Landscapes evolve through a number of processes in response to a wide range of forcing mechanisms. Many of the processes that drive landscape evolution occur at the interface between fluid and sediment. Sediment transport leads to changes in topography that, in turn, influence fluid flow. Feedback mechanisms between topography and fluid flow can lead to the formation of patterns, such as sand ripples, dune fields, parallel channel networks, and periodically spaced valleys. In many cases, the development and evolution of patterns within landscapes are heavily influenced by environmental conditions. Therefore, given relationships between landform features and the underlying processes, present-day landscapes have the potential to be used to infer a record of climatic conditions over the course of their development. An inability to make direct observations over geologically relevant timescales makes it difficult to study the processes that influence landscape evolution. Mathematical models provide a means of quantitatively linking natural patterns and landscape features with physical processes. Patterns in landscapes also provide a simple means of testing quantitative representations of geomorphic processes. In this work, we develop landscape evolution models to study the development of debris-flow-dominated hillslopes, rill networks, and cinder cones. Through a combination of theoretical modeling, analysis of experimental data, and remote sensing data, we attempt to better understand each of these three systems. While each system is interesting in isolation, these and similar studies add to our knowledge of the mathematical representations of processes that are used more generally within the study of landscape evolution.

Fuel cells are one of most environmental friendly energy sources; they have many advantages and may be used in many applications from portable electronic devices to automotive components. Proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells are one of most reliable fuel cells and have advantage such as rapid-startup and ease of operation. This dissertation focuses on PEM fuel cell stack optimization based on operation experimental research and numerical modeling study. This dissertation presents three major research activities and the obtained results by the Ph.D candidate. A novel stack architecture design is introduced in order to decrease mal-distribution and non-uniform output performance between individual cells in order to improve the stack performance. Novel stack architecture includes a novel external bifurcation flow distribution delivery system. One major issue of uniform distribution of reactants inside individual fuel cells and between fuel cells in a fuel cell stack is solved by the novel stack architecture design. A novel method for uniform flow distribution was proposed, in which multiple levels of flow channel bifurcations were considered to uniformly distribute a flow into 2ⁿ flow channels at the final stage, after n levels of bifurcation. Some detailed parameters such as the flow channel length and width at each level of bifurcation as well as the curvature of the turning area of flow channels were particularly investigated. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) based analysis and experimental tests were conducted to study the effect of the flow channel bifurcation structure and dimensions on the flow distribution uniformity. Optimization design and factors influential to the flow distribution uniformity were also delineated through the study. The flow field with the novel flow distribution was then considered to be used in a cooling plate for large fuel cell stacks and a possible method for cooling electronic devices. Details of the heat transfer performance, particularly the temperature distributions, on the heating surface as well as the pressure losses in the operation were obtained. In the second part of the research, experimental testing, analytical modeling, and CFD methods were employed for the study and optimization of flow fields and flow channel geometry in order to improve fuel cell performance. Based on the experimental results, a serpentine flow field is chosen for CFD and modeling analysis. Serpentine flow channel optimization is based on the parametrical study of many combinations of total channel width and rib ratio. Modeling analysis and in-house made computational code was used to optimize the dimensions of flow channels and channel walls. It is recommended that cell channel design should use a small total channel width and rib ratio. Proton exchange membrane fuel cells were fabricated based on the optimization results. Experimental tests were conducted and the results coincided with the numerical analysis; therefore, small total width and rib ratio design could significantly improve the fuel cell performance. Three dimensional (3D) CFD simulations for various PEM fuel cells were conducted to investigate information such as water and reactants distribution. The direct simulation results of current density distribution proclaim how the channel design influences the performance. The final section of research is stack bipolar plate flow field optimization. Optimized channel geometries are applied to the serpentine channel design for the stack. This serpentine channel design evolved to parallel-serpentine channel and symmetric serpentine channel design. Experimental tests of the stacks using the above flow fields are compared to one another and the results recommend use of the novel symmetric serpentine flow channel for stack bipolar design to achieve best performance.

