ASU Electronic Theses and Dissertations
This collection includes most of the ASU Theses and Dissertations from 2011 to present. ASU Theses and Dissertations are available in downloadable PDF format; however, a small percentage of items are under embargo. Information about the dissertations/theses includes degree information, committee members, an abstract, supporting data or media.
In addition to the electronic theses found in the ASU Digital Repository, ASU Theses and Dissertations can be found in the ASU Library Catalog.
Dissertations and Theses granted by Arizona State University are archived and made available through a joint effort of the ASU Graduate College and the ASU Libraries. For more information or questions about this collection contact or visit the Digital Repository ETD Library Guide or contact the ASU Graduate College at gradformat@asu.edu.
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- Creators: Vittal, Vijay
- Creators: Feisst, Sabine
- Creators: Mobasher, Barzin
Description
At present, almost 70% of the electric energy in the United States is produced utilizing fossil fuels. Combustion of fossil fuels contributes CO2 to the atmosphere, potentially exacerbating the impact on global warming. To make the electric power system (EPS) more sustainable for the future, there has been an emphasis on scaling up generation of electric energy from wind and solar resources. These resources are renewable in nature and have pollution free operation. Various states in the US have set up different goals for achieving certain amount of electrical energy to be produced from renewable resources. The Southwestern region of the United States receives significant solar radiation throughout the year. High solar radiation makes concentrated solar power and solar PV the most suitable means of renewable energy production in this region. However, the majority of the projects that are presently being developed are either residential or utility owned solar PV plants. This research explores the impact of significant PV penetration on the steady state voltage profile of the electric power transmission system. This study also identifies the impact of PV penetration on the dynamic response of the transmission system such as rotor angle stability, frequency response and voltage response after a contingency. The light load case of spring 2010 and the peak load case of summer 2018 have been considered for analyzing the impact of PV. If the impact is found to be detrimental to the normal operation of the EPS, mitigation measures have been devised and presented in the thesis. Commercially available software tools/packages such as PSLF, PSS/E, DSA Tools have been used to analyze the power network and validate the results.
ContributorsPrakash, Nitin (Author) / Heydt, Gerald T. (Thesis advisor) / Vittal, Vijay (Thesis advisor) / Ayyanar, Raja (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
Description
In the 1930s, with the rise of Nazism, many artists in Europe had to flee their homelands and sought refuge in the United States. Austrian composer Hanns Eisler who had risen to prominence as a significant composer during the Weimar era was among them. A Jew, an ardent Marxist and composer devoted to musical modernism, he had established himself as a writer of film music and Kampflieder, fighting songs, for the European workers' movement. After two visits of the United States in the mid-1930s, Eisler settled in America where he spent a decade (1938-1948), composed a considerable number of musical works, including important film scores, instrumental music and songs, and, in collaboration with Theodor W. Adorno, penned the influential treatise Composing for the Films. Yet despite his substantial contributions to American culture American scholarship on Eisler has remained sparse, perhaps due to his reputation as the "Karl Marx in Music." In this study I examine Eisler's American exile and argue that Eisler, through his roles as a musician and a teacher, actively sought to enrich American culture. I will present background for his exile years, a detailed overview of his American career as well as analyses and close readings of several of his American works, including three of his American film scores, Pete Roleum and His Cousins (1939), Hangmen Also Die (1943), and None But the Lonely Heart (1944), and the String Quartet (1940), Third Piano Sonata (1943), Woodbury Liederbüchlein (1941), and Hollywood Songbook (1942-7). This thesis builds upon unpublished correspondence and documents available only in special collections at the University of Southern California (USC), as well as film scores in archives at USC and the University of California, Los Angeles. It also draws on Eisler studies by such European scholars as Albrecht Betz, Jürgen Schebera, and Horst Weber, as well as on research of film music scholars Sally Bick and Claudia Gorbman. As there is little written on the particulars of Eisler's American years, this thesis presents new facts and new perspectives and aims at a better understanding of the artistic achievements of this composer.
ContributorsBoyd, Caleb (Author) / Feisst, Sabine (Thesis advisor) / Levy, Benjamin (Committee member) / Oldani, Robert (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
Description
CYOA is a prototype of an iPhone application that produces a single, generative, musical work. This document details some of the thoughts and practices that informed its design, and specifically addresses the overlap between application structure and musical form. The concept of composed instruments is introduced and briefly discussed, some features of video game design that relate to this project are considered, and some specifics of hardware implementation are addressed.
