In this research, an elastic cylinder that utilized vortex-induced vibration (VIV) was applied to improve convective heat transfer rates by disrupting the thermal boundary layer. Rigid and elastic cylinders were placed across a fluid channel. Vortex shedding around the cylinder led to the periodic vibration of the cylinder. As a result, the flow-structure interaction (FSI) increased the disruption of the thermal boundary layer, and therefore, improved the mixing process at the boundary. This study aims to improve convective heat transfer rate by increasing the perturbation in the fluid flow. A three-dimensional numerical model was constructed to simulate the effects of different flow channel geometries, including a channel with a stationary rigid cylinder, a channel with a elastic cylinder, a channel with two elastic cylinders of the same diameter, and a channel with two elastic cylinders of different diameters. Through the numerical simulations, the channel maximum wall temperature was found to be reduced by approximately 10% with a stationary cylinder and by around 17% when introducing an elastic cylinder in the channel compared with the channel without the cylinder. Channels with two-cylinder conditions were also studied in the current research. The additional cylinder with the same diameter in the fluid channel …

Commercial aviation is a vital part of the United States economy. It generates over $1 trillion annually, which is more than 5% of the U.S. GDP, and produces approximately 10 million jobs. Every year there is an increase in commercial air traffic. This is attributed to expanding trade between states and other countries, which requires larger amounts of cargo aircraft in operation, and also catering to the growing number of middle and upper class passengers who travel for business and pleasure purposes. A rise in commercial aviation leads to the use of more aviation fuel on a monthly and annual basis. This in turn leads to escalated levels of combustion by-products from jet and turbofan engines into the atmosphere. The negative effects of these by-products range from producing poor air quality and consequent health hazards to contributing to global warming. This study is aimed at assessing the impacts of aircraft emissions on the local air quality in Corpus Christi using the Emissions and Dispersion Modeling System. Flight data for the study was obtained from the Department of Transportation's Research and Innovative Technology Administration. Analyses of the emissions were compared on monthly, annual, engine type and airline provider bases. Climatic, economic …

Different ways to measure human affective and deceptive reactions to stimulus have been developed. One method is a multimodal approach using web camera, thermal imaging camera and physiological sensors data to extract different features in the human face (verbal and non-verbal behavior) such as breathing rate, heart rate, face temperature, skin conductance, eye tracking, language analysis and facial expressions among others. Human subjects from different ages and ethnicity were exposed to two different experiments were they watched videos (affection recognition) and others answered an interview session (deception recognition). With the data collected from videos (thermal and visual), different regions of interest (ROI) of the face were selected as well as the whole picture. The ROI were determined based on the most sensitive parts of the face where larger changes of temperature or other physiological features are recorded. It was also analyzed the language (written and spoken) in order to obtain the verbal modalities. The data has been compared among the subjects to determine whether the deceptive and affective reactions of a person can be predicted using multimodal approach. From the multiple data obtained, a characterization of reactions is proposed when subjects are exposed to different stimulus, positive or negative, as …

Electrospinning has been recognized as an efficient technique for the fabrication of polymer fibers. These electrospun fibers have many applications across a broad range of industries. In this research, optical transparent composites were successfully fabricated by embedding polyacrylonitrile (PAN) hollow nanofibers into poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) matrix. The hollow PAN nanofibers were prepared by coaxial electrospinning. The PAN was used as the shell solution, and the mineral oil was used as the core solution. The resulting fibers were then etched with octane to remove the mineral oil from the core. The hollow PAN fibers were then homogeneously distributed in PMMA resins to fabricate the composite. The morphology, transmittance and mechanical properties of the PAN/PMMA composite were then characterized with an ESEM, TEM, tensile testing machine, UV-vis spectrometer and KD2 Pro Decagon device. The results indicated that the hollow nanofibers have relatively uniform size with one-dimensional texture at the walls. The embedded PAN hollow nanofibers significantly enhanced the tensile stress and the Young's modulus of the composite (increased by 58.3% and 50.4%, respectively), while having little influence on the light transmittance of the composite. The KD2 Pro device indicated that the thermal conductivity of the PMMA was marginally greater than the …

Thermal transport behavior of austenite stainless steel stripe (304) and the carbon nano-tubes (CNTs) films of varying thickness are studied using a micropipette thermal sensor. Micropipette sensors of various tip sizes were fabricated and tested for the sensitivity and reliability. The sensitivity deviated by 0.11 for a batch of pipette coated under same physical vapor deposition (PVD) setting without being affected by a tip size. Annealing, rubber coating and the vertical landing test of the pipette sensor proved to be promising in increasing the reliability and durability of the pipette sensors. A micro stripe (80µm × 6µm × 0.6µm) of stainless steel, fabricated using focused ion beam (FIB) machining, was characterized whose thermal conductivity was determined to be 14.9 W/m-K at room temperature. Similarly, the thermal characterization of CNT films showed the decreasing tendency in the thermal transport behavior with the increase in the film thickness.

