Engineering Commons^™

Stochastic Demand Forecast And Inventory Management Of A Seasonal Product A Supply Chain System, Mohammad Anwar Ashek Rahman

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Estimation of seasonal demand prior to an active demand season is essential in supply chain management. The business cycle of the seasonal demand is divided into two stages: stage-1, the slow-demand period, and stage-2, the peak-demand period. The focus here is to determine an appropriate demand forecast for the peak-demand period. In the first set of forecasting model, a standard gamma and an inverse gamma prior distribution are used to forecast demand. The parameters of the prior model are estimated and updated based on current observation using Bayesian technique. The forecasts are derived for both complete and incomplete datasets. The …

Stereolithography Of Poly(Ethylene Glycol) Hydrogels With Application In Tissue Engineering As Peripheral Nerve Regeneration Scaffolds, Karina Arcaute

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

In recent years, rapid prototyping (RP) technologies initially developed to create prototypes prior to production for the automotive, aerospace, and other industries, have found applications in tissue engineering (TE). Several different RP technologies are being used to fabricate biocompatible 3D structures with controlled micro- and macro-scale characteristics. The focus of this research was to explore the capabilities of the RP technology, stereolithography (SL), for creating complex, 3D scaffolds with applications in TE using a photocrosslinkable biopolymer, poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG). The primary objective was to create an implantable multi-lumen nerve guidance conduit (NGC) for the regeneration of peripheral nerves.

Studies of …

A Study Of The Interaction Of Thioindigo Dye, With Several Inorganic Host Materials, Alejandra Ramirez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Maya Blue has been the focus of numerous studies and is believed to be a mixture of palygorskite clay and indigo dye.^1,2 Several derivatives of this pigment have been developed with intriguing properties. For instance, the dye thioindigo reacts with the palygorskite clay to exhibit a broad range of colors from red to blue under UV-Vis excitation. Based on FT-Raman and computer simulation, previous work performed in our group could relate indigo and thioindigo interaction to the aluminum sites in the framework. super>3,4

The work performed with other inorganic host materials such as, layer structures and zeolites have …

Elevated Temperature Oxidation Of Boron Modified Ti-6al-4v, Deborah May-Katherine Sweeney

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

The addition of trace amounts (~0.1 wt%) of boron to titanium alloys refines theas-cast grain size by an order of magnitude from 2000μm to 200μm. The reduced grain size has potentially beneficial effects on the processibility of titanium alloys. Reports also indicate that the room temperature corrosion resistance of the boron containing alloys may be substantially greater than conventional titanium alloys. In this study, the effects of boron addition on oxidation resistance are investigated, since conventional titanium alloys have limited corrosion resistance in air above 650°C. The mass gain per unit surface area was measured during elevated temperatures exposed to …

Cost Model For A Small Glass Manufacturing Enterprise, Swetha Gopisetti

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The cost model developed is for small, glass-manufacturing enterprises to help them determine their product costs. It estimates the direct cost in glass manufacturing such as material, labor and energy costs. The overhead costs were based on AACE recommended practices to determine product cost and selling price. The model was tested to estimate the costs in glass marble manufacturing. It determines the unit material cost of the product based on material mix ratio and material costs. The energy costs for the product were based on the batch processing time and gas consumption rate. The model was analyzed to predict variations …

A Finite Element Study Of Piezoelectric Thin Films On Substrates, Bo Liu

Theses and Dissertations

The overall goal of this work has been mainly to advance the understanding of the degradation in the response of piezoelectric thin films after they are deposited on substrates. To have better understanding of the difference in the response between free standing piezoelectric films and those deposited on a substrate, we calculated the normalized "effective" piezoelectric coefficients for BT/MgO, PZT/STO and ZnO/STO respectively. We also studied the impact on the effective coefficients due to the components of the bulk material's piezoelectric coefficients. After studying the clamping effects of the substrate, lattice mismatch, stiffness of the films and the substrates, we …

