Engineering Commons^™

Finite Element Analysis Of Complex Vectorbloc Beam-Column Connections, Labiba Kalam

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Steel modular construction provides an efficient alternative to traditional construction practices. A key component to modular construction is the connection between the individual modules, which hold the building together against applied loads such as gravity, snow, and wind. The VectorBloc connector is an innovative cast steel connector that is used in the connections between steel modules made from hollow structural steel (HSS) members. The current VectorBloc connector, called VB4, is limited in its uplift capacity and thus faces challenges when applied to structures facing high uplift forces. Thus, a new design of the VectorBloc connector, called VB6, with a focus …

Wake Characteristics Of Wall-Mounted Finite Solid And Foam-Covered Cylinders, Subhadip Das

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The wake characteristics of a wall-mounted finite foam-covered cylinder are explored by comparing the flow properties with the wake of a solid cylinder. The velocity data are acquired experimentally using planar particle image velocimetry (PIV) and numerically by large eddy simulation at Reynolds number of 35100 based on the flow depth and 13100 based on the cylinder diameter. The wake characteristics may vary significantly if the approach flow properties change and also depend on the relative height of the boundary layer thickness with respect to the cylinder height. Therefore, it is a necessity to achieve a fully developed approach flow …

Water Penetration Of Veneer Made With Various Clay Bricks, Kshitij Ghanate

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Rainwater penetration through building enclosures is one of the critical factors affecting building performance and durability. Understanding and assessing rainwater penetration within and through the veneer is crucial to controlling and avoiding moisture-related problems such as biological growth and corrosion in interior structural elements.

Adding a layer of clay bricks as a cladding to the windward surface of a building envelope is customary in Canadian residential building construction. Cladding made of clay bricks (often known as clay brick veneer) serves multiple purposes, such as providing additional thermal insulation, aiding in weather resistance, and improving the building’s aesthetics. Though clay brick …

Machine Learning Based Prediction Of Reinforced Concrete Members’ Shear Friction Capacity, Farah Mohamed

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Shear friction theory describes the mechanisms by which shear forces are transferred across concrete-to-concrete interfaces. Shear transfer across a plane involves a complex interaction of several phenomena, such as concrete surface condition and cohesion, concrete strength, and steel reinforcement strength and reinforcement ratio. Existing empirical equations for shear friction have been developed using limited sample data sets;thus, their accuracy is limited to the range covered by the data. In order to overcome this limitation, the present thesis proposes two machine learning models drawn from an extensive database to predict the shear friction capacity in reinforced concrete (RC) with a high …

Demand Response For Electric Vehicles Using Options, Hui Yang

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Electricity spot prices in emerging electricity markets exhibit high volatilities and occasional distinctive price spikes due to the non-storable nature of electricity. Furthermore, the inherent variability and uncertainty of renewable energy generation require balancing supply and demand all the time for electric power systems. In the context of reliable electricity service, demand response (DR) programs allow end-users to adapt their electricity usage to changes in the price of electricity over time. DR programs include price-based and incentive-based DR programs. Real-time pricing (RTP) is a price-based DR program, which charges customers electricity rates based on the utility’s real-time production costs. Electric …

Structural Performance Of Shelf Angle Connection With Innovative Detailing, Shivam Sharma

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Recent legislations are demanding more efficient thermal insulation of the building envelopes. However, most of the energy used for heating is lost through openings and small air gaps resulting from various penetrations of highly conductive elements through the building envelope. These thermal bridges can also give rise to mould growth and condensation problems. One such example is the anchoring of shelf angles to the load bearing structures, as they have to cut through the exterior insulation used to enhance the thermal performance of a building envelope.

