Engineering Commons^™

An Interactive Product Development Model In Remanufacturing Environment: A Chaos-Based Artificial Bee Colony Approach, Vishwa V. Kumar

Masters Theses

"This research presents an interactive product development model in re-manufacturing environment. The product development model defined a quantitative value model considering product design and development tasks and their value attributes responsible to describe functions of the product. At the last stage of the product development process, re-manufacturing feasibility of used components is incorporated. The consummate feature of this consideration lies in considering variability in cost, weight, and size of the constituted components depending on its types and physical states.

Further, this research focuses on reverse logistics paradigm to drive environmental management and economic concerns of the manufacturing industry after the …

Potential Acid Mine Drainage Treatment Utilizing Acidophilic Sulfate Reducing Bacteria In An Upflow Bioreactor, Elise Fay Kittrell

Masters Theses

"During coal and iron mining, pyrite is often exposed to oxygen, causing acid mine drainage (AMD). Acid mine drainage has characteristic traits of: a rust color, low pH levels (around 3 or 4) and high concentrations of sulfate, metal sulfates and heavy metals.

Sulfate reducing bacteria (SRB) are often utilized in acid mine drainage treatment by implementing them into biochemical reactors (BCR). As SRB break down various carbon sources, bicarbonate is produced, raising the pH and generating hydrogen sulfide which reacts with numerous metals. This approach can be troublesome, as SRBs do not thrive at low pH levels often associated …

Numerical Simulations For Wellbore Stability And Integrity For Drilling And Completions, Nevan Christopher Himmelberg

Masters Theses

"Conventional wellbore trajectory planning is commonly based on an Andersonian state of stress [SoS] and the optimum well azimuth and inclination for a specific depth can be determined using stereographic projections of the safe mud weight window. In this thesis a new methodology using the complete stress tensor is developed to determine optimal well trajectories for complex in-situ stress scenarios. This study uses a 3D finite element analysis to simulate the SoS based on an integrated 3D MEM. The model yields the complete stress tensor at every location for a planned future well path. Using standard equations to determine the …

Updated Screening Criteria For Steam Flooding Based On Oil Field Projects Data, Mariwan Qadir Hama

Masters Theses

"Enhanced oil recovery (EOR) screening is considered the first step in evaluating potential EOR techniques for candidate reservoirs. Therefore, as new technologies are developed, it is important to update the screening criteria. Many of the screening criteria for steam flooding that have been described in the literature were based on data collected from EOR surveys biennially published in the Oil & Gas Journal. However, these datasets contain some problems, including outliers, missing data, inconsistent data and duplicate data, that could affect the accuracy of the results. Despite the importance of ensuring the quality of a dataset before running analyses, data …

Bridge Deck Condition Assessment Using Destructive And Nondestructive Methods, Brandon Tyler Goodwin

Masters Theses

"This study investigates two bridge decks in the state of Missouri using both nondestructive and destructive testing methods. The Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) is responsible for the monitoring and maintenance of over 10,000 bridges. Currently monitoring of these bridges includes a comprehensive visual inspection. In this study, ground-coupled ground penetrating radar (GPR) is used to estimate deterioration, along with other traditional methods, including visual inspection, and core evaluation. Extracted core samples were carefully examined, and the volume of permeable pore space was determined for each core. After the initial investigation, the two bridges underwent rehabilitation using hydrodemolition as a …

Improving Plasma Actuator Performance At Low Pressure, And An Analysis Of The Pointing Capabilities Of Cubesats Using Plasmonic Force Propulsion (Pfp) Thrusters, Paul Daniel Friz

Masters Theses

"This thesis details the work done on two unrelated projects, plasma actuators, an aerodynamic flow control device, and Plasmonic Force Propulsion (PFP) thrusters, a space propulsion system for small satellites.

