Matching Items (4)
Filtering by
- All Subjects: Maturity
- All Subjects: Polymers--Deterioration.
- Genre: Academic theses
- Creators: El Asmar, Mounir
- Creators: Kusel, Scott Daniel
Description
Planning efforts conducted during the early stages of a construction project, known
as front end planning (FEP), have a large impact on project success and significant
influence on the configuration of the final project. As a key component of FEP, front end
engineering design (FEED) plays an essential role in the overall success of large industrial
projects. The primary objective of this dissertation focuses on FEED maturity and accuracy
and its impact on project performance. The author was a member of the Construction
Industry Institute (CII) Research Team (RT) 331, which was tasked to develop the FEED
Maturity and Accuracy Total Rating System (FEED MATRS), pronounced “feed matters.”
This dissertation provides the motivation, methodology, data analysis, research findings
(which include significant correlations between the maturity and accuracy of FEED and
project performance), applicability and contributions to academia and industry. A scientific
research methodology was employed in this dissertation that included a literature review,
focus groups, an industry survey, data collection workshops, in-progress projects testing,
and statistical analysis of project performance. The results presented in this dissertation are
based on input from 128 experts in 57 organizations and a data sample of 33 completed
and 11 on-going large industrial projects representing over $13.9 billion of total installed
cost. The contributions of this work include: (1) developing a tested FEED definition for
the large industrial projects sector, (2) determining the industry’s state of practice for
measuring FEED deliverables, (3) developing an objective and scalable two-dimensional
method to measure FEED maturity and accuracy, and (4) quantifying that projects with
high FEED maturity and accuracy outperformed projects with low FEED maturity and
accuracy by 24 percent in terms of cost growth, in relation to the approved budget.
as front end planning (FEP), have a large impact on project success and significant
influence on the configuration of the final project. As a key component of FEP, front end
engineering design (FEED) plays an essential role in the overall success of large industrial
projects. The primary objective of this dissertation focuses on FEED maturity and accuracy
and its impact on project performance. The author was a member of the Construction
Industry Institute (CII) Research Team (RT) 331, which was tasked to develop the FEED
Maturity and Accuracy Total Rating System (FEED MATRS), pronounced “feed matters.”
This dissertation provides the motivation, methodology, data analysis, research findings
(which include significant correlations between the maturity and accuracy of FEED and
project performance), applicability and contributions to academia and industry. A scientific
research methodology was employed in this dissertation that included a literature review,
focus groups, an industry survey, data collection workshops, in-progress projects testing,
and statistical analysis of project performance. The results presented in this dissertation are
based on input from 128 experts in 57 organizations and a data sample of 33 completed
and 11 on-going large industrial projects representing over $13.9 billion of total installed
cost. The contributions of this work include: (1) developing a tested FEED definition for
the large industrial projects sector, (2) determining the industry’s state of practice for
measuring FEED deliverables, (3) developing an objective and scalable two-dimensional
method to measure FEED maturity and accuracy, and (4) quantifying that projects with
high FEED maturity and accuracy outperformed projects with low FEED maturity and
accuracy by 24 percent in terms of cost growth, in relation to the approved budget.
ContributorsYussef, Abdulrahman (Author) / Gibson, Jr., G. Edward (Thesis advisor) / El Asmar, Mounir (Thesis advisor) / Bearup, Wylie (Committee member) / Wiezel, Avi (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019
Description
With the growing popularity of 3d printing in recreational, research, and commercial enterprises new techniques and processes are being developed to improve the quality of parts created. Even so, the anisotropic properties is still a major hindrance of parts manufactured in this method. The goal is to produce parts that mimic the strength characteristics of a comparable part of the same design and materials created using injection molding. In achieving this goal the production cost can be reduced by eliminating the initial investment needed for the creation of expensive tooling. This initial investment reduction will allow for a wider variant of products in smaller batch runs to be made available. This thesis implements the use of ultraviolet (UV) illumination for an in-process laser local pre-deposition heating (LLPH). By comparing samples with and without the LLPH process it is determined that applied energy that is absorbed by the polymer is converted to an increase in the interlayer temperature, and resulting in an observed increase in tensile strength over the baseline test samples. The increase in interlayer bonding thus can be considered the dominating factor over polymer degradation.
