Dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Master of Technology: Business Administration in the Faculty of Business at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2013 / In this research study, emphasis is placed on the progression of women to senior management positions in higher education. The main purpose was to determine whether there were any barriers that women experienced in progressing to senior management positions in higher education. This study specifically focused on a South African university in the Western Cape. Normative criteria, which were derived from the literature survey included relevant books, academic journal articles, legislation, policy directives, conference papers and the Internet in order to extract relevant standards against which current practices could be measured. The themes in the literature search for this study included organisational barriers that women might have experienced in their places of work, gender stereotypes, organisational or institutional cultures, and the importance of career planning. The South African labour legislation was explored in terms of providing a framework for the transformation of the workplace with regard to equity and skills development. The data was submitted for professional statistical analysis, which was predetermined in collaboration with a registered statistician. A questionnaire was designed by using the Likert Scale, and was submitted to the registered statistician for analysis. The results of this study showed that, firstly, in most instances, men and women had different views of the current situation; that the institution had made strides in terms of transformation, but that emphasis should still be placed on gender equity. The research study provides evidence that women might still be facing barriers, whether hidden or not, in order to progress to senior management positions in higher education. The researcher has provided recommendations that could assist the institution in this respect.

Dissertation submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degreerequirements Master of Technology: Civi Engineering in the Faculty of Engineering at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology Supervisor: APN. Sutherland Co-supervisor: Prof. R. Haldenwang Cape Town October 2013 / The reliable prediction of pressure drop versus flow rate for non-Newtonian pipe flow is important in many industrial processes. In laminar flow scale up is straightforward, but transitional velocity and turbulent flow predictions remain a practical problem. Various theoretical models exist, but nothing in literature shows conclusively which of these is the most reliable and consistent, nor is it evident what effect the choice of rheological model has on the predictions. The aim of this work was to i) evaluate the influence of different rheological models when used in existing prediction techniques for non-Newtonian flow ii) characterise each material type using selected (commonly used) rheological models and iii) predict laminar, transitional and turbulent pipe flow characteristics for each material type using existing prediction techniques, for comparison with experimental results. Only time-independent, homogeneous, non-Newtonian fluids in pipe sizes from 13mm to 200mm were investigated. Rheological models and laminar flow predictions used only the power law, Bingham plastic, Herschel-Bulkley, Casson and Hallbom yield plastic models. The techniques used to predict transitional velocity were Ryan & Johnson, Metzner-Reed, Hedström intersection method, Slatter and Hallbom. For turbulent flow the Newtonian approximation, Dodge & Metzner, Wilson & Thomas, Slatter, Hallbom modified Wilson & Thomas and the Bowen correlation methods were used. The study documents the relevant theory and presents an assessment of the influence of rheology on pipe flow predictions, summarised in terms of the practical performance of the various rheological model/prediction method combinations for the different materials. In laminar flow at practical pseudo shear rates (8V/D; taken as 40s-1) the choice of rheological model does not significantly influence pressure drop predictions. For yield-pseudoplastic materials (eg. kaolin) the Hedström intersection and the Slatter Reynolds number method with Bingham plastic or Casson rheology predicted transitional velocity most accurately. For Bingham plastic materials (eg. bentonite) the best predictions were obtained using the Metzner & Reed Reynolds number with Bingham plastic rheology, although similar results were observed for this technique with all rheologies. The transitional velocity for pseudoplastic materials (eg. CMC) was best predicted by the Slatter and Metzner & Reed Reynolds number methods, using power law or Casson rheology. For turbulent flow of yield pseudoplastic materials the Slatter method using the Casson rheology gave the most accurate predictions overall. Turbulent flow of Bingham plastic materials was best predicted by the Slatter, Hallbom pseudo fluid Nikuradse and Dodge & Metzner methods, using Bingham plastic, Casson or yield plastic rheology. For pseudoplastic materials the Slatter and Wilson & Thomas methods were the most accurate, when used with yield plastic or power law rheology. Transitionalal velocity and turbulent flow predictions for materials with a yield stress vary significantly with rheological model. Laminar data should therefore be examined thoroughly and rheological models fitted with care. For pseudoplastic fluids there is little difference in predictions between the various techniques as long as power law rheology is used.

