Engineering Commons^™

Well Log Interpretation And 3d Reservoir Property Modeling Of Maui-B Field, Taranaki Basin, New Zealand, Aziz Mennan

Masters Theses

"Maui-B is one of the largest hydrocarbon-producing fields in the Taranaki Basin. Many previous works have estimated reservoir volume. This study uses 3D property modeling, which is one of the most powerful tools to characterize lithology and reservoir fluids distribution through the field. This modeling will help in understanding the reservoir properties and enhancing the production by selecting the best location for future drilling candidates. In this study, 3D seismic, core, and well log data were used to build and define a structural model, facies analysis, and petrophysical parameters. After well log interpretation and petrophysical parameter calculations, each parameter was …

Characterizing Groundwater Flow At Fort Leonard Wood Using Universal Cokriging With Trend Removal, Rachel Mae Uetrecht

Masters Theses

"Groundwater elevation interpolation is necessary for the prediction of groundwater flow direction and contaminant transport. Kriging is a geostatistical tool commonly used to interpolate groundwater elevation. Kriging requires a relatively large number of monitoring wells at the site of interest. The variogram model is a crucial element to the kriging equations. The variogram modelling process is an iterative procedure that is often very time consuming. This study presents a literature based approach that provides a point of departure for the variogram modelling process as well as other kriging parameters. A literature database is developed in order to provide insight and …

Diffusion And Mechanical Characterization Of Nanoparticle-Enabled Diffusion Controlled Materials, Joseph Louis Volpe

Masters Theses

"Nanoparticle-enabled diffusion control has been shown to rapidly refine multiphase microstructures during slowly cooled casting. This thesis characterizes the diffusion and the mechanical properties of nanoparticle-enabled diffusion controlled materials. To characterize diffusion properties, in situ characterization is performed to verify the nanoparticle enabled diffusion control mechanism. Materials with nanoparticles were observed to decrease the diffusion coefficient by at least one order of magnitude under similar melting conditions as compared to materials without nanoparticles. To understand mechanical properties, the nanoparticles that assembled at the growing interface were characterized under mechanical tensile stress. Nanoparticle-enabled interfaces were observed to improve the interface bond …

Evaluation Of Preformed Particle Gel As A Diverting Agent For Acidizing, Bo Wei

Masters Theses

"Preformed particle gels (PPGs) have been developed and successfully used to improve conformance in heterogeneous reservoirs. However, no research has been reported to show their potential diverting applications in acidizing because of their unknown performance in this process. This work targets on evaluating the potential of PPGs to be used as diverting agents and factors influencing the diverting performance.

The swelling properties of three types of PPGs (PPG #1, #2, and #3) were first studied in brine and acid, including the swelling kinetics and equilibrium, PPG strength, and deswelling performance. Effects of different brine concentration, acid concentration, and temperature were …

Sparse Emission Source Microscopy For Rapid Emission Source Imaging, Ling Zhang

Masters Theses

"In Paper I, Sparse Emission Source Microscopy (ESM) methodology will be introduced and discussed for the localization of major EMI radiation sources in complex and large systems. Traditional ESM method takes abundant and uniformly-distributed scanning points on the scanning plane using a robotic system, which can provide high-quality source images but consumes too much time. This section presents a sparse and nonuniform sampling technique for ESM, which is more time-efficient in identifying major radiation sources, even though the image quality is sacrificed. The feasibility of sparse sampling is mathematically proved, and it is shown that increasing number of points increases …

A New Reinforcement Learning Algorithm With Fixed Exploration For Semi-Markov Decision Processes, Angelo Michael Encapera

Masters Theses

"Artificial intelligence or machine learning techniques are currently being widely applied for solving problems within the field of data analytics. This work presents and demonstrates the use of a new machine learning algorithm for solving semi-Markov decision processes (SMDPs). SMDPs are encountered in the domain of Reinforcement Learning to solve control problems in discrete-event systems. The new algorithm developed here is called iSMART, an acronym for imaging Semi-Markov Average Reward Technique. The algorithm uses a constant exploration rate, unlike its precursor R-SMART, which required exploration decay. The major difference between R-SMART and iSMART is that the latter uses, in addition …