ContributorsKusel, Scott Daniel (Author) / Hsu, Keng (Thesis advisor) / Sodemann, Angela (Committee member) / Kannan, Arunachala M (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2017
Description
The solar energy sector has been growing rapidly over the past decade. Growth in renewable electricity generation using photovoltaic (PV) systems is accompanied by an increased awareness of the fault conditions developing during the operational lifetime of these systems. While the annual energy losses caused by faults in PV systems could reach up to 18.9% of their total capacity, emerging technologies and models are driving for greater efficiency to assure the reliability of a product under its actual application. The objectives of this dissertation consist of (1) reviewing the state of the art and practice of prognostics and health management for the Direct Current (DC) side of photovoltaic systems; (2) assessing the corrosion of the driven posts supporting PV structures in utility scale plants; and (3) assessing the probabilistic risk associated with the failure of polymeric materials that are used in tracker and fixed tilt systems.
As photovoltaic systems age under relatively harsh and changing environmental conditions, several potential fault conditions can develop during the operational lifetime including corrosion of supporting structures and failures of polymeric materials. The ability to accurately predict the remaining useful life of photovoltaic systems is critical for plants ‘continuous operation. This research contributes to the body of knowledge of PV systems reliability by: (1) developing a meta-model of the expected service life of mounting structures; (2) creating decision frameworks and tools to support practitioners in mitigating risks; (3) and supporting material selection for fielded and future photovoltaic systems. The newly developed frameworks were validated by a global solar company.
As photovoltaic systems age under relatively harsh and changing environmental conditions, several potential fault conditions can develop during the operational lifetime including corrosion of supporting structures and failures of polymeric materials. The ability to accurately predict the remaining useful life of photovoltaic systems is critical for plants ‘continuous operation. This research contributes to the body of knowledge of PV systems reliability by: (1) developing a meta-model of the expected service life of mounting structures; (2) creating decision frameworks and tools to support practitioners in mitigating risks; (3) and supporting material selection for fielded and future photovoltaic systems. The newly developed frameworks were validated by a global solar company.
ContributorsChokor, Abbas (Author) / El Asmar, Mounir (Thesis advisor) / Chong, Oswald (Committee member) / Ernzen, James (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2017
Description
An Earned Value Management System (EVMS) is an organization’s system for project/program management that integrates a defined set of associated work scopes, schedules and budgets, allowing for effective planning, performance, and management control. A mature EVMS that is compliant with standards and guidelines, and that is applied in a positive social environment is critical to the overall success of large and complex projects and programs. However, a comprehensive and up-to-date literature review revealed a lack of a data-driven and consistent rating system that can gauge the maturity and the environment surrounding EVMS implementation. Therefore, the primary objective of this dissertation focuses on the EVMS maturity and environment, and investigates their impact on project performance. The author was one of the 41 research team members whose goal was to develop the novel rating system called Integrated Project/Program Management (IP2M) Maturity and Environment Total Risk Rating (METRR). Using a multi-method research approach, the rating system was developed based on a literature review of more than 600 references, a survey with 294 responses, focus group meetings, and research charrettes with more than 100 subject matter experts from the industry. Performance data from 35 completed projects and programs representing over $21.8 billion in total cost was collected and analyzed. The data analysis showed that the projects with high EVMS maturity and good EVMS environment outperformed those with low maturity and poor environment in key project performance measures. The contributions of this work includes: (1) developing definitions for EVM, EVMS and other research related terms, (2) determining the gaps in the EVMS literature, (3) determining the EVMS state of the practice in the industry, (4) developing a scalable rating system to measure the EVMS maturity and environment, (5) providing quantified evidence on the impact of EVMS maturity and environment on project performance, and (6) providing guidance to practitioners to gauge their EVMS maturity and environment for an enhanced project and program management integration and performance.
ContributorsAramali, Vartenie Mardiros (Author) / Gibson Jr., George Edward (Thesis advisor) / El Asmar, Mounir (Committee member) / Parrish, Kristen (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2022