Engineering Commons^™

Enhanced Electrochemical Performance Of Li-Ion Battery Cathodes By Atomic Layer Deposition, Yan Gao

Doctoral Dissertations

”Li-ion battery now plays an irreplaceable role in supplying green and convenient energy. In this work, atomic layer deposition (ALD) was used to modify Li-ion battery cathode particles for performance enhancement.

An ultrathin and conductive CeO₂ ALD film was deposited on Li-rich layered cathode particles, of which the specific capacity and cyclic stability were significantly improved. On the same cathode particles, FeO_x ALD and post-annealing resulted in a stable and conductive surface spinel phase to improve the performance.

Synergetic TiN coating and Ti doping were performed on a LiFePO₄ (LFP) cathode and extended its cycle life. The …

Seismic Behavior Of Composite Bridge Columns, Mohanad M. Abdulazeez

Doctoral Dissertations

“This study investigates experimentally and numerically the seismic behavior of large-scale hollow-core fiber-reinforced polymer-concrete-steel (HC-FCS) innovative bridge columns as a sustainable approach to endure and rapidly recover from natural disasters such as earthquakes. The HC-FCS column consisted of a concrete shell sandwiched between an outer fiber-reinforced polymer (GFRP) tube and an inner steel tube to provided continuous confinement for the concrete shell along with the height of the column. The columns have a slender inner steel tube with diameter-to-thickness (D_s/t_s) ratios ranged between 85 to 254. Each steel tube was embedded into the footing, while the …

Minimizing The Detrimental Effects Of Hydro-Peaking On Riverbank Instability: The Lower Osage River Case, Wesam Sameer Mohammed-Ali

Doctoral Dissertations

"The fluctuation of water level downstream from dams due to hydropower flow releases negatively affects the riverbank stability. Therefore, this research aims to examine the feasibility of using an optimization technique to mitigate the riverbank instability resulting from the outflow variation of hydropower plants. The effects of the water releases from the Bagnell Dam were investigated by computing a series of safety factors for 78 cross sections along the 81-mile stretch of the lower Osage River in relation to outflow events by using the integrated BSTEM model incorporated into the HEC-RAS model. The 1-D sediment transport and unsteady flow in …

Development Of Tools For Water Management In The Hatra Watershed (Northwestern Iraq) Using Satellite Technologies, Majid S. Mohamod

Doctoral Dissertations

“All around the world the demand for water is increasing, especially in arid and semi-arid regions, including Iraq which subject to continuous desertification that is worsening, more importantly the Jezira region in northwestern Iraq. Thus, it’s crucial to have a better strategy for water management. One of these strategies is to promote groundwater recharge for restoring the aquifer depletion. The successful groundwater recharge is limited by some potential data such as the annual water budge and precipitation measurements. The atomospheric and hydrological observations are limited by sparse population which tends to be less in arid and semi-arid regions. Therefore, an …

Mass Spectrometry Analysis Of Contaminants Of Emerging Concern: Nanoparticles, Algal Toxins, And Cyanotoxins In Natural Waters And Their Potential Health Impacts, Ariel R. Donovan

Doctoral Dissertations

“The analysis of contaminants of emerging concern is critical to protecting environmental health. In the presented dissertation, two groups of contaminants of emerging concern were assessed using mass spectrometry methods: nanoparticles and algal and cyanotoxins.

Analysis of metal oxide nanoparticles in environmental matrices has been a challenging issue, as most traditional methods require complicated sample preparation methods or that can alter or destroy the nanoparticles in the system. Single particle inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (SP-ICP-MS) methods were used to detect metal oxide nanoparticles in surface waters and their removal through drinking water treatment simulations while retaining all information regarding …

Evaluation Of Naturally Occurring And Anthropogenic Contamination In Missouri Streams, Christina Jane Sehrt

Masters Theses

"The goal of this study is to observe the values and variability of water quality parameters and benthic macroinvertebrates in watersheds with very little anthropogenic impact and to compare these values with those acquired in watersheds with more anthropogenic impact. The following five HUC 12-digit watersheds had very little anthropogenic impact and were considered "pristine": Rogers Creek, Mill Creek, Middle West Fork-Black River, Bee Fork, and Ottery Creek. Five largely urban sub-basins were also considered; these basins are: Grand Glaize Creek, Glaize Creek, Sugar Creek, Hominy Creek, and Grindstone Creek. For each watershed, both water quality parameters and benthic macroinvertebrates …