The first half of the thesis is a paper published in the International Journal of Flow Control on plasma actuators. In this paper the thrust and power consumption of plasma actuators with varying geometries was studied at varying pressure. It was found that actuators with longer buried electrodes produce the most thrust over all and that they substantially improved thrust at low pressure. In particular actuators with 75 mm buried …

Effect Of Stress Concentrations On Fatigue Of Composite And Metallic Structures, Ross Henry Falen

Masters Theses

"The complex shapes of hydrokinetic turbine blades can include part features such as a fillet, step, or hole. Situations can arise where two part features, such as a hole and a fillet, may be in close proximity which can introduce stress concentrations within the blade structure, adversely affecting the structure's life. Because the interaction between the part features isn't well known, fatigue data is needed to determine the proper analysis.

In this thesis, two separate topics are discussed and investigated. The first topic deals with stress concentrations in hydrokinetic turbine blades. Several blade designs were tested and improved upon to …

Analysis Of Factors Responsible For Life Degradation Of Led Traffic Indicators In The State Of Missouri, Snehal Satish Digraskar

Masters Theses

"Traffic lights using state-of-the-art LED illumination use 90 percent less electricity and offer a much longer service life and durability than their incandescent counterparts. Taking advantage of the countless benefits, cities around the country have been replacing traditional filament-based traffic signal bulbs with LEDs for years. However, the degradation of LEDs and hence the replacement strategy, are a concern which is faced by most of the Departments of Transportation. The thesis work sponsored by MoDOT, presents the replacement strategy developed based on the field study of LED indicators in Missouri. Three types of analysis are performed with multiple data point …

Application Of Electrically Invisible Antennas To The Modulated Scatterer Technique, Dylan Andrew Crocker

Masters Theses

"The Modulated Scatterer Technique (MST) has shown promise for applications in microwave imaging, electric field mapping, and materials characterization. Traditionally, MST scatterers consist of dipole antennas centrally loaded with a lumped element capable of modulation (commonly a PIN diode). By modulating the load element, the signal scattered from the MST scatterer is also modulated. However, due to the small size of such scatterers, it can be difficult to reliably detect the modulated signal. Increasing the modulation depth (a parameter related to how well the scatterer modulates the scattered signal) may improve the detectability of the scattered signal. In an effort …

Modelling Of Directed Energy Deposition Processes, Xueyang Chen

Masters Theses

"The laser additive manufacturing technique of laser deposition allows quick fabrication of fully-dense metallic components directly from Computer Aided Design (CAD) solid models. The applications of laser deposition include rapid prototyping, rapid tooling and part refurbishment. The development of an accurate predictive model for laser deposition is extremely complicated due to the multitude of process parameters and materials properties involved. In this work, a heat transfer and fluid flow model is developed.

In the heat transfer and fluid flow model, the governing equations for solid, liquid and gas phases in the calculation domain have been formulated using the continuum model. …

Comparison Of Core Control And Geophysical Investigations, Silica Sand Deposits, Dawmat Al Jandal, Al Jawf At Saudi Arabia, Ghassan Salem Alsulaimani

Masters Theses

"This thesis is a summary of a comprehensive geophysical investigation in southern Dawmat Al Jandal, Al Jawf in Saudi Arabia. This research demonstrates that the acquisition of both core control and geophysical data is superior to the acquisition of core control alone. Coring is expensive and is limited in subsurface coverage. Geophysical surveying, however, is a relatively rapid and cost-effective means of deriving information about the subsurface between core holes. Ground penetrating radar (GPR), Multichannel Analysis of Surface Waves (MASW), and Seismic Refraction methods were used as exploration techniques to locate surficial mineral deposits within the study area.