Moderately-Rapid Assessment Of Alkaline Desiccation Environmental Systems, David Alan Bates

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

A moderately-rapid assessment tool was developed to analyze the waterless desiccation compost toilet investigated in a rural Mexican setting. Over 100 social factors were identified along with the applicable technical factors that influenced the low acceptability of the toilets. A 4-point rating scale was developed to increase the ability and speed of analyzing both the social and technical data. The treatment process was an alkaline-desiccation process with mean pH values of 8.2 ± sd 1.1 and water content of 18.3% ± sd 9.9, which resulted in mean fecal coliform values of 15.0 MPN/g ± sd 31.8, drastically lower than the …

A Study Of Regret And Rejoicing And A New Mcdm Method Based On Them, Xiaoting Wang

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) is one of the most widely used decision methodologies in the sciences, business, and engineering worlds. MCDM methods aim at improving the quality of decisions by making the process more explicit, rational, and efficient. One controversial problem is that some well-known MCDM methods, like the additive AHP methods and the ELECTRE II and III methods, may cause some types of rank reversal problems. Rank reversal means that the ranking between two alternatives might be reversed after some variation occurs to the decision problem, like adding a new alternative, dropping an old alternative or replacing a non-optimal alternative …

Hypersonic Boundary Layer Receptivity To Acoustic Disturbances Over Cones, Kursat Kara

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The receptivity mechanisms of hypersonic boundary layers to free stream acoustic disturbances are studied using both linear stability theory (LST) and direct numerical simulations (DNS). A computational code is developed for numerical simulation of steady and unsteady hypersonic flow over cones by combining a fifth-order weighted essentially non-oscillatory (WENO) scheme with third-order total-variation-diminishing (TVD) Runge-Kutta method. Hypersonic boundary layer receptivity to free-stream acoustic disturbances in slow and fast modes over 5-degree, half-angle blunt cones and wedges are numerically investigated. The free-stream Mach number is 6.0, and the unit Reynolds number is 7.8×106/ft. Both the steady and unsteady solutions are obtained …

Structure Property Relationships In Electron Donating Systems For Potential Photovoltaic Applications., Jonathan Moghal

Doctoral

Conjugated polymers are considered to be one-dimensional semiconductors. In conjugated polymers single and double bonds alternatively bond the carbon atoms along the polymer chain. The loosely bound electrons determine the electronic properties of conjugated polymers. In order to utilise the properties of conjugated polymers in terms of a photovoltaic (PV) device application an acceptor material must be added. The acceptor material used in this study is used in buckminsterfullerence (C60). C60 was selected for this purpose due to its size and the fact that it can accept up to six additional electrons. Ultrafast charge transfers from a conducting polymer onto …

Electrochemical Fabrication Of Auco Nanostructures, Maoshi Guan

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Electrodeposited Au/CoAu multilayered nanowires are materials with alternating layers of Au and CoAu in a wire where the layer thickness and wire diameter are nanometer size. They can be used for different applications. For example, the wires may exhibit giant magnetoresistance (GMR), a change in the materials resistance with a magnetic field, having applications as a sensor material for microdevices. If Co is etched from CoAu nanowires, rough, porous gold nanostructures will be left behind, which could be used as novel catalysts. In this study, the electrodeposition of Au/CoAu multilayered nanowires and nanotubes in nanoporous templates was explored from a …

A Unified Methodology Of Maintenance Management For Repairable Systems Based On Optimal Stopping Theory, Hongye Wang

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation focuses on the study of maintenance management for repairable systems based on optimal stopping theory. From reliability engineering’s point of view, all systems are subject to deterioration with age and usage. System deterioration can take various forms, including wear, fatigue, fracture, cracking, breaking, corrosion, erosion and instability, any of which may ultimately cause the system to fail to perform its required function. Consequently, controlling system deterioration through maintenance and thus controlling the risk of system failure becomes beneficial or even necessary. Decision makers constantly face two fundamental problems with respect to system maintenance. One is whether or when …

