Engineering Commons^™

Adjustable Speed Drives Laboratory Based On Dspace Controller, Kiran Kumar Gunda

LSU Master's Theses

This thesis refers to the EE 4490 Adjustable Speed Drives course, which is taught at Louisiana State University (LSU). The part of this course is variable speed AC and DC drives laboratory. The objective of this thesis is to modify the existing DSP Based Electric Drives Lab Manual developed by Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Minnesota in order to adjust it to the EE 4490 course syllabus and to verify the experiments by carrying out the tests on the lab equipment available at the Elec. & Comp. Eng. Dept at LSU. There are four major components, of …

In-Situ And Nondestructive Test Methods Applied To The Design And Construction Of Pile Foundation Projects In Coastal Louisiana, Jesse Gerard Rauser

LSU Master's Theses

Construction projects in coastal Louisiana often require pile foundations as a result of the soft soils present, which complicate cast‐in‐place foundation construction and provide minimal support to shallow foundations. During a driven pile project, the engineering phase will require soil characterization and pile capacity determination, while construction will require quality assurance. These three elements, soil characterization, capacity determination, and quality assurance, are commonly accomplished using in‐situ and nondestructive testing. In this thesis, the application of some of these in‐situ and nondestructive methodologies to a project in Coastal Louisiana are examined. The Louisiana Transportation Research Center (LTRC) has released computer software …

Impact Damage Between The Collision Of A Vessel And Protective Fender Systems, Paul Joseph Kocke

LSU Master's Theses

Vessel collision with bridge pilings can cause a catastrophic event and are occurring at an alarming rate. Such events can lead to the collapse of a bridge, causing deaths, shutting down a primary route of transportation and costing millions of dollars in repairs. Today, the AASHTO Bridge Code gives designers a methodology toward designing bridge pilings to withstand the impact of an errant vessel. However, bridges designed before this code was written require a protective system that is capable of redirecting a colliding vessel without causing severe damage to the pilings or the vessel. This research will look into three …

Modeling The Relationship Among Occupational Stress, Psychological/Physical Symptoms And Injuries In The Construction Industry, Omosefe Osarieme Abbe

LSU Master's Theses

The construction industry has one of the highest incidents of fatal and non-fatal accidents/injuries every year. As a high risk industry, there is a need to investigate factors that affect the occurrence of these accidents to be able to protect workers. Traditional approaches to workers’ safety in the construction industry have focused on the physical and biomechanical aspects of work by improving tools, equipment and task completion methods. However, the impact of psychosocial factors, specifically stress as experienced by construction workers is an area of growing research. Research in the area of occupational stress in the Construction Industry is yielding …

Nanoclay Syntactic Foam Composites, Sameer Leo Peter

LSU Master's Theses

Syntactic foams are composite materials in which the matrix phase is reinforced with hollow particles called microballoons. They possess low moisture absorption, low thermal conductivity and high damage tolerance because of their compositions. Traditionally, syntactic foams are used in many high strength applications such as in aerospace and marine industries, thus there is a need to achieve both high compressive strength and high fracture strain with minimal increase in density. This research studies the effect of nanoclay on the high strain rate mechanical properties of syntactic foams. Nanoclay reinforced syntactic foams are fabricated by adding 1, 2 and 5% volume …

Design, Fabrication, And Testing Of A Micro Fuel Injection Swirler For Lean Premixed Combustion In Gas Turbine Engines, Anthony Louis Giglio

LSU Master's Theses

Due to growing energy demands and the need for increased fuel consumption efficiency, environmental protection agencies are imposing more stringent emissions regulations on gas turbine combustion systems with emphasis on NOx emissions reduction. Emerging technological combustion schemes to reduce NOx commonly employ lean premixed combustion. Decreases in NOx are globally obtained by flame temperature decrease and locally improved by homogeneity of the reacting mixture. A new micro fuel injection swirler, capable of providing efficient and rapid mixing over a short distance, is presented in this thesis. The conception of the Micro Fuel Injection Swirler (MFIS) was motivated by the need …

Freezing Processes In Cell Suspensions Evaluated Using Cryomicroscopy, Tathagata Acharya

LSU Master's Theses

This thesis aims at evaluating the freezing response of three different cell types, Pacific Oyster embryos, Jurkats and Helas, using the technique of cryomicroscopy. The choice of cells was primarily based on supporting ongoing research work at the Bioengineering Laboratory, Department of Mechanical Engineering at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. On a secondary basis, the cells were chosen based on their contrasting nature. While Pacific Oyster being a favorite food in USA calls for successful techniques of cryopreservation of their embryos in order to keep up with the growing demand, Jurkat and HeLa are undesired malignant human cells that …

