Over one million simulations were conducted using the Hec-Ras4b (US Army Corps of Engineers, 2004) model to evaluate the sensitivity of model predictions to field data accuracy, density and estimation techniques and provide guidance towards balancing human resource allocation with model accuracy. Notable differences were identified in model accuracy if a project is concerned with river processes occurring within the limits of the bankfull channel versus floodplain regions. Increased cross section discretization, bankfull channel detail and main channel roughness were of greatest field survey and measurement importance when processes relevant to the bankfull channel are of concern (i.e. geomorphic processes or sediment transport). Conversely, where flood conditions are of highest consideration, estimates of floodplain roughness dominate the accuracy of the results of computed water surface elevations. Results for this case study also demonstrate that higher orders of total station field surveys provide little additional accuracy in final predicted water surface elevations, relative to proper estimates of in-channel and floodplain roughness. As long as drift in field surveys has been accounted for during or subsequent to total station surveys, survey techniques such as hangers can be readily employed with very little increase in final model prediction error, while improving field data acquisition efficiency.

In this work, the peroxide-initiated degradation of polypropylene (PP) in co-rotating intermeshing twin-screw extruders (COITSEs) is analyzed by means of numerical simulations. This reactive extrusion (REX) operation is simulated by implementing (i) a one-dimensional and (ii) a three-dimensional (3D) modeling approach. In the case of the 1D modeling, a REX mathematical model previously developed and implemented as a computer code is used for the evaluation of two scale-up rules for COITSEs of various sizes. The first scale-up rule which is proposed in this work is based on the concept of thermal time introduced by Nauman (1977), and the second one is based on specific energy consumption (SEC) requirements. The processing parameters used in testing the previously referred to scale-up approaches are the mass throughput, the screw rotating speed, and the peroxide concentration, whereas the extruder screw configuration and the barrel temperature profiles are kept constant. The results for the simulated operating conditions show that when the REX operation is scaled-up under constant thermal time, very good agreement is obtained between the weight-average molecular weight (Mw) and poly-dispersity index (PDI) from the larger extruders and the values of these parameters corresponding to the reference extruder. For the constant SEC approach, on the other hand, more significant variations are observed for both of the aforementioned parameters. In the case of the implemented constant thermal time procedure, a further analysis of the effect of the mass throughput and screw speed of the reference device on the scaled-up operation is performed. It is observed that when the lower mass throughput is implemented for the smaller extruder keeping a constant screw speed, the predicted residence times of extrusion for the larger extruders are lower, in general terms, than those corresponding to the reference device, and a converse situation occurs for the higher implemented value of the mass throughput. Also, in general terms, the higher increase of the reaction temperature on the scaled-up operation corresponds to the lower mass throughputs and higher screw speeds specified for the reference extruder. For the 3D modeling approach, two different case studies are analyzed by means of a commercial FEM software package. The REX simulations are performed under the assumption of steady-state conditions using the concept of a moving relative system (MRS). To complement the information obtained from the MRS calculations, simulations for selected conditions (for non-reactive cases) are performed considering the more realistic transient-state (TS) flow conditions. The TS flow conditions are associated to the time periodicity of the flow field inside the conveying elements of COITSEs. In the first case study, the peroxide-initiated degradation of PP is simulated in fully-filled screw elements of two different size COITSEs in order to evaluate scale-up implications of the REX operation. In the second case, the reacting flow is simulated for a conventional conveying screw element and a conveying screw element having a special design and corresponding to the same extruder size. For both of the analyzed cases, the effects of the initial peroxide concentration and mass throughput on the final Mw and PDI of the degraded resin are studied. The effect of the processing conditions is discussed in terms of the residence time distribution (RTD), the temperature of reaction, and the distributive mixing capabilities of the REX system. When analyzing the scale-up case, it is found that for the implemented processing conditions, the final Mws and PDIs are very close to each other in both of the analyzed flow geometries when the specified flow is close to that corresponding to the maximum conveying capabilities of the screw elements. For more restrictive flow conditions, the final Mws and PDIs are lower in the case of the screw element of the larger extruder. It is found that the distributive mixing ability of the reactive flow is mainly related to the specified mass throughput and almost independent of the specified peroxide concentration for a particular extruder size. For the analyzed screw elements, the conveying element corresponding to the small size extruder shows a slightly better distributive mixing performance. For this same case study, a further evaluation of the proposed scale-up criterion under constant thermal time confirms the trend of the results observed for the 1D simulations. In the second case study, the special type of screw element consists of screws rotating at different speeds which have different cross sections. In this case, the outer and inner diameters of both the special and the conventional type of screw elements are specified to be the same. As in the previous case study, the distributive mixing capabilities appear to be independent of the specified peroxide concentrations but dependent on the mass flow rate. It is speculated from the simulation results, from both the transient- as well as the steady-state flow conditions, that the screw element with the special design would yield lower final values of the PDI and Mw. Also, this screw element appears to have improved distributive mixing capabilities as well as a wider RTD.