A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Engineering, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Cape Town, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the M-Tech Degree in Civil Engineering” Cape Town 16 MAY 2011 / Dwellings in impoverished and upper class urban areas of the Western Cape have undergone serious structural failure due to problematic underlying sand deposits, generally known as Cape Flats windblown found in areas such as Delft, Blue Downs and the Atlantic Beach Golf Estate. The problem is compounded further when moisture penetrates below the footings and reaches saturation in the winter months. When poorly graded sand with a high fines content is coupled with vibration (through earth tremors), liquefaction may occur and without proper precautions, this can lead to inadequate foundation design, more than expected settlement and eventual structural failure. Some sand deposits are highly contaminated with organic debris, leading to compressible and collapsible conditions. Little knowledge is locally available of liquefiable conditions in windblown dune sand and what long-term settlement can be expected. The Western Cape is not known as an area exposed to serious seismic activity, but an updated (and more locally applicable set of data) is needed to eliminate possible erroneous foundation design. Samples have been extracted from typical sandy sites in the Western Cape where windblown dune sand is evident. Laboratory tests have been carried out on representative samples for closer examination and have been placed inside a purpose built calibration chamber that facilitates easy densification and probe testing. A DMT (flat blade dilatometer) was used to hydraulically penetrate the chamber sand sample to varying depths (up to 800 mm). The device can measure (with reduction formula) horizontal stress, angle of friction, bearing capacity and settlement. An accelerometer was attached to the chamber wall and vibration measured with the sand in varying states of moisture. The DMT is an unexplored in-situ soil testing device in South Africa and so far the outcome indicates favourably compared to other devices such as the Dynamic Cone Penetrometer (DCP. The DMT has the ability to measure the in-situ stiffness, strength and stress history parameters of soil for better site characterisation. Settlement within the chamber is easily measured. The DMT has, for example, indicated that sand from the Philippi area are a problematic founding soil and should be treated with special care at shallow founding levels. The horizontal stress index is low and according to the available knowledge on soil stress history, these sand, coupled with low densities, can liquefy easily and result in structural damage. The West Coast dune sand, being coarser and easily consolidated, poses less of a problem under liquefiable conditions. A suitable terrain device for easy on-site manoeuvrability is required to assist the DMT in further testing.

Masters Thesis / Un-sewered settlements are provided with the basic water and sanitation systems that comprise, in most cases, of dry sanitation and standpipes. Substantial amounts of wastewater (including greywater) generated from households are discarded untreated into streets, open spaces between shacks, streams and rivers due to the lack of adequate disposal or treatment infrastructures. The negative impacts from unsafe disposal of greywater generated in un-sewered settlements affect both human health and the general environment. Several treatment technologies ranging from the simplest to the more sophisticated have been developed and made available for consideration to deal with the adverse impacts caused by the unsafe discharge of greywater. Some of these treatment technologies have been implemented successfully in certain developing countries worldwide. Amongst these is the anaerobic up-flow batch reactor (AnUBR) which was successfully used for the first time to treat greywater from sewered areas in Jordan, Lebanon and Sri Lanka. The AnUBR has emerged as a localised greywater treatment technology alternative to conventional treatment methods in areas not served by sewer networks. This