calm water as well as head seas. The main objective of the study …

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Impact Of The Fire Ant Pesticide Hydramethylnon (Amdro®) On Loggerhead Sea Turtle Reproductive Success And Hatchling Quality, Heather Smith Jan 2019

Impact Of The Fire Ant Pesticide Hydramethylnon (Amdro®) On Loggerhead Sea Turtle Reproductive Success And Hatchling Quality, Heather Smith

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

Invasive fire ants are aggressive predators of ground nesting birds and reptiles and are spreading rapidly throughout tropical and temperate climates. Fire ants have been known to prey on a variety of reptile species, including threatened loggerhead sea turtles. The granular fire ant bait AMDRO® is being used on sea turtle nesting beaches to protect nests and hatchlings from these predators, however no studies have been conducted to thoroughly assess its effect on any reptile species. In this field study, I examined the impact of AMDRO® on hatching and emergence success, body condition, and orientation behavior in loggerhead sea turtles …

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I Am More Than What I Appear: The Lived Experience Of African American Female Journalists, Jacinda C. Jones Jan 2019

I Am More Than What I Appear: The Lived Experience Of African American Female Journalists, Jacinda C. Jones

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

This study investigates the phenomenon of intersectionality between race and gender on the lived experiences of African American female broadcast journalists in the state of Florida. Seven in-depth interviews were conducted and compared to determine reoccurring themes taking place throughout each participant’s experience in broadcast journalism as a result of their race and gender. Race, appearance, racial mentoring, and professional advancement were the common themes that emerged in each interview. Although there is a significant amount of research on African American women in the workplace, there is a greater need to focus on the field of broadcast journalism and the …

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In Better Worlds Than These: Memory And Diegesis In Fantasy Literature, Daniel Creed Jan 2019

In Better Worlds Than These: Memory And Diegesis In Fantasy Literature, Daniel Creed

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

This study addresses the state of scholarship regarding fantasy literature and questions the position of scholars who have dismissed it as panegyric. This study notes that no accepted definition of fantasy exists, sets forth its own, and questions the value of fantasy literature. Moving from definition, this study notes that fantasy literature limits artistic freedom by supplementing the reality principle of minimal distance in mimetic fiction with penemaximal distance. Penemaximal distance affords fantasy a great remove from the actual world but adds the generic megatext as a frame of reference that defines reality. This allows fantasy literature to create semantic …

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Increasing The Accuracy Of Binary Neutron Starsimulations With An Improved Vacuum Treatment, Poudel Amit Jan 2019

Increasing The Accuracy Of Binary Neutron Starsimulations With An Improved Vacuum Treatment, Poudel Amit

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

The main purpose of this dissertation is to study the inspiral and merger of binary neutron stars. The inspiral, in such a system, is caused by the loss of energy and angular momentum that is carried away by the emitted gravitational waves. Newly-formed neutron stars, after supernova explosions, are very hot. They cool down during the hundreds of millions of years, which is needed to bring the two stars in a neutron star binary close enough together to start investigating them with numerical relativity simulations. Thus, they can be considered as fluids at zero temperature to very high accuracy, when …

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Landfill Leachate Treatment By Advanced Electrochemical Oxidation Process Coupled With Pretreatments, Md Fahim Salek Jan 2019

Landfill Leachate Treatment By Advanced Electrochemical Oxidation Process Coupled With Pretreatments, Md Fahim Salek

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

Advanced electrochemical oxidation processes have emerged as a promising method for the destruction of persistent organic material in variable waste streams. Although the process has been successfully employed for wastewater treatment applications, high energy requirements, and the risk of formation of undesirable by-products may limit its application in the field of leachate treatment. This study focuses on the investigation of the feasibility of removing organics and ammonia by electrochemical oxidation coupled with ozone, Fenton or lime. Landfill leachate was treated by two different bench scale electrochemical oxidation reactors coupled with ozone oxidation, Fenton coagulation or lime precipitation. The electrochemical oxidation …

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Investigating Healthy Organizations: Development And Testing Of A Public Organization Wellness Quotient (Wq), Wilson C. Mclean Jan 2019

Investigating Healthy Organizations: Development And Testing Of A Public Organization Wellness Quotient (Wq), Wilson C. Mclean

