Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2006. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Ph.D.

No description available.

Particle size distribution (PSD) of gypseous soils is important in the soil science community. When gypsum constitutes a major portion of the soil, its removal prior to PSD analysis distorts the results and may lead to textures that do not relate to conditions in the field. In order to understand the true characterization of the soil and the gypsum particles, the entire soil sample should be analyzed. Four different approaches to the BaCl2 method presented in the literature (Hesse, 1976, Matar and Douleimy, 1978, Viellefon, 1979) were used to evaluate the use of BaCl2 solution to reduce the solubility of gypsum by forming a protective coating of BaSO4 around gypsum particles. Results showed that the BaCl2 method was unsatisfactory, as dispersion of clays was not sufficient to allow particle size analysis using the pipette method. A procedure using a laser diffraction particle size analyzer (LPSA) was also evaluated. As gypsum is insoluble in methanol, methanol was selected as a possible solution, but it caused flocculation of clays and could not be used to analyze samples containing silicate clays. Gypsum saturated water containing Na hexametaphosphate was evaluated as a solution. First, 20 non-gypseous samples were analyzed on a sand-free basis using saturated gypsum water with Na hexametaphosphate. Results were used to establish a relationship comparing LPSA results and pipette results. An equation y = 1.37x + 2.03 was established relating LPSA clay percent by volume (x) to the pipette clay percent by weight (y). The equation had a R2 value of 0.84 and was significant at the 1% level. From this equation a comparison of 21 gypseous samples was made, between clay percentages of the pipette method and the LPSA method. Results indicate that LPSA can be used to give a satisfactory particle size distribution of gypseous soils when coupled with sand analysis by sieving.

Particle size distribution (PSD) of gypseous soils is important in the soil science community. When gypsum constitutes a major portion of the soil, its removal prior to PSD analysis distorts the results and may lead to textures that do not relate to conditions in the field. In order to understand the true characterization of the soil and the gypsum particles, the entire soil sample should be analyzed. Four different approaches to the BaCl2 method presented in the literature (Hesse, 1976, Matar and Douleimy, 1978, Viellefon, 1979) were used to evaluate the use of BaCl2 solution to reduce the solubility of gypsum by forming a protective coating of BaSO4 around gypsum particles. Results showed that the BaCl2 method was unsatisfactory, as dispersion of clays was not sufficient to allow particle size analysis using the pipette method. A procedure using a laser diffraction particle size analyzer (LPSA) was also evaluated. As gypsum is insoluble in methanol, methanol was selected as a possible solution, but it caused flocculation of clays and could not be used to analyze samples containing silicate clays. Gypsum saturated water containing Na hexametaphosphate was evaluated as a solution. First, 20 non-gypseous samples were analyzed on a sand-free basis using saturated gypsum water with Na hexametaphosphate. Results were used to establish a relationship comparing LPSA results and pipette results. An equation y = 1.37x + 2.03 was established relating LPSA clay percent by volume (x) to the pipette clay percent by weight (y). The equation had a R2 value of 0.84 and was significant at the 1% level. From this equation a comparison of 21 gypseous samples was made, between clay percentages of the pipette method and the LPSA method. Results indicate that LPSA can be used to give a satisfactory particle size distribution of gypseous soils when coupled with sand analysis by sieving.

No description available.

The thesis deals with the contamination of the workspace with a liquid aerosol, which is generated by scattering and evaporation of the cooling fluid. Cooling fluid are primarily intended to lubricate, cool and clean the tool and the workpiece, but the unwanted side effect is the formation of a liquid aerosol that holds in the air of the workspace. In such a contaminated work environment, the operator is exposed to a certain dose of a liquid aerosol that causes dermatological and respiratory problems. The topic of the thesis was to find out the number of particles of liquid aerosol that arises under varying working conditions and its dispersion in space. This amount was determined by image analysis using a high-speed camera.

No description available.

No description available.

The distribution of particles in the Eastern Pacific Ocean was investigated from 2 January to 14 February, l969, on the YALOC-69 cruise of Oregon State University. The size distributions were well fitted by the two-parameter Weibull distribution function, with a predominant number of them nearly exponential in distributional shape. Although particles smaller in diameter than 1i could not be measured, extrapolation of the Weibull distribution into the small particle range indicated the median particle diameter was smaller than 1μ. Measurements of light scattering were taken simultaneously with the particle size determinations. A linear relationship between the total particulate surface area and the volume scattering function, β(45°) was indicated, as well as between β(45°)/β(135°) and the mean particle diameter of distributions sharing a common shape parameter. Five different characteristic distributional shapes were found which typified all but a few of the distributions. No direct relationship was found between the distributional shapes and the water types encountered on the cruise. The first-order exponential shapes of the size distributions suggest that a detrital decay mechanism of the larger particles (i. e. phytoplankton) could be a dominant factor in determining the small particle end of oceanic particle distributions. / Graduation date: 1970