Thesis (Ph. D.)--Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1992. / Vita. Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 242-254). Also available via the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Oregon State University, 2011. / Printout. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 135-141). Also available on the World Wide Web.

Thesis (M.S.)--West Virginia University, 2005. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains viii, 134 p. : ill. (some col.). Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 119-120).

Thesis (M.S.)--West Virginia University, 2004. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains xiii, 131 p. : ill. (some col.). Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 118-120).

Thesis (M.S.)--Oregon State University, 2011. / Printout. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 102-107). Also available on the World Wide Web.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Rhode Island, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 162-169).

The paper discusses a two-step process for the simultaneous extraction of graphene quantum dots and chemicals. The two steps are sequential structure disruption by supercritical CO2 explosion followed by a low temperature (120oC), non-catalytic transfer hydrogenation in supercritical CO2. The key idea of this research is, one hydrogen atom from hydrogen transfer agent (HTA) one hydrogen atom from water is used to hydrogenate the coal. The use of supercritical CO2 enhances the rate of hydrogenation, helps in dissolution of non-polar molecules and removal from the reaction site. The coal dissolution products are polar and non-polar. A phase transfer agent (PTA) allows seamless transport of the ions and byproduct between the aqueous and organic phases. A polar modifier (PM) for CO2 has been added to aid in the dissolution and removal of the polar components. The effect of feed conditions on the liquefaction process has been investigated. The response metrics considered were the conversion of coal and the yields of various organic classes such as ketones, alkanes, alkenes, aliphatic acids, alcohols, amines, aromatics and aromatic oxygenates. Ketones were found to be the major constituent of the products. Graphene quantum dots were also extracted.

This thesis presents the results of the investigation on developing and evaluating a low temperature (<150oC) non - catalytic process using a hydrogen transfer agent (instead of molecu-lar hydrogen) for coal dissolution in supercritical CO2. The main idea behind the thesis was that one hydrogen atom from water and one hydrogen atom from the hydrogen transfer agent (HTA) were used to hydrogenate the coal. The products of coal dissolution were non-polar and polar while the supercritical CO2, which enhanced the rates of hydrogenation and dissolution of the non-polar molecules and removal from the reaction site, was non-polar. The polar modifier (PM) for CO2 was added to the freed to aid in the dissolution and removal of the polar components. The addition of a phase transfer agent (PTA) allowed a seamless transport of the ions and by-product between the aqueous and organic phases. DDAB, used as the PTA, is an effective phase transfer catalyst and showed enhancement to the coal dissolution process. COAL + DH- +H2O  COAL.H2 + DHO-- This process has a great feature due to the fact that the chemicals were obtained without requir-ing to first convert coal to CO and H2 units as in indirect coal liquefaction. The experiments were conducted in a unique reactor set up that can be connected through two lines. one line to feed the reactor with supercritical CO2 and the other connected to gas chromatograph. The use of the supercritical CO2 enhanced the solvent option due to the chemical extraction, in addition to the low environmental impact and energy cost. In this thesis the experiment were conducted at five different temperatures from atmos-pheric to 140°C, 3000 - 6000 psi with five component of feed mixture, namely water, HTA, PTA, coal, and PM in semi batch vessels reactor system with a volume of 100 mL. The results show that the chemicals were obtained without requiring to first convert coal to CO and H2 units as in indirect coal liquefaction. The results show that the conversion was found to be 91.8% at opti-mum feed mixtures values of 3, 1.0 and 5.4 for water: PM, HTA: coal, water: coal respectively. With the oil price increase and growing in energy demand, the coal liquefaction remain afforda-ble and available energy alternative.

No description available.

Understanding the mechanisms by which any engineering structure resists load is an essential requirement for its consistent and reliable design. The axial resistance which can be mobilised by piled foundations in liquefiable soils when subjected to strong shaking remains highly uncertain, and a number of piled foundations have failed in strong earthquakes as recently as 2011 . The lack of visible foundation distress in many such cases indicates that failure can occur as a result of the loss of axial capacity during an earthquake, as opposed to the laterally-dominated failure modes which have been the focus of the research community for the last 20 to 30 years. In this thesis, a series of dynamic centrifuge experiments have been carried out to establish how the distribution of axial loads along the length of a pile changes during a strong earthquake. In each test, a 2 × 2 pile group was installed such that its tips were embedded in a dense sand layer which was overlain by liquefiable soil. The tests examine the effects arising from the hydraulic conductivity in the bearing layer, the influence of axial pile cap support and finally whether there are any differences in the behaviour of nominally jacked or bored piles under seismic loading. The pile cap has been shown to play a substantial role in supporting axial loads during strong shaking. In cases where the pile cap was unable to support axial load, the majority of the axial loading was carried as pile end bearing, with some shaft friction being mobilised in both the liquefiable and bearing soil layers as a result of relative lateral displacements between the soil and pile. However, where the pile cap is able to support axial loads, the settlement of the pile cap into the soil led to a dramatic transfer of axial load away from the piles and onto the pile cap. These results imply that where substantial excess pore pressures may be generated at the depth of the pile tip, then the pile caps must be able to support significant axial load. The increased effective stresses below the pile cap were responsible for the mobilisation of shaft friction on the section of pile within the liquefiable layer. However, these piles were unable to mobilise shaft friction in the bearing layer due to the reduced lateral loading on the piles. The axial behaviour of the piled foundations after the end of strong shaking is affected by the recovery of pile end bearing capacity and is therefore strongly dependent on the hydraulic conductivity of the bearing layer. The axial behaviour of nominally bored and jacked pile groups in liquefiable soil deposits are very different under seismic excitation, with the installation process of the latter substantially altering the soil conditions around the tips of the pile, such that in contrast to the bored pile groups, the jacked pile groups did not accumulate settlements until significantly after the strong shaking had commenced. These results imply that the method of installation is an important factor in the seismic response of a foundation, and may be more pronounced for real earthquakes where the number of strong shaking cycles may be more limited than those simulated in the experiments.