The objectives of the research are to: (1) Model and analyse the unique risk relationship between senior management and labour in environmental management; (2) Analyse various contractual mechanisms and compensation schemes that reduce the human resource management risk and minimise the dissonance between profit and stewardship goals; (3) Analyse the implications of the performance measurement problem on the principal-agent contract and the efficient delivery of abatement. / Chapter 2 reviews literature pertinent to environmental management and the application of principal-agent theory. Chapter 3, entitled "Environmental Management Systems and the Intra-Firm Risk Relationship" is an analysis of the role of these incentives and risk-sharing mechanisms in decreasing environmental risk exposure and achieving stewardship. Chapter 4, entitled "Incentive Contracts and Environmental Performance Indicators" focuses on the problem of environmental performance measurement and its impact on the P-A contract and on the efficient delivery of abatement. In chapter 5, general conclusions and suggestions for further research are discussed. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

This thesis describes an experimental investigation of lean blowoff for H2/CO/CH4 mixtures in a swirling combustor. This investigation consisted of three thrusts. The first thrust focused on correlations of the lean blowoff limits of H2/CO/CH4 mixtures under different test conditions. It was found that a classical Damköhler number approach with a diffusion correction could correlate blowoff sensitivities to fuel composition over a range of conditions. The second part of this thesis describes the qualitative flame dynamics near blowoff by systematically characterizing the blowoff phenomenology as a function of hydrogen level in the fuel. These near blowoff dynamics are very complex, and are influenced by both fluid mechanics and chemical kinetics; in particular, the role of thermal expansion across the flame and extinction strain rate were suggested to be critical in describing these influences. The third part of this thesis quantitatively analyzed strain characteristics in the vicinity of the attachment point of stable and near blowoff flames. Surprisingly, it was found that in this shear layer stabilized flame, flow deceleration is the key contributor to flame strain, with flow shear playing a relatively negligible role. Near the premixer exit, due to strong flow deceleration, the flame is negatively strained i.e., compressed. Moving downstream, the strain rate increases towards zero and then becomes positive, where flames are stretched. As the flame moves toward blowoff, holes begin to form in the flame sheet, with a progressively higher probability of occurrence as one moves downstream. It is suggested that new holes form with a more uniform probability, but that this behavior reflects the convection of flame holes downstream by the flow. It has been shown in prior studies, and affirmed in this work, that flames approach blowoff by first passing through a transient phase manifested by local extinction events and the appearance of holes on the flame. A key conclusion of this work is that the onset of this boundary occurs at a nearly constant extinction strain rate. As such, it is suggested that Damköhler number scalings do not describe blowoff itself, but rather the occurrence of this first stage of blowoff. Given the correspondence between this first stage and the actual blowoff event, this explains the success of classical Damköhler number scalings in describing blowoff, such as shown in the first thrust of this thesis. The physics process associated with the actual blowoff event is still unclear and remains a key task for future work.

Thesis (M.S.)--Rochester Institute of Technology, 2007. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 66-71).

Thesis (M.S.)--Oregon State University, 2005. / Printout. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 51-55). Also available on the World Wide Web.

Thesis (Ph.D)--Aerospace Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2008. / Committee Chair: Seitzman, Jerry; Committee Member: Filatyev, Sergei; Committee Member: Jagoda, Jechiel; Committee Member: Lieuwen, Timothy; Committee Member: Shelton, Samuel; Committee Member: Zinn, Ben. Part of the SMARTech Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Collection.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2006. / Title from first page of PDF file. Includes bibliographical references (p. 139-141).

Thesis (M.A.)--Oregon State University, 2006. / Printout. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 91-99). Also available online.

Thesis (M.E.)--University of Canterbury, 2001. / Typescript (photocopy). Includes bibliographical references (leaves 134-144). Also available via the World Wide Web.

"Professional paper presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science, Environmental Studies, the University of Montana, Missoula, MT, spring 2007." / Title from PDF title page (viewed on Aug. 12, 2007). Includes bibliographic references (p. 67-69).

Further development of ideas discussed at a joint workshop sponsored by the United Nations Environment Programme Industry and Environment Centre (UNEP/IE) and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in Paris, 7-8 June 1993.