Thesis (M.S.)--Ohio University, June, 2001. / Title from PDF t.p.

Thesis (Ph. D.), Oregon Graduate Institute of Science & Technology, 1992.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio University, 2002. / Title from PDF t.p.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2006. / Garimella, Srinivas, Committee Chair ; Ghiaasiaan, S. Mostafa, Committee Member ; Graham, Samuel, Committee Member ; Breedveld, Victor, Committee Member ; Fuller,Tom, Committee Member.

Thesis (M.S.)--Stanford University, 2000. / Submitted to the Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences. Copyright by the author.

Ozone is a heavily monitored pollutant. Ozone is not directly emitted into the atmosphere, but rather the product of chemical reactions. Ground level ozone occurs when nitrogen oxides (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) react with each other in the presence of sunlight. The primary precursors of ozone are anthropogenically emitted, and as a result, tropospheric ozone has cost millions of dollars in damages and has hurt the health of countless people. This dissertation is a collection of work that aims to provide insight into atmospheric reactions that result in tropospheric ozone and the instrumentation to study such reactions. While these reactions are well studied, this research is novel in its attempt to understand water vapor's influence in tropospheric ozone reactions. As the troposphere continues to get warmer and wetter from global climate change, water vapor will play a larger role in tropospheric reactions, which in turn may perturb the global reactions. Work is presented on the self-reaction of β-hydroxyethyl peroxy radical (β-HEP), an ozone precursor, and the increase in reaction rate catalyzed by water vapor. β-HEP serves as a model system for understanding the roles of water vapor in perturbing the kinetics and product branching ratio of ozone forming reactions. The self-reaction rate coefficient of β-HEP was investigated between 274-296 K with 1.0 × 1015 to 2.5 × 1017 molecules cm-3 of water vapor at 200 Torr total pressure by slow-flow laser flash photolysis coupled with UV time-resolved spectroscopy and long-path, wavelength-modulated, diode-laser spectroscopy. The overall rate constant is expressed as the product of temperature-dependent and water vapor-dependent terms giving k(T,H2O) = 7.8 × 10-14(e8.2 (±2.5) kJ/RT )(1 + 1.4 × 10-34 × e92 (±11) kJ/RT [H2O]). The results suggest that formation of a β-HEP-H2O complex is responsible for the observed water vapor enhancement of the self-reaction rate coefficient. A new discharge flow mass-spectrometer was engineered in collaboration with the California Institute of Technology and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. This instrument allows for rapid study of water vapor influence on the kinetics of atmospheric reactions. This instrument will be used in further studying the β-HEP + NO reaction as a function of water vapor concentration.

This thesis deals with the structural design of mass flowmeter based on the principle of the Coriolis force. The introduction explains how the Coriolis flowmeter operates, what types of flowmeters are currently being produced and what are the important parameters. There are appointed some of the principles that must be followed to the meter working correctly. It contains a proposal design of flowmeter for pipes DN80 and. Includes drawings for this design.