Model-Based Framework For Alloy Electrodeposition Processes, Miguel Eduardo Estrada

LSU Master's Theses

The electrodeposition of iron-group alloys has been widely studied due to their interest as materials used for their magnetic and thermo-physical properties. Models such as ternary NiCoFe and quaternary NiCoFeCu multilayer alloys have been previously developed to simulate mass transfer and reaction kinetics. The reactions involved in the models contain kinetic parameters such as rate constants and inverse Tafel slopes which are estimated using trial and error techniques. The previous models are limited to a set of kinetic parameters for each change in concentrations of the electrolyte. Although deposition behaviors such as anomalous codeposition are captured, functionalities to use the …

Evaluation Of Sweep Efficiency Of A Mature Co2 Flood In Little Creek Field, Mississippi, Didem Senocak

LSU Master's Theses

CO2 displacement is the most widely used EOR process, but poor sweep efficiency and large CO2 utilization rates are limitations to the economic and technical success of CO2 floods. Developing a methodology to maximize the sweep efficiency and minimize the CO2 utilization rate would greatly improve the economics of these fields. This thesis evaluates the sweep efficiency of a successful, late-in-life, continuous injection CO2 flood at the Little Creek Field, Mississippi. In this work, we evaluate several heterogeneity measures in terms of recovery efficiency and utilization rate. Core studies available from 41% of the wells in the field were used …

Experimental Study Of A Foam Flow In Horizontal Pipes: Two Flow Regimes And Its Implications, Miodrag Bogdanovic

LSU Master's Theses

Although foam has been widely used in many scientific and engineering applications, the current understanding of foam rheology in pipes is still very limited because of its complex nature. This experimental study, for the first time, investigates the flow rheology of foams in pipes by placing a special emphasis on two distinct foam flow regimes. A wide range of experimental conditions are examined in this study, which include five different surfactant formulations (Cedepal FA-406, Petrostep CG-50, Stepanform 1050, Aquet TD-600, and Ultra-Palmolive), three different surfactant concentrations (0.1, 1, and 5 wt %), two different pipe diameters (0.5 and 1 inch …

Characterization And Development Of Axle Load Spectra To Enhance Pavement Design And Performance On The Basis Of New Mechanistic-Empirical Design Guide In Louisiana, Bharath Kumar Sridhar

LSU Master's Theses

For pavement design practices, several factors must be considered to ensure good performance of the pavement over the anticipated life cycle. Such factors include, but are not limited to, the type of paving materials, traffic loading characteristics, prevailing environmental conditions, and others. Traditional pavement design practices have followed the standards set by the American Society of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) which require the use of an equivalent single axle load (ESAL - 18 kip single axle load) for design traffic input. Recently, a new mechanistic-empirical pavement design guide (MEPDG) was developed to improve pavement design practices. The guide …

Sulphur Removal Using Regenerable Sorbents Of Rare Earth/Transition Metal Oxides, Vikram Reddy Kalakota

LSU Master's Theses

Hot gas desulfurization of gases from primary gasifier can be accomplished using sorbents composed Zn, calcium and transition metal oxide sorbents. The problem with metal oxide sorbents alone is that they are easily reduced at high temperature above 873 K to metallic state under reducing atmosphere decreasing their desulfurization capacity. Sorbents studied for hot gas desulfurization were based on Ce/La/M (M = transition metal) oxides and Ce/La/RE (RE = a rare earth) oxide. Sorbents were prepared using sol-gel method and the rare earth oxides were doped with transition metals using incipient wetness impregnation. Sulfidation experiments were carried out at 873 …

Quasi-Static And Impact Characterization Of Sandwich Structures With An Iso-Grid Stiffened Syntactic Foam Core, Venkata Sandeep Chakka

LSU Master's Theses

In this study, a novel hybrid sandwich structure with an integrated, iso-grid stiffened syntactic foam core was fabricated and evaluated by impact test and static test. Sandwich beams with different grid cell areas were prepared using a pin-guided dry weaving process. Low velocity impact test on different locations (rib, node, and bay) was conducted with varying hammer weight and impact velocities by an instrumented impact testing machine. Ultrasonic C-scan was utilized before and after impact to identify the damage induced by impact. Scanning Electron Microscopy observation was also implemented to visualize the impact damage at micro- length scale. Compressions after …

Fog-Smog Reactor And Photooxidation Of Naphthalene Within The Fog Condensate In A Uv Light Setup, Neha Shrikant Damle