During the …

Comparison Of Costs Of Personal Protective Equipment For All Workers To Avoid Costs Of Fall Accidents, Sultan Noori Al-Karawi

Masters Theses

"The construction industry is one of the most important industries in the United States. It is the biggest contributor in the growth of the U.S. economy. Despite the great achievements and prominent role for this sector in the U.S. economy, the construction industry is suffering from neglect and dereliction by related government institutions and private companies. This neglect led to formation of a negative image about the construction industry that has caused a deep impact in productivity and economic growth. One of the reasons is a high percentage of accidents that occur within the construction industry which leads to injuries …

Theoretical Analysis Of Shape Separation Of Particles Using Flow Field-Flow Fractionation, Mehrdad Alfi

Masters Theses

"Size separation of spherical and rod-like particles in Flow Field-flow Fractionation was investigated theoretically. The effect of cross flow migration and rod orientation was also investigated as a new mode of study. It has been shown that the rod local orientation makes different diffusivity values in comparison with spherical particles and helps particle separation. Additionally, a new mechanism of lift-hypelayer mode was used for rod-like particles which can be compared with steric mode of spherical particles. This mechanism is said to be due to hydrodynamic interaction of rod-like particle with wall and with other rods.

As a measure of axial …

Impact Of Fracture Spacing And Mechanical Parameter Anisotropy On Fracture Width In Horizontal Wells In Shales, Deepak Gokaraju

Masters Theses

"The success of economically viable production of oil and gas from ultra-low permeability shale reservoirs depends on the creation of an extensive fracture network through hydraulic fracture stimulation. Multiple hydraulic fractures are created simultaneously in each stage to increase the surface area of contact between the wellbore and reservoir. The spacing between fractures is an important component to consider when developing an optimum stimulation design. An important aspect of shale rock properties is that shales are inherently anisotropic with a horizontal plane of isotropy (transversely isotropic) due to their finely layered structure. This study aims to provide an insight into …

An Analytical Pressure Model To Guide Downhole Sensor Placement For Carbon Dioxide Sequestration Monitoring, Yilin Mao

Masters Theses

"Injecting CO₂ into saline aquifers is currently the most viable approach to mitigate global greenhouse gas effect. Various monitoring techniques are required to achieve 99% accuracy in determining the location of the injected CO₂ plume. Sensor locations are critical to the monitoring quality necessary to meet this requirement but have scarcely been discussed. The pressure profile needs to be modeled accurately at the initial stage of CO₂ injection to guide sensor locations. The objective of this thesis was to develop an analytical solution for CO₂ sequestration based on time and distance. This will guide the locations of downhole pressure sensors …

Thermal Properties Of Zirconium Diboride - Transition Metal Boride Solid Solutions, Devon Lee Mcclane

Masters Theses

"This research focuses on the thermal properties of zirconium diboride (ZrB₂) based ceramics. The overall goal was to improve the understanding of how different transition metal (TM) additives influence thermal transport in ZrB₂. To achieve this, ZrB₂ with 0.5 wt% carbon, and 3 mol% of individual transition metal borides, was densified by hot-press sintering. The transition metals that were investigated were: Y, Ti, Hf, V, Nb, Ta, Cr, Mo, W, and Re. The room temperature thermal diffusivities of the compositions ranged from 0.331 cm²/s for nominally pure ZrB₂ to 0.105 cm²/s for (Zr,Cr)B₂ and converged around 0.155cm²/s at higher temperatures …

Quantitative Modeling Of Reliability And Survivability For Cyber-Physical Power Systems, Murtadha Nabeel Albasrawi

Masters Theses

"Critical infrastructure systems are increasingly reliant on cyber infrastructure that enables intelligent real-time control of physical components. This cyber infrastructure utilizes environmental and operational data to provide decision support intended to increase the efficacy and reliability of the system and facilitate mitigation of failure. Realistic imperfections, such as corrupt sensor data, software errors, or failed communication links can cause failure in a functional physical infrastructure, defying the purpose of intelligent control. As such, justifiable reliance on cyber-physical critical infrastructure is contingent on rigorous investigation of the effect of intelligent control, including modeling and simulation of failure propagation within the cyber-physical …

Hard-Switched Switched Capacitor Converter Design, Lukas Konstantin Müller

Masters Theses

"Switched capacitor (SC) converters are becoming quite popular for use in DC-DC power conversion. The concept of equivalent resistance in SC converters is frequently used to determine the conduction losses due to the load current. A variety of methodologies have been presented in the literature to predict the equivalent resistance in hard-switched SC converters. However, a majority of the methods described are difficult to apply to general SC converter topologies. Additionally, previous works have not considered all nonidealities in their analysis, such as switching losses or stray inductances. This work presents a generalized and easy to use model to determine …

