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A Decision Matrix Approach to Green Project Management Processes
No full textThe purpose of this paper is to develop a decision matrix for green project management processes (GPMPs) in commercial construction projects. GPMPs can assist in decoding all of the information required to make green-conscious decisions at various stages of a project
Building Artificial Mountains to Increase Precipitation in the UAE
No full textA poster submitted in ENG 207 taught by Dr. David Prescott for the Fall 2016 semester.In the recent years temperature has been rising noticeably in the UAE. The raise of temperature has been causing a raise of humidity level. Artificial mountains can be built to decrease the humidity level and promote precipitation. Orographic precipitation is the type of precipitation used with artificial mountains. How can building artificial mountains increase orographic precipitation and how to build such mega structure
Closed-form Exact and Asymptotic Expressions for the Symbol Error Rate and Channel Capacity of the H-function Fading Channel
No full textIn this paper, we derive closed-form exact and asymptotic expressions for the symbol error rate (SER) as well as channel capacity when communicating over the Fox's H-function fading channel. The SER expressions are obtained for numerous practically-employed modulation schemes in case of single as well as three multiple-branch diversity receivers: maximal ratio combining (MRC), equal gain combining (EGC), and selection combining (SC). The derived exact expressions are given in terms of the univariate and multivariate Fox H functions for which we provide a portable and efficient Python code. Since the Fox's H-function fading channel represents the most generalized fading model ever presented in the literature, the derived expressions subsume most of those previously presented for all the known simple and composite fading models. Moreover, easy-to-compute asymptotic expansions are provided so as to easily study the behavior of the SER and channel capacity at high values of the average signal-to-noise (SNR). The asymptotic expansions are also useful in comparing different modulation schemes and receiver diversity combiners. Numerical and simulation results are also provided to support the mathematical analysis and prove the validity of the obtained expressions
Development and Mechanical Performance of Sustainable Geopolymer Concrete
No full textA Master of Science thesis in Civil Engineering by Ghina M. Zannerni entitled, "Development and Mechanical Performance of Sustainable Geopolymer Concrete," submitted in May 2016. Thesis advisor is Dr. Adil Tamimi and thesis co-advisor is Dr. Kazi Fattah. Soft and hard copy available.Concrete production has always been a main source of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. These emissions come mainly from Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC), which releases an average of 0.83 tons of CO2 /t. Researchers have been trying to find a suitable substitute for the OPC as a binding material in concrete to meet sustainability requirements. Therefore, this study focuses on developing and evaluating sustainable geopolymer concrete. Three cementitious materials, Class F fly ash, ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS), and silica fume, were used with different combinations to replace all cement in the mix. A 10 M sodium hydroxide solution was prepared and used to activate the cementitious materials and form geopolymer paste. Seven different concrete mixes were developed and analyzed in terms of strength, durability, microstructural performance, and carbon footprint with the aim of choosing the geopolymer concrete mix with the best performance. A total of 102 concrete samples, including cubes, beams, and cylinders were casted and tested for compressive strength, tensile strength, flexural strength, and modulus of elasticity. A durability test was performed on the geopolymer concrete specimens using rapid chloride penetration test. A microstructural analysis was also performed on the specimens using scanning electron microscope (SEM) coupled with energy dispersive X-ray spectra (EDS) to evaluate the geopolymer concrete microstructure. The experimental results of geopolymer concrete were compared with a control mix that had 100% OPC. Results showed good performance of geopolymer concrete with 100% replacement of cement by GGBS in compressive strength, flexural strength, tensile strength, and chloride penetration tests. It showed a compressive strength of 36 MPa at 28 days without the need for heat curing, and a tensile strength that was higher than the control mix by 12%. SEM images showed high compactness and no cracks in the ambient cured specimens of the mix with 100% GGBS, and the EDS images showed high traces of both alumino-silicate and calcium silicate gels responsible for strength gain in geopolymer concrete. Furthermore, analysis of the concrete mixes showed that the use of geopolymer concrete has the potential to decrease the carbon footprint of concrete production for up to 60%.College of EngineeringDepartment of Civil EngineeringMaster of Science in Civil Engineering (MSCE
Translation of Metaphor in the Holy Quran
