Abstract Liquid containing tanks (LCTs) are used in water distribution systems and in the industry for storing water, toxic and flammable liquids and are expected to be functional after severe earthquakes. The failure of a large tank during seismic excitation has implications far beyond the economic value of the tanks and their contents. Then seismic design becomes a high necessity for this type of structure. However, tanks differ from buildings in two ways: first, during seismic excitation, the liquid inside the tank exerts a hydrodynamic force on tank walls, base, and roof in addition to the hydrostatic forces. Second, LCTs are generally required to remain watertight. Many current standards and guidelines such as ACI 350.3-06, ACI 371R-08, ASCE7, API650, EUROCODE8 and NZSEE 1986 code, cover seismic designs which are based primarily on theoretical analysis. This analysis is still not enough to fully describe the behavior of this structure under seismic oscillation noting that the theoretical analysis is based on a linear model and two dimensional spaces. So the focus of this study is to measure two important dynamic parameters which are the natural period and the maximum sloshing height of the water under harmonic motion by conducting an experimental investigation and computational fluid dynamic (CFD) simulation. Open-foam is the numerical tool chosen in this study. There is currently no study done with this tool to measure the behavior of the water inside a square tank neither under seismic motion nor harmonic oscillation.Finally, a comparison between the experimental, the analytical and the numerical results will be presented to confirm the level of validity of each method. Then a conclusion is made to summarize this research and to propose future works.

The present work investigates the dynamics and stability of shock waves in granular gases. The problem was modelled for a piston propagating into a system of disks that can undergo inelastic collisions if an impact threshold is exceeded. The model was addressed numerically at the microscopic and macroscopic levels. The molecular dynamics methodology employed the Event-Driven Molecular Dynamics method, and the continuum model was formulated using the Navier-Stokes equations for granular gases with the transport terms of Jenkins and Richman and a modified cooling rate term. The inviscid steady state shock structure was derived and analyzed. The results indicated that a relaxing shock structure is expected for sufficiently strong shock waves. Beyond this limit the structure was shown to be independent of the initial energy, a finding similar to the strong shock approximation in molecular gases. One-dimensional simulations demonstrated that the molecular dynamics and continuum models yield similar evolutions and structures of the shock wave, validating the continuum description of this study. Two-dimensional results showed that sufficiently strong shock waves can exhibit multi-dimensional instability with high density non-uniformities and convective rolls within the structure, with the size of instabilities shown to scale with the relaxation length of the shock structure. Instabilities were observed with the continuum description only with the inclusion of statistical fluctuations to density mimicking the molecular model. The cases that were unstable were shown to be in a regime whereby statistical fluctuations can become important, following the description for this regime by Bird. Based on these findings, it is proposed that unstable shock behaviour can be observed for highly dissipative shock waves that yield short relaxation length scales, where fluctuations become important. The current work may shed light on unstable shock behaviour observed in dissipative gases, having implications for both granular media and molecular gases.

Shippagan Gully is a highly dynamic tidal inlet located on the Gulf of St-Lawrence near Le Goulet, New Brunswick. This tidal inlet is highly unusual due to the fact that the inlet has two open boundaries with phase lagged tidal cycles that drives flow through the inlet. Over the past few decades, the shipping activities through the inlet have been threatened due to the narrowing of the navigation channel caused by deposited sediment on the east side of the channel. Many engineering projects have been undertaken at Shippagan Gully in order to try and mitigate the deposition problem. However, these attempts have either been unsuccessful or the engineered structures have deteriorated over the years. This study uses the CMS-Flow and CMS-Wave numerical models to provide guidance concerning the response of the inlet to various potential interventions aimed at improving navigation safety.