In this study we applied ultra-short laser pulses on a biological sample (Arabidopsis), in order to cut it precisely in a square pattern and subsequently use it for studying stress generation mechanisms. For this purpose, we utilized femtosecond laser pulses at 100 fs pulse width and 80 MHz repetition rate. We took two processing parameters into consideration such as laser power, laser exposure time which is related to the stage speed. Therefore, we were able to find the laser optimum conditions for ablation of biological tissues. The mutant and wildtype (control) obtained from laser cutting with a size of 500 µm × 500 µm were directly transferred (in-situ with laser cutting) into a microfabricated chamber containing ~500 nanoliters deionized water for measuring ion conductivity. The ion conductivity is a signature of cell-death mechanisms caused by various stresses. A light with intensity of 100 µmol was exposed to the samples for 2 hours and 20 minutes as a source of stress. A quantitative electrical analysis with high accuracy was assured by utilizing a microchamber, which enables a measurement in nanoliter volume. We measured the impedance which is reciprocal of conductivity using a lock-in amplifier and a precise current source at frequency …

Ground source heat pump (GSHP) uses earth’s heat to heat or cool space. Absorbing heat from earth or rejecting heat to the earth, changes soil’s constant temperature over the multiple years. In this report we have studied about Soil temperature change over multiple years due to Ground loop heat exchanger (GLHE) for Zero Energy Research Laboratory (ZØE) which is located in Discovery Park, University of North Texas, Denton, TX. We did 2D thermal analysis GLHP at particular Depth. For simulation we have used ANSYS workbench for pre-processing and FLUENT ANYS as solver. TAC Vista is software that monitors and controls various systems in ZØE. It also monitors temperature of water inlet/outlet of GLHE. For Monitoring Ground temperatures at various depths we have thermocouples installed till 8ft from earth surface, these temperatures are measured using LabVIEW. From TAC Vista and LabVIEW Reading’s we have studied five parameters in this report using FLUENT ANSYS, they are; (1) Effect of Time on soil Temperature change over Multi-years, (2) Effect of Load on soil temperature change over Multi-years, (3) Effect of Depth on soil temperature change over Multi-years, (4) Effect of Doubling ΔT of inlet and outlet of GLHE on soil temperature change over …

A method to distinguish human level of comfort has been developed by using a thermal camera, physiological sensors, and a surroundings sensor. The method has successfully collected data from hominal facial features, breathing rate, skin temperature, room temperature, blood volume pressure, relative humidity, and air velocity. Participants from all genders and races were involved in two sessions of a human comfort experiment including a psychology survey session. The variables, such as room temperature and clothing are controlled to maintain steady test conditions. The region of interest was determined by body temperature and facial temperature as registered by the thermal imaging camera. To experience different levels of discomfort, participants were required to perform two different activities. The first session included an activity on the air resistance elliptical and the second session required the subjects to remain steady in front of a fan. The data was subsequently compared on all subjects to determine whether human discomfort and comfort can be predicted by using various approaches. The parameters of discomfort and comfort were simulated to characterize human levels of comfort. According to arrangement of correlation among thermal comfort responses, blood volume pressure, skin temperature, respiration, and skin conduction, we are be able to …

Recent development of additive manufacturing technologies has led to lack of information on the base materials being used. A need arises to know the mechanical behaviors of these base materials so that it can be linked with macroscopic mechanical behaviors of 3D network structures manufactured from the 3D printer. The main objectives of my research are to characterize properties of a material for an additive manufacturing method (commonly referred to as 3D printing). Also, to model viscoelastic properties of Procast material that is obtained from 3D printer. For this purpose, a 3D CAD model is made using ProE and 3D printed using Projet HD3500. Series of uniaxial tensile tests, creep tests, and dynamic mechanical analysis are carried out to obtained viscoelastic behavior of Procast. Test data is fitted using various linear and nonlinear viscoelastic models. Validation of model is also carried out using tensile test data and frequency sweep data. Various other mechanical characterization have also been carried out in order to find density, melting temperature, glass transition temperature, and strain rate dependent elastic modulus of Procast material. It can be concluded that melting temperature of Procast material is around 337°C, the elastic modulus is around 0.7-0.8 GPa, and yield …