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

This dissertation investigates and further develops organization health theory in the context of public organizations. This is an important line of inquiry for two reasons. First, the healthy organizations literature and healthy organization theory is inchoate and lacks overall coherence (Dejoy et al., 2010), especially in public organization theory and research. As such many organization theorists have called for expansive solutions and insist this requires consideration of the collective and systemic interactive levels of analysis (Salanova et al., 2012; Schein, 2006). Second, we notice organizations now devoting considerable resources to nurturing individual and organizational health and wellness (Dale & Burrell, …

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Investigating The Temporal Dynamics Of Advanced Information Processing During Interocular Suppression Using Electroencephalography And Pattern Classification, Dustin Cox Jan 2019

Investigating The Temporal Dynamics Of Advanced Information Processing During Interocular Suppression Using Electroencephalography And Pattern Classification, Dustin Cox

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

A thorough delineation of the extent of processing possible without visual awareness is necessary to elucidate the neural mechanisms of visual awareness. Despite extensive research, it is presently unclear whether invisible stimuli can undergo advanced processing. To introduce existing work on this topic, previous behavioral efforts to investigate the extent of processing possible without visual awareness and the psychophysical methods used to render stimuli invisible, such as visual masking and interocular suppression-based techniques, are discussed. Physiological evidence that provide support for and against the possibility that advanced information processing can occur without visual awareness are addressed. The basics of multivariate …

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Lawn Management From The Mesoscale: How Communities Shape Residential Lawn Care In Baltimore City, Hallee Meltzer Jan 2019

Lawn Management From The Mesoscale: How Communities Shape Residential Lawn Care In Baltimore City, Hallee Meltzer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

Traditional lawn care for suburban American households merits examination from both ecological and social perspectives. Such practices have potentially detrimental consequences on human and natural systems that will continue to grow with urbanization. Consequently, further characterization of the complex, multiscale processes in which lawn management decisions are rooted could enhance methods for encouraging the adoption of alternatives to industrialized lawn care. This study conceptualizes mesoscale, or neighborhood-level, influences on watering, fertilizing, and mowing practices in Baltimore city, through a modified grounded theory analysis of key informant interviews in Mount Washington, Westfield, and Park Circle. This study finds that mesoscale processes …

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Interfacing And Control Of Artificial Hands, Joseph Ingicco Jan 2019

Interfacing And Control Of Artificial Hands, Joseph Ingicco

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

This thesis discusses three projects that revolve around the central concept of the control of artificial hands. The first part of the thesis discusses the design of a museum exhibit for the South Florida Science Center that allows the public to control an i-limb Revolution prosthetic hand using electromyograph (EMG) sensors. A custom armature was designed to house the EMG sensors that are used to control the prosthesis. The top arm of the armature utilized a double rocker design for a greater range of motion which allows the display to accommodate arm sizes ranging from small children to large adults. …

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Into Memory: A Novel, Madison Garber Jan 2019

Into Memory: A Novel, Madison Garber

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

In Into Memory, memory is no longer something which resides in the past. Instead, it is a substance which can be extracted and consumed like a hallucinogenic drug, immersing consumers in a vivid and immediate past whose physical effects linger long after the images of that memory disappear. For Paul Mendez, these memories offer an escape from a present defined by grief, while former professional football prospect Calvin Long seeks to reconnect with a past too long stained by regret. For law school student Kara Douglas, selling erotic memories is simply a business transaction—that is until she considers removing the …

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Investigating Machine Learning Algorithms With Imbalanced Big Data, Tawfiq Hasanin Jan 2019

Investigating Machine Learning Algorithms With Imbalanced Big Data, Tawfiq Hasanin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

Recent technological developments have engendered an expeditious production of big data and also enabled machine learning algorithms to produce high-performance models from such data. Nonetheless, class imbalance (in binary classifications) between the majority and minority classes in big data can skew the predictive performance of the classification algorithms toward the majority (negative) class whereas the minority (positive) class usually holds greater value for the decision makers. Such bias may lead to adverse consequences, some of them even life-threatening, when the existence of false negatives is generally costlier than false positives. The size of the minority class can vary from fair …

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Jugular Region: The Triangle Of Verisimilitude, Bénédicte Laflamme Jan 2019

Jugular Region: The Triangle Of Verisimilitude, Bénédicte Laflamme

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

With the short film, Jugular Region, I intended to cross over to the narrative world of filmmaking by developing an idea in sync with experimental filmmaking, special effect makeup and the body-horror genre. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to expose how, by using an original body-horror genre screenplay as a platform to gather imagery, I was able to fully develop the verisimilitude of the film through SFX makeup and a surrealist editing style. This paper is also dedicated to the step-by-step thought process and my artistic practice that led to the creation of this unique filmic universe.

