Thesis (Ph.D.)(Civil Engineering)--University of Pretoria, 2005. / Includes summary. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2004. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2007. / The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file. Typescript. Vita. Title from title screen of research.pdf file (viewed on March 6, 2009) Includes bibliographical references.

Manufacturing of textile preforms involve preform compaction which influences the fibre volume fraction and level of crimp in the final laminates affecting the laminate properties. The preform compaction behaviour is highly non-linear and depends on a number of tow-level factors which in turn is guided by filament-level interactions. Hence experimentally predicting the compaction behaviour of a preform, made of large fibre bundles, remains as an obstacle to the understanding of the compaction mechanics due to the stochastic effects of filament-level interactions. This thesis proposes a novel multi-scale modelling technique which predicts the compaction behaviour of large fibre bundles or tows. The model considers real inter-fibre frictional interactions; the friction coefficients are obtained by carrying out friction tests on carbon fibres. Since the inter-fibre friction varies with the inter-fibre orientation, experiments are done to study the effects of fibre orientation on friction. The tests have shown a significant increase in coefficient of friction (from 0.2 to 0.45) for parallel tows due to bedding and entanglement of fibres in comparison to the friction between perpendicular tows. Modelling of the filament-level compaction behaviour requires inter filament friction coefficient which is not equal to the tow friction. In addition, the filaments within a tow can slip relative to each other. Therefore, inter filament friction can influence tow friction. Hence filament friction is determined from tow friction and used in the compaction models. Numerical models of compaction of large fibre bundles are developed which use this experimentally-obtained fibre friction coefficient as input. The solid model requires extensive computational effort. A two-dimensional (2D) model has been developed where the bending and torsional behaviour are incorporated with the help of springs. This 2D model has resulted in improved computational efficiency compared to the solid model (that is, a 99% improvement in CPU time for a 37 filament assembly). The model is then extended to tow- and fabric-levels. The tow-scale results are in close agreement (~5%) with validation tests. A further 3D modelling technique using beam elements has been presented as a further scope which is able to use the level of compaction obtained from the 2D model and also overcomes the limitations of the 2D model. This 3D modelling technique has shown 88% reduction in CPU time compared to that of solid model of same fibre bundle.

This thesis work was directed at aspects of two related problems: (1) sediment compaction and fluid expulsion processes in a subduction margin accretionary prism, and (2) the nature and concentration of gas hydrates that form bottom-simulating reflectors (BSRs) observed in the accretionary prism sediments of the northern Cascadia margin. The formation of the gas hydrate and the occurrence of BSRs in the study area are believed to be mainly a consequence of upward fluid expulsion in the accretionary prism. Therefore, the two study objectives are closely correlated. Most of this thesis work was carried out analyzing multichannel seismic data and incorporating available information including downhole and other geophysical measurements. Seismic techniques, such as velocity analysis, forward modelling, and waveform velocity inversion, were used in analyzing the data to advance our understanding of the tectonic and geophysical processes in a dynamic accretionary prism environment. The velocity structure and the inferred porosity variations across the frontal region of the accretionary prism have been quantitatively assessed by a detailed seismic velocity analysis. Within the Cascadia basin sediments approaching the deformation front, and within the frontal thrust zone of the accretionary prism, seismic velocities increase landward as a result of sediment consolidation. An important conclusion is that more than one third of the pore fluid content of the incoming sediment is lost by the time they are incorporated into the accretionary prism. In the lower slope region of the deformation front, a pronounced velocity decrease is evident. This low-velocity zone is explained by underconsolidation resulting from rapid horizontal shortening and vertical thickening of the sediment column, accommodated by displacements along thrust faults or by distributed deformation. A prominent BSR becomes visible immediately landward of the deformation front in the accreted sediment, and is developed over much of the low-to-mid continental slope. The upward pore-fluid migration is believed to play an important role in the formation of a gas hydrate BSR. From the estimated fluid loss of 35% over the 3-km-thick Cascadia Basin sediments with an average sediment porosity of 30%, the quantity of the expelled fluid reaches 315 m3/m2 over a distance of 12 km before the basin sediments are incorporated into the accretionary prism. Assuming that 100 mmol/L of methane is removed from the expelled fluid as it moves into the hydrate stability field, a 90-m-thick layer with an average hydrate saturation of 10% of the pore space can be formed by the rising fluids. A velocity-depth function in the lower slope region, representing a no-hydrate/no-gas reference profile, has been established from the detailed semblance velocity analyses and the ODP log data. The observed and measured sediment velocities near the ODP drill sites increase downward more rapidly than the reference profile above the BSR. Based on the reference profile, the velocity inversion results imply that the velocity increase due to hydrate above the BSR accounts for ~2/3 of the impedance contrast required to produce the BSR reflection amplitudes. The remainder of the impedance contrast appears to come from the velocity decrease associated with small concentrations of free gas below the BSR. The integrated analysis of the multichannel seismic and ODP downhole velocity data has allowed the velocity enhancement associated with the formation and concentration of gas hydrate to be estimated. If the BSR is overlain by a 100 m zone of sediment with a mean porosity of 50% in which the hydrate saturation increases linearly from zero at the top of the zone to 20% at the BSR, the estimated hydrate concentration-depth profiles indicate a total hydrate amount of about 5 m3/m2 of ocean floor or methane amount of 820 m3/m2 at STP. Throughout the Vancouver Island continental margin, where the clear BSR have been observed in an area of 30x200 km, the total methane gas estimated can amount to about 175 Tcf (trillion cubic feet) or 2.6 Gt of carbon. / Graduate