TSDC (thermally stimulated depolarization current) is one of the most important and popular technique for investigating electret materials. TSDC technique can indicate the magnitude of polarization and depolarization, relaxation time, charge-storage, glass transition, and activation energy. To fully investigate polarization and relaxation for pure epoxy and filled epoxy materials, a TSDC system was built and verified by the research. The article describes the building processes and verification of the TSDC system. TSDC, TSPC, and TWC tests data for epoxy and filled epoxy samples are presented in the article. To compare TSDC technique with other related techniques, DEA (dielectric analysis), DMA (dynamic mechanical analysis), and DSC (differential scanning calorimetry) tests are introduced.

Corpus Christi among of the largest industrialized coastal urban areas in Texas. The strategic location of the city along the Gulf of Mexico allows for many important industries and an international business to be located. The cluster of industries and businesses in the region contribute to the air pollution from emissions that are harmful to the environment and to the people living in and visiting the area. Volatile organic compounds (VOC) constitute an important class of pollutants measured in the area. The automated gas chromatography (Auto GC) data was collected from Texas Commission of Environmental Quality (TCEQ) and source apportionment analysis was conducted on this data to identify key sources of VOC affecting this study region. EPA PMF 3.0 was employed in this sources apportionment study of measured VOC concentration during 2005 - 2012 in Corpus Christi, Texas. The study identified nine optimal factors (Source) that could explain the concentration of VOC at two urbane monitoring sites in the study region. Natural gas was found to be the largest contributor of VOC in the area, followed by gasoline and vehicular exhaust. Diesel was the third highest contributor with emissions from manufacturing and combustion processes. Refineries gases and evaporative fugitive emissions …

The addition of hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) has introduced a comprehensive reinforcing effect to the mechanical and electrochemical properties of commercial concrete, including fiber reinforced concrete (FRC) and steel fiber reinforced concrete (SFRC). Although this has been proven effective and applicable, further investigation and study is still required to optimize the strengthen result which will involve the exfoliation of h-BN into single-layered nano sheet, improving the degree of dispersion and dispersion uniformity of h-BN into concrete matrix. There is currently no direct method to test the degree of dispersion of non-conductive particles, including h-BN, in concrete matrix, therefore it is necessary to obtain an analogous quantification method like SEM, etc. The reinforcing mechanism on concrete, including FRC and SFRC is now attracting a great number of interest thanks to the huge potential of application and vast demand across the world. This study briefly describes the reinforcing mechanism brought by h-BN. In this study, different samples under varied conditions were prepared according to the addition of h-BN and dispersant to build a parallel comparison. Characterization is mainly focused on their mechanical properties, corrosive performance and SEM analysis of the cross-section of post-failure samples.

This thesis aims to develop a new type of highly stretchable strain sensor to measure large deformation of a specimen subjected to dynamic loading. The sensor was based on the piezo-resistive response of carbon nanotube(CNT)/polydimethysiloxane (PDMS) composites thin films, some nickel particles were added into the sensor composite to improve the sensor performance. The piezo-resistive response of CNT composite gives high frequency response in strain measurement, while the ultra-soft PDMS matrix provides high flexibility and ductility for large strain measuring large strain (up to 26%) with an excellent linearity and a fast frequency response under quasi-static test, the delay time for high strain rate test is just 30 μs. This stretchable strain sensor is also able to exhibit much higher sensitivities, with a gauge factor of as high as 80, than conventional foil strain gauges.

Self-activation is a process that takes advantage of the gases emitted from the pyrolysis process of biomass to activate the converted carbon. The pyrolytic gases from the biomass contain CO2 and H2O, which can be used as activating agents. As two common methods, both of physical activation using CO2 and chemical activation using ZnCl2 introduce additional gas (CO2) or chemical (ZnCl2), in which the CO2 emission from the activation process or the zinc compound removal by acid from the follow-up process will cause environmental concerns. In comparison with these conventional activation processes, the self-activation process could avoid the cost of activating agents and is more environmentally friendly, since the exhaust gases (CO and H2) can be used as fuel or feedstock for the further synthesis in methanol production. In this research, many types of biomass were successfully converted into activated carbon through the self-activation process. An activation model was developed to describe the changes of specific surface area and pore volume during the activation. The relationships between the activating temperature, dwelling time, yield, specific surface area, and specific pore volume were detailed investigated. The highest specific surface area and pore volume of the biomass-derived activated carbon through the self-activation process …

