Engineering Commons^™

Numerical Modelling Of Downburst Interaction With Bluff Body, Aditi Jog

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The objective of this study is to investigate the interaction of a bluff body with a downburst flow. Numerical investigation of the flow field using CFD analysis was carried out for three different downburst sizes (h/d=1, 2, 4) under suitable boundary conditions subjected to constant jet velocity. The downburst-structure interaction study was conducted for two jet diameters (h/d=1 and 4) and two radial locations from the downburst center.

The results showed that the downburst size greatly dominates the intensity of the flow. The largest downburst resulted in the highest velocity magnitude near the ground and also covered a larger area …

Hydrogeological And Thermal Sustainability Of Geothermal Borehole Heat Exchangers, S. Emad Dehkordi

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Assessment of the current approach taken by guidelines and design methods of vertical closed loop heat exchangers shows that often groundwater flow is either disregarded or is not methodically incorporated. The state of scientific research in this arena reveals that overlooking the groundwater flow in the design procedure may not always be a correct assumption. The significance of advective heat transport compared to conduction is defined by the groundwater flux or Darcy velocity which heavily depends on the hydraulic conductivity of the ground, followed by the hydraulic gradient which has a relatively limited range. A sensitivity analysis on ground and …

Numerical Evaluation Of Aerodynamic Roughness Of The Built Environment And Complex Terrain, Daniel S. Abdi

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Aerodynamic drag in the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) is affected by the structure and density of obstacles (surface roughness) and nature of the terrain (topography). In building codes and standards, average roughness is usually determined somewhat subjectively by examination of aerial photographs. For detailed wind mapping, boundary layer wind tunnel (BLWT) testing is usually recommended. This may not be cost effective for many projects, in which case numerical studies become good alternatives. This thesis examines Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) for evaluation of aerodynamic roughness of the built environment and complex terrain.

The present study started from development of an in-house …

Finite Element Analyses Of Single-Edge Bend Specimens For J-R Curve Development, Yifan Huang

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The fracture toughness resistance curve such as the J-integral resistance curve (J-R curve) is widely used in the integrity assessment and strain-based design of energy pipelines with respect to planar defects (i.e. cracks). Two studies about the development of the J-R curve are carried out and reported in this thesis. In the first study, the plastic geometry factor, i.e. the η_pl factor, used to evaluate J in a J-R curve test based on the single-edge bend (SE(B)) specimen is developed based on the three-dimensional (3D) finite element analysis (FEA). The main …

Effect Of Instantaneous Load Eccentricities On The Inelastic Torsional Responses Under Bi-Directional Seismic Excitations, Xiaojing Cui

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This study evaluated the inelastic torsional response due to instantaneous load eccentricities. The load eccentricities, which caused by the motion of the center of mass are time-dependent, even exist for two-way symmetric structures under seismic excitations. The eccentricities and bi-directional horizontal excitations can lead to the torsional motion. The study of the impacts of such a second-order effect (called A-Delta effect) on structural systems and, this effect in combination with the P-Delta effect on structural systems has not been reported in the literature.

This study is focused on the investigation of the structural responses under the A-Delta …

Calibration Of Fatigue Design Wind Pressure For Sign, Luminaire, And Traffic Signal Support, Guigui Zu

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The study is focused on calibration of fatigue design wind pressure for sign, luminaire and traffic signal support under natural and truck-induced wind gusts. The design of the support structures in Canada is governed by the current Canadian Highway Bridge Design Code (CHBDC). However, the code is not specific on the fatigue design wind pressure (natural or truck-induced) for these structures. Although there are equivalent static natural and truck-induced wind pressures for fatigue design recommended in the provisions of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), none of relevant studies discussed the implied reliability by using these …

A System Dynamics Approach To Water Resources And Food Production In The Gambia, Jordan T. Atherton

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The Gambia, a country in West African, faces an increasingly daunting situation. They do not produce enough food needed to feed the population, yet population growth remains high, and the current area of land under cultivation is approaching total arable land available. Climate changes complicate matters further as the majority of farms lack irrigation and are dependent on rainfall to provide water to their crops. The purpose of this thesis is to provide the first 1st iteration of a system dynamics model that could be useful as a tool to assist decision in the Gambia better understand long-term implications of …

Biofilm Control In A Fludized Bed Bioreactor (Fbbr) Treating Municipal Wastewater: Optimization, Modeling, And Nitrous Oxide (N2o) Emissions, Ahmed Eldyasti

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Among the various biological wastewater treatment processes for industrial and municipal wastewater treatment, fluidized bed bioreactors (FBBR) demonstrate numerous advantages compared to suspended growth systems such as lower hydraulic retention time, high surface area and accordingly high biomass retention time, higher volumetric conversion rates, lower sensitivity to temperature, and less sludge production. Despite the numerous biofilm bioreactor configurations and system schemes that are currently available for a wide variety of environmental applications, the development and optimization of a stable biofilm that is capable of offering effective and integrated functions, i.e. biodegradation, biomass-liquid separation, and biomass retention along with a substantial …

Experimental Investigation Of Wind Effect On Solar Panels, Ayodeji Abiola-Ogedengbe

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Photovoltaic Solar Panels for electricity generation are outdoor low-rise structures that are vulnerable to damage by the wind. The existing building codes do not contain information about the impact of the wind on these structures and hence do not provide comprehensive guidelines to mitigate such impact. The present study is a contribution to the ongoing efforts to codify the wind loading on solar panels. In this study, experimental investigations were conducted on the scaled model of a ground-mounted solar panel structure whose surface is geometrically similar to an inclined flat plate and mounted on three-legged support. The panel comprises of …