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Intrasexual Selection And The Elaboration Of A Mating Signal In The Bachman’S Sparrow (Peucea Aestivalis), Paula Ziadi Jan 2019

Intrasexual Selection And The Elaboration Of A Mating Signal In The Bachman’S Sparrow (Peucea Aestivalis), Paula Ziadi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

Vocal communication is central to the coordination of social behavior in many vertebrate species, and it has been particularly well studied in songbirds, which use their songs in different contexts to convey information about the singer or its environment (Catchpole and Slater 2008; Alger et al. 2016). While it is widely accepted that the songs of oscine passerine birds (the songbirds) have two main social functions: intrasexual competition, and courtship (Catchpole and Slater 2008), the evolution of large and complex song repertoires remains an evolutionary puzzle (Byers and Kroodsma 2009). The question is: why do some songbird species produce an …

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Loop Quantum Gravity With Cosmological Constant, Zichang Huang Jan 2019

Loop Quantum Gravity With Cosmological Constant, Zichang Huang

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

The spin-foam is a covariant path-integral style approaching to the quantization of the gravity. There exist several spin-foam models of which the most successful one is the Engle-Pereira-Rovelli-Levine/Freidel-Krasnov (EPRL-FK) model. Using the EPRLFK model people are able to calculate the transition amplitude and the n-point functions of 4D geometry (both Euclidean and Lorentzian) surrounding by a given triangulated 3D geometry. The semi-classical limit of the EPRL-FK amplitude reproduces discrete classical gravity under certain assumptions, which shows that the EPRLFK model can be understood as UV completion of general relativity. On the other hand, it is very hard to dene a …

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Made Up, Margaret Louise Crowley Jan 2019

Made Up, Margaret Louise Crowley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

Made Up, a body of paintings, expresses my love/loathe relationship with the beauty/fashion industries and the fantasy/deception they instill. Aging amplifies my fear of being rejected or invisible and is assuaged by being made-up. Pages torn from fashion layouts are manually distressed to become the visually striking crumpled images that are the basis for my painting. The wrinkled nature of my source communicates my frustration with aging and never being able to meet the standards of modern beauty ideals. My careful repainting of the disfiguration demonstrates my desire to intimately repair and own the image. In taking my power back …

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Mechanisms Of Placental Dysfunction During Plasmodium Falciparum Infection In Pregnancy, Valentina Goldberg Jan 2019

Mechanisms Of Placental Dysfunction During Plasmodium Falciparum Infection In Pregnancy, Valentina Goldberg

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

Placental malaria infection, during which infected red blood cells sequester in the placenta, is a substantial cause of pregnancy-related complications in areas where malaria is endemic. Accumulation of infected red blood cells creates an inflammatory environment and induces an immune response that can be deleterious to the placenta. This response can cause complications that include low birth weight, which is a major risk factor for neonatal and infant death. A decrease in the megalin transport and signaling system has been demonstrated to be linked with placental malaria infection and to be connected with low birth weight pathology. In this study …

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Mapping The Fresh-Saltwater Transition Zone Across The Beach Environment Using Ground-Penetrating Radar (Gpr), Joseph Michael Becker Jan 2019

Mapping The Fresh-Saltwater Transition Zone Across The Beach Environment Using Ground-Penetrating Radar (Gpr), Joseph Michael Becker

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

As sea level rises, saltwater migration can threaten coastal ecosystems and beach-dune environments, which negatively impacts coastal flora. This study uses ground penetrating radar (GPR) to evaluate the spatiotemporal variability of saltwater migration in the near shore at high lateral resolution (i.e. cm) by using daily micro tidal cycles as analogs to infer saltwater migration. Time-lapse GPR profiles were collected at low and high tide capturing phase lags of the tidal flux through different substrates. GPR measurements were collected at two sites in Miami with contrasting lithologies: a) Crandon Park, composed of unconsolidated sand; and b) the Barnacle Historic State …

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Male Bonding: A Queer Analysis Of The James Bond Canon, Grant C. Hester Jan 2019

Male Bonding: A Queer Analysis Of The James Bond Canon, Grant C. Hester

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

The character of James Bond which was first introduced in Ian Fleming’s first novel Casino Royale in 1953 and was then featured in 11 subsequent novels, 2 volumes of short stories, and 24 film adaptations has long been considered to be the ultimate man’s man. There is no feat he cannot conquer, villain he cannot best, or lady he cannot bed. However, in an examination of both the novels and the film, clues exist to Bond’s deeper psyche—most notably his repressed homosexuality. While much discussion has been had of Bond’s misogyny, in many ways it masks his true identity possibly …

