Numerical simulation of the airflow–rivulet interaction associated with the rain-wind induced vibration phenomenon

Rain-wind induced vibration is an aeroelastic phenomenon that occurs on the inclined cables of cable-stayed bridges. The vibrations are believed to be caused by a complicated nonlinear interaction between rivulets of rain water that run down the cables and the wind loading on the cables due to the unsteady aerodynamic flow field. Recent research at the University of Strathclyde has been to develop a numerical method to simulate the influence of the external air flow on the rivulet dynamics and vice versa, the results of which can be used to assess the importance of the water rivulets on the instability. The numerical approach for the first time couples a Discrete Vortex Method solver to determine the external flow field and unsteady aerodynamic loading, and a pseudo-spectral solver based on lubrication theory to model the evolution and growth of the water rivulets on the cable surface under external loading. The results of the coupled model are used to assess the effects of various loading combinations, and importantly are consistent with previous full scale and experimental observations of rain-wind induced vibration, providing new information about the underlying physical mechanisms of the instability

Making a Difference?: The Effects of Teach for America in High School

Uses longitudinal data from North Carolina to estimate the effectiveness, in terms of gains in student test scores, of TFA teachers relative to traditional teachers. Focuses on math and science teachers in the first study of TFA effects in high schools

Interval Bisection Quantization Circuit for an 8-Bit Analog to Digital Converter

A common type of analog to digital converter (ADC) is called the successive approximation ADC. It works by setting each bit in the digital output code individually and thus its conversion time is determined by the clock frequency and the resolution of the converter. A speed improvement may be made by using a quantization circuit that sets the entire output code at once. The goal of this project is to design such a quantization circuit based on the interval bisection algorithm. The circuit was designed using Cadence Schematic and Virtuoso and was simulated using spice. Spice simulations show that, on average, the circuit converts faster than the conventional successive approximation converter.Electrical and Computer Engineering, Department o

GLOBAL CHANGE AND WHITEBARK PINE: RESTORATION, REFUGIA, AND ALPINE TREELINES

Whitebark pine is a major component of subalpine forests in western North America. The species occupies harsh high-mountain sites up to treeline, where it is often the dominant species. The species is ecologically important but is also a valuable species for studying the dynamics of alpine treelines. However, whitebark pine has experienced significant mortality in recent decades from mountain pine beetle outbreaks and white pine blister rust. This kind of rapid environmental change presents significant challenges to our understanding and management of the dynamics of ecological communities. On one hand, the effects of climate change on forest ecosystems could provide unique opportunities to study how species, populations, communities, and ecosystems respond to large-scale disturbance. On the other, prediction of future ecosystem behaviors and associated management decisions are complicated by a current lack of understanding of long-term dynamics. Managers are responding to indirect effects of climate change by expanding restoration activities into previously unmanaged, and often poorly understood, forest ecosystems. In this dissertation I investigated three aspects of whitebark pine ecology and conservation: 1) the ecological responses of whitebark pine stands to restoration treatment, 2) the potential of treeline habitats as refugia from mountain pine beetle attack, 3) and the climate-related processes that control growth form at treeline

Syntheses and Spectral Studies of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons

Abstract Not Provided

Evaluating the impact of number controls, choice and competition : an analysis of the student profile and the student learning environment in the new higher education landscape.

The research project Evaluating the impact of number controls, choice and competition: an analysis of the student profile and the student learning environment in the new higher education landscape sought to develop an understanding of the impact of the stimulation of choice and competition on the sector. The research took place in the context of a volatile policy environment and the report highlights the complex effects of two concurrent and linked processes: one, the ongoing effects of marketisation and how institutional decision-making processes are inflected by the daily realities of a system based on choice and competition; and two, the traceable effects of the specific Student Number Control (SNC) 'core and margin' policy since 2012-13