Mémoire numérisé par la Direction des bibliothèques de l'Université de Montréal.

Mémoire numérisé par la Direction des bibliothèques de l'Université de Montréal.

Multiphase flow is the simultaneous flow of two or several phases through a system such as a pipe. This common phenomenon can be found in the petroleum and chemical engineering industrial fields. Transport of sand particles in multiphase production has attracted considerable attention given sand production is a common problem especially to the oil and gas industry. The sand production causes loss of pipe wall thickness which can lead to expensive failures and loss of production time. Build-up of sand in the system can result in blockage and further hamper production. Monitoring of multiphase flow is a process that has been established over several decades. This thesis reports an assessment of the application of Acoustic Emission (AE) technology as an alternative online technique to monitoring of sand particles under multiphase flow conditions in a horizontal pipe. The research was conducted on a purpose built test rig with the purpose of establishing a relation between AE activity and sand concentration under different multiphase flow conditions. The investigation consisted of five experimental tests. The initial experiment was performed to provide a basis for the application of AE technology to detect sand particle impact prior to performing tests in multiphase flow conditions. Further investigations are reported on two phase air-sand, water-sand and air- water-sand three-phase flows in a horizontal pipe for different superficial gas velocities (VSG), superficial liquid velocities (VSL) and sand concentrations (SC). The experimental findings clearly showed a correlation exists between AE energy levels and multiphase flow parameters, such as superficial liquid velocity (VSL), superficial gas velocity (VSG), sand concentration and sand minimum transport condition (MTC).

Sand dune erosion is highly episodic occurring only when storm waves coincide with high tides generating swash that impacts the toe of the dune. Owing to the episodic nature of sand dune erosion, it is difficult to observe in nature. The removal of a structure and rip-rap sea-wall from the Stilwell Hall site located in southern Monterey Bay provided a unique opportunity to study erosion processes at an accelerated rate. A 1-D wave impact line erosion model (Larson et al., 2004) was tested against data acquired at this site between April, 2004 and April 2005. The model was optimally tuned to the data by a dimensionless coefficient that relates the impact force to the rate of recession. The coefficient values ranged from 0.7-1.3x10-3, for this field data, compared with values of 1.0-2.5x10-3 previously obtained for lab and field data. Migrating rip currents create a system of mega-cusps, which are nominally 10m in width and 200m in alongshore wavelength (Thornton, 2005). The presence of megacusps is hypothesized to accelerate sand dune erosion at their embayments where the beach is steeper and narrowest (Short, 1979;Shih and Komar, 1984;Revell, et al., 2002). It was determined that the highest recession occurred at the location of the rip current/mega-cusp embayment. Changes in the surf climate are of great interest to Naval Special Warfare (NSW) and U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) forces tasked with planning and executing operations in littoral areas. Naval history is replete with operations highlighting the importance of understanding and accurate prediction of nearshore dynamics. Without the ability to predict nearshore morphologic processes, providing such support is impossible.

Sand movement is one of the many environmental problems facing humans in the dry and semi-dry areas of the world. This study has investigated the observed changes in sand dune coverage compared to predictions, and has also assessed the impact of sand movement on human activity in the north western coastal region of Libya. The study used three methods. The first was a statistical model proposed by Bagnold, which correlates wind shear velocity with particle size, in order to predict likely sand movement. It was found that 60% of sand grains within the study area have a diameter of less than 0.25 mm, making them liable to be moved by the wind speeds recorded, particularly from March until September, and mostly in a northerly direction. The sand in the western part of the study area had a greater predicted rate of sand transport compared with the sand in the eastern part, which was related to its origin. The second method involved the analysis of satellite images for four different years; from 1986 to 2003. The land cover in the study area was found to have changed over this time. Sand dune area cover had increased, and there were other changes particularly a decline in forest. The third method was the use of a questionnaire (the respondents being land owners), which showed that there was notable loss of crop production (by about a quarter) due to sand movement, and that land owners mostly used afforestation to help control the sand movement in the region. The observed sand movement did not match the predictions based solely on sand grain size and wind speed, and climatic analyses showed no convincing trends which could explain increased sand movement except perhaps an increase in wind gusts. The thesis concludes that the overriding determinant in greater sand movement over the period studied was the loss of forest from the area due to human impacts, which farmers are having to compensate for by planting trees locally to reduce sand movement.