Degradation And Water Quality Dynamics Of Sugarcane Residue In South Louisiana, Jose Roberto Deras

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

PURPOSE: This research was conducted to assess methods to manage the residue blanket to avoid open field burning in sugarcane. Experiments were conducted in the state of Louisiana to evaluate methods to asses and potentially reduce water quality issues. METHODS: Concentrations and frequencies of biological compost tea were sprayed on sugarcane combine-harvester residue blanket to increase degradation rate and reduce potential for runoff water to transport nutrients and sediments that may impair water bodies, while sustaining suitable sugarcane yield. Carbon dioxide evolution rate (mg CO2-C) and CO2 fluxes were measured in laboratory and in open field conditions; as an index …

Internal Cooling In Ribbed Rectangular (Ar=4:1) Passages At High Rotation Numbers And Improvement In Finning Strategies, Fuguo Zhou

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Experimental studies have been performed on two-pass rectangular internal coolant channels with aspect ratio AR 4:1 with high rotation numbers. Three passages are investigated: smooth, 90 deg ribbed and 45 deg ribbed. A maximum Reynolds number of 150,000 and a maximum rotation number of 0.6 are achieved in the study. These maximum parameter values are considerably higher than those previously reported for the 4:1 AR geometry, and provide data for parameter ranges that may be representative of certain modern turbine blades. Heat transfer behaviors with rotation in the three passages are presented. Rotation effects, density effects and buoyancy effects are …

Numerical Modeling Of Continuous Flow Microwave Heating - Coupling Of High Frequency Electromagnetism With Fluid Flow And Heat Transfer, Deepti Salvi

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This study focused on numerical and experimental investigation of continuous flow microwave heating. A numerical model was developed to predict the temperature of a liquid product heated in a continuous-flow focused microwave system by coupling electromagnetism, fluid flow, and heat transfer in two different software packages (ANSYS Multiphysics 9.0 and COMSOL Multiphysics 3.4). The temperature and energy distributions simulated in ANSYS were verified against other numerical studies published in the literature. Comparison of the simulated temperature in ANSYS with experimental data for salt water of two different salinities showed good agreement. To simulate the experimental conditions more accurately, a comprehensive …

Property Measurements And Evaluation Of Heat Leak, Nathan Race

All Theses

Heat transport in capillary wick structures is an important parameter in loop heat pipe (LHP) design. The purpose of this study was to investigate the conductive heat leak in operating capillary wick structures. The heat leak is the portion of applied heat load conducted through the wick in spite of the convection of working fluid. Four sintered 316 stainless steel wicks were tested for porosity, effective thermal conductivity, pore size, and heat leak. Pore sizes were found to correlate well with the nominal pore size and pores were very narrowly distributed within a size range of approximately 1-10μm. Effective thermal …

The Role Of Computer Aided Engineering In Developing A Combined Trash And Recycling Truck : A Case Study, Peter Johnston

All Theses

This work will illustrate how Environmental America Inc., EAI, and the Clemson University design team utilized lean manufacturing principles to revolutionize the curbside waste collection process. Through the application of lean manufacturing principles the number of non-value added steps was significantly reduced and the information gathered from the lean process tree acted as a framework to develop initial constraints and criteria for the vehicle's development. The design team was asked to construct the fifth iteration of the prototype collection vehicle in an effort to minimize vehicle cost, size and weight. An extensive case study will be presented which illustrates how …

Thermal Diffusion Coefficient Modeling For High Pressure Combustion Simulations, Soundararaghavan Vasudevan

All Theses

The effects of Soret and Dufour diffusion on the behavior of high pressure laminar diffusion flames relevant to modern combustion devices are investigated. A novel model for thermal diffusion coefficients is developed based on experimental data found in the literature and the principle of corresponding states. The new model is first compared with existing models and experimental data and is shown to be more accurate and to exhibit correct behavior in the limit of high temperature relevant to combustion. The model furthermore does not exhibit sensitivity to the equation of state, its mixing rules, or unphysical sign changes observed in …