LSU Master's Theses

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) form a major class of air pollutants. Naphthalene is a commonly found PAH in the atmosphere. Atmospheric fog water contains naphthalene absorbed from surrounding air. The partition coefficient of naphthalene is defined as the ratio of total naphthalene concentration in fog water to total naphthalene concentration in air. The purpose of this research was to determine the partition coefficients of naphthalene for varying reactor temperature. Fog was artificially formed in a predesigned reactor. NaCl aerosols were used as condensation nuclei for fog formation. Fog droplets were exposed to naphthalene vapors in the reactor. The reactor provided …

Modeling Of Solute Transport And Retention In Upper Amite River, Hoonshin Jung

LSU Master's Theses

Streams play an important role in a solute transport through a stream network. Transient storage is one of the important processes that control mass exchange between a main stream and transient storage zones because of increase in the residence time of solute. In order to take account of the effect of transient storage on solute transport in streams, a variable residence time (VART) model was developed. The model is characterized by several features: (1) actual varying residence time was used, (2) no-user specified residence time distributions (RTD) were required, (3) less calibration parameters were involved as compared to existing models, …

Reservoir Characterization Using Seismic Inversion Data, Subhash Kalla

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Reservoir architecture may be inferred from analogs and geologic concepts, seismic surveys, and well data. Stochastically inverted seismic data are uninformative about meter-scale features, but aid downscaling by constraining coarse-scale interval properties such as total thickness and average porosity. Well data reveal detailed facies and vertical trends (and may indicate lateral trends), but cannot specify intrawell stratal geometry. Consistent geomodels can be generated for flow simulation by systematically considering the precision and density of different data. Because seismic inversion, conceptual stacking, and lateral variability of the facies are uncertain, stochastic ensembles of geomodels are needed to capture variability.

In this …

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 …

Microassembly Technology For Modular, Polymer Microfluidic Devices, Byoung Hee You

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Assembly of modular, polymer microfluidic devices with different functions to obtain more capable instruments may significantly expand the options available for detection and diagnosis of disease through DNA analysis and proteomics. For connecting modular devices, precise, passive alignment structures can be used to prevent infinitesimal motions between the devices and minimize misalignment. The motion and constraint of passive alignment structures were analyzed using screw theory. A combination of three v-groove and hemisphere-tipped post joints constrained all degrees of freedom of the two mating modules without overconstraint. Simulations and experiments were performed to assess the predictability of dimensional and location variations …

Cluster Kinetics Modeling Of Glassforming Materials, Lisa Ann Brenskelle

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

In this work, a new model relating temperature and pressure to dielectric relaxation or viscosity of a glassformer is developed. The model is based upon cluster kinetics, reaction-like mechanisms describing interactions between glassformer monomers and their clusters. Mathematical solutions of population balance equations for monomer and cluster lead to molar concentrations in terms of rate coefficients of the reaction-like mechanisms. These are then related to viscosity or dielectric relaxation time through free volume theory. The resulting equations are tested against data for a variety of pure glassformers, fragile, non-fragile, large, and small molecules over a wide range of temperatures, pressures, …

Exploring Stochastic Characteristics Of Freeway Traffic Breakdown And Recovery Conditions, Chaitanya Mamidala

LSU Master's Theses

In recent times, the term ‘congestion’ has gained a lot of attention due to its negative impact on the mobility and efficiency of transportation network. Congestion control and mitigation of its effects has become a prime concern to many transportation agencies. With breakthroughs in transportation technologies, effective management and utilization of existing infrastructure capacities has been possible. One of the key functions of technological advancements is the ability to understand the different characteristics of traffic that prevail on major freeways and arterials, and to model short-term predictions of traffic conditions with reasonable accuracy. Providing accurate, real-time information makes travelers aware …

Parametric Study Of A Pulsed Vertical Jet In Cross-Flow, Guillaume Francois Bidan

LSU Master's Theses

The potential of pulsed vertical jet in cross-flow for film cooling purposes was experimentally studied and is discussed in this Thesis. A single vertical jet placed in laminar cross-flow conditions was first characterized in steady state at relatively low blowing ratios ranging from 0.150 to 0.600, using Mie scattering visualization methods and hot-wire measurements. Wavelet spectral analysis and image quantification algorithms were applied to the velocity records and averaged visualizations to obtain quantitative data on the jet characteristic frequencies, penetration and coverage. Two different regimes characterized by different structures are identified and adapted scaling variables are provided. Trends in the …

