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open access

3D Printed Self-Activated Carbon Electrodes for Supercapacitor Applications

Description: This study investigated a new approach to achieving high energy density supercapacitors (SCs) by using high surface area self-activated carbon from waste coffee grounds (WCGs) and modifying 3D printed electrodes' porous structure by varying infill density. The derived activated carbons' surface area, pore size, and pore volume were controlled by thermally treating the WCGs at different temperatures (1000˚C, 1100˚C, and 1200˚C) and post-treating with HCL to remove water-soluble ashes and contami… more
Date: July 2023
Creator: Disi, Onome Aghogho

3D Printing of Zinc Anode for Zinc Ion Batteries

Description: Recently, 3D printing has received increasing attention for the fabrication and assembly of electrodes for batteries due to the freedom of creating structures in any shape or size, porosity, flexibility, stretchability, and chemistry. Particularly, zinc ion batteries (ZIBs) are favored due to high safety, cheap materials cost, and high volumetric capacity (5,849 mAh/cm3), however, rapid evaporation of Zn due to low melting temperature has limited its 3D printability via conventional laser-based… more
Date: December 2021
Creator: Amoko, Stephen Adot Oyo

Aerodynamic Optimization of a 2D Airfoil for Rotary-Wing Aircraft at Mars Atmospheric Conditions

Description: The interest toward Mars exploration has been considerably increasing due to also the successful deployment of the Perseverance rover and the continuous tests developed by SpaceX's launch vehicle, Starship. While the Mars 2020 mission is currently in progress, the first controlled flight on another planet have been proven in April 2021 with the vertical take-off and landing of the Ingenuity rotorcraft on Mars. In addition, the rotorcraft Dragonfly is expected to achieve the same endeavor in Tit… more
Date: December 2021
Creator: Saez, Aleandro G.
open access

Artificial Neural Network Based Thermal Conductivity Prediction of Propylene Glycol Solutions with Real Time Heat Propagation Approach

Description: Machine learning is fast growing field as it can be applied to solve a large amount of problems. One large subsection of machine learning are artificial neural networks (ANN), these work on pattern recognition and can be trained with data sets of known solutions. The objective of this thesis is to discuss the creation of an ANN capable of classifying differences in propylene glycol concentrations, up to 10%. Utilizing a micro pipette thermal sensor (MTS) it is possible to measure the heat propa… more
Date: August 2022
Creator: Jarrett, Andrew Caleb

Carbon Capture Utilization for Bio-Based Building Insulation Foams

Description: Ecological, health and environmental concerns are driving the need for bio-resourced foams for the building industry and for other applications. This is because insulation is one of the most important aspects of the building envelope. Global building insulation is expected to reach USD 27.74 billion in 2022. Conventional insulation materials currently used in buildings are made from nonrenewable products (petroleum, fiber glass). However, they yield increasing unrecyclable eco-unfriendly waste … more
Date: August 2021
Creator: Oluwabunmi, Kayode Emmanuel

CFD Study of Ship Hydrodynamics in Calm Water with Shear Current and in Designed Wave Trails

Description: Although the capability of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) in modeling ship hydrodynamics is well explored in many studies, they still have two main limitations. First, those studies ignore the effect of non-uniform shear current which exists in realistic situation. Second, the focus of most studies was laid more on the seakeeping/maneuvering performance and less attention was paid to survivability of ships due to extreme ship response events in waves, which are considered rare events but i… more
This item is restricted from view until June 1, 2024.
Date: May 2022
Creator: Phan, Khang Minh

Design, Fabrication and Testing of a Novel Dual-Axis Automatic Solar Tracker System Using a Fresnel-Lens Solar Concentrator

Description: This thesis project investigates, analyzes, designs, simulates, constructs and tests a dual-axis solar tracker system to track the sun and concentrates the heat of the sunlight, using a Fresnel lens, into a small area, which is above of an evaporator, to increase the temperature of the seawater to convert it into freshwater. The dual-axis solar tracker was designed with the main objectives that the structure was portable, dismountable, lightweight, low cost, corrosion resistant, wires inside pi… more
Date: August 2021
Creator: Almara, Laura Mabel
open access

Design Optimization of Functionalized Silica-Polymer Nanocomposite through Finite Element and Molecular Dynamics Modeling

Description: This dissertation focuses on studying membrane air dehumidification for a membrane moisture exchanger in a membrane heat pump system. The study has two parts: an optimization of membrane moisture exchanger for air dehumidification in the macroscale, and diffusion of water vapor in polymer nanocomposites membrane for humid air dehumidification in the nanoscale. In the first part of the research, the mass transport of water vapor molecules through hydrophilic silica nanochannel chains in hydropho… more
Date: August 2020
Creator: Almahmoud, Omar H. M.