Depuis une dizaine d’années, l’évolution de la puissance des ordinateurs a permis de développer l’utilisation, dans les études d’ingénierie, des simulations 3D CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) pour l’étude de l’atmosphère à petite échelle, en particulier pour la dispersion de polluants sur des sites industriels et urbains complexes. Compte tenu de la complexité des domaines à étudier et des ressources de calcul généralement disponibles, ces études sont la plupart du temps réalisées à l’aide des modèles RANS (Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes), et particulièrement avec le modèle de fermeture k – e. Différents travaux de validation de l’approche RANS k – e ont mis en évidence quelques limitations à reproduire la dynamique de l’écoulement et de la dispersion dans des configurations géométriques complexes. Le travail de recherche réalisé dans le cadre de cette thèse a pour objectif une caractérisation expérimentale fine de l’écoulement et de la dispersion turbulente autour d’un obstacle bidimensionnel placé dans une couche limite de surface, afin d’évaluer la validité des modèles RANS en vue de leur application pour l’étude de la dispersion atmosphérique.Dans un premier temps, nous avons utilisé des techniques d’anémométrie à fil chaud, d’anémométrie laser Doppler et d’anémométrie par image de particules, pour déterminer le champ de vitesse dans une couche limite de surface rugueuse et autour d’un obstacle bidimensionnel de section carrée. Une attention particulière a été portée sur l’analyse des termes de l’équation évolutive de l’énergie cinétique turbulente (ECT) et sur la détermination de la viscosité turbulente vt. Différentes approches ont également été utilisées pour estimer le taux de dissipation e de l’énergie cinétique turbulente. Nous avons mis en évidence que ces différentes approches fournissent des résultats comparables dans le cas de la couche limite, tandis que seule la technique estimant e comme le résidu de l’ECT est applicable dans le sillage de l’obstacle. De plus, nos mesures ont permis d’évaluer les paramétrisations du modèle k – e et de montrer que la valeur du coefficient Cμ = 0.09 ne semble pas adaptée dans le cas de la couche limite, conduisant à une surestimation de vt, alors que cette valeur apparait plus adaptée dans le cas de l’obstacle. Une étude de sensibilité, portant la détermination de la constante σk du modèle k – e, indique une contribution non négligeable des termes de corrélation entre la vitesse et la pression dans le sillage de l’obstacle.Dans un deuxième temps, nous avons étudié la dispersion d’un scalaire passif, en mesurant les différents moments statistiques de la concentration, au moyen d’un détecteur à ionisation de flamme. Nous avons également déterminé les flux turbulents de masse, par un couplage entre les mesures de vitesse et de concentration, en prenant soin de contrôler les influences réciproques des deux techniques de mesure. Ces mesures nous ont permis de tester la validité de différents modèles de fermeture de l’équation d’advection-diffusion pour estimer les flux dans le sens vertical et dans le sens longitudinal. Nous avons également pu déterminer expérimentalement le coefficient de diffusivité turbulente Dt, nous permettant d’évaluer un nombre de Schmidt turbulent Sct, afin de mettre en évidence que la valeur Sct = 0.7 est adaptée à la majorité des zones étudiées, excepté dans la zone de recirculation induite par l’obstacle. Enfin, nous nous sommes intéressés aux différents termes de l’équation de la variance de la concentration et plus particulièrement à son taux de dissipation. À nouveau, les mesures nous ont permis de tester un modèle de fermeture disponible dans la littérature et de montrer la bonne cohérence entre le modèle et l’expérience. / In the last decades, there has been an increasing use of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD)simulations to evaluate the impact of atmospheric pollutants dispersion in within industrial and urban sites. Given the high geometrical complexity of these sites, these simulations are mainly performed adopting a Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) approach and using k−e closure models. As is well known from previous studies, RANS k−e simulations are affected by some limitations that prevent them correctly reproducing the dynamics of the flow and the pollutant dispersion in complex geometrical configurations. The aim of the PhD is to provide a detailed experimental characterization of the flow and the turbulent dispersion around an idealized two-dimensional obstacle placed within a boundary layer flow. This is subsequently used to analyse the reliability of RANS closure models as predictive tools for the atmospheric dispersion of airborne pollutants. Initially we focus on the flow dynamics of a boundary layer flow developing over a rough wall and in the wake of a 2D obstacle. The velocity field is investigated experimentally by means of different measurement techniques, namely Hot Wire Anemometry (HWA), Laser Doppler Anemometry (LDA) and Stereo-Particle Imagery Velocimetry (PIV). A particular attention was devoted to the estimate of the turbulent viscosity nt as well as of the terms composing the turbulent kinetic energy budget (TKE), including its rate of dissipation e which was determined adopting different approaches. These measurements allowed us to analyse the accuracy of the parameterizations included in a standard k−e closure model. Our analysis show that a value of the coefficient Cμ = 0.09 leads to significant overestimation of nt in a boundary layer flow. Conversely, adopting Cμ = 0.09 provides a good agreement between modeled and direct estimates of nt in the wake of the obstacle. As a second step, we studied the dispersion of a passive scalar emitted by a ground level line source. To that purpose we measured the first four order moments of the concentration probability density function by mean of a flame ionization detector (FID). Furthermore, the coupling of the FID system with the LDA or HWA system allowed us to directly measure the turbulent mass transfer, i.e. the correlation between velocity and concentration fluctuations. The combination of these two techniques was carefully analyzed, in order to quantify eventual mutual disturbances of one measurement technique on the other. The measurements of the velocity/concentration correlations allowed us to determine experimentally the turbulent diffusivity Dt and the turbulent Schmidt number Sct , and therefore to test the accuracy of different closure models of the advection-distribution equation. Our results show that the value of the turbulent Schmidt number is approximately equal to 0.7 in most of the domain, except in the recirculation zone on the wake of the obstacle. Experimental data provide also a complete description of the spatial distribution of the concentration variance, and of the term composing its budget (with a focus on its dissipation). As for the velocity field, we test the reliability of different closure model proposed in the literature of the turbulent mass transfer terms, enlightening the shortcomings of simple gradient-law closer models.