technology holds promise because of its simplicity of design, high pollutant removal efficiency, absence of energy or chemical consumption, ease with which it can be implemented, cost effectiveness, and low operation and maintenance costs. This technology was originally developed for treating sewage and high strength greywater from hotels. Recently it was further pioneered by INWRDAM (Inter-Islamic Network on Water Resources Development and Management) in the treatment of greywater from sewered areas of developing countries. This technology has not been tested in un-sewered settlements of developing countries which are characterised by the lack of disposal infrastructures despite being suitable for tropical countries. This treatment system is able to produce effluent that meets the quality standard for discharge and irrigation. However, new applications of the AnUBR require further investigation in order to ascertain its feasibility and evaluate its performance in the un-sewered settlement context. Given the promising results reported for the AnUBR application for greywater treatment, this study aims to investigate the performance of the AnUBR as an alternative technology for the treatment of greywater generated in un-sewered settlements and its application in developing countries. A laboratory scale plant encompassing the AnUBR was designed, constructed and investigated using influent greywater collected from two selected case study settlements representing sewered and un-sewered areas. The plant was operated for 20 consecutives days using greywater from both selected sites separately. The influent greywater was analysed prior to feeding the plant and fed intermittently by batch as per designed feeding schedule. The performance of the AnUBR was evaluated mainly by analysing the quality of effluent produced, while the typical application was recommended based on the ability of the plant to produce effluent complying with local regulations and ability to treat greywater regardless of its source. The daily characteristics of influent greywater from both sites during the period of investigation were found to be as follows: temperature: 24 – 29ºC, pH: 7.1 – 7.2, TSS: 117.72 – 2,246.6mg/l, TN: 5.66 – 12.29mg/l, TP: 12.27 – 116.46mg/l, COD: 223.17 – 1,135.32mg/l, BOD5: 98.0 – 383.6mg/l, O&G: 52.22 – 475.29mg/l, e-coli: 8.87x104 – 2.17x107cfu/100ml, and Faecal coliform: 1.49x105 – 2.41x107cfu/100ml. The AnUBR managed to treat greywater to a quality that comply with the general standards for discharge into natural water resources. The final effluent showed a significant decrease in the level of pollutants from the initial values presented above to the following: temperature: 27 – 29 ºC, pH: 7.1 – 7.2, TSS: 5.12 – 12.82mg/l, TN 0.91 – 1.09mg/l, TP: 0.93 – 7.47mg/l, COD: 24.67 – 40.45mg/l, BOD5: 8.59 – 16.0mg/l, O&G: 1.15 – 1.72mg/l, e-coli: 213.3 – 1.12x103cfu/100ml, and Faecal coliform: 461.6 – 1.5x103cfu/100ml. Results obtained showed that the quality of influent greywater (from un-sewered settlements) is similar regardless of the water and sanitation technology. Following the operation of the AnUBR, significant removal of pollutants was observed in all processes. The overall removal efficiency averaged 80 to 95% for O&G and TSS respectively and 50 to 85% for TN and TP. The COD and BOD5 removal averaged 70 to 85% while that of micro-organisms averaged 90 to 99%. However, despite the high removal efficiency recorded the AnUBR may still require a post treatment step in order to improve the quality of effluent. It was concluded that the AnUBR is a viable alternative greywater treatment technology for un-sewered settlements, households or businesses such as hotels and restaurants. The AnUBR is able of treating high polluted greywater to effluent of quality that meets the standards for discharge or reuse provided a post treatment to ensure the complete killing of pathogenic organisms. The result of this study confirms the performance of the AnUBR for the treatment of greywater and provides an understanding of its concept as an alternative to conventional treatment and its application in un-sewered settlements based on local practical investigations.