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, in fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science. Johannesburg, 20 January 2017. / Sand dune movements can be effectively monitored through the comparison of multitemporal satellite images. However, not all remote sensing platforms are suitable to study sand dunes. This study compares coarse (Landsat 7 and 8) and fine (Worldview 2) resolution platforms, specifically focussing on sand dunes within the Ubārī Sand Sea (Libya), and identified the average migration rate and direction for the linear dunes within a section of the Ubārī sand sea for the time period from 2002-2015 with the use of Landsat imagery. Two band combinations were compared with the use of two supervised classifications. The best combination was found to be red, green, blue and near-infrared band combination and the maximum likelihood classifier. The dune features, namely the crest, slope and interdunal areas were successfully classified based on both the coarse and fine resolution imagery, but the accuracy with which it can be classified are different between the two resolutions. The classifications based on the Worldview 2 imagery had overall accuracies ranging from 55.43 - 60.83% with kappa values of 0.3486 – 0.4225 compared to the overall accuracies and kappa values of the classifications based on the Landsat 8 imagery ranging from 52.11 – 64.67% and 0.3878 – 0.4927 respectively. An average migration rate of 8.64 (± 4.65) m/yr in a generally north western direction was calculated based on the analysis of remote sensing data with some variations in this rate and the size and shape of the dunes. It was found that although Worldview 2 imagery provides more accurate and precise mensuration data, and smaller dunes identified from Worldview data were not delineated clearly on the Landsat imagery. Landsat imagery is sufficient for the studying of dunes at a regional scale. This means that for studies concerned with the dune patterns and movements within sand seas, Landsat is sufficient. In studies where the specific dynamics of specific dunes are to be selected, a finer resolution is required; platforms such as Worldview are needed in order to gain more detailed insight and to link the past and present day climate and environmental change. / MT2017

The objective of this study was to investigate the need for domestic wastewater to receive secondary treatment when being applied to the soil by subsurface drip irrigation (SDI). SDI uniformly distributes wastewater into the soil, which optimizes the soil’s chemical, physical, and biological capacity to remove waste constituents. Because of these advantages, many regulatory jurisdictions are allowing SDI at sites that previously were prohibited from using conventional trench-based soil application systems because of shallow soil restrictions. However, most of these regulatory agencies also require that the wastewater receives secondary treatment (dissolved organic carbon reduction) before the SDI system. At issue is whether the enhanced soil-based renovation provided by SDI should eliminate the necessity for secondary treatment before SDI. Two SDI systems were installed and monitored at two sites in Tennessee. These locations were residential developments served by a septic tank effluent pump (STEP) collection system, a recirculating media filter (fine gravel media), and SDI dispersal. At both locations, SDI plots were established to receive primary treated (septic tank effluent) and secondary treated (recirculating media filter effluent) wastewater. In close proximity to randomly selected SDI emitters, soil samples were extracted. Soil cores were analyzed to determine saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ksat), and pore water samples were analyzed for nitrate, total nitrogen, total carbon, and total phosphorus. Results indicate that the primary-treated sites had lower Ksat values, higher nitrate and higher total nitrogen levels than the secondary-treated side and the background soil. Interestingly, the primary treated side had less total carbon and the background phosphorus concentration was twice that of the primary and secondary treated sides. Primary effluent showed a decrease in concentration for all constituents with increased depth. Secondary treatment does result in a higher quality effluent but is not needed when applying effluent with a SDIS.