A Bounded Actor-Critic Algorithm For Reinforcement Learning, Ryan Jacob Lawhead

Masters Theses

"This thesis presents a new actor-critic algorithm from the domain of reinforcement learning to solve Markov and semi-Markov decision processes (or problems) in the field of airline revenue management (ARM). The ARM problem is one of control optimization in which a decision-maker must accept or reject a customer based on a requested fare. This thesis focuses on the so-called single-leg version of the ARM problem, which can be cast as a semi-Markov decision process (SMDP). Large-scale Markov decision processes (MDPs) and SMDPs suffer from the curses of dimensionality and modeling, making it difficult to create the transition probability matrices (TPMs) …

Dynamic Electromechanical Characterization Of Ferroelectrics At Cryogenic Temperatures, William Kent Hays

Masters Theses

"Electromechanical coupling in ferroelectric materials has given rise to a myriad of technological applications. Through the complex domain structure of ferroelectrics materials, which are typically stiff and have low damping, can exhibit significant structural damping. The applications for a material with a relatively large Young’s modulus and the ability to damp out vibrations would be useful for structures, more specifically, aerospace structures. The dynamic mechanical properties of ferroelectrics, particularly mechanical properties while an electric field is applied, are not well understood. This is due in part to the lack of experimental methods to measure such properties. Even with recent advancements …

Processing And Properties Of Wc-Based Cu-Ni-Mn-Zn Metal Matrix Composites Produced Via Pressureless Infiltration, Paul M. Brune

Masters Theses

"This research focuses on the processing and properties of tungsten carbide-based (WC-based) Cu-Ni-Mn-Zn metal matrix composites (MMCs) fabricated by pressureless infiltration. The first goal of this project was to test the wettability of Cu-Ni-Mn and Cu-Ni-Mn-Zn on various carbides. The sessile drop technique was employed to determine if they were suitable candidates for pressureless infiltration. The carbides investigated were TaC, WC, B₄C, and SiC. It was determined that both alloys had contact angles of less than 70⁰ on TaC, WC, and B4C, which is one requirement for pressureless infiltration. However, both alloys reacted with B₄C to …

Wrinkling Of Functionally Graded Sandwich Structures Subject To Biaxial And In-Plane Shear Loads, Harold Costa

Masters Theses

"Benefits of a functionally graded core increasing wrinkling stability of sandwich panels have been demonstrated in a recent paper [1] where a several-fold increase in the wrinkling stress was observed, without a significant weight penalty, using a stiffer core adjacent to the facings. In the present paper wrinkling is analyzed in case where the facings are subject to biaxial compression and/or in-plane shear loading and the core is arbitrary graded through-the-thickness. Two issues addressed are the effect of biaxial or in-plane shear loads on wrinkling stability of panels with both graded and ungraded core and the verification that functional grading …

Ti-Fe Intermetallics Analysis And Control In Joining Titanium Alloy And Stainless Steel By Laser Metal Deposition, Wei Li

Masters Theses

"Direct fusion joining titanium alloy and stainless steel can cause brittle Ti-Fe intermetallics which compromise the mechanical properties of diffusion bonds between titanium alloys and stainless steel. Therefore, filler metals are required as transition layers. In this research, stainless steel metallic powder was directly deposited on the titanium alloy substrate by laser beam, the Ti-Fe intermetallic phases formed in this process were investigated through analyzing fracture morphology, phase identification, and Vickers Hardness Number (VHN). After that, Laser Metal Deposition (LMD) was applied to explore a new fabricating process to join Ti6Al4V and SS316. A transition composition route was introducedTi6Al4V → …

3d Bioprinting A Pcl/13-93b3 Glass Composite And Its Potential Use As A Bio-Ink, Caroline Blair Murphy

Masters Theses

"A major limitation of using synthetic scaffolds in tissue engineering is little growth of incorporated cells in the interior of the scaffold, resulting in insufficient angiogenesis in the scaffold interior. Recently, cells have been 3D bioprinted concurrently with biomaterials to produce a cellularized, bioactive, angiogenic 3D environment. This thesis describes a novel solvent-extrusion method for printing polycaprolactone (PCL)/bioactive borate glass composite as a biomaterial for a cell-laden scaffold.

