UNT Theses and Dissertations - 82 Matching Results

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Characterization, Analysis, and Optimization of Rotary Displacer Stirling Engines

Description: This work focuses on an innovative Rotary Displacer SE (RDSE) configuration for Stirling engines (SEs). RDSE features rotary displacers instead of reciprocating displacers (found in conventional SE configurations), as well as combined compression and expansion spaces. Guided by the research question "can RDSE as a novel configuration achieve a higher efficiency compared to conventional SE configurations at comparable operating conditions?", the goal of this study is to characterize, analyze, an… more
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Date: December 2019
Creator: Bagheri, Amirhossein
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
Partner: UNT Libraries

Investigations of the Fresnel Lens Based Solar Concentrator System through a Unique Statistical-Algorithmic Approach

Description: This work investigates the Fresnel-lens-based solar concentrator-receiver system in a multi-perspective manner to design, test and fabricate this concentrator with high-efficiency photon and heat outputs and a minimized effect of chromatic aberrations. First, a MATLAB®-incorporated algorithm optimizes both the flat-spot and the curved lens designs via a statistical ray-tracing methodology of the incident light, considering all of its incidence parameters. The target is to maximize the solar ray… more
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Date: December 2019
Creator: Qandil, Hassan Darwish Hassan
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Piezoelectric-Based Gas Sensors for Harsh Environment Gas Component Monitoring

Description: In this study, gas sensing systems that are based on piezoelectric smart material and structures are proposed, designed, developed, and tested, which are mainly aimed to address the temperature dependent CO2 gas sensing in a real environment. The state-of-the-art of gas sensing technologies are firstly reviewed and discussed for their pros and cons. The adsorption mechanisms including physisorption and chemisorption are subsequently investigated to characterize and provide solutions to various … more
Date: August 2019
Creator: Zhang, Chen
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Denim Fiberboard Fabricated from MUF and pMDI Hybrid Resin System

Description: In this study, a series of denim fiberboards are fabricated using two different resins, malamine urea formaldehyde (MUF) and polymeric methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (pMDI). Two experimental design factors (1) adhesive content and (2) MUF-pMDI weight ratio, were studied. All the denim fiberboard samples were fabricated following the same resin blending, cold-press and hot-press procedures. The physical and mechanical tests were conducted on the fiberboard following the procedures described in … more
Date: May 2019
Creator: Cui, Zhiying
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
Partner: UNT Libraries
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Increasing Effective Thermal Resistance of Building Envelope's Insulation Using Polyurethane Foam Incorporated with Phase Change Material

Description: Incorporating insulation material with phase change materials (PCMs) could help enhance the insulation capability for further building energy savings by reducing the HVAC loadings. During the phase change process between the solid and liquid states, heat is being absorbed or released by PCMs depending on the surrounding temperature. This research explores the benefits of a polyurethane (PU)-PCM composite insulation material through infiltrating paraffin wax as PCM into PU open cell foam. The ne… more
Date: May 2019
Creator: Houl, Yassine
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Comparative Study of Thermal Comfort Models Using Remote-Location Data for Local Sample Campus Building as a Case Study for Scalable Energy Modeling at Urban Level Using Virtual Information Fabric Infrastructure (VIFI)

Description: The goal of this dissertation is to demonstrate that data from a remotely located building can be utilized for energy modeling of a similar type of building and to demonstrate how to use this remote data without physically moving the data from one server to another using Virtual Information Fabric Infrastructure (VIFI). In order to achieve this goal, firstly an EnergyPlus model was created for Greek Life Center, a campus building located at University of North Texas campus at Denton in Texas, U… more
Date: December 2018
Creator: Talele, Suraj Harish
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Membrane-Based Energy Recovery Ventilator Coupled with Thermal Energy Storage Using Phase Change Material for Efficient Building Energy Savings

Description: This research work is focused on a conceptual combination of membrane-based energy recovery ventilator (ERV) and phase change material (PCM) to provide energy savings in building heating, ventilation & air-conditioning (HVAC) systems. An ERV can recover thermal energy and moisture between the outside fresh air (OFA) entering into the building and the exhaust air (EA) leaving from the building thus reducing the energy consumption of the HVAC system for cooling and heating the spaces inside the b… more
Date: December 2018
Creator: Mohiuddin, Mohammed Salman
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Heat Transfer in Low Dimensional Materials Characterized by Micro/Nanoscae Thermometry

Description: In this study, the thermal properties of low dimensional materials such as graphene and boron nitride nanotube were investigated. As one of important heat transfer characteristics, interfacial thermal resistance (ITR) between graphene and Cu film was estimated by both experiment and simulation. In order to characterize ITR, the micropipette sensing technique was utilized to measure the temperature profile of suspended and supported graphene on Cu substrate that is subjected to continuous wave l… more
Date: August 2018
Creator: Jeong, Jae Young
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Microcantilever Based Viscosity Measurement as it Applies to Oscillation Amplitude Response