In the last decade, a significant amount of research has been performed to characterize the microstructure of unsheared and sheared triaxial sand specimens to advance the understanding of the engineering behavior of soils. However, most of the research has been limited to two-dimensional (2-D) image analysis of section planes that resulted in loss of information regarding the skeleton of the soil (pore structure) and other attributes of the three-dimensional (3-D) microstructure. In this research, the 3-D microstructures of triaxial test specimens were, for the first time, characterized. A serial sectioning technique was developed for obtaining 3-D microstructure from 2-D sections of triaxial test specimens. The mosaic technique was used to get high-resolution large field of view images. Various 3-D characterization parameters were used to study the microstructures of the specimens. To study the preparation method induced variation in soil microstructure, two specimens prepared with air pluviation and moist tamping methods were preserved with epoxy impregnation. A coupon was cut from the center of each specimen, and following a serial sectioning and image capture process, the 3-D structure was reconstructed. To study the evolution of structure during shearing tests, two additional specimens prepared to the same initial conditions with the same methods were subjected to axial compression loading under constant confining pressure up to an axial strain level of 14%. After shearing, the structure of these specimens were also preserved and analyzed following the same procedures as the unsheared specimens. The evolution of the pore structures was investigated accordingly. It was found that generally, moist tamped specimens were initially less uniform but had a more isotropic structure than air pluviated specimens. The standard deviations of 2-D local void ratio and 3-D pore size in dilated regions of sheared air pluviated and moist-tamped specimens were found to be smaller than those of as-consolidated specimens at a given void ratio. Tortuosity decreased with increasing pore size. It was also evident that the soil structures evolved differently depending on the initial structure. Comparison between 2-D and 3-D results indicated that it is not sufficient to use 2-D section information for characterizing some microstructural features.

Die Arbeit befasst sich mit der Untersuchung des Kernformstofffließens als nichtnewtonsche Fluidströmung. Dazu werden verschiedene Formgrundstoffe und Kernformstoffe rheologisch untersucht. Als Bindersysteme kommen PUR Coldbox und Wasserglas zum Einsatz. Für diese Untersuchungen wird ein eigens für diesen Zweck entwickeltes Messgerät verwendet. Die gewonnenen Daten werden in ein numerisches Modell implementiert, welches mit den Methoden der numerischen Strömungsmechanik den Kernschießvorgang abbildet. Dabei kommt der Open Source CFD Code OpenFOAM zum Einsatz. Der Kernschießvorgang wird mit verschiedenen Kernkastengeometrien numerisch und experimentell untersucht und die Ergebnisse verglichen. Die Ergebnisse der rheologischen Untersuchungen zeigen deutlich den Einfluss der Beschaffenheit des Formgrundstoffes und des Bindersystems auf die Fließfähigkeit des Kernformstoffes. Der Vergleich zwischen Experiment und Simulation zeigt gute Übereinstimmung. Das formulierte Modell gibt die Möglichkeit, Probleme in der Kernqualität vorherzusagen.

The objective of this study was to investigate the need for domestic wastewater to receive secondary treatment when being applied to the soil by subsurface drip irrigation (SDI). SDI uniformly distributes wastewater into the soil, which optimizes the soil’s chemical, physical, and biological capacity to remove waste constituents. Because of these advantages, many regulatory jurisdictions are allowing SDI at sites that previously were prohibited from using conventional trench-based soil application systems because of shallow soil restrictions. However, most of these regulatory agencies also require that the wastewater receives secondary treatment (dissolved organic carbon reduction) before the SDI system. At issue is whether the enhanced soil-based renovation provided by SDI should eliminate the necessity for secondary treatment before SDI.Two SDI systems were installed and monitored at two sites in Tennessee. These locations were residential developments served by a septic tank effluent pump (STEP) collection system, a recirculating media filter (fine gravel media), and SDI dispersal. At both locations, SDI plots were established to receive primary treated (septic tank effluent) and secondary treated (recirculating media filter effluent) wastewater. In close proximity to randomly selected SDI emitters, soil samples were extracted. Soil cores were analyzed to determine saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ksat), and pore water samples were analyzed for nitrate, total nitrogen, total carbon, and total phosphorus. Results indicate that the primary-treated sites had lower Ksat values, higher nitrate and higher total nitrogen levels than the secondary-treated side and the background soil. Interestingly, the primary treated side had less total carbon and the background phosphorus concentration was twice that of the primary and secondary treated sides. Primary effluent showed a decrease in concentration for all constituents with increased depth. Secondary treatment does result in a higher quality effluent but is not needed when applying effluent with a SDIS.