Bioactive borate glass was added to a mixture of PCL and organic solvent to make an extrudable paste, creating scaffolds measuring 10×10×1 mm³ in overall dimensions with pore sizes ranging from …

Design And Modeling Of An Aluminum Smelting Process To Analyze Aluminum Smelter And Identify The Alternative Uses Of Nuclear Power Small Modular Reactor, Rajesh Ramkrushna Patharabe

Masters Theses

"This thesis focuses on design and analysis of an Aluminum Smelting process using computer simulation which performs a dynamic state computation. The objective is to develop a Dynamic Simulation Model of an Aluminum Smelter using Mimic Simulator to analyze the dynamic behavior of an Aluminum Smelter to evaluate strategies for alternative design or uses of Nuclear Power Small Modular Reactor to improve the efficiency of the process and to reduce the heat losses.

Increasing energy needs, decrease of the availability of cheap electricity and the need to reduce the greenhouse gases emissions are the biggest hurdles for running Aluminum smelters …

Recovery Of Phosphate Minerals From Plant Tailings Using Direct Froth Flotation Process, Ashraf Alsafasfeh

Masters Theses

"The wastes produced from phosphate industry presents many challenges due to the economic and environmental impacts of their disposal. In the meantime, scarcity of high-grade phosphate ores persuades researchers to find novel methods of upgrading these wastes (secondary sources) and recycling them in the production plant circuit. The goal of this study is to investigate the potential to upgrade the phosphorus content in the tailing produced from a phosphorous production plant using direct froth flotation process. Characterization studies such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and mineral liberation analysis (MLA) were first conducted to identify the mineralogical and …

Biodegradable Capacitive Pressure Sensor Toward Temporary Implants For Intervertebral Pressure Monitoring, Devdatt Chattopadhyay

Masters Theses

"The objective of this thesis is to demonstrate a new class of implantable biomedical device, based on biodegradable borate glass as the substrate material that can be potentially used to monitor the intervertebral pressure in the lumbar region of the human body. Two major types of implantable biomedical devices include the permanent prosthetic devices such as pacemakers and the temporary implants for short-term intervention and monitoring. Unless surgically removed after their intended operation, the temporary implants are left inside the body causing electromagnetic issues, latent complications and various biomechanical safety concerns. In order to address this issue, a new device …

A Study Of Acoustic Reflections To Determine The Location, Size, Shape, And Orientation Of Reflecting Objects, Brandon M. Heller

Masters Theses

This study was conducted to examine the properties of sound in relation to echolocation, specifically in relation to its use by humans. Through my thesis, objects of varying shape and size were subjected to a sound wave to determine details about the object from the reflected sound. The shapes' comparisons were conducted at varying distances, measuring the intensity of the returning sound wave at several frequencies. The results demonstrated a correlation between the intensity of the sound in regards to distances, area of the reflector, and the shape of the reflector.

Experimental And Numerical Study Of Dysphagia, Yash G. Potdar

Masters Theses

Dysphagia, meaning difficulty in swallowing, is a symptom of disease that occurs in young children and elderly people. It occurs particularly due to two reasons, weak neural network and/or deformities in oral section/s. The Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital’s Intensive Feeding Program takes care of children suffering from Dysphagia. In order to make the swallowing process easier and in some cases safer, thickener is added to the liquids. Depending on the requirement of thickness, the amount of thickener is varied. Although the directions to prepare the mixtures are given by the thickener product company, the required thickness is not achieved when …

Design And Realization Of A Nonlinear Vibration Energy Harvester For Cost Effective Additive Manufacturing, Rodrigo Barriuso De Juan