Least Squares Fitting Of Analytic Primitives On A Gpu, Meghashyam Panyam Mohan Ram

All Theses

Metrology systems take coordinate information directly from the surface of a manufactured part and generate millions of (X, Y, Z) data points. The inspection process often involves fitting analytic primitives such as sphere, cone, torus, cylinder and plane to these points which represent an object with the corresponding shape. Typically, a least squares fit of the parameters of the shape to the point set is performed. The least squares fit attempts to minimize the sum of the squares of the distances between the points and the primitive. The objective function however, cannot be solved in the closed form and numerical …

A Case Study Investigating Rule Based Design In An Industrial Setting, Siva Chavali

All Theses

This thesis presents a case study on the implementation of a rule based design (RBD) process for an engineer-to-order (ETO) company. The time taken for programming and challenges associated with this process are documented in order to understand the benefits and limitations of RBD. These times are obtained while developing RBD programs for grid assemblies of bottle packaging machines that are designed and manufactured by Hartness International (HI). In this project, commercially available computer-aided design (CAD) and RBD software are integrated to capture the design and manufacturing knowledge used to automate the grid design process of HI. The stages involved …

An Investigation Of Cavity Pressure As A Process And Quality Indicator In The Micro-Injection Molding Process, Soon-Chun Kuek

All Theses

Increased demand for micro-scale parts and devices is being met in many cases by micro-injection molding of polymer parts. However, part inspection is difficult due to the micro-scale dimension in the micro-injection molding process. In addition, process control also becomes challenging since the process is susceptible to slight changes in process parameters such as mold temperature, injection velocity, and packing pressure. To address these issues, a suitable process monitoring method such as cavity pressure monitoring can be employed to detect any process deviation that may cause defects in part quality. Cavity pressure has been found to be a reliable process …

A Case Study On The Use Of Design Exemplar As A Search And Retrieval Tool, Narasimha Murty Srirangam

All Theses

This thesis presents a case study examining the suitability of design exemplar technology as a CAD query tool for an industrial scenario. The search and retrieval of geometrically similar mold inserts to save tooling cost for a tire manufacturing company is taken as the case study. During the implementation of the design exemplar as a CAD search and retrieval tool, several limitations of it are identified, such as the difficulty and tediousness in authoring exemplars for real world problems. To overcome these limitations, a new mathematical-based exemplar approach (mathematical model) is developed for tire mold insert retrieval. This approach calculates …

Effects Of Support Grid Vane Angles On Single Phase Heat Transfer Within Rod Bundle Subchannels, Michael Cosby

All Theses

The main goal of this project is to investigate how changes in support grid mixing vane angles affect the single phase heat transfer coefficient for rod bundle flows. Since other studies have been done on these types of flows, the present study also serves the purpose of further solidifying conclusions made in those works. A split-pair mixing vane support grid without weld nugget cutouts is thought to have optimum flow characteristics at a vane angle of 29 degrees. Results obtained from this work have shown this to be true. Vane angles were modified to angles of 37 ¡, 33¡ and …

Surface Finish Control Of 3d Printed Metal Tooling, Brady Godbey

All Theses

Solid freeform fabrication (SFF) technology has shown a great deal of promise for the plastic injection molding industry due to its ability to produce complex geometry tooling relatively quickly. However, one shortcoming of metal-based SFF processes is that they have difficulty producing parts with acceptable surface quality. As such, secondary operations, such as machining, are frequently required thereby increasing fabrication time and cost. In addition, there is variation in the surface quality that is dependent upon the surface orientation during the build process. For example, parts produced using the metal-based 3-D printing process have vertical faces with a typical roughness …

Development Of A Design Enabler Tool For Frame Analysis For A Small Enterprise: A Case Study, Madhusudan Kayyar