Steel through-bolts have been conventionally used by the construction industry to anchor shelf angles …

Finite Element Analysis Of Complex Vectorbloc Beam-Column Connections, Labiba Kalem

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Steel modular construction provides an efficient alternative to traditional construction practices. A key component to modular construction is the connection between the individual modules, which hold the building together against applied loads such as gravity, snow, and wind. The VectorBloc connector is an innovative cast steel connector that is used in the connections between steel modules made from hollow structural steel (HSS) members. The current VectorBloc connector, called VB4, is limited in its uplift capacity and thus faces challenges when applied to structures facing high uplift forces. Thus, a new design of the VectorBloc connector, called VB6, with a focus …

Methods Of Determining And Predicating Community Annoyance Due To Aircraft Noise, Kevin Zielinski

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As the importance of the aviation industry continues to grow, airports continue to expand, andincrease operations; noise generated from aircraft is becoming a growing concern to people livingwithin the communities surrounding the airports. Community members have shown concern throughcomplaints and annoyance due to the disturbances that aircraft noise cause in their everyday life. Thepurpose of this study is to determine which factors most affect community annoyance towards aircraftnoise. There are two main factors to be considered when analyzing annoyance due to aircraft noise.The first is the acoustic factors caused by the aircrafts themselves, such as the noise the aircraft emitsor …

Hydrogen Production During The Dark Fermentation Of Glycerol, Guochen Zhang

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The focus of this thesis was on the production of H2 from glycerol by mixed anaerobic cultures through dark fermentation. Laboratory scale experiments were conducted to demonstrate H2 production from glycerol. The impact of various factors was evaluated using different analytical and statistical methods. Three pH levels (5.5, 6.5, and 7.5) were examined to determine the effects of the initial pH on H2 production from glycerol. A hydrogen yield of 0.33 ± 0.03 mol H2 mol–1 glycerol was observed in cultures with the initial pH set at 5.5.

Further experiments were focused on increasing the H2 yield using long chain …

Bim-Based Sustainability Rating System For Single-Family Detached Homes, Zahra Mokhtari Salehabadi,

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The contemporary social, environmental, and economic challenges and the emerging debate about resiliency have called for a new definition for sustainable buildings. The current green building rating systems are limited in their scope and cannot provide a comprehensive assessment. Hence, an ideal rating system should encompass the triple bottom line (TBL) of sustainability and resiliency with a life cycle thinking perspective. Previous studies highlight a number of issues with green buildings rating systems, such as focusing on point hunting, being complicated, and being expensive in small-scale projects.

This research developed a BIM-based sustainability rating method for single-family detached houses (SFDHs). …

Wind Tunnel Study Of Wind-Induced Loads On Building Balconies, Tingzhou Tong

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The wind-induced pressure coefficients for the balcony guardrail design are based on the provision of wall cladding and components provided in building codes, such as the National Building Code of Canada 2015. However, the balcony guard’s failure frequently occurred, which caused a number of accidents and casualties in the past years. This work studies the wind-induced pressure coefficients on the two typical balconies guard models, an isolated balcony and a continuous balcony, based on various wind direction, wind speeds, and balcony configurations through wind tunnel test. The test results in the wind tunnel are compared with the provisions of the …

Wind Tunnel Study Of Wind-Induced Loads On Building Balconies, Tingzhou Tong

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The wind-induced pressure coefficients for the balcony guardrail design are based on the provision of wall cladding and components provided in building codes, such as the National Building Code of Canada 2015. However, the balcony guard’s failure frequently occurred, which caused a number of accidents and casualties in the past years. This work studies the wind-induced pressure coefficients on the two typical balconies guard models, an isolated balcony and a continuous balcony, based on various wind direction, wind speeds, and balcony configurations through wind tunnel test. The test results in the wind tunnel are compared with the provisions of the …

Biomethane Recovery Potential From Brewer’S Yeast Using Two-Stage Anaerobic Digestion, Ashnabanu Jariwala

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The brewery industry is a major global industry which produces several waste by-products, one of which is Residual Beer Yeast (RBY). After series of treatments, the RBY, because of its high nutritional content, is either sold as animal feed to generate some revenue or disposed of in the landfill. The treatment of RBY is an additional expense for the brewery sector as it involves chemical and thermal treatments. This makes it crucial to explore alternatives such as biogas production from the Anaerobic Digestion (AD) process to generate revenues that can aid in sustaining the brewery sector. In this study, an …