Description: The goal of this research is to measure viscosity via the analysis of amplitude response of a piezo driven vibrating cantilevers partially immersed in a viscous medium. As a driving frequency is applied to a piezoceramic material, the external forces acting on the system will affect its maximum amplitude. This thesis applies this principle through experimental and analytical analyses of the proportional relationship between viscosity and the amplitude response of the first natural frequency mod… more
Date: August 2018
Creator: Siegel, Sanford H.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Use of Bio-Product/Phase Change Material Composite in the Building Envelope for Building Thermal Control and Energy Savings

Description: This research investigates the bio-products/phase change material (PCM) composites for the building envelope application. Bio-products, such as wood and herb, are porous medium, which can be applied in the building envelope for thermal insulation purpose. PCM is infiltrated into the bio-product (porous medium) to form a composite material. The PCM can absorb/release large amount of latent heat of fusion from/to the building environment during the melting/solidification process. Hence, the PCM-b… more
Date: August 2018
Creator: Boozula, Aravind Reddy
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Analysis of Heat Transfer Enhancement in Channel Flow through Flow-Induced Vibration

Description: In this research, an elastic cylinder that utilized vortex-induced vibration (VIV) was applied to improve convective heat transfer rates by disrupting the thermal boundary layer. Rigid and elastic cylinders were placed across a fluid channel. Vortex shedding around the cylinder led to the periodic vibration of the cylinder. As a result, the flow-structure interaction (FSI) increased the disruption of the thermal boundary layer, and therefore, improved the mixing process at the boundary. This … more
Date: December 2017
Creator: Kota, Siva Kumar k
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
Partner: UNT Libraries
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Estimating Thermal Conductivity and Volumetric Specific Heat of a Functionally Graded Material using Photothermal Radiometry

Description: Functionally graded materials (FGMs) are inhomogeneous materials in which the material properties vary with respect to space. Research has been done by scientific community in developing techniques like photothermal radiometry (PTR) to measure the thermal conductivity and volumetric heat capacity of FGMs. One of the problems involved in the technique is to solve the inverse problem, i.e., estimating the thermal properties after the frequency scan has been obtained. The present work involves fin… more
Date: December 2017
Creator: Koppanooru, Sampat Kumar Reddy
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
Partner: UNT Libraries
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Design of Bioinspired Conductive Smart Textile

Description: Electrically conductive fabrics are one of the major components of smart textile that attracts a lot of attention by the energy, medical, sports and military industry. The principal contributors to the conductivity of the smart textiles are the intrinsic properties of the fiber, functionalization by the addition of conductive particles and the architecture of fibers. In this study, intrinsic properties of non-woven carbon fabric derived from a novel linear lignin, poly-(caffeyl alcohol) (PCFA) … more
Date: August 2017
Creator: Rizvi, Syed Hussain Raza
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
Partner: UNT Libraries
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Development of a Natural Fiber Mat Plywood Composite

Description: Natural fibers like kenaf, hemp, flax and sisal fiber are becoming alternatives to conventional petroleum fibers for many applications. One such applications is the use of Non-woven bio-fiber mats in the automobile and construction industries. Non-woven hemp fiber mats were used to manufacture plywood in order to optimize the plywood structure. Hemp fiber mats possess strong mechanical properties that comparable to synthetic fibers which include tensile strength and tensile modulus. This study … more
Date: August 2017
Creator: Anthireddy, Prasanna Kumar
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
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Effect of Surface Treatment on the Performance of CARALL, Carbon Fiber Reinforced Aluminum Dissimilar Material Joints

Description: Fiber-metal laminates (FML) are the advanced materials that are developed to improve the high performance of lightweight structures that are rapidly becoming a superior substitute for metal structures. The reasons behind their emerging usage are the mechanical properties without a compromise in weight other than the traditional metals. The bond remains a concern. This thesis reviews the effect of pre-treatments, say heat, P2 etch and laser treatments on the substrate which modifies the surface … more
Date: August 2017
Creator: Bandi, Raghava
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Application of High Entropy Alloys in Stent Implants

Description: High entropy alloys (HEAs) are alloys with five or more principal elements. Due to these distinct concept of alloying, the HEA exhibits unique and superior properties. The outstanding properties of HEA includes higher strength/hardness, superior wear resistance, high temperature stability, higher fatigue life, good corrosion and oxidation resistance. Such characteristics of HEA has been significant interest leading to researches on these emerging field. Even though many works are done to unders… more
Date: May 2017
Creator: Alagarsamy, Karthik
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
Partner: UNT Libraries
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Design of a Lower Extremity Exoskeleton to Increase Knee ROM during Valgus Bracing for Osteoarthritic Gait