The goal of this thesis is to improve our understanding of the Greenland ice sheet (GrIS) and how it responds to climate change. This was achieved using ice core records to infer elevation changes of the GrIS during the Holocene (11.7 ka BP to Present). The inferred elevation changes show the response of the ice sheet interior to the Holocene Thermal Maximum (HTM; 9-5 ka BP) when temperatures across Greenland were warmer than present. These ice-core derived thinning curves act as a new set of key constraints on the deglacial history of the GrIS. Furthermore, a calibration was conducted on a three-dimensional thermomechanical ice sheet, glacial isostatic adjustment, and relative sea-level model of GrIS evolution during the most recent deglaciation (21 ka BP to present). The model was data-constrained to a variety of proxy records from paleoclimate archives and present-day observations of ice thickness and extent.

Carbonate diagenesis encapsulates a wide range of water rock interactions that can occur within many environments and act to modify rock properties such as porosity, permeability, and mineralogical composition. These rock modification processes occur by the supply of reactant-laden fluids to areas where geochemical reactions are thermodynamically and kinetically favoured. As such, understanding the development of diagenesis requires an understanding of both palaeohydrology and geochemistry, both of which have their own complexities. However, within geological systems, both the conditions that control fluid migration and the distribution of thermodynamic conditions can change through time in response to external factors. Furthermore, they are often coupled, with rock modification exercising a control on fluid flow by altering the permeability of sediments. Numerical methods allow the coupling of multiple complex processes within a single mathematical formulation. As such, they are well suited to investigations into carbonate diagenesis, where multiple component subsystems interact. This thesis details the application of four separate types of numerical forward modelling to investigations of diagenesis within two Carboniferous carbonate platforms, the Derbyshire Platform (Northern England) and the Tengiz Platform (Western Kazakhstan). Investigations of Derbyshire Platform diagenesis are primarily concerned with explaining the presence of Pb-mineralisation and dolomitisation observed within the Dinantian carbonate succession. A coupled palaeohydrology and basin-development simulation and a series of geochemical simulations was used to investigate the potential for these products to form as a result of basin-derived fluids being driven into the platform by compaction. The results of these models suggest that this mechanism is appropriate for explaining Pb-mineralisation, but dolomitisation requires Mg concentrations within the basin-derived fluids that cannot be attained. Geothermal convection of seawater was thus proposed as an alternative hypothesis to explain the development of dolomitisation. This was tested using an advanced reactive transport model, capable of considering both platform growth and dolomitisation. The results of this suggests that significant dolomitisation may have occurred earlier on in the life of the Derbyshire Platform than has previously been recognised. An updated framework for the development of diagenesis in the Derbyshire Platform is proposed to incorporate these new insights. The Tengiz platform forms an important carbonate oil reservoir at the northeastern shore of the Caspian Sea. The effective exploitation of any reservoir lies in an understanding of its internal distributions of porosity and permeability. Within carbonate systems, this is critically controlled by the distribution of diagenetic products. A model of carbonate sedimentation and meteoric diagenesis is used to produce a framework of early diagenesis within a sequence stratigraphic context. The studies mentioned above provide a broad overview of the capabilities and applicability of forward numerical models to two data-limited systems. They reveal the potential for these methods to guide the ongoing assessment and development of our understanding of diagenetic systems and also help identify key questions for the progression of our understanding in the future.

Coastal management accounting for shoreline erosion and coastal flooding requires information about various physical processes that take place over a range of temporal and spatial scales. Field measurements provide information on the past and current coastal environment and statistical tools are used to determine extreme conditions that can lead to damage. However, in a changing climate, these conditions cease to be statistically stationary, making predictions problematic. To assess future conditions, a set of scenarios for greenhouse gas emissions has been defined to project impacts on global oceanographic conditions and sea level rise. This thesis estimates the effect of these global projections on coastal processes off the North Norfolk coast of the UK. A model system is set up to downscale global conditions on to nearshore conditions (wave climate, water level and beach profile), which influence coastal stability and coastal flood risk. The system is based on coupling numerical models for different temporal and spatial scales. The area contains large tidal sandbanks and shore-connected sand ridges. The downscaling procedure accounts for interactions that take place on the upper part of the continental shelf where these large-scale seabed features affect wave propagation, tidal flows and sediment transport. The modelling system is then validated against historical data and then used to compute long-term inshore hydrodynamic characteristics and sediment transport resulting from future projections of climate change and sea level rise. This enables an assessment of extreme inshore wave heights, overtopping discharge rates and their occurrence at a sea defence through extreme joint probability analysis. This modelling assumes a fixed seabed. However, the system includes a sub model for the release of sediment from the cliff erosion, which provides a source of sediment for the maintenance of the offshore sandbanks. The link between the cliff and the sandbanks is demonstrated by computing the residual sediment transport. The model system is also used to assess the impact of offshore sand extraction on coastline erosion. Finally, the system is used to analyse an overtopping and flood inundation event at Walcott in 2007 enabling uncertainties in the predictions to be assessed.