Integrated Study On The Applicability Of Co₂-Eor In Unconventional Liquids Rich Reservoirs, Dheiaa Khafief Khashan Alfarge

Doctoral Dissertations

"Unconventional Liquids Rich Reservoirs (ULR) such as Bakken, Niobrara, and Eagle Ford have become the main target for oil and gas investors as conventional formations started to deplete and diminish in number. These unconventional plays have a huge oil reserve; however, the predicted primary oil recovery is still low as an average of 7.5 %. Unconventional Improved Oil Recovery (UIOR) techniques are still a new concept in the oil industry because there is no commercial project for any IOR technique so far. Injecting carbon dioxide (CO₂) might be the most potential strategy to improve oil recovery in such complex plays. …

Functionalized Nanoporous Carbon Scaffolds For Hydrogen Storage Applications, Christopher L. Carr

Doctoral Dissertations

"Recent efforts have demonstrated confinement in porous scaffolds at the nanoscale can alter the hydrogen sorption properties of metal hydrides, though not to an extent feasible for use in onboard hydrogen storage applications, proposing the need for a method allowing further modifications. The work presented here explores how the functionalization of nanoporous carbon scaffold surfaces with heteroatoms can modify the hydrogen sorption properties of confined metal hydrides in relation to non-functionalized scaffolds (FS). Investigations of nanoconfined LiBH₄ and NaAlH₄ indicate functionalizing the carbon scaffold surface with nitrogen can shift the activation energy of hydrogen desorption in excess of …

Evaluating Microgrid Effectiveness In Transitioning Energy Portfolios, Jacob Marshal Hale

Masters Theses

"Microgrid energy systems have emerged as a potential solution to rising greenhouse gas emissions from dependence on fossil fuels. This research provides a framework for evaluating the utility of microgrids. Three key findings are presented: use of a state-of-the-art matrix (SAM) analysis to identify gaps in key research areas that inhibit wide-spread microgrid adoption, development of a system dynamics (SD) model, and a cost benefit analysis case study to evaluate microgrid feasibility in partially meeting the energy demand of a building. Governments play a central role in developing clean energy strategies. A SAM was developed to determine if key microgrid …

Multiscale Approaches Toward Advanced Lithium-Ion Battery: From Nano To Meso Scale, Susmita Sarkar

Masters Theses

“Battery performance and its degradation are determined by various aspects such as the transport of ions and electrons through heterogeneous internal structures composed of constituent particles, kinetic reactions at the interfaces, and a corresponding interplay between mechanical, chemical, and thermal responses. Further, modern battery materials require a variety of engineering processes such as coating, doping and mixing. As a result, in order to fully understand the behavior of the battery material and improve battery performance, it is necessary to understand and control the individual particle behavior and then connect it to the electrode. This study elucidated the physical phenomena associated …

Cloth-Air Partitioning Of Oxybenzone, Jonathan T. Hill

Masters Theses

"Clothing has been proven to be a significant accumulator of chemicals from the air. Semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs) have a high affinity towards textiles, and measuring the equilibrium partition coefficient between cloth and air (K_cloth-air) for SVOCs is crucial in predicting human exposure to these compounds. This study aims to quantify K_cloth-air for oxybenzone to contribute to a larger human exposure experiment carried out at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU). K_cloth-air for oxybenzone was calculated using data collected from the exposure chamber at DTU and from performing extractions of oxybenzone in fabric samples from the …

Hydrogeochemical Controls On Reactive And Nonreactive Solute Transport In Heterogenous Porous Media, Mahta Gholizadeh Ansari

Masters Theses

"This work examines how physical and chemical heterogeneity can affect reactive and non-reactive transport in porous media. The effect of heterogeneity of the porous media is investigated both on dissolution rate of magnesite and attenuation time of nonreactive contaminants in non-reactive media. Various spatial distribution were created using statistical parameters in PETREL.A total of 6793 transport modeling simulations were run using CrunchFlow. Lasso regression was used to select most significant features and those features are then used in linear regression and deep learning models.

