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The uncountable number of tools for the creation of synthetic terrains poses as a challenge for simulation interoperability. The permutations of tools, elevation maps, and software settings leads to combinations of poorly correlated virtual terrains. An important issue in distributed simulations is the lack of line-of-sight correlation. For example, in military networked simulations, consistent intervisibility between simulated entities is crucial for a fair-fight, especially when simulations include direct-fire weapons. The literature review presented in the Chapter Two discusses a multitude of interoperability issues caused by discrepant terrain representations and rendering engines noncompliant to any standard image generation process. Furthermore, the literature review discusses past research that strived for measuring (or mitigating) the correlation issues between terrain databases. Based on previous research, this thesis proposes a methodology for analysis of line-of-sight correlation between a pair of terrain databases. All the mathematical theory involved in the methodology is discussed in the Chapter Three. In addition, this thesis proposes a new method for measuring the roughness of a visual terrain database. This method takes into account the 3D dispersion of the vectors normal to the polygons in the terrain's mesh. Because the vectors normal to the polygons are conveniently stored in most visual databases, the roughness calculation suggested here is fast and does not require sampling the terrain's elevation. In order to demonstrate the proposed method, twin terrain databases and a tool were created as part of this thesis. The goal of this tool is to extract data from the terrain databases for statistical analysis. The tool is open source and its source code is provided with this thesis. The Chapter Four includes an example of statistical analysis using an open source statistic software. The line-of-sight correlation analysis discussed here includes the terrain's geometry only (terrain's culture is not addressed). Human factors were not taken into consideration.

Remote sensing data acquisition often requires a revisit to the same target. Therefore, it is not always possible to have the same illumination and viewing conditions. Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function (BRDF) is an attempt to predict the reflectance of an object for any given viewing and illumination geometry by explaining the interaction of the incident energy with the target object, the medium lying between the source and the target, and the interaction of the reflected energy with the medium between the target and the sensor. In this study various factors affecting BRDF were explored. Various factors contribute to this characteristic of the surface to reflect unequally in different directions like its structure, shape, degree of absorption and transmittance. Bidirectional Reflectance Factor, Anisotropic Factor, and Anisotropic Index were used in the research. Radiances were recorded using the Sandmeier Field Goniometer of target areas at the agricultural farms of Mississippi State University.

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Most aircraft accidents are caused by technical problems or weather-related issues. One cause of weather-related incidents is inlight icing, which can induce negative performance characteristics and endanger the operation of an airplane. Various researchers investigating the problem of inlight icing have proposed ice-phobic coatings as one viable solution. For this purpose, it is critical to study the behavior of a droplet impact on different types of surfaces. As an alternative to physical testing, three-dimensional numerical simulation using computational fluid dynamics offers a promising strategy for evaluating the effects of surface characteristics. Using the volume of fluid method, three simulations of high-speed droplet impact on superhydrophobic surfaces with and without micro-scale roughness elements, were generated. The simulations showed that, for the roughness configurations considered, the superhydrophobic surfaces with micro-scale roughness elements were significantly less effective at repelling the droplet than the smooth superhydrophobic surfaces.

Under effective compression, impingement of opposing rough surfaces of a fracture can force the walls of the fracture apart during slip. Therefore, a fracture’s surface roughness exerts a primary control on the amount of dilation that can be sustained on a fracture since the opposing surfaces need to remain in contact. Previous work has attempted to characterize fracture surface roughness through topographic profiles and power spectral density analysis, but these metrics describing the geometry of a fracture’s surface are often non-unique when used independently. However, when combined these metrics are affective at characterizing fracture surface roughness, as well as the mechanisms affecting changes in roughness with increasing slip, and therefore changes in dilation. These mechanisms include the influence of primary grains and pores on initial fracture roughness, the effect of linkage on locally increasing roughness, and asperity destruction that limits the heights of asperities and forms gouge. This analysis reveals four essential stages of dilation during the lifecycle of a natural fracture, whereas previous slip-dilation models do not adequately address the evolution of fracture surface roughness: (1) initial slip companied by small dilation is mediated by roughness controlled by the primary grain and pore dimensions; (2) rapid dilation during and immediately following fracture growth by linkage of formerly isolated fractures; (3) wear of the fracture surface and gouge formation that minimizes dilation; and (4) between slip events cementation that modifies the mineral constituents in the fracture. By identifying these fundamental mechanisms that influence fracture surface roughness, this new conceptual model relating dilation to slip has specific applications to Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS), which attempt to produce long-lived dilation in natural fractures by inducing slip. / Geology

<p> The effect of strain hardening rate and material strength on the development of surface roughness in AA6111 was investigated. No measurable change in the rate of roughening, or in the surface morphology was observed due to altering the strain hardening rate by using different test temperatures. Changing the material strength and strain hardening rate by altering the precipitation state also gave no significant change in either roughening rate or morphology with respect to strain. The development of surface roughness is also independent of strain history. Samples subjected to an intermediate polish after 20% true strain resumed roughening at the same rate regardless of amount of previous tensile strain. The development of surface roughness is dependent on only the strain level to which the sheet is deformed. The surface morphology seems to be controlled by the combination and distribution of texture components on the surface. The rate of roughening is grain size dependent and the surface grain size may provide a key to controlling roughening. </p> / Thesis / Master of Applied Science (MASc)