Conventional sources of emissions have been a prime target for policymakers in designing pollution control strategies. However, the evolution of shale gas activities is a growing concern over the impact of unconventional sources on urban and regional air quality. Owing to the development of Barnett Shale production, the fast-growing Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) metroplex has encountered both types of these emissions. Oil and gas activities result in emissions of ozone precursors, notably volatile organic compounds (VOC). The major objective of this study was to evaluate the spatio-temporal distribution of VOC in order to highlight the influence of unconventional emissions. The study utilized measurements from automated gas chromatography (AutoGC) monitors to analyze the patterns of the total non-methane organic compounds (TNMOC) and relative contributions from marker species of traffic versus oil and gas activities. In this study, data from 2001-2014 was obtained from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) for fifteen monitoring sites within the North Texas region. With over a thousand wells in a 10 mile radius, two of the rural sites measured twice as much TNMOC as compared to the urban site in Dallas. Source apportionment analysis was conducted using Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF) technique. The target site located …

Hierarchical arrangement of biological composites such as nacre and bone containing high filler (ceramic) content results in high strength and toughness of the natural material. In this study we mimic the design of layered bone microstructure and fabricate an optimal multifunctional bio-nanocomposite having strength, toughness and corrosion resistance. Poly (butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT), a biodegradable polymer was used as a substrate material with the reinforcement of LDH (Layered double hydroxide) as a nanofiller in different concentrations to achieve enhancement in mechanical properties as well as processing related thermostability. Corrosion resistance was increased by mimicking a layered structured which incorporated a tortuous diffusion path.

Semiconductor die attach materials for high voltage, high reliability analog devices require high thermal conductivity and retention of dielectric strength. A comparative study of effective thermal conductivity and dielectric strength of selected thermoset/ceramic composites was conducted to determine the effect of ceramic particle size and ceramic particle loading on thermoset polymers. The polymer chosen for this study is bismaleimide, a common aerospace material chosen for its strength and thermal stability. The reinforcing material chosen for this study is a ceramic, hexagonal boron nitride. Thermal conductivity and dielectric breakdown strength are measured in low and high concentrations of hexagonal boron nitride. Adhesive fracture toughness of the composite is evaluated on copper to determine the composite’s adhesive qualities. SEM imaging of composite cross-sections is used to visualize particle orientation within the matrix. Micro-indentation is used to measure mechanical properties of the composites which display increased mechanical performance in loading beyond the percolation threshold of the material. Thermal conductivity of the base polymer increases by a factor of 50 in 80%wt loading of 50µm hBN accompanied by a 10% increase in composite dielectric strength. A relationship between particle size and effective thermal conductivity is established through comparison of experimental data with an empirical …

The effect of shale gas activities on ground-level ozone pollution in the Dallas-Fort Worth area is studied in detail here. Ozone is a highly reactive species with harmful effects on human and environment. Shale gas development, or fracking, involves activities such as hydraulic fracturing, drilling, fluid mixing, and trucks idling that are sources of nitrogen oxides (NOX) and volatile organic compounds (VOC), two of the most important precursors of ozone. In this study two independent approaches have been applied in evaluating the influences on ozone concentrations. In the first approach, the influence of meteorology were removed from ozone time series through the application of Kolmogorov-Zurbenko low-pass filter, logarithmic transformation, and subsequent multi-linear regression. Ozone measurement data were acquired from Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) monitoring stations for 14 years. The comparison between ozone trends in non-shale gas region and shale gas region shows increasing ozone trends at the monitoring stations in close proximity to the Barnett Shale activities. In the second approach, the CAMx photochemical model was used to assess the sensitivity of ozone to the NOX and VOC sources associated with shale oil and gas activities. Brute force method was applied on Barnett Shale and Haynesville Shale emission …

Two-dimensional (2D) transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) show great potential for the future electronics, optoelectronics and energy applications. But, the studies unveiling their interactions with the host substrates are sparse and limits their practical use for real device applications. We report the facile nano-scratch method to determine the adhesion energy of the wafer scale MoS2 atomic layers attached to the SiO2/Si and sapphire substrates. The practical adhesion energy of monolayer MoS2 on the SiO2/Si substrate is 7.78 J/m2. The practical adhesion energy was found to be an increasing function of the MoS2 thickness. Unlike SiO2/Si substrates, MoS2 films grown on the sapphire possess higher bonding energy, which is attributed to the defect-free growth and less number of grain boundaries, as well as less stress and strain stored at the interface owing to the similarity of Thermal Expansion Coefficient (TEC) between MoS2 films and sapphire substrate. Furthermore, we calculated the surface free energy of 2D MoS2 by the facile contact angle measurements and Neumann model fitting. A surface free energy ~85.3 mJ/m2 in few layers thick MoS2 manifests the hydrophilic nature of 2D MoS2. The high surface energy of MoS2 helps explain the good bonding strength at MoS2/substrate interface. This simple adhesion …