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Loop Quantum Gravity Dynamics: Models And Applications, Ilya Vilensky Jan 2019

Loop Quantum Gravity Dynamics: Models And Applications, Ilya Vilensky

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

In this dissertation we study the dynamics of loop quantum gravity and its applications. We propose a tunneling phenomenon of a black hole-white hole transition and derive an amplitude for such transition using the spinfoam framework. We investigate a special class of kinematical states for loop quantum gravity - Bell spin networks - and show that their entanglement entropy obeys the area law. We develop a new spinfoam vertex amplitude that has the correct semi-classical limit. We then apply this new amplitude to calculate the graviton propagator and a cosmological transition amplitude. The results of these calculations show feasibility of …

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Mechanisms Of Coexistence Between Two Octopus Species In A South Florida Lagoon, Chelsea Bennice Jan 2019

Mechanisms Of Coexistence Between Two Octopus Species In A South Florida Lagoon, Chelsea Bennice

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

Theoretically, sympatric species must partition resources or space to allow for coexistence. Determining empirically the specific resources each species exploits and species’ interactions (e.g., intra- and interspecific competition) can sometimes be challenging, thus the data are relatively sparse for certain taxa. This paucity of data exists for octopuses. Therefore, I chose to study niches of two sympatric octopuses (Octopus vulgaris and Macrotritopus defilippi) in an intracoastal habitat. Specifically, I assessed (1) spatial distribution of octopus home or “den” space, (2) habitat association, (3) octopus abundance, (4) foraging activity periods, (5) diet, and (6) associated substrates and behaviors used during foraging …

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Many Days Many Nights, Michael Dillow Jan 2019

Many Days Many Nights, Michael Dillow

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

Many Days Many Nights is a body of work that examines the notion of place, highlighting the complex relationship between a psychological state of mind and the experience of geographical location. The work incorporates a hybrid documentary photography practice combined with experimental video to construct narrative and is underpinned by a phenomenological inquiry into the relationship between memory, time, and the experience of place, and collectively, how these concepts pervade the subjective photographic frame.

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Modeling And Experimental Study Of Evaporation And Diffusion Of Water Droplets On Foam Substrates, Yining Tian Jan 2019

Modeling And Experimental Study Of Evaporation And Diffusion Of Water Droplets On Foam Substrates, Yining Tian

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

The objective of this thesis is to develop a new experimental method to characterize the diffusion of water in polymer resins, based on the evolution in the volume of water droplets as a function of time. A finite element model is established to model the mass transport of water droplet through evaporation and diffusion processes. Diffusivity of water into polymer resins is then extracted by matching the volume variation of the simulated water droplet to the experimental results. Capability of this method is demonstrated by determining the diffusivity of water into void-free epoxy and epoxy samples with voids. Diffusion coefficient …

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Modified Indirect Tension Testing Of Synthetic Fiber Reinforced Concrete Samples Exposed To Different Environmental Conditions, Barragan Ingrid Susana Santillan Jan 2019

Modified Indirect Tension Testing Of Synthetic Fiber Reinforced Concrete Samples Exposed To Different Environmental Conditions, Barragan Ingrid Susana Santillan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

Laboratory experiments were conducted to observe, document and evaluate the mechanical behavior of Fiber Reinforced Concrete after being submitted to five different environments for 8 months. The specimens were molded and reinforced with synthetic fibers with a composition similar to that used for dry-cast concrete. Four different types of fibers with different composition were used. The fibers were mixed with the concrete to create the samples and the samples were exposed to different environmental conditions. Some of these environments were meant to increase degradation of the interface fiber-concrete to simulate longevity and imitate harsh environments or marine conditions. The environments …

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Microfluidics For Carbon Capture And Sequestration, Seokju Seo Jan 2019

Microfluidics For Carbon Capture And Sequestration, Seokju Seo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019

Carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) has been considered a promising technology for mitigating heavy atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration as an immediate response to global climate change and ocean acidification. Despite various previous studies on CCS, there has been a paucity of research to overcome many of the challenges. In geological carbon sequestration, there are two major issues in achieving a feasible means of storing CO2. The first is the slow reaction of carbonic acid (H2CO3) formation from the reaction between injected CO2 and brine. Another technical challenge to the realization of industrial-scale carbon sequestration is the drying-out of brine …

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