The Description Of An Effective Sinkhole Investigation Approach: A Case Study Of Two Sites In Greene County, Missouri, Stanley Chinedu Nwokebuihe

Masters Theses

"Karst topographies pose danger to the environment. The associated gradual subsidence or sudden collapse of the ground can lead to loss of lives and damage to property. A sinkhole is the subsidence or collapse of the overburden into subsurface cavities. Sinkholes develop in different sizes, shapes and rates all over the world especially in areas where the bedrock can be dissolved by percolating slightly acidic surface water.

Different methods have been used to investigate sinkholes. Boring is the most common of these methods. But the boring technique is quite inefficient; it only provides information of the subsurface conditions at the …

Techno-Economic And Life-Cycle Modeling And Analysis Of Various Energy Storage Technologies Coupled With A Solar Photovoltaic Array, Brian Andrew Peterson

Masters Theses

"Renewable energies, such as wind and solar, are a growing piece of global energy consumption. The chief motivation to develop renewable energy is two-fold: reducing carbon dioxide emissions and reducing dependence on diminishing fossil fuel supplies. Energy storage is critical to the growth of renewable energy because it allows for renewably-generated electricity to be consumed at times when renewable sources are unavailable, and it also enhances power quality (maintaining voltage and frequency) on an electric grid which becomes increasingly unstable as more renewable energy is added. There are numerous means of storing energy with different advantages, but none has emerged …

Processing And Feature Analysis Of Atomic Force Microscopy Images, Xiao Pan

Masters Theses

"Atomic force microscopy (AFM) is a versatile and powerful tool for imaging and measuring small-scale objects such as nanoparticles, single molecules, semiconductor devices and living cells. The basic operation of an AFM can be to utilize a sharp cantilever tip that interacts with the sample surface and senses the local force between the tip and sample surface. Based on the physical interaction between the AFM and the small-scale object for image acquisition, there can be a number of artifacts, including curvature distortion (bowing effects), high-frequency or low-frequency noise, which may not be easily recognized by users accustomed to conventional microscopy. …

Improved Phase Shedding Technique In A Multiphase Converter System, Anagha Rayachoti

Masters Theses

"Multiphase converters are increasingly gaining prominence in the field of power electronics. The main advantage of a multiphase converter is its increased efficiency in comparison to a single phase converter. The one major drawback of a multiphase converter is its light load efficiency. Light load efficiency in multiphase converters is very poor when compared to single phase converters. Phase shedding is one of the approaches used to improve this light load efficiency but the transient output voltage response of the system shows large deviations during the process of phase change. This thesis proposes a new technique, called the ramp control …

An Effectiveness - Based Analysis Of Ground Coupled Heat Exchangers, Chou Shen

Masters Theses

"This thesis develops a theoretical framework, termed [Effectiveness] - BLU, to characterize the relation between temperatures, thermal contact and borehole length as it relates to the heat transfer processes in ground coupled heat exchangers used for ground source heat pump systems.

Borehole outflow temperature depends on the inflow temperature, the heat imposed on the borehole and the temperature history of the ground. In addition, variation of outflow temperature influences inflow temperature, even for the case of constant heat pump load. Because of this kind of feedback, the borehole inflow temperature may not be constant even with a fixed building load. …

Emi Investigation And Modeling Of A Flat Panel Display, Satyajeet Shinde

Masters Theses

"It is often important to carry out EMI analysis in the design phase of an electronic product to predict the radiated emissions. An EMI analysis is important to predict if the product complies with the FCC regulations as well as to gain an understanding of the noise coupling and radiation mechanisms. EMI analysis and prediction of radiated emissions in electronic products that have an electrically large chassis, pose a challenge due to the presence of multiple resonant structures and noise-coupling mechanisms.