Warming over the past century has been greatest in high-latitudes over land and a number of environmental indicators suggest that the Arctic climate system is in the process of a major transition. Given the magnitude of observed and projected changes in the Arctic, it is essential that a better understanding of the characteristics of the Arctic climate system be achieved. In this work, I report on modifications to the UVic Earth System Climate model to allow it to represent regions of perennially-frozen ground, or permafrost. I examine the model’s representation of the Arctic climate during the 20th Century and show that it capably represents the distribution and thermal state of permafrost in the present-day climate system. I use Representative Concentration Pathways to examine a range of possible future permafrost states to the year 2500. A suite of sensitivity experiments is used to better understand controls on permafrost. I demonstrate the potential for radical environmental changes in the Arctic over the 21st Century including continued warming, enhanced precipitation and a reduction of between 29 and 54 % of the present-day permafrost area by 2100. Model projections show that widespread loss of high-latitude wetlands may accompany the loss of near surface permafrost. / Graduate

Incremental sheet forming process is a relatively new method of forming which is increasingly being used in the industry. Complex shapes can be manufactured using this method and the forming operation doesn't require any dies. High strains of over 300 % can also be achieved. Incremental sheet forming method is used to manufacture many different components presently. Prototype examples include car headlights, tubs, train body panels and medical products. The work done in the thesis deals with the prediction of the steady state forces acting on the tool during forming. Prediction of forces generated would help to design the machine against excessive vibrations. It would help the user to protect the tool and the material blank from failure. An efficient design ensures that the tool would not get deflected out of its path while forming, improving the accuracy of the finished part. To study the forces, experiments were conducted by forming pyramid and cone shapes. An experimental arrangement was set up and experimental data was collected using a data acquisition system. The effect that the various process parameters, like the thickness of the sheet, wall angle of the part and tool diameter had on the steady state force were studied. A three dimensional model was developed using commercial finite element software ABAQUS using a new modeling technique to simulate the deformation of the sheet metal blank during incremental sheet forming. The steady state forces generated for any shape, with any set of parameters used, could be predicted using the numerical model. The advantage of having a numerical model is that the forces can be predicted without doing experiments. The model was used to predict the steady state forces developed during forming of pyramid and cone shapes. The results were compared and were seen to be reasonably close to the experimental results. Later, the numerical model was validated by forming arbitrary shapes and comparing the value obtained from simulations to the value of the measured steady state forces. The results obtained from the numerical model were seen to match very well with the experimental forces for the new shapes. The numerical model developed using the new technique was seen to predict forces to a reasonable extent with less computational time as compared to the models currently available.

The extreme flooding event that occurred in 2013 in Alberta, Canada was at time the most costly natural hazard event in the nation’s history with damages exceeding $5 billion. Due to this event, an increased effort for flood mitigation strategies began and resulted in the proposal of the Springbank Off-Stream Storage Reservoir to divert and detain Elbow River flow upstream of the City of Calgary. In order to validate the design of the flow diversion structures, a large (1:16) scale physical model was constructed. The model tested among other things, the impact of large woody debris (LWD) on the flow diversion structures. The LWD modelling included a comparison of LWD manufactured from smooth cylindrical dowels versus natural tree limbs of the same dimensions. The results from the physical model led to a series of design changes for the diversion structures that likely would not have been identified without physical modelling. The LWD material comparison demonstrated significantly different behaviours between LWD types. Specifically, LWD manufactured from natural tree limbs was significantly more likely to accumulate in debris dams on the diversion structures. The impact of root wad was also investigated and proved to play a major role in the damming characteristics and blocking probability of debris. Following the physical model investigations, a numerical simulation was completed in order to examine further the hydrodynamic results obtained from the Springbank project. Using TELEMAC MASCARET’s open source free surface flow program TELEMAC 2D, a two dimensional simulation was completed using data from the physical model. Flowrates and velocities from both models were compared and discrepancies between the two are identified. Reasoning for these differences as well as future works for the numerical model are presented.