Turbulent flow over a rough surface produces sound that radiates outside the near wall region. This noise source is often at a lower level than the noise created by edges and bluff body flows, but for applications with large surface area to perimeter ratios at low Mach number, this noise source can have considerable levels. In the first part of this dissertation, a detailed study is made of the ability of the Glegg & Devenport (2009) scattering theory to predict roughness noise. To this end, comparisons are made with measurements from cuboidal and hemispherical roughness with roughness Reynolds numbers, hu_Ï /ν, ranging from 24 to 197 and roughness height to boundary layer thickness ratios of 5 to 18. Their theory is shown to work very accurately to predict the noise from surfaces with large roughness Reynolds numbers, but for cases with highly inhomogeneous wall pressure fields, differences grow between estimation and measurement. For these surfaces, the absolute levels were underpredicted but the spectral shape of the measurement was correctly determined indicating that the relationship of the radiated noise with the wavenumber wall pressure spectrum and roughness geometry appears to remain relatively unchanged. In the second part of this dissertation, delay and sum beamforming and least-squares analyses were used to examine roughness noise recorded by a 36-sensor linear microphone array. These methods were employed to estimate the variation of source strengths through short fetches of large hemispherical and cuboidal element roughness. The analyses show that the lead rows of the fetches produced the greatest streamwise and spanwise noise radiation. The least-squares analysis confirmed the presence of streamwise and spanwise aligned dipoles emanating from each roughness element as suggested by the LES of Yang & Wang (2011). The least-squares calculated source strengths show that the streamwise aligned dipole is always stronger than that of the spanwise dipole, but the relative magnitude of the difference varies with frequency. / Ph. D.

As the existing steel infrastructure inevitably continues to age and deteriorate, engineers are increasingly looking for innovative and effective methods for repairing and maintaining existing structures. Structural steel components can degrade due to the surrounding environmental conditions, and are susceptible to corrosion damage when exposed to aggressive environments and deicing salts. The conventional methods for repairing steel structures can be labor-intensive and time-consuming, and add considerable weight to the existing structure. One alternative is utilizing carbon fiber reinforced polymers (CFRP). Many studies have documented the ability of CFRPs to enhance the strength of existing structures. Furthermore, CFRP offers the benefits of being non-corrosive and having a high strength-to-weight ratio. Most studies on steel strengthening have focused on the bond behavior of CFRP to steels having a smooth surface condition, which are not representative of deteriorated structures in greater need of retrofitting. Further research has examined the durability of CFRP-steel bonds relative to environmental conditions that do not reflect the service life conditions for typical applications. In this work, a comprehensive study is conducted on the effects of the surface condition and environmental exposure on the bond between CFRP and steel. The influence of corrosion and simulated corrosion pitting is evaluated to determine whether structures with non-uniform surfaces are adequate for CFRP retrofits. In addition, the durability of CFRP-steel bonded systems is investigated through laboratory hygrothermal aging and in-situ environmental conditioning to multiple environments in Virginia. The research can be useful in the development of guidelines that will assist engineers determine if a CFRP retrofit solution is applicable in a given environmental setting and appropriate for the level of deterioration of the structure. / Doctor of Philosophy / As steel structures continue to age, engineers are looking for innovative and effective methods for repairing and maintaining the existing steel infrastructure. Steel components in structures can degrade due to the surrounding environmental conditions. The conventional methods for repairing steel structures can be labor-intensive and time-consuming, and add considerable weight to the existing structure. One alternative is utilizing carbon fiber reinforced polymers (CFRP). The ability of CFRPs to enhance the strength of existing structures has been widely documented. Furthermore, CFRP offers the benefits of being non-corrosive and avoids adding considerable weight to the structure. Most studies on steel strengthening have focused on the bond behavior of CFRP to steels having a smooth surface condition, which are not representative of deteriorated structures in greater need of retrofitting. Further research has examined the durability of CFRP-steel bonds relative to environmental conditions that do not reflect the service life conditions for typical applications. In this work, a comprehensive study is conducted on the effects of the surface condition and environmental exposure on the bond between CFRP and steel. The influence of corrosion and simulated corrosion pitting is evaluated to determine whether structures with non-uniform surfaces are adequate for CFRP retrofits. In addition, the durability of CFRP-steel bonds exposed to laboratory and field conditions is investigated. The research can be useful in the development of guidelines that will assist engineers determine if the application of CFRPs retrofit solution is suitable in a given environment and appropriate for the level of deterioration of the structure.

In recent years investigators have given increased attention to flow in natural, high-gradient, rough, open channels. Studies include work in both the laboratory and in the field. Solutions to the problem are still incomplete; however, continued attention by investigators is needed to answer many questions. Using a laboratory flume, the writer studied one of the questions concerning the relative importance of gross velocity fluctuations versus turbulent mixing, and the ranges of each under different ranges of submergence and kineticity of flow. In the different ranges, the effect of size and concentration of the roughness elements was studied.