The energy requirements of forage harvesters can be quite high and can sometimes determine the size of tractor needed on a farm. Therefore, improving the energy efficiency of the forage harvester could allow a farm to reduce costs by using a smaller tractor that is less expensive and more efficient. The objective of this research was to increase the throwing distance of a forage harvester by modeling the flow of forage in the spout and the air flow in the blower and spout. These models can then be used to compare the efficiencies of prototype designs. The air flow in the blower and spout was modeled using the commercial computational fluid dynamics software FLUENT. The simulation results of air velocities and flow patterns were compared to experimental values and it was found that both were of the same order of magnitude with the model predicting slightly higher air velocities than those measured. The flow of forage in the spout was modeled analytically by taking into account the friction between the forage and the spout surface and the aerodynamic resistance after the forage leaves the spout. From this model, two improved prototype spouts that should theoretically result in longer throwing distances were designed. However, field testing of the two prototypes did not reveal any significant improvements over the current design. It was also found that the model under-predicted the throwing distance of one prototype by 2 % and over estimated the other by 12 %.

There are three distinct processes that are predominant in models of flowing media with interacting components: advection, reaction, and diffusion. Collectively, these processes are typically modelled with partial differential equations (PDEs) known as advection-reaction-diffusion (ARD) equations.<p> To solve most PDEs in practice, approximation methods known as numerical methods are used. The method of lines is used to approximate PDEs with systems of ordinary differential equations (ODEs) by a process known as semi-discretization. ODEs are more readily analysed and benefit from well-developed numerical methods and software. Each term of an ODE that corresponds to one of the processes of an ARD equation benefits from particular mathematical properties in a numerical method. These properties are often mutually exclusive for many basic numerical methods.<p> A limitation to the widespread use of more complex numerical methods is that the development of the appropriate software to provide comparisons to existing numerical methods is not straightforward. Scientific and numerical software is often inflexible, motivating the development of a class of software known as problem-solving environments (PSEs). Many existing PSEs such as Matlab have solvers for ODEs and PDEs but lack specific features, beyond a scripting language, to readily experiment with novel or existing solution methods. The PSE developed during the course of this thesis solves ODEs known as initial-value problems, where only the initial state is fully known. The PSE is used to assess the performance of new numerical methods for ODEs that integrate each term of a semi-discretized ARD equation. This PSE is part of the PSE pythODE that uses object-oriented and software-engineering techniques to allow implementations of many existing and novel solution methods for ODEs with minimal effort spent on code modification and integration.<p> The new numerical methods use a commutator-free exponential Runge-Kutta (CFERK) method to solve the advection term of an ARD equation. A matrix exponential is used as the exponential function, but CFERK methods can use other numerical methods that model the flowing medium. The reaction term is solved separately using an explicit Runge-Kutta method because solving it along with the diffusion term can result in stepsize restrictions and hence inefficiency. The diffusion term is solved using a Runge-Kutta-Chebyshev method that takes advantage of the spatially symmetric nature of the diffusion process to avoid stepsize restrictions from a property known as stiffness. The resulting methods, known as Integrating-factor-based 2-additive Runge-Kutta methods, are shown to be able to find higher-accuracy solutions in less computational time than competing methods for certain challenging semi-discretized ARD equations. This demonstrates the practical viability both of using CFERK methods for advection and a 3-splitting in general.

The current thesis studies a model of two dimensional convection of an ideal gas in a rectangular domain having walls of finite thickness. The temperature outside of walls is considered constant. Heat exchange between walls and outside/inside air is computed using Newton's law of cooling. Heat transfer inside walls is modelled with the heat equation. The mathematical model inside enclosure involves Navier-Stokes equations coupled with equation of state for gas. The model is numerically studied using the method of large particles. One of the main goals of the current thesis was to develop a software in C# language for numerical solution of the above-described model. Physically meaningful results, including stream lines and distribution of parameters of gas and temperature inside solid walls were obtained.