Dynamic tensile characterization of geo-materials is critical to the modeling and design of protective structures that are often made of concrete. One of the most commonly used techniques currently associated with this type of testing is performed with a Kolsky bar and is known as the spall technique. The validity of the data from the spall technique is highly debated because the necessary boundary conditions for the experiment are not satisfied. By using a technique called pulse shaping, a new “controlled” spall technique was developed to satisfy all boundary conditions so that the analyzed data may be useful in modeling and design. The results from this project were promising and show the potential to revolutionize the way Kolsky bar testing is performed.

Heat pumps are a vital part of each building for their role in keeping the space conditioned for the occupant. This study focuses on developing a model for the ground-source heat pump at the Zero Energy lab at the University of North Texas, and finding the minimum data required for generating the model. The literature includes many models with different approaches to determine the performance of the heat pump. Each method has its pros and cons. In this research the equation-fit method was used to generate a model based on the data collected from the field. Two experiments were conducted for the cooling mode: the first one at the beginning of the season and the second one at the peak of the season to cover all the operation conditions. The same procedure was followed for the heating mode. The models generated based on the collected data were validated against the experiment data. The error of the models was within ±10%. The study showed that the error could be reduced by 20% to 42% when using the field data to generate the model instead of the manufacturer’s catalog data. Also it was found that the minimum period to generate the cooling …

Denton, Texas consistently reaches ozone nonattainment levels. This has led to a large focus of air pollution monitoring efforts in the region, with long-range transport being explored as a key contributor. For this study, the University of North Texas Discovery Park campus was chosen as a prospective location for an extensive air quality monitoring station. Sixteen years of ozone and meteorological data for five state-run monitoring sites within a 25 mile radius, including the nearest Denton Airport site, was gathered from TCEQ online database for the month of April for the years 2000 to 2015. The data was analyzed to show a historical, regional perspective of ozone near the proposed site. The maximum ozone concentration measured at the Denton Airport location over the 16 year period was measured at 96 ppb in 2001. Experimental ozone and meteorological measurements were collected at the Discovery Park location from March 26 to April 3 and April 8 to April, 2016 and compared to the Denton Airport monitoring site. A time lag in ozone trends and an increase in peak ozone concentrations at the proposed location were observed at the proposed site in comparison to the Denton Airport site. Historical and experimental meteorological data …

Commercially pure titanium can take up to six months to successfully manufacture a six-inch in diameter ingot in which can be shipped to be melted and shaped into other useful components. The applications to the corrosion-resistant, light weight, strong metal are endless, yet so is the manufacturing processing time. At a cost of around $80 per pound of certain grades of titanium powder, the everyday consumer cannot afford to use titanium in the many ways it is beneficial simply because the number of processing steps it takes to manufacture consumes too much time, energy, and labor. In this research, the steps it takes from the raw powder form to the final part are proposed to be reduced from 4-8 steps to only 2 steps utilizing a new technology that may even improve upon the titanium properties at the same time as it is reducing the number of steps of manufacture. The two-step procedure involves selecting a cylindrical or rectangular die and punch to compress a small amount of commercially pure titanium to a strong-enough compact for transportation to the friction stir welder to be consolidated. Friction stir welding invented in 1991 in the United Kingdom uses a tool, similar to …

Joining two dissimilar metals, specifically Mg and Al alloys, using conventional welding techniques is extraordinarily challenging. Even when these alloys are able to be joined, the weld is littered with defects such as cracks, cavities, and wormholes. The focus of this project was to use friction stir welding to create a defect-free joint between Al 2139 and Mg WE43. The stir tool used in this project, made of H13 tool steel, is of fixed design. The design included an 11 mm scrolled and concave shoulder in addition to a 6 mm length pin comprised of two tapering, threaded re-entrant flutes that promoted and amplified material flow. Upon completion of this project an improved experimental setup process was created as well as successful welds between the two alloys. These successful joints, albeit containing defects, lead to the conclusion that the tool used in project was ill fit to join the Al and Mg alloy plates. This was primarily due to its conical shaped pin instead of the more traditional cylindrical shaped pins. As a result of this aggressive pin design, there was a lack of heat generation towards the bottom of the pin even at higher (800-1000 rpm) rotation speeds. This …