Description: Knee osteoarthritis (KOA) is the primary cause of chronic immobility in populations over the age of 65. It is a joint degenerative disease in which the articular cartilage in the knee joint wears down over time, leading to symptoms of pain, instability, joint stiffness, and misalignment of the lower extremities. Without intervention, these symptoms gradually worsen over time, decreasing the overall knee range of motion (ROM) and ability to walk. Current clinical interventions include offloading… more
Date: May 2017
Creator: Cao, Jennifer M.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Effectiveness of Fillers for Corrosion Protection of AISI-SAE 1018 Steel in Sea Salt Solution

Description: Corrosion represents the single most frequent cause for product replacement or loss of product functionality with a 5% coat to the industrial revenue generation of any country in this dissertation the efficacy of using filled coatings as a protection coating are investigated. Fillers disrupt the polymer-substrate coating interfacial area and lead to poor adhesion. Conflicting benefits of increasing surface hardness and corrosion with long term durability through loss of adhesion to the subst… more
Date: May 2017
Creator: Al-Shenawa, Amaal
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Partner: UNT Libraries
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Investigation of a Novel Vapor Chamber for Efficient Heat Spreading and Removal for Power Electronics in Electric Vehicles

Description: This work investigated a novel vapor chamber for efficient heat spreading and heat removal. A vapor chamber acting as a heat spreader enables for more uniform temperature distribution along the surface of the device being cooled. First, a vapor chamber was studied and compared with the traditional copper heat spreader. The thickness of vapor chamber was kept 1.35 mm which was considered to be ultra-thin vapor chamber. Then, a new geometrical model having graphite foam in vapor space was propose… more
Date: May 2017
Creator: Patel, Anand Kishorbhai
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Partner: UNT Libraries
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Investigation on the Effects of Indoor Temperature Modulations on Building Energy Usage and Human Thermal Comfort

Description: Energy efficiency in the operation of buildings is becoming increasingly important with a growing emphasis on sustainability and reducing environmental impacts of irresponsible energy usage. Improvements have been made both on the technology side of energy efficiency and on the human behavior side. However, when changing human behavior, it is critical to find energy conservation measures that will maintain comfort for occupants. This paper analyzes how this can be done by implementing a modulat… more
Date: May 2017
Creator: Traylor, Caleb
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Partner: UNT Libraries
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Sustainable Ecofriendly Insulation Foams for Disaster Relief Housing

Description: Natural disasters are affecting a significant number of people around the world. Sheltering is the first step in post-disaster activities towards the normalization of the affected people's lives. Temporary housing is being used in these cases until the construction of permanent houses are done. Disposal of temporary housing after use is leading to a significant environmental impact because most of them are filled with thermally insulative polymer foams that do not degrade in a short period. To … more
Date: May 2017
Creator: Chitela, Yuvaraj Reddy
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Partner: UNT Libraries
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Cyclic Polarization of AA 3102 in Corrosive Electrolytes Containing Sodium Chloride and Ammonium Sulfate

Description: Corrosion of all aluminum microchannel heat exchangers present a challenge in automotive and heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) industries. Reproducibility of Salt Water Acetic Acid Test (SWAAT) has been questioned and a need to new corrosion tests with better reproducibility has risen. Cyclic polarization, that is an electrochemical test, was explored for its suitability for the assessment of AA 3102 tube material that is currently a popular aluminum alloy used in manufacturing… more
Date: December 2016
Creator: Dorreyatim, Mohammad
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Dissimilar Friction Stir Welding Between Magnesium and Aluminum Alloys

Description: Joining two dissimilar metals, specifically Mg and Al alloys, using conventional welding techniques is extraordinarily challenging. Even when these alloys are able to be joined, the weld is littered with defects such as cracks, cavities, and wormholes. The focus of this project was to use friction stir welding to create a defect-free joint between Al 2139 and Mg WE43. The stir tool used in this project, made of H13 tool steel, is of fixed design. The design included an 11 mm scrolled and concav… more
Date: December 2016
Creator: Reese, Gregory A
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Partner: UNT Libraries
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Dissimilar Joining of Al (AA2139) – Mg (WE43) Alloys Using Friction Stir Welding

Description: This research demonstrates the use of friction stir welding (FSW) to join dissimilar (Al-Mg) metal alloys. The main challenges in joining different, dissimilar metal alloys is the formation of brittle intermetallic compounds (IMCs) in the stir zone affecting mechanical properties of joint significantly. In this present study, FSW joining process is used to join aluminum alloy AA2139 and magnesium alloy WE43. The 9.5 mm thick plates of AA2139 and WE43 were friction stir butt welded. Different pr… more
Date: December 2016
Creator: Poudel, Amir
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
Partner: UNT Libraries
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