Resumo: O objetivo do vigente trabalho foi avaliar a qualidade física de um LATOSSOLO VERMELHO Eutroférrico, textura argilosa, cultivado com as variedades de soja (CAC-1 e FT-Cristalina), submetidos aos efeitos da compactação e da irrigação, utilizando os atributos físicos do solo e associá-los ao crescimento radicular e à produtividade da cultura da soja, em experimentos conduzidos em campo e em casa de vegetação (vasos). O experimento de campo constou de parcelas subdivididas, com quatro repetições cujos tratamentos principais foram constituídos por quatro níveis de compactação, proporcionados pelo tráfego controlado de tratores, três níveis de irrigação e duas camadas de solo (Capítulos 2 e 3). Foram coletadas amostras indeformadas do solo nas camadas de 0-0,10 e 0,10-0,20 m, para determinação dos atributos físicos. A produtividade máxima da soja foi obtida com a resistência do solo à penetração de 0,71 e 1,88 MPa para as variedades CAC-1 e FT-Cristalina, respectivamente. Foi obtido o valor de "S" de 0,036 e redução nos níveis mais compactados para 0,026. O experimento de casa de vegetação apresentou parcelas subdivididas com três repetições cujas variedades CAC-1 e FT-Cristalina diminuíram o comprimento de raízes à medida que aumentou a compactação e consequentemente reduziu a área explorada pelas raízes (Capítulo 4) / Abstract: The aim of the current study was to evaluate the physical quality of an Eutrustox, clayey texture, cultivated with soybean varieties (CAC-1 and FT-Cristalina), submitted to the effects of soil compaction and irrigation, using the physical attributes of soil and associates them to root growth and yield of soybean culture, in experiments conducted in field and greenhouse (vases). The field experiment consisted of split plots, with four replications, where the main treatments was consisted of four levels of compaction, induced by controlled tractors traffic, three levels of irrigation and two layers of soil (Chapters 2 and 3). Undisturbed samples of soil were collected in the layers of 0-0,10 and 0,10-0,20 m, to determine the physical attributes. The maximum yield of soybeans was obtained with the soil resistance to penetration of 0,71 and 1,88 MPa for the varieties CAC-1 and FT-Cristalina, respectively. It was obtained the "S " value of 0,036 and a reduction in the levels more compressed to 0,026. The greenhouse experiment showed a split plot design with three replications whose varieties CAC-1 and FT-Cristalina decreased the root length as increased the compaction and consequently reduced the area explored by the roots (Chapter 4) / Orientador: José Frederico Centurion / Coorientador: Maria Aparecida Pessôa da Cruz Centurion / Banca: José Renato Zanini / Banca: Alberto Carvalho Filho / Mestre

M.Tech. / There is a general lack of understanding of the laboratory compaction test based on the vibrating hammer method. The impact method of testing soil in the laboratory is conservatively used by engineers for design and construction control purposes even when the specified mode of compaction on site is vibratory. Furthermore, the effects of vibratory compaction are not fully understood, and hence this mode of compaction in the field has not always been effectively utilized. The objective of this research project was to determine whether the vibrating hammer method could be used in the laboratory for design and control purposes, through an investigation of its operating characteristics, and a comparison of its effectiveness against that of the impact method, following a study of the compaction properties of a range of different soils used in road and embankment construction. The results of the study showed that the vibrating hammer can be used in place of impact in the laboratory for non-cohesive soils and gravels. In one instance, vibratory compaction produced maximum dry densities for a decomposed granite which were almost 5 % higher than that for impact compaction. Cohesive soils reached maximum compaction at moisture contents which were 7 % wetter under the vibratory mode as opposed to those for impact, but at lower densities. This showed that field densities under vibratory compaction would be difficult to achieve when the laboratory control method was based on impact. The research showed that electrical power input to the vibrating hammer must be carefully regulated in order to maintain specified standards which are based on a fixed frequency. Further study based on operation at different frequencies would be required to determine whether the vibrating hammer would be suitable for cohesive soils having natural frequencies lower than the current standard specified.

No description available.

The effect of compaction pressure on subsequent soil behaviour during isotropic consolidation has been investigated by conducting controlled-suction triaxial tests on samples of an unsaturated compacted silty soil. A comprehensive set of laboratory experiments was carried out in a double-walled triaxial apparatus on samples of unsaturated soil that were prepared using two different compaction pressures. The axis translation technique was used for creating the desired suctions in the samples. In the experiments, the soil samples were subjected to isotropic consolidation under constant suctions. The results show that different compaction pressures produce different fabrics in a soil and therefore affect the behaviour of the soil. The results also show that the value of yield stress and the location of the loading¿collapse (LC) yield curve are functions of soil fabric. Furthermore, it is shown that the slopes of normal consolidation lines for densely and loosely compacted samples differ in unsaturated conditions but are the same in saturated soils. A comparison is made between the behaviour of the dense and loose samples, and the difference in the behaviour is explained.

<p> A microprocessor driven display was built and programmed for the storage and reproduction of Bliss symbols. An explanation is offered for the success of the symbol language in teaching the handicapped.</p> <p> The hardware was designed to be inexpensive enough for classroom use, but still deliver adequate flexibility and resolution. Due to the complexity and variety of the symbols a method of data compaction was developed to reduce the required storage space.</p> <p> Initial tests are presented and suggestions are made for continuing the work.</p> / Thesis / Master of Engineering (MEngr)