A dissertation presented to the Higher Degrees Committee of the Cape Peninsula University of Technology in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Technology: Construction Management, 2012 / This study investigated the underlying causes of rework in construction projects and the impact on overall project performance so that effective containment and reduction strategies can be developed. The objectives of the study were as follows: (i) to determine the influence different project types have on the causes of rework in construction projects; (ii) to determine the impact of rework on organisational and project performance; (iii) to determine the influence various project types have on rework costs (direct and indirect) in construction projects; (iv) to determine the influence various procurement methods have on total rework costs in construction projects; (v) to design and develop rework reduction and containment strategies. The research was motivated by several international and local studies demonstrating a lack of concern for the root causes of rework and the potential impact on cost, overall project performance, and the ‘value-addedness’ to the completed project. The research approach adopted included an exploratory and main study targeting purposively selected construction professionals and stakeholders in the Cape Peninsula metropolitan area of the Western Cape Province. The exploratory case study was carried out at the initial stage of the study to gain more insight into the causes and impact of rework on overall project performance. Specifically, data was collected by means of observation of physical works, semi-structured interviews with relevant parties directly involved in site operation and the analysis of site instruction record documents. The main study obtained data from 78 construction professionals and stakeholders via questionnaire survey, a survey conducted among design consultants and contractors in the general building category ranging from grade 3 to 9 who are registered with Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB). Descriptive, inferential statistics and probability distribution functions were used to analyse the data. The findings revealed that changes initiated by the client, changes initiated by the design team due to errors and omissions, poor coordination, and finally, integration among the design team were the major contributing factors to rework. Moreover, non-compliance with specifications, setting-out errors, low labour skills, and emphasis on time and cost aggravated the occurrence of rework on site. The study revealed that while there is no significant difference between the causes of rework and various project types, rework can and often does make a significant contribution to any project’s cost overrun. The total mean cost of rework as a percentage of the original contract value for new build project and refurbishment/renovation projects was 4.89% and 6.28% respectively. However, rework costs do not differ relative to project type or procurement method. Furthermore, the study revealed that cost overruns, time overruns and design team dissatisfaction all impacted on project performance. The findings indicate that designrelated rework can be minimised by implementing the following strategies: team building, involvement of subcontractors and suppliers, and design for construction. Moreover, involvement of subcontractors during construction, and the implementation of quality control and site quality management systems could also lead to reduction in rework during the construction phase. Furthermore, the probabilistic analysis of rework occurrence was determined in the projects selected; this analysis predicts the occurrence of rework so that a quantitative risk assessment could be undertaken prior to the commencement of construction. The research concludes by recommending that design and construction firms must develop organisational measurement systems for recording rework occurrence and its associated costs. It is by determining the frequency and costs of rework that effective strategies for its containment and reduction can be identified.

Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Magister Technologiae Electrical Engineering in the Faculty of Engineering at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology Supervisor: Mr. J. Wheeler Co-supervisor: Dr. R.H. Wilkinson Cape Town October 2013 / This report presents the design and development of a five cell multicell inverter for driving a piezoelectric load. The multicell inverter was chosen for this application as it became evident that it would be more suitable for driving piezoelectric transducers due to its high apparent switching frequency. The multicell inverter was designed using DirectFET’s as this type of FET has a high current switching ability in a very small package. A positive and negative bootstrap power supply was incorporated in the design to reduce the number of supplies to power the gate drive circuits of the multicell inverter. Three compensation networks were designed and constructed to investigate which one would transfer the most energy to the piezoelectric transducer. It was also important to investigate whether these compensation networks were able to reduce the harmonic content produced by the multicell inverter. This is necessary in order to excite the transducer correctly. It was found that the Q-Matching compensation network reduced the harmonic content applied to the load the most. Experiments were also conducted to determine if the advantage of the apparent frequency of the multicell inverter would mean that the piezoelectric load could be driven directly with the multicell inverter without any damage to the transducer. It was however required to increase the applied apparent power to the transducer to compensate for the reactive component of the load in order to melt the plastic which was used as the load to the transducer. Experiments were conducted to determine if the charge on the cell capacitors of the multicell inverter would stay balanced while driving a non linear load such as a piezoelectric transducer. The results showed that the voltages stayed balanced when driving the piezoelectric transducer.

Thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Technology: Electrical Engineering in the Faculty of Engineering at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology 2013 / Earth observation satellites utilise sensors or cameras to capture data or images that are relayed to the ground station(s). The ZACUBE-02 CubeSat currently in development at the French South African Institute of Technology (F’SATI) contains a high resolution 5 megapixel on-board camera. The purpose of the camera is to capture images of Earth and relay them to the ground station once communication is established. The captured images, which can amount to a large volume of data, have to be stored on-board as the CubeSat awaits the next cycle of transmission to the ground station. This mode of operation introduces a number of problems, as the CubeSat has limited storage and memory capacity and is not able to store large amounts of data. This, together with the limitation of the downlink capacity, has set the need for the design and development of an image compression system suitable for the CubeSat environment. Image compression focuses on reducing the size of images to be stored as well as reducing the size of the images to be transmitted to the ground station. The purpose of the study is to propose a compression system to be implemented on ZACUBE-02. An intensive study of current, proposed and implemented compression methods, algorithms and techniques as well as the CubeSat specification, served as input for defining the requirements for such a system. The proposed design is a combination of image segmentation, image linearization and image entropy coding (run-length coding). This combination technique is implemented in order to achieve lossless image compression. For the proposed design, a compression ratio of 10:1 was obtained without negatively affecting image quality.The on-board storage memory constraints, the power constraints and the bandwidth constraints are met with the implementation of the proposed design, resulting in the downlink transmission time being minimised. Within the study a number of objectives were met in order to design, implement and test the compression system. These included a detailed study of image compression techniques; a look into techniques for improving the compression ratio; and a study of industrial hardware components suitable for the space environment. Keywords: CubeSat, hardware, compression, satellite image compression, Gumstix Overo Water, ZACUBE-02.

Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Master of Technology: Electrical Engineering in the Faculty of Engineering at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology 2013 / The demand for electrical energy has kept on increasing, thus causing power systems to be more complex and bringing the challenging problems of electrical energy generation, transmission, stability, as well as storage to be examined more thoroughly. With the advent of high-speed computation and the desire to analyze increasingly complex behaviour in power systems, simulation techniques are gaining importance and prevalence. Nevertheless, while simulations of large, interconnected complex power systems are feasible, they remain time-consuming. Moreover, the models and parameters used in simulations are uncertain, due to measurement uncertainty, the need to represent a complex behaviour with low-order models, and the inherent changing nature of the power system. This research explores the use of a model reduction technique and the applications of a Real-Time Digital Simulator (RTDS) to reduce the uncertainty in large-scale complex power system models. The main goal of the research is to develop a reduced order model and to investigate the applications of the RTDS simulator in reduction of large, interconnected power systems models. The first stage of the study is to build and simulate the full model of the power system using the DigSILENT and RTDS simulators. The second phase is to apply model reduction technique to the full model and to determine the parameters in the reduced-order model as well as how the process of reduction increases this model uncertainty. In the third phase the results of the model reduction technique are compared based on the results of the original model - IEEE standard benchmark models has been used. The RTDS was used for comparative purposes. The thesis investigations use a particular model reduction technique as Coherency based Method. Though the method ideas are applicable more generally, a concrete demonstration of its principles is instructive and necessary. Further, while this particular technique is not relevant to every system, it does apply to a broad class of systems and illustrates the salient features of the proposed methodology. The results of the thesis can be used in the development of reduced models of complex power systems, simulation in real-time during power system operation, education at universities, and research. Keywords: IEEE benchmark models, reduced models, Coherency based Method, DigSILENT, RTDS, model uncertainty, power system stability

Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Master of Technology: Electrical Engineering in the Faculty of Engineering at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2012 / People are spending more time being entertained at home now than ever before. It is currently common to find a home entertainment console containing an LCD or Plasma television, DVD player and surround sound amplifier in many homes. The number of home entertainment devices is increasing, yet our understanding of the effect that they have on power quality is incomplete. This study determines the power consumption of home entertainment equipment as well as the effect that such devices have on harmonic distortion levels. A methodology is developed for the measurement of the power consumption of home entertainment equipment including television sets, DVD players and home theatre. The results are compared to the Energy Star standard to determine if the power consumption of these devices is within the limits imposed. The methodology presented consists of three parts, performing measurements, generating results and comparison to energy and harmonic standards. The developed methodology includes steps for mathematically combining the measured voltage and current waveforms of individual devices. The goal is to determine total current and voltage waveforms for a combination of devices. The methodology also describes how to analyze the resultant synthesized waveforms so as to determine the power consumption at each harmonic. The levels of current harmonics for individual devices and groups of devices are determined and then compared to the EN6100-3-2 standard to ascertain if they are within the limits imposed. The power consumption and current harmonics of each combination as well as individual devices were analysed. Using the developed methodology, four case studies were conducted, grouping different home entertainment devices together. It was found that the power consumption of LCD television sets are below the limits imposed by the Energy Star standard while for Plasma based televisions it was above these limits. Current harmonic levels for CRT based televisions were found to be above the limits imposed by the EN6100-3-2 standard while those for LCD and Plasma based televisions the levels were below the limits. The research concludes that the current harmonics of new LCD and Plasma based televisions does not pose any concern for power quality.

Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Technology: Electrical Engineering in the Faculty of Engineering at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology 2013 / The objective of the economic dispatch problem of electrical power generation is to schedule the committed generating unit outputs to meet the required load demand while satisfying the system equality and inequality constraints. The thesis formulates single area and multi-area Combined Economic Emission Dispatch (CEED) problem as single criterion, bi-criterion and multi-criteria optimisation problems based on fuel cost and emission criterion functions, constraints over the operational limits of the generator and the tie-lines, and requirements for a balance between the produced power and the system demand and power loss. Various methods, algorithms and softwares are developed to find solution of the formulated problems in single area and multi-area power systems. The developed methods are based on the classical Lagrange's and on the meta-heuristic Particle Swarm Optimisation (PSO) techniques for a single criterion function. Transformation of the bi-criteria or multi-criteria dispatch problem to a single criterion one is done by some existing and two proposed in the thesis penalty factors. The solution of the CEED problems is obtained through implementation of the developed software in a sequential way using a single computer, or in a data-parallel way in a Matlab Cluster of Computers (CC). The capabilities of the developed Lagrange's and PSO algorithms are compared on the basis of the obtained results. The conclusion is that the Lagrange's method and algorithm allows to receive better solution for less computation time. Data-parallel implementation of the developed software allows a lot of results to be obtained for the same problem using different values of some of the problem parameters. According to the literature papers, there are many algorithms available to solve the CEED problem for the single area power systems using sequential methods of optimisation, but they consume more computation time to solve this problem. The thesis aim is to develop a decomposition-coordinating algorithm for solution of the Multi Area Economic Emission Dispatch (MAEED) problem of power systems. The MAEED problem deals with the optimal power dispatch inside and between the multiple areas and addresses the environmental issue during the economic dispatch. To ensure the system security, tie-line transfer limits between different areas are incorporated as a set of constraints in the optimisation problem. A decomposition coordinating method based on the Lagrange's algorithm is developed to derive a set of optimal solutions to minimize the fuel cost and emissions of the multi-area power systems. An augmented function of Lagrange is applied and its decomposition in interconnected sub problems is done using a new coordinating-vector. Task-parallel computing in a Matlab Cluster is used to solve the multi-area dispatch problem. The calculations and tasks allocation to the Cluster workers are based on a shared memory architecture. Implementation of the calculation algorithm using a Cluster of Computers allows quick and simpler solutions to the multi-area CEED problem. The thesis applied the developed algorithms for the various problem formulation scenarios, i.e. fuel cost and emission function with and without valve point loading effect, quadratic and cubic fuel cost and emission functions. The various IEEE benchmark models are used to test the developed Lagrange's and PSO algorithms in the sequential, data-parallel, and task-parallel implementations. Developed methods, algorithms and software programmes can be applied for solution of various energy management problems in the regional and national control centres, smart grid applications, and in education and research institutions.