abstract: The objective of the research is to develop guidelines for identifying when settlement or seismic loading presents a threat to the integrity of geosynthetic elements for both side slope and cover systems in landfills, and advance further investigation for parameters which influence the strains in the barrier systems. A numerical model of landfill with different side slope inclinations are developed by the two-dimensional explicit finite difference program FLAC 7.0, beam elements with a hyperbolic stress-strain relationship, zero moment of inertia, and interface elements on both sides were used to model the geosynthetic barrier systems. The resulting numerical model demonstrates the load-displacement behavior of geosynthetic interfaces, including whole liner systems and dynamic shear response. It is also through the different results in strains from the influences of slope angle and interface friction of geosynthetic liners to develop implications for engineering practice and recommendations for static and seismic design of waste containment systems. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.S. Civil Engineering 2013

The move from fossil fuels is getting more relevant throughout the globe, mainly for it getting more costly to emit CO$_2$. The steel industry is one of the biggest contributor of the CO$_2$ emissions, and is therefore very motivated to reduce their emissions. One way to reduce the emissions is to go from coal to bio-char as a reducing agent. BEST(Bio-energy and sustainable technologies) is a research institute in Austria, and have been tasked to do research on bio-char and what problems that may occur with changing from coal to bio-char. One problem with bio-char is that it is prone to self ignition. This project aims is to develop a numerical model that can simulate self heating within bio-char stockpiles. The tool will be for a one-dimensional case using Cartesian coordinates. The calculations are based on the SIMPLE algorithm for Navier-Stokes equations, which is widely used within CFD calculations. This tool has been used to do sensitivity analysis for multiple variables and parameter studies for kinetic parameters related to the oxidation that occurs when bio-char is exposed to oxygen. Results show that oxygen concentration is the limiting factor to how much heat is released within the bag during simulations. Results also show that the accurate descriptions of reaction schemes and their rate expressions is very important to get results that is in line with real world scenarios.

To accommodate an increasing number of tourists visiting Bequia, the second largest island of Saint-Vincent and the Grenadines, the local government constructed an airport, through a major coastline land-reclamation project. However, due to the prevailing ocean current patterns in the area, an inlet created on the east side of the new airport is prone to trapping significant amounts of ocean-borne debris. This litter accumulation creates a health risk to local fishermen who clean their daily catch using water from the inlet. It is proposed to install a rubble-mound groyne structure on the eastward side of the new inlet to address this problem. The utilisation of a coastline groyne in this case is somewhat unorthodox, as the latter is normally employed to mitigate against coastal erosion. The goal of this study is to optimise the groyne design with the assistance of a 3D numerical model. The ‘Delft3D’ open-source model (WAVE and FLOW modules) was selected to examine the effects of different orientations and lengths of the proposed groyne on the movements of floating debris. Included in the initial phase of the study was a field investigation to collect certain data which were necessary for model calibration and validation. This involves the use of an Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) to measure local shore bathymetry and also current velocities over a range of tidal cycles.

Master Thesis, Department of Mechanical Engineering / A comprehensive analytical model of an indirect internal reforming type tubular Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (IIR-T-SOFC) has been developed. Two-dimensional axisymmetric multicomponent gas flow fields and quasi-three-dimensional electric potential/current fields in the tubular cell are simultaneously treated in the model with consideration of the involved phenomena such as internal reforming, electrochemical reactions and radiative heat transfer. By using this model, the characteristics of the operating state of an IIR-T-SOFC were numerically examined. As a result, it was shown how the thermal field and power generation characteristics of the cell were affected by the gas inlet temperature, air flow rate, steam-methane ratio, reforming catalyst distribution and thickness of the electrodes. In particular, the optimized catalyst distribution greatly reduced both the maximum temperature and temperature gradients of the cell with little negative impact on the power generation performance of the cell. / 京都大学 / 0048 / 修士 / 修士(工学) / Kyoto University / TFtmp

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