Masters Theses

Environmental energy harvesting has always been an attractive solution to the search for sustainable energy sources. Combined with the miniaturization and power consumption reduction of sensors and portable electronic devices, the possibility of powering using environmental energy, like vibration energy, instead of conventional batteries increases exponentially. Vibrational energy harvesting can be achieved using devices based on different physical phenomena. Electromagnetic based devices seem to be among the most effective when considering the power output levels within low frequency applications. However, these devices have always had inherent challenges including size and manufacturing cost reduction as well as limitations on the range …

An Equivalent Plate Model With Orthotropic Material Properties For Adjacent Box-Beam Bridge Superstructure, Timothy Alexander Schnell

Masters Theses

Reflective cracking over the longitudinal joints of adjacent box-beam bridges is a welldocumented and recurrent problem; it is a concern because it leads to poor durability performance. These cracks develop during early stages of bridge construction and have not been eliminate by the design revisions implemented so far.

This study is aimed at developing a rational load demand analysis model for calculating the moment acting at the longitudinal joints in order to determine the impact of post-tensioning on mitigating reflective cracking.

The scope of the study includes calculating moment demand at the shear keys using a rational analysis model based …

Design, Modeling And Simulation Of A Thermoelectric Cooling System (Tec), Pooja Iyer Mani

Masters Theses

Thermoelectric Devices are solid state devices which directly convert thermal energy to electrical energy and vice versa. In the recent past, a lot of effort has been made to improve the performance and also the power generated by a thermoelectric device. This is done by attaching heat sinks on either sides of the device. Optimizing heat sinks improves the overall efficiency of it but on the other hand the device also has to be optimized. TECs are mostly used for electronic cooling where the heated electronic devices serve as target that needs to be cooled while air acts as a …

Application Of Wavelet Transform In Structural Health Monitoring, Yashodhya Swarna Sri Dhanapala Liyana Kankanamge

Masters Theses

Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) is a process of implementing a damage detection strategy in structures to evaluate the condition of existing structures to ensure the safety of users in the future. The changes in the material, geometric and/or structural properties affect structural responses, which can be captured and analyzed for condition assessment. Various vibration-based damage detection algorithms have been developed in the past decades. Among them, the Continuous Wavelet Transform (CWT) gained popularity as an efficient method of signal processing to build a framework to identify model properties and detect damage in structures. In this study, the application of wavelet …

Safety Benefit Analysis Of Alternative Delineation Practices In Michigan, Brenda C. Burdick

Masters Theses

Among the many aspects of roadway design, one important system is roadway delineation. The main purposes of roadway delineation include regulating, warning, and guiding drivers in a safe manner. Delineation systems have the potential to reduce crashes. This research sought to perform safety benefit analysis of roadway delineation practices in Michigan. Through literature review, several delineation practices, selection criteria, and previously developed crash modification factors were researched. Even though several pavement marking materials have been implemented in Michigan, a safety benefit analysis of various materials had not been performed. Sites were selected, and pavement marking material inventory data were combined …

A Genetic Algorithm Incorporating Design Choice For The Preliminary Design Of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, Kenneth Michael Mull

Masters Theses

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are currently at the forefront of aerospace technologies. The design of these aircraft is complex and often performance characteristics are coupled to multiple design attributes. At the early design phase both discrete and continuous design choices are present limiting the feasibility of traditional derivative based optimization techniques. In place of these methods, the design space can be explored using a genetic algorithm that mimics the process of natural selection, providing a capable and reliable base airframe constructed from the required performance metrics. By incorporating a genetic multidisciplinary optimization algorithm early in the conceptual design phase, aircraft …

Improved Methodology For Developing Non-Motorized Safety Perfomance Functions, Keneth Morgan Kwayu

Masters Theses

This study aimed at improving the methodology for developing statewide non-motorized safety performance functions (SPFs). Due to lack of pedestrian and bicyclist counts, the methodology proposed a procedure for developing statewide surrogate non-motorized exposure measures using data that are available at statewide level. Eleven years non-motorized crashes at signalized urban intersections joining Arterial and Collector roads in Michigan were used to test the procedure.