The magnesite dissolution simulations were performed under different permeability ratios (magnesite /sand permeability) and inlet pH. …

Study Of Surface Complexation And Mineral Dissolution During Water-Rock Interaction In High Salinity Waterflooding At Elevated Temperatures, Sameer Salasakar

Masters Theses

"High salinity waterflooding for carbonate reservoirs is efficient and cheap method used for improved oil recovery. Various mechanisms have been proposed including adsorption/desorption on rock surface, mineral dissolution and precipitation, multicomponent ion exchange, interfacial tension reduction, fine migration and double layer expansion. These all process alter the wettability which leads to improved oil recovery.

Objective of this study was to understand processes that occur during water-rock interaction when high salinity water is flooded into the reservoir. In this work, effect of temperature on water-rock interaction is studied along with effect of pH and specific surface areas of calcite at normal …

Environmental Hazard Identification, Assessment And Control For A Sustainable Maritime Transportation System, Lizzette Marie Pérez Lespier

Doctoral Dissertations

"A demand exists to contribute towards the widening awareness of the need for sustainable maritime development and for coordinated maritime policies worldwide. Maritime shipping is considered the most eco-efficient mean of transportation and yet, is responsible for negative environmental impacts.

This dissertation focuses on developing data-driven decision support tools to evaluate the sustainable performance of MTS by focusing on the elements of the MTS that place stress on the environment. The first research contribution is a System Dynamics simulation model that examines the MTS resiliency after an extreme event and determines the sequence needed to restore the ocean-going port to …

Modeling Dynamic Community Acceptance Of Mining Using Agent-Based Modeling, Mark Kofi Boateng

Doctoral Dissertations

"This research attempts to provide fundamental understanding into the relationship between perceived sustainability of mineral projects and community acceptance. The main objective is to apply agent-based modeling (ABM) and discrete choice modeling to understand changes in community acceptance over time due to changes in community demographics and perceptions. This objective focuses on: 1) formulating agent utility functions for ABM, based on discrete choice theory; 2) applying ABM to account for the effect of information diffusion on community acceptance; and 3) explaining the relationship between initial conditions, topology, and rate of interactions, on one hand, and community acceptance on the other …

Overview Of Co₂ Leakage Problems And Sealants For Co₂ Leakage Remediation, Shudai Peng

Masters Theses

"Excessive Carbon Dioxide (CO₂) emission has become a serious issue and caused lots of environmental problems. Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) program has been developed to reduce the CO₂ content in the atmosphere. CO₂ storage has been targeted mainly on depleted oil or gas reservoirs and deep saline aquifers. However, leakage could occur through wellbores, cap rocks, formation faults, and fractures during and after CO₂ injection. To minimize the risk, different types of sealants have been investigated to prevent CO₂ leaks. The aim of this thesis is to provide a comprehensive review of the materials which could be used as …

Single Particle-Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry Technology Development For Metallic Nanoparticle Characterization In Complex Matrices, Yongbo Dan

Doctoral Dissertations

"As the rapid growing of nanotechnology, the release of engineered nanoparticles (ENPs) into the environment is inevitable. After entering the real environment, ENPs tend to react with different components of the ecosystem (e.g. water, soil, air, plants) and make their characterization difficult. Analyzing ENPs in these complex matrices still remains as a grand challenge. ENPs characterization is normally the first step of risk assessment. Current analytical techniques have shown some limitations in revealing the unique characteristics of ENPs in complex matrices and reliable analytical techniques are in urgent need. Single particle inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (SP-ICP-MS) is an emerging …

Oxidative Dehydrogenation Of Light Alkanes With Carbon Dioxide, Marktus A. Atanga

Masters Theses

”Most experts studying the global ecosystem and climate suggest that rising anthropogenic CO₂ emissions have contributed to significant global climate change in the last half-century. The development of effective strategies that convert CO₂ into energy, fuels, and chemicals are greatly preferable to oceanic or geologic sequestration options because they offer the potential to create new commercially-viable products from renewable carbon feedstock. On the other hand, the selective oxidative dehydrogenation of light alkanes (C₂-C₄) to corresponding olefins, methane reforming, and methane coupling are the major challenges for producing valuable and versatile feedstocks. The oxidative dehydrogenation …