This research adopted CMCOT model (Cornell Multi-grid Coupled Tsunami Model) to simulate the wave ran up as the tsunami entered the shoaling water of coastlines, the inundation range on land, and the bridge scour caused by tsunami as it made its way upstream in the rivers. The inundation range was estimated with the fault parameters of Manila Trench and a simulation of bell-sphaped curve waves. The result indicated that if the height of bell-sphaped curve was the same as the maximum water level of the tsunami passed to Kaohsiung offshore, the inundation rage was generally consistent. In the simulation of different water level, we discovered that one meter of wave height was sufficient to inundate the entire coastland of Qijin and Gushan District and that the inundation rage would expand as the wave height increased. With the maximum simulated wave height of six meters, the inundation rage included Gushan, Qijin, Yancheng, Qianjin (small scope), Qianzhen, Fengshan, and Xiaogang District. As to the comparison of historical tsunami, according to the particle size analysis of geological survey from the Kaohsiung Mass Rapid Transit, a layer of fine sediment could be found at specific depth, and its particle size (about 8£r) was significantly different than that of other layers. If this fine sediment was the border of tsunami sediment, the height of historical tsunami wave could be 4.9 meters. With regard to bridge scour, Gwando Bridge was chosen as research area. The result from the sediment simulation of COMCOT model was similar to the scour hole and sediment deposition formed by horseshoe vortex system. Based on the result, the scouring and depositing processes were mainly influenced by the particle size of the sediment. In the simulation, the results of different sediment particle sizes were as follows: (1) If the particle size of sediment was greater than 62£gm, the maximum scour depth was less than 4 cm, and the maximum height of deposition was under 3 cm. (2) If the particle size of sediment was between 4 and 62£gm, the maximum scour depth was between 4 and 5 cm, and the maximum height of deposition was between 3 and 4 cm. (3) If the particle size of sediment was smaller than 4£gm, the maximum scour depth was above 6.8 cm, and the maximum height of deposition was greater than 5 cm.

This research is aimed to study the storage tank design parameters effects on the efficiency of the large solar hot water system. Detailed CFD simulation for the storage tank coupled with TRNSYS program simulation for the entire solar hot water system will be performed to study the system performance under various thermal stratification baffles design for the storage tank. The study is made for three representative cities of Taiwan by input their typical-meteorological-year data (TMY data). The results indicate the performance of a large solar hot water system can be significantly improved with proper designed thermal stratification baffles in the storage tank.

The objective of this study is to investigate the effect of Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) changes on tropical coupled ocean-atmosphere system via oceanic and atmospheric processes. A suite of numerical simulations have been conducted and the results show that both oceanic and atmospheric circulation changes induced by AMOC changes can have a profound impact on tropical sea surface temperature (SST) and sea surface salinity (SSS) conditions, but their dominance varies in different parts of the tropical oceans. The oceanic process has a dominant control on SST and SSS response to AMOC changes in the South Tropical Atlantic, while the atmospheric teleconnection is mainly responsible for SST and SSS changes over the North Tropical Atlantic and Pacific Oceans during the period of reduced AMOC. The finding has significant implication for the interpretation of the paleotemperature reconstructions over the southern Caribbean and the western Tropical Atlantic regions during the Younger Dryas. It suggests that the strong spatial inhomogeneity of the SST change revealed by the proxy records in these regions may be attributed to the competing oceanic and atmospheric processes that dominate the SST response. Similar mechanisms may also explain the reconstructed paleo-salinity change in the tropical Atlantic, which shows a basin-wide increase in SSS during the Younger Dryas, according to recent paleo climate studies. Finally, we show that atmospheric teleconnection induced by the surface cooling of the North Atlantic and the North Pacific in response to a weakened AMOC, is a leading physical mechanism that dictates the behavior of El Nino/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) response to AMOC changes. However, depending on its origin, the atmospheric teleconnection can affect ENSO variability in different ways. The atmospheric process associated with the North Atlantic cooling tends to enhance El Nino occurrence with a deepened mean thermocline depth in the eastern Pacific, whereas the atmospheric process associated with the North Pacific cooling tends to produce more La Nina events with a reduced mean thermocline depth in the eastern Pacific. Preliminary analysis suggests that the change in ENSO characteristics is associated with the change in internal atmospheric variability caused by the surface cooling in the North Atlantic and North Pacific. Complex nature of the underlying dynamics concerning the effect of the AMOC on ENSO calls for further investigation into this problem.