Coastal bays and salt marshes are buffer zones located at the interface between land and ocean, and provide ecologically and commercially important services worldwide. Unfortunately, their location makes them vulnerable and sensitive to sea-level rise (SLR), reduced sediment loads and anthropogenic modifications of the shoreline. Sediment budget and sediment availability are direct metrics for evaluating the resilience of salt marshes and coastal bays to various stressors (e.g. SLR). Salt marshes requires adequate sediment inputs to maintain their elevation with respect to sea level. Understanding sediment trajectories, sediment fluxes and sediment trapping capacities in different geomorphic unit facilitates efficient restorations and coastal management. In this research I used remote sensing, field observations and numerical modelling in the Plum Island Sound in Massachusetts, USA, to explore mechanisms controlling sediment dynamics and their feedbacks with SLR. The analysis of remote-sensed suspended sediment concentrations (SSC) reveals that a 5-year record (2013-2018) is sufficient to capture a representative range of meteorological and tidal conditions required to determine the main drivers of SSC dynamics in hydrodynamically-complex and small-scale coastal bays. The interplay between river and tidal flows dominated SSC dynamics in this estuary, whereas wind-driven resuspension had a more moderate effect. The SSC was higher during spring because of increased river discharge due to snowmelt. Tidal asymmetry also enhanced sediment resuspension during flood tides, possibly favoring deposition on marsh platforms. Together, water level, water-level rate of change, river discharge and wind speed were able to explain > 60% of the variability in the main channel SSC, thereby facilitating future prediction of SSC from these readily available variables. To determine the fate of cohesive sediments and spatial variations of trapping capacity in the system, a high-resolution (20 m) numerical model coupled to a vegetation module was developed. The results highlight the importance of the timing between sediment inputs and tidal phase and show that sediment discharged from tidal rivers deposit within the rivers themselves or in adjacent marshes. Most sediment is deposited in shallow tidal flats and channels and is unable to penetrate farther inside the marshes because of the limited water depths and velocities on the marsh platform. Trapping capacity of sediment in different intertidal subdomains decreases logarithmically with the ratio between advection length and the typical length of channels and tidal flats. Moreover, sediment deposition on the marsh decreases exponentially with distance from the channels and marsh edge. This decay rate is a function of settling velocity and the maximum value of water depth and velocity on the marsh platform. Bed sediment compositions were generated to further explore feedbacks between SLR, sediment dynamics and morphological changes. The results show SLR increases tidal prism and inundation depth, facilitating sediment deposition on the marsh platform. At the same time, SLR enhances ebb-dominated currents and increases sediment resuspension, reducing the sediment-trapping capacity of tidal flats and bays, leading to a negative sediment budget for the entire system. This bimodal distribution of sediment budget trajectories will have a profound impact on the morphology of coastal bays, increasing the difference in elevation between salt marshes and tidal flats and potentially affecting intertidal ecosystems. The results also clearly indicate that landforms lower with respect to the tidal frame are more affected by SLR than salt marshes. Therefore, Salt marshes, shallow bays, tidal flats, and barrier islands are inherently and physically connected systems, and evaluating the effect of SLR on salt marshes should involve all these units.