Assessing Downstream Stormwater Impacts For Urban Watershed Planning, Johanna Meyer Pavlowsky

Masters Theses

"The urbanization of watersheds has caused debilitating effects to downstream aquatic ecosystems in catchments and streams. The implementation of green infrastructure (GI), such as permeable pavements and bioretention facilities, has been shown to alleviate these effects by both reducing runoff and mitigating pollutants; however, the implements are often not designed with a specific goal of water improvement. This study targets understanding a small, impaired urban watershed, and the benefits green infrastructure may have to provide environmental, social, and economic improvement to the watershed.

Portions of Rolla including much of the S&T campus drain into the impaired urban waterbody Frisco Lake, …

Managing Risks Of Market Price Uncertainty For A Microgrid Operation, Sriram Raghavan

Masters Theses

"After deregulation of electricity in the United States, the day-ahead and real-time markets allow load serving entities and generation companies to bid and purchase/sell energy under the supervision of the independent system operator (ISO). The electricity market prices are inherently uncertain, and can be highly volatile. The main objective of this thesis is to hedge against the risk from the uncertainty of the market prices when purchasing/selling energy from/to the market. The energy manager can also schedule distributed generators (DGs) and storage of the microgrid to meet the demand, in addition to energy transactions from the market. The risk measure …

Tracking Silver, Gold, And Titanium Dioxide Nanoparticles Through Drinking Water Systems By Single Particle - Inductively Coupled Plasma - Mass Spectrometry, Ariel Renee Donovan

Masters Theses

"Single particle (SP)-ICP-MS methods were developed to characterize and quantify Ti-containing, titanium dioxide, silver, and gold NP concentration, size, size distribution and dissolved metal element concentration in surface water and treated drinking water. The effectiveness of conventional drinking water treatments (including lime softening, alum coagulation, filtration, and disinfection) to remove NPs from surface water was evaluated using six-gang stirrer jar test simulations. Six-gang stirrers were used to simulate drinking water treatments including lime softening, alum coagulation, powdered activated carbon sorption, filtration, and disinfection by free chlorine. Lime softening effectively removed most nanoparticles added. Source and drinking waters from three large …

Comprehensive Benefits Of Green Roofs, Madison R. Gibler

Masters Theses

"Green infrastructure uses vegetation, soils, and natural processes to manage water and create healthier urban environments, providing traditional roof services and alternative stormwater management technologies. Other benefits and impacts are not yet fully understood or valued. Research conducted assesses specific stormwater benefits of green roofs, providing information on nutrient leaching from media; and analyzes potential energy benefits through side-by-side comparisons of full-scale white, traditional black rubber, and green roofs in the mid-continent Missouri climate. Roofing media selection impacted leaching of nutrients, suspended solids, and organic carbon from the tested green roof media. Thermal properties were investigated at the building level, …

Process Design, Dynamics, And Techno-Economic Analysis Of A Sustainable Coal, Wind, And Small Modular Nuclear Reactor Hybrid Energy System, Kyle Lee Buchheit

Doctoral Dissertations

"The availability of cheap electricity is one of the biggest factors for improving quality of life. With the debate on the effects of carbon dioxide emissions continuing, several countries have either implemented or are considering the reduction of emissions through various economic means. The inclusion of a monetary penalty on carbon emissions would increase the prices of electricity produced by carbon-based sources. The push for large-scale renewable sources of energy has met problems with regards to energy storage and availability. The proposed coal, wind, and nuclear hybrid energy system would combine a renewable energy source, wind, with traditional and stable …

Dynamic Behavior Of Operational Wind Turbines Considering Aerodynamic And Seismic Load Interaction, Mohammad-Amin Asareh

Doctoral Dissertations

"With the advancements in the wind energy production industry, the demand for a cost effective and safe design of wind turbine structures is growing rapidly. The wide deployment of wind turbines in locations with high seismic hazard has lead engineers to take into account a more comprehensive seismic design of such structures. In response to the need for a computational tool that can perform coupled simulations of wind and seismic loads, a seismic module has been developed for the publicly available National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) code, FAST, at the first step of this research. This achievement allows engineers working …