A recursive-iterative algorithm is developed for predicting nonlinear viscoelastic behaviors of isotropic materials that belong to the thermorheologically complex material (TCM). The algorithm is derived based on implicit stress integration solutions within a general displacement based FE structural analyses for small deformations and uncoupled thermo-mechanical problems. A previously developed recursive-iterative algorithm for a stress-dependent hereditary integral model which was developed by Haj-Ali and Muliana is modified to include time-temperature effects. The recursive formula allows bypassing the need to store entire strain histories at each Gaussian integration point. Two types of iterative procedures, which are fixed point and Newton-Raphson methods, are examined within the recursive algorithm. Furthermore, a consistent tangent stiffness matrix is formulated to accelerate convergence and avoid divergence. The efficiency and accuracy of the proposed algorithm are evaluated using available experimental data and several structural analyses. The performance of the proposed algorithm under multi-axial conditions is verified with analytical solutions of creep responses of a plate with a hole. Next, the recursive-iterative algorithm is used to predict the overall response of single lap-joint. Numerical simulations of time-dependent crack propagations of adhesive bonded joints are also presented. For this purpose, the recursive algorithm is implemented in cohesive elements. The numerical assessment of the TCM and thermorheologically simple material (TSM) behaviors has also been performed. The result showed that TCM are able to describe thermo-viscoelastic behavior under general loading histories, while TSM behaviors are limited to isothermal conditions. The proposed numerical algorithm can be easily used in a micromechanical model for predicting the overall composite responses. Examples are shown for solid spherical particle reinforced composites. Detailed unit-cell FE models of the composite systems are generated to verify the capability of the above micromechanical model for predicting the overall nonlinear viscoelastic behaviors.

Carbonates invariably have small (micron) to large (centimeter) scale heterogeneities in flow properties that may cause the effects of injected acids to differ greatly from what is predicted by a model based on a homogenous formation. To the best of our knowledge, there are neither theoretical nor experimental studies on the effect of large scale heterogeneities (vugs) on matrix acidizing. The abundance of carbonate reservoirs (60% of the world?s oil reserves) and the lack of a detailed study on the effect of multi-scale heterogeneities in carbonate acidizing are the main motivations behind this study. In this work, we first present a methodology to characterize the carbonate cores prior to the core-flood acidizing experiments. Our approach consists of characterization of the fine-scale (millimeter) heterogeneities using computerized tomography (CT) and geostatistics, and the larger-scale (millimeter to centimeter) heterogeneities using connected component labeling algorithm and numerical simulation. In order to understand the connectivity of vugs and thus their contribution to flow, a well-known 2D visualization algorithm, connected component labeling (CCL), was implemented in 3D domain. Another tool used in this study to understand the connectivity of the vugs and its effect on fluid flow is numerical simulation. A 3D finite difference numerical model is developed based on Darcy-Brinkman formulation (DBF). Using the developed simulator a flow-based inversion approach is implemented to understand the connectivity of the vugs in the samples studied. After multi-scale characterization of the cores, acid core-flood experiments are conducted. Cores measuring four inches in diameter by twenty inches in length are used to decrease the geometry effects on the wormhole path. The post acid injection porosity distribution and wormhole paths are visualized after the experiments. The experimental results demonstrate that acid follows not only the high permeability paths but also the spatially correlated ones. While the connectivity between the vugs, total amount of vuggy pore space and size of the cores are the predominant factors, spatial correlation of the petro-physical properties has less pronounced effect on wormhole propagation in acidiziation of carbonates. The fact that acid channeled through the vugular cores, following the path of the vug system, was underlined with computerized tomography scans of the cores before and after acid injection. This observation proposes that local pressure drops created by vugs are more dominant in determining the wormhole flow path than the chemical reactions occurring at the pore level. Following this idea, we present a modeling study in order to understand flow in porous media in the presence of vugs. Use of coupled Darcy and Stokes flow principles, known as Darcy-Brinkman formulation (DBF), underpins the proposed approach. Several synthetic simulation scenarios are created to study the effect of vugs on flow and transport. The results demonstrate that total injection volume to breakthrough is affected by spatial distribution, amount and connectivity of vuggy pore space. An interesting finding is that although the presence and amount of vugs does not change the effective permeability of the formation, it could highly effect fluid diversion. We think this is a very important observation for designing of multi layer stimulation.