Vibrations For Improving Multiphase Contact, Yogesh G. Waghmare

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Present work demonstrates the use of vibrations to enhance performance of two multi-phase contacting systems: a bubble column for gas-liquid contacting (physical absorption) and a Piston Oscillating Monolith Reactor (POMR) for gas-liquid-solid contacting (catalytic reactions). In a bubble column reactor, enhancements of mass transfer coefficient and gas hold up were experimentally studied for the air-water system. Mass transfer coefficient enhancements up to 500% and gas hold-up improvements up to 200% were achieved under the application of low amplitude (0.5-2.5 mm) vibration at low frequencies (0-25 Hz). A fundamental theory was developed from first principles to explain these enhancements. The theory …

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 …

Fabrication Of Micro Bumps For Micro Scale Thermal Management, Ajay Ashok Kardak

LSU Master's Theses

Cryopreservation is storage of biological systems at ultra low temperatures for a prolonged duration; such that they can be thawed and restored to the same living state. It is important to understand the behavior of cells when they are subjected to subzero temperatures. Research in this area has shown the occurrence of two main biophysical events; cellular dehydration and intracellular ice formation. Current techniques for characterizing the dehydration in cells as part of a tissue are not adequate for studying intracellular ice formation in tissues. An integrated device consisting of an array of thermal sensors (microthermocouples) and actuators (microthermoelectric coolers) …

Adsorption And Photochemical Transformation Of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons On Atmospheric Water Films, Jing Chen

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Atmospheric water films affect the processing of chemicals in the atmosphere and have potential effects on human health and the environment. In this work, adsorption and photochemical transformations of gas-phase PAHs were studied in a flow-tube photo-reactor with a view to understanding the behavior of gas-phase PAHs occurring in thin water films such as those of aerosols and fog. Naphthalene and phenanthrene were chosen as model PAHs for this study. Bulk water-air and air-to-interface partition constants of naphthalene and phenanthrene were estimated from the experiments based on the dependence of the equilibrium uptake on the water film thickness. Theoretical computations …

Effect Of Hydrated Lime On The Laboratory Performance Of Superpave Mixtures, Md Sharear Kabir

LSU Master's Theses

Permanent deformation and moisture damage are the most common distresses found in asphalt pavements today. Extensive experimental studies have revealed that the use of hydrated lime in Hot-Mix Asphalt (HMA) mixtures can reduce permanent deformation, long-term aging, and moisture susceptibility of mixtures. In addition, it increases the stiffness and fatigue resistance of mixtures. The objectives of this study were to evaluate (1) the fundamental engineering properties of HMA mixtures containing hydrated lime compared to conventional mixtures designed to meet the current Louisiana Superpave specifications and (2) the influence of the method of addition of hydrated lime on the mechanical properties …

Physical Layer Secrecy Channel Coding, Bandali K. Akkawi

LSU Master's Theses

Wireless communications is expanding and becoming an indispensable part of our daily life. However, due to its channel open nature, it is more vulnerable to attacks, such as eavesdropping and jamming which jeopardize the confidentiality of wireless data, compared to its counter-part, wireline communications. Security in wireless communication is thus a very important factor that should be perfected to accommodate the rapid growth of wireless communication today. Motivated by information theoretic secrecy definitions, we adopt a simple way to define the secrecy of a system by looking at its Bit-Error-Rate (BER) curves, the correlation of error vectors and Log Likelihood …

Development Of An Algorithm For Switching Compensator Control Based On The Currents' Physical Components Theory, Samuel Pearce

LSU Master's Theses

Development of a three-phase switching compensator algorithm, based on the Currents’ Physical Components (CPC) power theory and capable of performing in real time, is the subject of this thesis. The compensator algorithm could be implemented to control a PWM Inverter, which would perform as a shunt switching compensator of harmonic, reactive and unbalanced currents or a customizable combination of the three. The hardware used to demonstrate the ability of the algorithm to perform within the restraints or real time operation is a Motorola DSP56F807 evaluation mode DSP board and a set of voltage and current sensors. The Evaluation Board was …

Experimental Investigation Of Unsaturated Soil Stiffness, Ananth Bukkapatnam Tirumala

LSU Master's Theses

Soil stiffness is a strain dependent non-linear parameter. Stiffness is the measure of soil deformation under a particular working load. It can used for predicting ground deformation in engineering earthworks such as highway embankments and foundations. Non-linear analyses for ground behavior have been widely used for developing models to predict the small –strain characteristics of the soil (Atkinson, 2000). This thesis provides a new insight into the behavior of soil stiffness. We used the wave propagation technique to determine the stiffness and term it as the small strain shear modulus (Gmax) of the soil. The objective of the thesis was …

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 …