Performance Analysis And Modelling Of Hybrid Photovoltaic-Thermal Solar Panels, Nicole C. Annis

Doctoral Dissertations

A photovoltaic-thermal (PVT) panel was constructed, tested, and modelled using both MATLAB and TRNSYS. During the experimental testing, which took place on the Missouri University of Science and Technology campus in Rolla, Missouri; two identical PVT panels were tested alongside two PV panels to gather an electrical baseline for comparison. Approximately 69 days’ worth of data were of data were collected during the summer of 2014. The PV electrical, PVT electrical, PVT thermal and PVT combined (electrical and thermal) efficiencies were 3.5-5.6%, 3.4-5.4%, 20.9-11.6%, and 24.3-17.0%, respectively.

A MATLAB program was developed using existing equations for one-dimensional, quasi-steady model of …

Advanced Sustainable Concrete Materials For Infrastructure Applications, Kaylea Ann Smith

Masters Theses

"This study was performed to examine the effects of cement replaced by high volumes of Class C fly-ash on durability characteristics of concrete up to 120 days. Specifically, this study investigates possibility of amending American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) to allow High Volume Fly-ash (HVFA) concrete to cure until later ages prior to testing instead of 28 days. Five mix designs were compared with varying fly-ash percentages from 0 to 70% (by total cementitious mass). No other additives were present in any of the five mix designs. Water-to-cementitious ratio (w/cm) and total cementitious material remained constant as 0.40 …

Degradable Nanocomposite Preformed Particle Gel For Chemical Enhanced Oil Recovery Applications, Paul Tongwa

Doctoral Dissertations

”This work presents two new materials that can be potentially used in conformance control to increase ultimate oil recovery from mature oilfields.

The first product is a degradable nanocomposite preformed particle gel for enhanced in-depth mobility control. Three different types of degradable nanocomposite preformed particle gels were synthesized. These three nanocomposite hydrogels were made using Laponite XLG, Calcium Montmorillonite, and Sodium Montmorillonite nanomaterials. It was observed that after degradation, Laponite XLG nanocomposite hydrogels had the highest post-degradation viscosity (4437 cp), followed by sodium nanocomposite hydrogels (129 cp), and lastly calcium nanocomposite hydrogels (75.5 cp). Thus, degradable Laponite XLG nanocomposite hydrogels …

Wood Fuels In Power Generation, Yildirim Omurtag, Larry Wetzel, Michael Mcevilly

UMR-MEC Conference on Energy / UMR-DNR Conference on Energy

In order for wood to be considered a feasible energy source for power generation, it must prove to be economical, meet society's pollution criteria, and provide sufficient energy to meet its regional demand applications or requirements. This report looks at wood's availability, its potential as a fuel source, the different methods of energy conversion, and lastly, submits conclusions and recommendations concerning wood-fueled power generation.

The information and background was supplied and supported by actual application, government publications and documentations, and other sources. The availability report includes living biomass, wood residues, and potential biomass expansion. Once availability was determined, the portion …

Managing In An Energy Scarce Environment, John Amos

UMR-MEC Conference on Energy / UMR-DNR Conference on Energy

Present engineering management principles, operations research techniques, and economic theories were mainly developed dealing with only one scarce resource -- capital. Today, the engineer manager must consider another scarce resource -- energy. In the past, energy was never considered a major factor; i.e., equipment was considered a good investment if labor was reduced, regardless of energy cost. Many other managerial decisions are similar; therefore, the engineer manager must understand why many decisions based on traditional techniques may be misleading. The engineer manager must now utilize more complex engineering management techniques instead of evaluating only one factor or using rules of …

The Price Of Oil, R. W. Clack

UMR-MEC Conference on Energy / UMR-DNR Conference on Energy

An examination of major forces in the petroleum market with primary emphasis on the decade of the 1970s. The market force (s) responsible for the factor-of-ten increase in the price of crude oil is isolated, if not identified. The market's "message" is set forth for energy policy planners.