Nowadays society strongly depends on its available resources and the long term stability of the surrounding ecosystem. Numerical modelling has become a general standard for evaluating past, current or future system states for a large number of applications supporting decision makers in proper management. In order to ensure the correct representation of the investigated processes and results of a simulation, verification examples (benchmarks), that are based on observation data or analytical solutions, are utilized to evaluate the numerical modelling tool. In many parts of the world, groundwater is an important resource for freshwater. While it is not only limited in quantity, subsurface water bodies are often in danger of contamination from various natural or anthropogenic sources. Especially in arid regions, marine saltwater intrusion poses a major threat to groundwater aquifers which mostly are the exclusive source of freshwater in these dry climates. In contrast to common numerical groundwater modelling, density-driven flow and mass transport have to be considered as vital processes in the system and in scenario simulations for fresh-saltwater interactions. In the beginning of this thesis, the capabilities of the modelling tool OpenGeoSys are verified with selected benchmarks to represent the relevant non-linear process coupling. Afterwards, variable-density application and process studies on different scales are presented. Application studies comprehend regional groundwater modelling of a coastal aquifer system extensively used for agricultural irrigation, as well as hydro-geological model development and parametrization. In two process studies, firstly, a novel method to model gelation of a solute in porous media is developed and verified on small scale laboratory observation data, and secondly, investigations of thermohaline double-diffusive Rayleigh regimes on medium scale are carried out. With the growing world population and, thus, increasing pressure on non-renewable resources, intelligent management strategies intensify demand for potent simulation tools and development of novel methods. In that way, this thesis highlights not only OpenGeoSys’ potential of density-dependent process modelling, but the comprehensive importance of variable-density flow and transport processes connecting, both, avant-garde scientific research, and real-world application challenges.:Abstract Zusammenfassung Nomenclature List of Figures List of Tables I Background and Fundamentals 1 Introduction 1.1 Motivation 1.2 Structure of the Thesis 1.3 Variable-Density Flow in Literature 2 Theory and Methods 2.1 Governing Equations 2.2 Fluid Properties 2.3 Modelling and Visualization Tools 3 Benchmarks 3.1 Steady-state Unconfined Groundwater Table 3.2 Theis Transient Pumping Test 3.3 Transient Saltwater Intrusion 3.4 Development of a Freshwater Lens II Applications 4 Extended Inverse Distance Weighting Interpolation 4.1 Motivation 4.2 Extension of IDW Method 4.3 Artificial Test and Regional Scale Application 4.4 Summary and Conclusions 5 Modelling Transient Saltwater Intrusion 5.1 Background and Motivation 5.2 Methods and Model Setup 5.3 Simulation Results and Discussion 5.4 Summary, Conclusion and Outlook 6 Gelation of a Dense Fluid 6.1 Motivation 6.2 Methods and Model Setup 6.3 Results and Conclusions 7 Delineating Double-Diffusive Rayleigh Regimes 7.1 Background and Motivation 7.2 Methods and Model Setup 7.3 Results 7.4 Conclusions and Outlook III Summary and Conclusions 8 Important Achievements 9 Conclusions and Outlook Bibliography Publications Acknowledgements Appendix