No full textA Master of Arts thesis in Translation and Interpreting MATI (English/Arabic/English) by Hani Elimam entitled, "Translation of Metaphor in the Holy Quran," submitted in November 2016. Thesis advisor is Dr. Basil A. Hatim. Soft and hard copy available.This thesis is about the translation of metaphor in the Holy Quran. It assesses the translation of metaphor in three English translations of the Quran, al-Hilali & Khan (2000), A. Ali (2001), and Y. Ali (2004). The different types of metaphor in both Arabic and English as well as the strategies of translating them are discussed. Metaphor in the Holy Quran has been investigated according to the theoretical stipulations posited by Arab rhetoricians, and in this thesis two authoritative interpretations (tafsirs) of the Quran are used in the analysis: al-Maḥalli & as-Suyuti (1974) and Firuzabadi (1992). Adopting Newmark's (1988) metaphor translation strategies, three different English translations of ten verses with different metaphorical images are assessed to ascertain their success in handling metaphor in the Quran. Each Quranic metaphor is first analyzed in its Arabic context according to the two tafsirs, then its three English translations are assessed. The analysis indicates that Newmark's third strategy, faithful translation, emerges as the most appropriate for rendering Quranic metaphor into English.College of Arts and SciencesDepartment of Arabic and Translation StudiesMaster of Arts in English/Arabic/English Translation and Interpreting (MATI
Implementation of the Hyperloop in the U.A.E. Eilin
No full textA poster submitted in ENG 207 taught by Dr. David Prescott for the Fall 2016 semester.The rapid increase in the UAE population has increased the need of transportation which results in Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions . Therefore, this may lead to devastating results if there was no transportation system that could contribute in decreasing the CO2 emissions. Therefore, the implementation of the Hyperloop could be a solution in resolving such a problem, which was envisioned by Elon Musk. It is a fast transportation system that can go up to 1220 kph which uses solar energy that makes it produce the power needed to allow it to be self-sufficient system and it is eco-friendly [1]
Estimating the Transformer Health Index Using Artificial Intelligence Techniques
Get PDFA Master of Science thesis in Electrical Engineering by Alhaytham Y. Al Qudsi entitled, "Estimating the Transformer Health Index Using Artificial Intelligence Techniques," submitted in June 2016. Thesis advisor is Dr. Ayman El-Hag. Soft and hard copy available.Transformer Asset Management (TAM) is concerned with the strategic activities that monitor and manage the transformer asset in the power system. The outcomes of TAM aim at setting proper monitoring methods and maintenance plans, with minimal cost of time and money. Monitoring methods in the form of electrical, chemical and physical tests are conducted to assess the transformer operational condition. The main part, which is directly related to the ageing of the transformer, is the oil-paper insulation system. The standard practiced monitoring test methods used by TAM companies are considered highly effective and useful. However, a full feedback of the transformer's condition requires a number of monitoring tests to be conducted. Such an exercise is considered expensive and difficult to implement for some of the tests. Moreover, the individual conducted tests cannot provide a comprehensive understanding of the transformer condition based on a single factor. Thus, the concept of the Health Index (HI) was developed to accurately assess the transformer's condition and effective remnant age. The main components involved in the HI computation are related to the transformers' insulation condition, service record and design. Finding the transformer HI is normally done through using several industry computational methods. The drawback of these methods is the large number of tests required to achieve high level of condition assessment accuracy. Thus, alternative Artificially Intelligent (AI) methods should be used to design the HI model. AI methods, such as Artificial Neural Networks (ANN), can learn the pattern of the response output (HI), based on a given set of input (monitoring tests). The use of feature selection technique such as stepwise regression, can lead to an effective reduction of redundant tests in the presence of more significant ones. The presented work produces a general cost-effective AI based HI predictor model that can be used by different utility companies. Such a predictor would be able to produce a HI output value with a 95% prediction accuracy using only a subset of the required input features. Furthermore, the model can produce the same prediction accuracy with a predicted costly feature as one of the input features.College of EngineeringDepartment of Electrical EngineeringMaster of Science in Electrical Engineering (MSEE
Acoustically activated release of estrone-targeted liposomes used for breast cancer treatment
