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Compositionally related glasses and ceramics of the Na$ sb2$O$ cdot$CaO$ cdot$Al$ sb2$O$ sb3 cdot$TiO$ sb2 cdot$SiO$ sb2$ system (sphene glass-ceramics) doped with Eu$ sp{3+}$ were examined using site-selective spectroscopic techniques (FLN). In sphene glass-ceramics, Eu$ sp{3+}$ preferentially partitions into the crystalline sphene phase. The partition ratio is concentration dependent, decreasing at higher concentrations, because of the limited solid solubility of Eu$ sp{3+}$ in sphene. The concentration occurs at the time of phase separation; Eu$ sp{3+}$ preferentially enters the more ionic (CaO, TiO$ sb2$)- rich droplet phase which eventually becomes sphene. In sphene, Eu$ sp{3+}$ substitutes for Ca$ sp{2+}$ appearing in three different sites caused by associated charge compensation defects. From an analysis of the FLN spectra of the different glasses, the framework for a model describing the coordination shell of Eu$ sp{3+}$ in oxide glasses is developed. The model suggests that Eu$ sp{3+}$ behaves as a network forming ion or quasi-molecular complex. The model is used to explain qualitative features of Eu$ sp{3+}$ FLN spectra including the dependence of the clustering of points of the major crystal field parameter ratios plot on the relative number of non-bridging oxygen ions and Eu$ sp{3+}$ ions in the glass.

In order to evaluate the safety of radioactive waste disposal underground it is important to understand the way in which radioactive material is transported through the rock to the surface. If the rock is fractured the usual models may not be applicable. In this work we look at three aspects of fracture networks: connectivity, flow and transport. These are studied numerically by generating fracture networks in a computer and modelling the processes which occur. Connectivity relates to percolation theory, and critical densities for fracture systems are found in two and three dimensions. The permeability of two-dimensional networks is studied. The way that permeability depends on fracture density, network size and spread of fracture length can be predicted using a cut lattice model. Transport through the fracture network by convection through the fractures and mixing at the intersections is studied. The Fickian dispersion equation does not describe the resulting hydrodynamic dispersion. Extensions to the techniques to three dimensions and to include other processes are discussed.

Thesis (Ph. D., Chemical Engineering)--University of Idaho, May 2006. / Major professor: Vivek Utgikar. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 99-107). Also available online (PDF file) by subscription or by purchasing the individual file.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 1999. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (M.S. in engineering)--Washington State University, August 2005. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2000. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the Internet.

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The feasibility of capital projects in an uncertain world can be determined in several ways. One of these methods is real options valuation which arose from financial option valuation theory. On the other hand fuzzy set theory was developed as a mathematical framework to capture uncertainty in project management. The valuation of real options using fuzzy numbers represents an important refinement to determining capital projects' feasibility using the real options approach. The aim of this study is to determine whether the deferral of the decommissioning time (by a decade) of an electricity-generating nuclear plant in South Africa increases decommissioning costs. Using the fuzzy binomial approach, decommissioning costs increase when decommissioning is postponed by a decade whereas use of the fuzzy Black-Scholes approach yields the opposite result. A python code was developed to assist in the computation of fuzzy binomial trees required in our study and the results of the program are incorporated in this thesis. / KMBT_363 / Adobe Acrobat 9.54 Paper Capture Plug-in

This thesis investigates three problems in the general area of environmental fluid mechanics. The first two problems are related to liquid or gas flow through clay-water suspensions, with relevance for the underground storage of radioactive waste and also for understanding the mechanism of eruption in mud volcanoes. The third problem centres on the different problem of mixing in a turbulent buoyant plume. First, the injection of gas and water from a central source into a two-dimensional layer of clay confined between two circular horizontal plates is investigated. This provides a model of the potential pressurisation and failure of the seal rock around a radioactive waste repository as may arise if gas is continuously generated in the repository. As the gas injection pressure is gradually increased the cell walls deform and the clay moves radially outwards. However, at a critical radius, the liquid-clay interface becomes unstable and a series of channels propagate through the clay. When one of the channels reaches the edge of the domain the gas escapes and the pressure is released. As a result, the domain relaxes by elastic deformation and the clay seals the channel. In this way, continuous fluid injection leads to episodic release of gas from the cell. The second problem concerns the flow of mud along a vertical conduit driven by the combined effect of reservoir pressure and buoyancy associated with the gas injected at the base of the conduit. This represents an analogue model of the eruption of a mud volcano, in which mud rises from a deep reservoir to the surface. I find that the pressure associated with the reservoir and any buoyancy force produced by the migration of gas from deep in the reservoir to the surface leads to a continuous eruption if the net pressure is greater than the yield stress of the clay. If the reservoir pressure falls during such an event, the eruption will eventually stop, once the pressure reaches a dynamic yield stress condition. Only later, if the reservoir pressure increases to the static yield stress of the clay will the eruption start again, and this can lead to a series of eruption cycles which depend on the non-Newtonian rheology of the clay. In contrast, if this pressure is smaller than the yield stress of the clay, a series of episodic gas burst events can occur until the conduit is cleared of mud. The third problem relates to the mixing in a turbulent buoyant plume. Through a series of new experiments and some complementary theoretical modelling I show that the mixing in a turbulent plume is strongly affected by the eddies and leads to significant longitudinal dispersion in the flow. The implications of the modelling for determining the residence time distribution of the fluid in the plume is discussed.