The study also explored the use of Bayesian approach for modeling non-motorized crashes as an alternative to traditional classical count data models. Classical count data models that were considered as potential fit to the data include; …

Modeling, Optimizing And Testing Thermoelectric Generators For Liquid-To-Liquid Low Grade Waste Heat Recovery, Ali Eyddan Hamil

Masters Theses

The use of thermoelectric generators (TEGs) for producing electricity from low grade waste heat is thought to be a great solution in the future to reduce the power generation cost because of their advantages of reliability and environmental friendliness. Therefore, the current project aims to study thermoelectric generators for low grade waste heat recovery. In this work, a single unit cell of liquid to liquid thermoelectric generator attached with heat exchangers (heat sinks) is modeled using an internal flow. Its optimum design is obtained based on heat sink optimization and the optimal design method. An analytical model of four unit …

Analytical Study Of Miniature Thermoelectric Device, Mohammed Dhannoon

Masters Theses

Miniature thermoelectric devices (TE) have been regarded as hopeful devices to attain efficient cooling in microprocessors and other small-scale devices. To recognize the performances of miniature thermoelectric coolers, a thermoelectric cooling module is theoretically analyzed. Particular attention is paid to the impact of the thermoelectric element length effect and the substrate material type influence on the cooling performance. The electrical contact resistance and thermal contact are taken into account.

Furthermore, miniature thermoelectric is compared with large thermoelectric, and effective material properties of miniature thermoelectric are studied. The obtained results also demonstrate power density (cooling/heating power per unit area of the …

Experimental Characterization And Simulation Of Carbon Nanotube Strain Sensing Films, Nagendra Krishna Chaitanya Tummalapalli

Masters Theses

Carbon Nanotubes (CNTs) have excellent mechanical, electrical and electromechanical properties. These properties led to a lot of novel applications. Due to change in electrical properties under mechanical loading, these composites have potential applications in strain sensors, when these are fabricated as films. CNT-based films are commonly fabricated using different physical and chemical techniques based on the property requirements governing those applications. In this work, CNT films were prepared using wet chemical based methods and chemical vapor deposition techniques.

Plasma chemical vapor deposition using microwave power is used in the first method to deposit films on silicon substrates, using Nickel film …

Development Of Fully Printed And Flexible Strain, Pressure And Electrochemical Sensors, Dinesh Maddipatla

Masters Theses

In recent years, considerable research has been put into the development of printed electronics (PE) as well as the best ways to effectively and efficiently print electronic devices on flexible substrates. This thesis focuses majorly on the design and fabrication of novel flexible sensors using conventional printing processes.

Initially, a flexible printed strain gauge was fabricated successfully on a flexible paper substrate using flexography printing process. Silver (Ag) ink was printed on the paper substrate as metallization layer. The performance of the printed device was investigated by subjecting the strain gauge to a 3-point bend test, with a displacement of …

Analytical Modeling And Numerical Simulation Of A Thermoelectric Generator Including Contact Resistances, Shripad Dhoopagunta

Masters Theses

With increasing demand for energy harvesting systems, research has been conducted in different areas in which Thermoelectric Generators (TEG) find their way into the top of many available resources. Out of many energy harvesting systems available, TEGs are comparatively easier to study, to manufacture and also to comprehend while producing enough energy for applications they find use in. They are solid state devices, meaning; they do not have any moving parts and hence makes them durable. Most of the energy that goes out of the automobile as exhaust is reused to power the TEGs. In most of the works that’s …

Measurement Of Activity And Stability Of Physical Vapor Deposition (Pvd) Coated Crystal Surfaces, Anuradha Krishnan

Masters Theses

The overall objective of this research work is to investigate the hydrophilic and hydrophobic forces acting on organic crystal planes and understanding the interaction of functional groups with additive molecular nanolayers. Crystals of acetaminophen and lactose were made and the surface forces were tested on Atomic Force Microscope (AFM). Uniformity of crystal surface was confirmed from the AFM study in the first stage. The growth factors of crystal planes as a function of time were studied. Adhesion forces on plain crystals were measured on both two different organic crystals made of acetaminophen and lactose. In the second stage, …