The invention of mass timber products, including cross laminated timber (CLT), over the past two decades has made tall wood building possible. In CLT structures, angle brackets are commonly used in wall-to-floor connections to transfer the shear in seismic and wind loads. In reality, these connections could experience loads in various directions, as well as multi-directional forces. This research consists of two parts: an experimental study carried out in Part 1, followed by a numerical program completed in Part 2. The research aims to investigate the performance of wall-to-floor CLT angle bracket connections under various loading situations. In Part 1 of the research, a two-phase experimental program consisting of 12 monotonic tests in the first phase, and 24 monotonic and 24 cyclic tests in the second phase was conducted to investigate the behaviour of wall-to-floor CLT angle bracket connections. Connections were assembled using two different sizes of steel angle brackets and four types of fasteners, under uplift, in-plane shear, and out-of-plane shear loads. The performance of the connections was evaluated in terms of strength, stiffness, ductility, energy dissipation capacity, and failure modes. Results show that small diameter fasteners are more desirable for wood-to-wood angle bracket connections in terms of failure modes, load-bearing capacity and stiffness. Specimens exhibited considerable ductile performance under both uplift and in-plane shear loads due to combinations of yielding of brackets and yielding or pull-out of screws. Connections loaded under out-of-plane tension may fail in the splitting of CLT panels. Fully-threaded screws led to higher strength, stiffness and energy dissipation capacity but less ductility compared to partially-threaded screws in angle bracket connections. In Part 2 of the research, a two-phase numerical program was carried out to assess the coupling effect of biaxial loading on the performance of CLT wall-to-floor angle bracket connections. In Phase I, a 3D finite element model of connections was developed using ABAQUS software and verified with the data from experimental tests carried out in Part 1 of the research. In Phase II of the numerical program, the verified model was used to simulate the performance of connections under three biaxial loads, i.e., shear and in-plane uplift, shear and out-of-plane tension, and shear and out-of-plane compression. The coupling effect on the performance of the connections was evaluated in terms of strength, stiffness, ductility, and failure modes under biaxial loads, and compared with the scenario where the connection was only loaded in shear. Results show that the application of biaxial loading may considerably decrease the shear performance of the connections. Additionally, the results confirm the analytical equation suggested by the European Technical Assessment to predict the resistance of angle bracket connections under biaxial loads. / Graduate / 2022-08-04

Experimental investigations of high temperature industrial processes, for example the melting and smelting processes taking place inside furnaces, are complicated by the high temperatures and the chemically reactive environment in which they take place. Fortunately, mathematical models can be used in conjunction with the limited experimental results that are available to gain insight into these high temperature processes. However, mathematical models of high temperature processes require high temperature material properties, which are difficult to measure experimentally since container materials are often unable to withstand high enough temperatures, and sample contamination often occurs. These difficulties can be overcome by employing containerless processing techniques such as electromagnetic levitation melting to allow for characterisation of high temperature material properties. Efficient design of electromagnetic levitation cells is challenging since the effects of changes in coil design, sample size and sample material on levitation force and sample temperature are not yet well understood. In this work a numerical model of the electromagnetic levitation cell is implemented and used to investigate the sensitivity of levitation cell operation to variations in coil design, sample material and sample size. Various levitation cell modelling methods in literature are reviewed and a suitable model is chosen, adapted for the current application, and implemented in Python. The finite volume electromagnetic component of the model is derived from Maxwell’s equations, while heat transfer is modelled using a lumped parameter energy balance based on the first law of thermodynamics. The implemented model is verified for a simple case with a known analytical solution, and validated against published experimental results. It is found that a calibrated model can successfully predict the lifting force inside the levitation cell, as well as the sample temperature at low coil currents. The validated model is used to characterise the operation of a levitation cell for a number of different sample materials and sample sizes, and for variations in coil geometry and coil current. The model can be used in this way to investigate a variety of cases and hence to support experimental levitation cell design. Based on model results, a number of operating procedure recommendations are also made. / Dissertation (MEng)--University of Pretoria, 2016. / Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering / MEng / Unrestricted

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