ContributorsPeterson, Julian (Author) / Hackbarth, Glenn (Thesis advisor) / DeMars, James (Committee member) / Feisst, Sabine (Committee member) / Levy, Benjamin (Committee member) / Tobias, Evan (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
Description
Johann Sebastian Bach's violin Sonata I in G minor, BWV 1001, is a significant and widely performed work that exists in numerous editions and also as transcriptions or arrangements for various other instruments, including the guitar. A pedagogical guitar performance edition of this sonata, however, has yet to be published. Therefore, the core of my project is a transcription and pedagogical edition of this work for guitar. The transcription is supported by an analysis, performance and pedagogical practice guide, and a recording. The analysis and graphing of phrase structures illuminate Bach's use of compositional devices and the architectural function of the work's harmonic gravities. They are intended to guide performers in their assessment of the surface ornamentation and suggest a reduction toward its fundamental purpose. The end result is a clarification of the piece through the organization of phrase structures and the prioritization of harmonic tensions and resolutions. The compiling process is intended to assist the performer in "seeing the forest from the trees." Based on markings from Bach's original autograph score, the transcription considers fingering ease on the guitar that is critical to render the music to a functional and practical level. The goal is to preserve the composer's indications to the highest degree possible while still adhering to the technical confines that allow for actual execution on the guitar. The performance guide provides suggestions for articulation, phrasing, ornamentation, and other interpretive decisions. Considering the limitations of the guitar, the author's suggestions are grounded in various concepts of historically informed performance, and also relate to today's early-music sensibilities. The pedagogical practice guide demonstrates procedures to break down and assimilate the musical material as applied toward the various elements of guitar technique and practice. The CD recording is intended to demonstrate the transcription and the connection to the concepts discussed. It is hoped that this pedagogical edition will provide a rational that serves to support technical decisions within the transcription and generate meaningful interpretive realizations based on principles of historically informed performance.
ContributorsFelice, Joseph Philip (Author) / Koonce, Frank (Thesis advisor) / Feisst, Sabine (Committee member) / Swartz, Jonathan (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
Description
Manufacture of building materials requires significant energy, and as demand for these materials continues to increase, the energy requirement will as well. Offsetting this energy use will require increased focus on sustainable building materials. Further, the energy used in building, particularly in heating and air conditioning, accounts for 40 percent of a buildings energy use. Increasing the efficiency of building materials will reduce energy usage over the life time of the building. Current methods for maintaining the interior environment can be highly inefficient depending on the building materials selected. Materials such as concrete have low thermal efficiency and have a low heat capacity meaning it provides little insulation. Use of phase change materials (PCM) provides the opportunity to increase environmental efficiency of buildings by using the inherent latent heat storage as well as the increased heat capacity. Incorporating PCM into concrete via lightweight aggregates (LWA) by direct addition is seen as a viable option for increasing the thermal storage capabilities of concrete, thereby increasing building energy efficiency. As PCM change phase from solid to liquid, heat is absorbed from the surroundings, decreasing the demand on the air conditioning systems on a hot day or vice versa on a cold day. Further these materials provide an additional insulating capacity above the value of plain concrete. When the temperature drops outside the PCM turns back into a solid and releases the energy stored from the day. PCM is a hydrophobic material and causes reductions in compressive strength when incorporated directly into concrete, as shown in previous studies. A proposed method for mitigating this detrimental effect, while still incorporating PCM into concrete is to encapsulate the PCM in aggregate. This technique would, in theory, allow for the use of phase change materials directly in concrete, increasing the thermal efficiency of buildings, while negating the negative effect on compressive strength of the material.