No full textA Master of Science thesis in Chemical Engineering by Najla Mohammad entitled, "Acoustically activated release of estrone-targeted liposomes used for breast cancer treatment," submitted in January 2016. Thesis advisor is Dr. Ghaleb Al Husseini. Soft and hard copy available.Chemotherapy is frequently used in cancer treatment. However, side effects associated with this type of treatment are often detrimental to the patient's health. This thesis discusses a novel approach of delivering a cytotoxic drug to tumor without affecting adjacent healthy tissues, thus minimizing the adverse side effects of conventional chemotherapy. Liposomes are nanocarriers used to encapsulate and deliver certain cytotoxic agents (e.g., doxorubicin) to malignant cells. Moieties can be attached to the liposome surface to target them to specific cancer cells, by interaction with specific cell membrane receptors. Once there, a stimulus, such as ultrasound can be used as a trigger to release the drug from these nanovehicles. In this study, estrone-targeted and non-targeted liposomes, encapsulating the model drug calcein, were synthesized. Estrone-targeted liposomes are promising delivery vehicles for breast cancer treatment, since most breast cancer cells overexpress receptors for this hormone. The sizes of the liposomes were determined by dynamic light scattering, and both were characterized as large unilamellar vesicles, with non-significant differences between them. The release from the synthesized liposomes triggered by ultrasound waves at low frequency (20 kHz) and high frequency (1.07 and 3.24 MHz), at several power densities, was determined by monitoring the changes in calcein fluorescence, using a spectrofluorometer. The final release at low frequency did not show a significant difference between both types of liposomes, when compared at the same power density, but the initial release rate, measured as the fluorescence increase after the first US pulses at 6.08 and 11.83 W/cm2 power densities, was significantly higher for targeted liposomes. Increasing power densities showed a significant effect on release for both types of liposomes during the first two US pulses, but the final release for non-targeted liposomes showed a different response to power density as compared to targeted liposomes. Finally, the release for higher frequencies significantly increased with increasing power density, for both liposome type, but did not show a significant difference when both types were compared at the same power density and frequency.College of EngineeringDepartment of Chemical EngineeringMaster of Science in Chemical Engineering (MSChE
Hydrogen fusion for sustainable energy
No full textA poster submitted in ENG 207 taught by Dr. David Prescott for the Fall 2016 semester.The universal demand for energy is increasing in modern society. We rely on energy for almost in everything in our lives.This energy may be generated from fossil fuels. However, fossil fuels are insufficient and harmful to the planet. Researchers have developed some sustainable energy sources such as, wind, water and solar. As a matter of fact, these sources are not efficient. One solution to this problem is hydrogen fusion
The Impact of CLIL on Arabic, English and Content Learning of Arab High School Students in the UAE
No full textA Master of Arts thesis in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) by Marwa I. A. Younes entitled, "The Impact of CLIL on Arabic, English and Content Learning of Arab High School Students in the UAE," submitted May 2016. Thesis advisor is Dr. Fatima Badry. Soft and hard copy available.The present study investigated the impact of the Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) approach, as applied in a private school in the UAE, on students' L2 learning, L1 knowledge and content learning. It also analyzed secondary teachers' perspectives on the outcomes of CLIL programs regarding content and language learning. The first section of the study focuses on students' general language proficiency by examining one of their writing assignments in each language. First, the assignments were analyzed, to assess students' organization, vocabulary and language structure in English and Arabic writing skills. The second section focuses on students' academic performance reflected in the researcher' own rating as her grading in science (taught in English) and in social studies (taught in Arabic). Results revealed that the overall linguistic proficiency of the students in English was better than their proficiency in Arabic. The results also revealed a positive correlation between the students' academic achievement (content learning) and their linguistic proficiency in the language used in instruction. In addition, the lexical complexity analysis revealed that the students used a wide range of vocabulary and used more lexical words than function words in English compared to Arabic. Similarly, the syntactic analysis showed that students produced more coordinated clauses than subordinate clauses, thus inferring that structure did not benefit from the CLIL instruction. The third section presents teachers' responses to the questionnaire. The results showed that the majority of the participants felt that CLIL has a positive impact on L2 and content learning but were concerned about the negative impact of CLIL on the students' L1 knowledge.College of Arts and SciencesDepartment of EnglishMaster of Arts in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (MA TESOL