Development of an Enclosed Evaporation Chamber Utilizing a Fresnel Lens Solar Concentrator

Description: This thesis project investigates the configuration of an enclosed evaporation chamber with the intention of converting seawater into potable freshwater. The evaporation chamber's sole heat source is provided by a Fresnel lens, located above the chamber, which concentrates sunlight onto a 3-inch diameter focal plate built into the core of the chamber. The design of the evaporation chamber is modeled after a solar still and is coupled with a heat exchanger to boost efficiency of the system. The c… more
Date: August 2022
Creator: Planz, Bridger T
open access

Development of an Interpolation-Free Sharp Interface Immersed Boundary Method for General CFD Simulations

Description: Immersed boundary (IB) methods are attractive due to their ability to simulate flow over complex geometries on a simple Cartesian mesh. Unlike conformal grid formulation, the mesh does not need to conform to the shape and orientation of the boundary. This eliminates the need for complex mesh and/or re-meshing in simulations with moving/morphing boundaries, which can be cumbersome and computationally expensive. However, the imposition of boundary conditions in IB methods is not straightforward … more
Date: August 2022
Creator: Kamau, Kingora
open access

An Evaluation of Long-Term Air Quality Trends in North Texas using Statistical and Machine Learning Techniques

Description: While ozone design values have decreased since 2000, the values measured in Denton Airport South (DEN), an exurban region in the northwest tip of the Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) metroplex, remains above those measured in Dallas Hinton (DAL) and Fort Worth Northwest (FWNW), two extremely urbanized regions; in addition, all three sites remained in nonattainment of National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) ozone despite reductions in measured NOx and CO concentrations. The region's inability to a… more
Date: May 2020
Creator: Lim, Guo Quan
open access

Experimental and Numerical Investigation of a Novel Cold-Formed Steel Long Span Truss

Description: This thesis describes the experimental and numerical investigation of a novel cold-formed steel 48ft and 54ft long span truss. The truss we designed was to be used as the roofs of large buildings, such as warehouses, hangars, sports arenas. The investigation includes both experimental and numerical testing, the experimental testing of the truss under uniform loads (increasing loads) to determine its deflection and load carrying capacity. The numerical test included developing a finite element m… more
Date: December 2023
Creator: Nalla, Sai Kumar
open access

Experimental Investigation on Efficiency of Fresnel Lenses with Different Manufacturing Methods

Description: Non-imaging Fresnel lenses have been playing an important role in improving the efficiency of the solar energy systems. Many researchers and scientists have devoted their research to optimize the design of the Fresnel lenses. Before it can contribute to energy efficiency increase, a Fresnel lens with optimized design will first need to be fabricated with the most cost-effective method as well as the best quality fabrication as possible. If targeted in a commercial market, feasibility of mass pr… more
Date: December 2020
Creator: Sexton, Ai Jiang
open access

Gradient-Index Metamaterial Infrared Detector for Enhanced Photo-Response and Image Quality

Description: An enhanced thermal imaging concept made possible through the development of a gradient-indexed metamaterial infrared detector that offers broadband transmission and reflection in THz waves. This thesis proposes a proof of feasibility for a metamaterial infrared detector containing an anti-reflective coating with various geometrically varying periodic metasurfaces, a gradient-indexed dielectric multilayer for near-perfect longpass filtering, and a gradient index of refraction (GRIN) metalens fo… more
Date: May 2022
Creator: Adams, Kelsa Derek

Green Manufacturing of Lignocellulosic Fiber through Bacterial Degradation Process

Description: Lignocellulose is the most abundant biopolymer on earth and offers excellent potential for sustainable manufacturing. Because lignocellulose is structurally complex and resistant to decomposition, innovative degradation strategies are necessary to unlock its value. In this dissertation, a green manufacturing process through enzyme-triggered self-cultured bacteria retting for lignocellulosic fiber was developed and investigated. The mechanism of the lignocellulosic fiber retting at a controlled … more
This item is restricted from view until January 1, 2025.
Date: December 2023
Creator: Fu, Yu

Heat Transfer Analysis of a Small Thermochemical Reactor for Hydrogen Production from Ammonia

Description: Several types of research are ongoing throughout the world, to discover economical and reliable techniques to create hydrogen, and propagate the vision of a hydrogen economy. This research examines a COMSOL Multiphysics 5.4 heat transfer model for a hydrogen production system consisting of a retort with two different heat sources, namely a heat tape and an infrared (IR) lamp. The main objective was to compare the two heat sources and find out which one offers a better technique for producing hy… more
Date: August 2020
Creator: Owusu-Ansah, Nana
open access