ContributorsSharma, Breeann (Author) / Neithalath, Narayanan (Thesis advisor) / Mobasher, Barzin (Committee member) / Rajan, Subramaniam D. (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
Description
Transmission expansion planning (TEP) is a complex decision making process that requires comprehensive analysis to determine the time, location, and number of electric power transmission facilities that are needed in the future power grid. This dissertation investigates the topic of solving TEP problems for large power systems. The dissertation can be divided into two parts. The first part of this dissertation focuses on developing a more accurate network model for TEP study. First, a mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) based TEP model is proposed for solving multi-stage TEP problems. Compared with previous work, the proposed approach reduces the number of variables and constraints needed and improves the computational efficiency significantly. Second, the AC power flow model is applied to TEP models. Relaxations and reformulations are proposed to make the AC model based TEP problem solvable. Third, a convexified AC network model is proposed for TEP studies with reactive power and off-nominal bus voltage magnitudes included in the model. A MILP-based loss model and its relaxations are also investigated. The second part of this dissertation investigates the uncertainty modeling issues in the TEP problem. A two-stage stochastic TEP model is proposed and decomposition algorithms based on the L-shaped method and progressive hedging (PH) are developed to solve the stochastic model. Results indicate that the stochastic TEP model can give a more accurate estimation of the annual operating cost as compared to the deterministic TEP model which focuses only on the peak load.
ContributorsZhang, Hui (Author) / Vittal, Vijay (Thesis advisor) / Heydt, Gerald T (Thesis advisor) / Mittelmann, Hans D (Committee member) / Hedman, Kory W (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
Description
The alkali activation of aluminosilicate materials as binder systems derived from industrial byproducts have been extensively studied due to the advantages they offer in terms enhanced material properties, while increasing sustainability by the reuse of industrial waste and byproducts and reducing the adverse impacts of OPC production. Fly ash and ground granulated blast furnace slag are commonly used for their content of soluble silica and aluminate species that can undergo dissolution, polymerization with the alkali, condensation on particle surfaces and solidification. The following topics are the focus of this thesis: (i) the use of microwave assisted thermal processing, in addition to heat-curing as a means of alkali activation and (ii) the relative effects of alkali cations (K or Na) in the activator (powder activators) on the mechanical properties and chemical structure of these systems. Unsuitable curing conditions instigate carbonation, which in turn lowers the pH of the system causing significant reductions in the rate of fly ash activation and mechanical strength development. This study explores the effects of sealing the samples during the curing process, which effectively traps the free water in the system, and allows for increased aluminosilicate activation. The use of microwave-curing in lieu of thermal-curing is also studied in order to reduce energy consumption and for its ability to provide fast volumetric heating. Potassium-based powder activators dry blended into the slag binder system is shown to be effective in obtaining very high compressive strengths under moist curing conditions (greater than 70 MPa), whereas sodium-based powder activation is much weaker (around 25 MPa). Compressive strength decreases when fly ash is introduced into the system. Isothermal calorimetry is used to evaluate the early hydration process, and to understand the reaction kinetics of the alkali powder activated systems. A qualitative evidence of the alkali-hydroxide concentration of the paste pore solution through the use of electrical conductivity measurements is also presented, with the results indicating the ion concentration of alkali is more prevalent in the pore solution of potassium-based systems. The use of advanced spectroscopic and thermal analysis techniques to distinguish the influence of studied parameters is also discussed.
ContributorsChowdhury, Ussala (Author) / Neithalath, Narayanan (Thesis advisor) / Rajan, Subramanium D. (Committee member) / Mobasher, Barzin (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
Description
Properties of random porous material such as pervious concrete are strongly dependant on its pore structure features. This research deals with the development of an understanding of the relationship between the material structure and the mechanical and functional properties of pervious concretes. The fracture response of pervious concrete specimens proportioned for different porosities, as a function of the pore structure features and fiber volume fraction, is studied. Stereological and morphological methods are used to extract the relevant pore structure features of pervious concretes from planar images. A two-parameter fracture model is used to obtain the fracture toughness (KIC) and critical crack tip opening displacement (CTODc) from load-crack mouth opening displacement (CMOD) data of notched beams under three-point bending. The experimental results show that KIC is primarily dependent on the porosity of pervious concretes. For a similar porosity, an increase in pore size results in a reduction in KIC. At similar pore sizes, the effect of fibers on the post-peak response is more prominent in mixtures with a higher porosity, as shown by the residual load capacity, stress-crack extension relationships, and GR curves. These effects are explained using the mean free spacing of pores and pore-to-pore tortuosity in these systems. A sensitivity analysis is employed to quantify the influence of material design parameters on KIC. This research has also focused on studying the relationship between permeability and tortuosity as it pertains to porosity and pore size of pervious concretes. Various ideal geometric shapes were also constructed that had varying pore sizes and porosities. The pervious concretes also had differing pore sizes and porosities. The permeabilities were determined using three different methods; Stokes solver, Lattice Boltzmann method and the Katz-Thompson equation. These values were then compared to the tortuosity values determined using a Matlab code that uses a pore connectivity algorithm. The tortuosity was also determined from the inverse of the conductivity determined from a numerical analysis that was necessary for using the Katz-Thompson equation. These tortuosity values were then compared to the permeabilities. The pervious concretes and ideal geometric shapes showed consistent similarities betbetween their tortuosities and permeabilities.