All Theses

This case study investigates the design process followed by a small to medium scale enterprise (SME) that primarily depends on special expertise in the form of a few key individuals. These individuals design products mainly based on past experience, augmented by trial and error. This is an inefficient, time consuming, and expensive way of designing products and evaluating their performance. This study critiques the different steps in the current design process, identifying areas of potential improvement and enhancement through application of formal design methods and innovative design enablers. The 'Design Enablers' are design tools that assist the designer at various …

Morphological Charts: A Systematic Exploration Of Qualitative Design Space, Gregory Smith

All Theses

A morphological chart is a tool that represents a large qualitative design space. These charts list the functions identified for the design problem, and the means (solutions) that can perform each function. Combining one means for each function will produce a potential integrated conceptual design solution. Repeating this process with every possible combination contained in the morphological chart will generate a long list of conceptual design solutions. Not all of these solutions will be practical, or even physically possible.
As it is difficult to analyze a long list of design solutions and as at present, there are no systematic design …

Mixed Convective Heat Transfer And Evaporation At The Air-Water Interface, Prasad Gokhale

All Theses

Functional forms for mixed convective heat transfer and evaporation from an air-water interface were obtained. To obtain these functions, heat transfer and evaporation rates from the air-water interface of an evaporating body of water were quantified in a wind/water tunnel in the presence of an oleyl alcohol monolayer on the water surface. The Nusselt (Nu) and Sherwood (Sh) numbers, parameterizing the dimensionless heat and mass transfer respectively, for transport from the water bulk to air were expressed as functions of the air side Rayleigh (Ra) and Reynolds (Re) numbers. The Nu and Sh were calculated for a range of Ra …

A Comparative Fault Diagnosis Methodology Based On Time Series Analysis Of System's Signals, Hany Bassily

All Dissertations

The detection of system anomalies represents an important task in safety critical systems. Over the past two decades, advances in data manipulation techniques and sensor technology have contributed to the widespread application of signal processing concepts for fault diagnosis. However, the majority of these signal processing, or data driven, diagnostics do not possess the redundancy level exhibited in conventional model-based methods. Among signal processing methods, time series analysis is advantageous since it offers insight into the underlying dynamics and forecasts system behavior. Furthermore, the data driven method allows the depiction of system dynamics with an increased level of redundancy. This …

Modelagem Da Vida De Fadiga E Do Acúmulo De Deformações Permanentes Em Pavimentos Asfálticos Por Meio De Um Modelo De Dano Contínuo, Victor Ferreira Teixeira, Flavio V. Souza, Jorge Barbosa Soares

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

: It is known that the conditions of the Brazilian roadways have an enormous impact over the national economy. In face of this problem, there is a need for new methodologies for pavement analyses and design that can more accurately predict pavement distresses. Among the main methods currently used, one can find purely empirical methods and mechanistic-empirical methods which make use of the pavement structure response. The evolution of numerical methods such as the Finite Element Method (FEM) or the Boundary Element Method (BEM) has made the mechanistic-empirical methods more popular for pavement analysis applications. This work shows a mechanistic …

Electrochemical Oxidization Of Herring Sperm Dna And Its Interaction With Histone, Juan Xu, Gui-Ping Huang, Hong Li, Wei Zhu

Journal of Electrochemistry

The voltammetric behavior of herring sperm DNA at glassy carbon electrode and its interaction with histone have been investigated by using cyclic voltammetry,differential pulse voltammetry,and fluorescence measurement.In the potential range of 0.20 V to 1.25 V,it is found that an irreversible oxidative peak is exhibited in acid solution,but in the neutral or alkaline solution two oxidative peaks are observed.Oxidative peak potential values show a negative shift with increasing pH via a slope of-57 mV·pH-1 and a linear relation with DNA concentration in the range of 0.45 to 8.20 mmol·L^-1.In the presence of histone,the oxidative peak current of DNA …