Heat Transfer Analysis of Bio-Printed Tissue Mimicking Material Mixed with Silver Nanoparticles

Description: Novel tissue mimicking materials have been developed for cancer treatment research. In the present research work, the tissue mimicking material is printed using 3D bioprinting technology. The nanoparticles are homogeneously mixed with tissue mimicking materials to enhance the heating capacity. The thermal conductivity of tissue mimicking materials is measured using a micropipette thermal sensor (MTS). Further, the optimal value is identified based on optimization technique and incorporated into… more
Date: August 2022
Creator: Chandrasegaran, Jedeshkeran
open access

Impact of Processing Parameters and Forces on Channels Created by Friction Stir Bobbin Tools

Description: In this thesis, friction stir channeling (FSC) and its process parameters influence on geometry, surface quality and productivity are explored. The probe of the friction stir processing (FSP) tool used to perform these tests was a modified submerged bobbin tool made of MP 159 Co-Ni alloy. The body was made from H13 tool steel. To find the optimal channel conditions for a targeted range of process parameters, multiple 6061 aluminum samples were prepared with a U shape guide to test the effects … more
Date: May 2022
Creator: Koonce, James G
open access

Investigation of Interfacial Property with Imperfection: A Machine Learning Approach

Description: Interfacial mechanical properties of adhesive joints are very crucial in board applications, including composites, multilayer structures, and biomedical devices. Establishing traction-separation (T-S) relations for interfacial adhesion can evaluate mechanical and structural reliability, robustness, and failure criteria. Due to the short range of interfacial adhesion such as micro to nanoscale, accurate measurements of T-S relations remain challenging. The advent of machine learning (ML) became … more
Date: July 2023
Creator: Ferdousi, Sanjida
open access

Investigation of Structure-Property Effects on Nanoindentation and Small-Scale Mechanical Testing of Irradiated Additively Manufactured Stainless Steels

Description: Additively manufactured (AM) 316L and 17-4PH stainless steel parts, concretely made by laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF), are characterized and micro-mechanical properties of those steels are analyzed. This study also explored and extended to proton irradiation and small-scale mechanical testing of those materials, to investigate how irradiation affects microstructural evolution and thus mechanical properties at the surface level, which could be detrimental in the long term in nuclear application… more
Date: August 2022
Creator: Uddin, Mohammad Jashim

Lignocellulose-Based Nanobiocomposites for Water Purification

Description: The research focuses on the synthesis and application of multifunctional lignocellulosic biomass bioadsorbent and nanobiocomposites for water purification. A bioadsorbent was prepared from kenaf fiber by self-activation without the use of any toxic chemicals in an innovative method. Silver nanoparticles were synthesized by the green route and then impregnated on the surface of kenaf-based activated carbon (KAC), and hemp fibers by heating and photoirradiation. The formation of hemp-based and ke… more
Date: August 2021
Creator: Mandal, Sujata
open access

Micro-Pipette Thermal Sensor: A Unique Technique for Thermal Characterization of Microfluids, Microsphere, and Biological Cell

Description: In this research work, an innovative method for measurement of thermal conductivity of a small volume of liquids, microsphere, and the single cancer cell is demonstrated using a micro-pipette thermal sensor (MPTS). The method is based on laser point heating thermometry (LPHT) and transient heat transfer. When a single pulse of a laser beam heats the sensor tip which is in contact with the surrounding liquids or microsphere/cells, the temperature change in the sensor is reliant on the thermal pr… more
Date: May 2020
Creator: Shrestha, Ramesh
open access

Microgravity Vortex Phase Separator for Liquid Amine CO2 Removal System

Description: The present study investigates vortex phase separator (VPS) technology as a new approach for a liquid amine CO2 removal system. Experimental results obtained using a 99.99% pure CO2 stream and liquid amine with varying concentrations demonstrate the VPS' ability to decrease CO2 volume at its gas outlet. Operating parameters such as CO2 flow rate, relative humidity (RH), and temperature were systematically varied during experimental procedure, as well as working fluid temperature, volume, and fl… more
Date: August 2022
Creator: Sarvadi, Alexander Armstrong
open access

Multi-Fidelity Study of Aerodynamics and Aeroacoustics Characteristics of a Quadrotor Biplane Tailsitter

Description: Recent advances in manufacturing and growing concerns on the sustainability of aviation environment have led to a remarkable interest in electrical unmanned aerial systems (UASs) in the past decade. Among various UAS types, the newly designed quadrotor biplane tailsitter class is capable of delivering a wide range of civilian and military tasks, relying on its Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) capability as well as great maneuverability. Nevertheless, as such UASs employ rotors to generate t… more
Date: May 2022
Creator: Heydari, Morteza
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