ContributorsRehder, Benjamin (Author) / Neithalath, Narayanana (Thesis advisor) / Mobasher, Barzin (Committee member) / Rajan, Subramaniam D. (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
Description
Under the framework of intelligent management of power grids by leveraging advanced information, communication and control technologies, a primary objective of this study is to develop novel data mining and data processing schemes for several critical applications that can enhance the reliability of power systems. Specifically, this study is broadly organized into the following two parts: I) spatio-temporal wind power analysis for wind generation forecast and integration, and II) data mining and information fusion of synchrophasor measurements toward secure power grids. Part I is centered around wind power generation forecast and integration. First, a spatio-temporal analysis approach for short-term wind farm generation forecasting is proposed. Specifically, using extensive measurement data from an actual wind farm, the probability distribution and the level crossing rate of wind farm generation are characterized using tools from graphical learning and time-series analysis. Built on these spatial and temporal characterizations, finite state Markov chain models are developed, and a point forecast of wind farm generation is derived using the Markov chains. Then, multi-timescale scheduling and dispatch with stochastic wind generation and opportunistic demand response is investigated. Part II focuses on incorporating the emerging synchrophasor technology into the security assessment and the post-disturbance fault diagnosis of power systems. First, a data-mining framework is developed for on-line dynamic security assessment by using adaptive ensemble decision tree learning of real-time synchrophasor measurements. Under this framework, novel on-line dynamic security assessment schemes are devised, aiming to handle various factors (including variations of operating conditions, forced system topology change, and loss of critical synchrophasor measurements) that can have significant impact on the performance of conventional data-mining based on-line DSA schemes. Then, in the context of post-disturbance analysis, fault detection and localization of line outage is investigated using a dependency graph approach. It is shown that a dependency graph for voltage phase angles can be built according to the interconnection structure of power system, and line outage events can be detected and localized through networked data fusion of the synchrophasor measurements collected from multiple locations of power grids. Along a more practical avenue, a decentralized networked data fusion scheme is proposed for efficient fault detection and localization.
ContributorsHe, Miao (Author) / Zhang, Junshan (Thesis advisor) / Vittal, Vijay (Thesis advisor) / Hedman, Kory (Committee member) / Si, Jennie (Committee member) / Ye, Jieping (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
Description
Buildings consume a large portion of the world's energy, but with the integration of phase change materials (PCMs) in building elements this energy cost can be greatly reduced. The addition of PCMs into building elements, however, becomes a challenge to model and analyze how the material actually affects the energy flow and temperatures in the system. This research work presents a comprehensive computer program used to model and analyze PCM embedded wall systems. The use of the finite element method (FEM) provides the tool to analyze the energy flow of these systems. Finite element analysis (FEA) can model the transient analysis of a typical climate cycle along with nonlinear problems, which the addition of PCM causes. The use of phase change materials is also a costly material expense. The initial expense of using PCMs can be compensated by the reduction in energy costs it can provide. Optimization is the tool used to determine the optimal point between adding PCM into a wall and the amount of energy savings that layer will provide. The integration of these two tools into a computer program allows for models to be efficiently created, analyzed and optimized. The program was then used to understand the benefits between two different wall models, a wall with a single layer of PCM or a wall with two different PCM layers. The effect of the PCMs on the inside wall temperature along with the energy flow across the wall are computed. The numerical results show that a multi-layer PCM wall was more energy efficient and cost effective than the single PCM layer wall. A structural analysis was then performed on the optimized designs using ABAQUS v. 6.10 to ensure the structural integrity of the wall was not affected by adding PCM layer(s).
ContributorsStockwell, Amie (Author) / Rajan, Subramaniam D. (Thesis advisor) / Neithalath, Narayanan (Thesis advisor) / Mobasher, Barzin (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013