The study focusses on the investigation of the main noise coupling mechanisms, the approach and methods used for the …

Bond Performance Of Recycled Aggregate Concrete, Amanda Renee Steele

Masters Theses

"In recent decades, engineers have sought a more sustainable method to dispose of concrete construction and demolition waste. One solution is to crush this waste concrete into a usable gradation for new concrete mixes. This not only reduces the amount of waste entering landfills but also alleviates the burden on existing sources of quality natural concrete aggregates. The objective of this study was to determine to effect of replacing coarse natural aggregates for recycled concrete aggregates (RCA) on the bond strength between deformed mild reinforcing steel and surrounding concrete. Two different RCA replacement levels were considered, 50% and 100%, and …

Two Driven Pile Load Tests For Use In Missouri Lrfd Guidelines, Matthew Garry Stuckmeyer

Masters Theses

"A static pile load test program was initiated by the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) to evaluate the use of pile load tests in Missouri LRFD guidelines. The program's approach involves two phases to achieve the appropriate levels of reliability for driven piles in the state of Missouri. This thesis focuses on the data collection efforts of Phase 1. Two quick static pile load tests were performed to failure on test piles in the Southeast Lowlands geologic region of Missouri. The piles were dynamically monitored during installation and subsequent restrike tests performed. The results of the static and dynamic pile …

Corrosion Resistance Of Enamel Coating Modified By Calcium Silicate And Sand Particle For Steel Reinforcement In Concrete, Fujian Tang

Masters Theses

"Porcelain enamel has stable chemical property in harsh environments such as high temperature, acid and alkaline, and it can also chemically react with substrate reinforcing steel resulting in improved adherence strength. In this study, the corrosion resistances of enamel coating modified by calcium silicate and sand particles, which are designed for improved bond strength with surrounding concrete, were investigated in 3.5 wt% NaCl solution. It consists of two papers that describe the results of the study.

The first paper investigates the corrosion behavior of enamel coating modified by calcium silicate applied to reinforcing steel bar in 3.5 wt% NaCl solution …

Studies Of Influencing Factors For Shale Gas Reservoir Performance, Jiaqi Wang

Masters Theses

"Shale gas resource plays a significant role in energy supply worldwide. For economic production of shale gas, technologies of horizontal well and hydraulic fracturing are used for shale gas reservoirs. Therefore, the productivity of the shale gas reservoirs will be influenced by both reservoir condition, and hydraulic fracture properties.

In this thesis, parameters that will influence shale gas production were classified into two categories: reservoir properties and hydraulic fracture properties. Published shale gas simulation studies were surveyed for determining the typical ranges of those properties. CMG-GEM was employed to finish the reservoir simulation work, and CMG-CMOST was used to complete …

Investigation Of Cased Wellbore Integrity In The Wabamun Area Sequestration Project, Benjamin Lee Weideman

Masters Theses

"Loss of cased wellbore integrity can cause many significant problems, including lost production, aquifer contamination, blowouts, and other environmental damage. The objective of this study is to conduct an analysis of the Wabamun Area Sequestration Project (WASP) to determine if wells in that area are suitable for CO₂ sequestration. This was done by conducting laboratory experiments on the common cement compositions found in the area, simulating the various conditions possible in a wellbore, and by analyzing three case studies from the WASP. The cases include two existing production wells and a proposed injection well specifically designed for CO₂ sequestration. This …

Computational Fluid Dynamics (Cfd) Modeling Of Proppant Transport In A Plug-And-Perf Completion With Different Perforation Phasing, Jinlin Zhang

Masters Theses

"Perf-and-plug is a completion technique commonly used in multistage fracturing. Fracture performance modeling assumes that fluid and proppant distributes uniformly among all perforations along the length of the wellbore in a plug and perf completion Crespo et al. (2012) has conducted a limited proppant flow experiment using a 63 foot stage, and three 0.42 inch, zero phased simulated perforations. His work demonstrates proppant does not distribute evenly, but the work is limited to a single perforation scheme.

In this study, Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) software has been used to simulate proppant transport and distribution in a single stage of a …