Theses and Dissertations at Montana State University (MSU)
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Item A new instrument for determining strength and temperature profiles in snowpack(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Engineering, 1984) Dowd, Timothy FrancisThe purpose of this thesis project was the development of a new field instrument for determining strength and temperature profiles in snowpack. The standard tool now used for strength determination is the ram penetrometer, which is slow, cumbersome, inaccurate, and does not provide immediate results. Temperatures are generally taken with a dial stem thermometer in a snowpit wall, which is difficult to do accurately at specific intervals. The Digital Thermo-Resistograph was designed and built in an attempt to improve field snowpack data collection. The Digital Thermo-Resistograph is a portable microprocessor-based data acquisition system for quick and accurate field collection of snowpack compressive strength and temperature data. This was accomplished by building a probe with a load cell and thermistor, a small snow platform for probe position information, and a Z-80 microprocessor-based data acquisition system. The system provides information in digital form for every sampled point. A 64 x 240 dot matrix LCD graphic display unit is used to show complete strength and temperature profiles in the field. Provision is made to transfer these profiles to paper via an ordinary X-Y recorder for a permanent record of field data. Sufficient memory for the storage of 25 profiles is provided. The results of winter 1984 field tests are presented. The thermistor could not be made- to work accurately, and so was not integrated into the system. The Digital Thermo-Resistograph proved to be fast and reliable in collecting compressive snow strength information, which is measured from 0.0 to 2.55 kg/sq cm at five mm increments through the snowpack. Comparisons with the ram penetrometer are shown. Ideas for future developments are discussed.Item A continuum approach to sintering kinetics(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Engineering, 1984) Reid, Carl RicklefSintering is the process by which an initially unconnected collection of particles form bonds at their points of contact resulting in a single, solid framework. As this process proceeds, the relative density increases from that of the initial loose particle stack to a density which may approach that of the solid material. The material rearrangement which is necessary for densification is driven by a surplus of energy associated with the excess of free surface area in the material and also by the particular arrangement of this free surface. A continuum theory for granular (or porous) materials is proposed to describe the kinetics of sintering. The stresses which promote densification of the material are quantified in terms of two microstructural parameters associated with a granular material: the specific surface area and the mean curvature of the void-solid interface. The theory was applied to two materials which can be sintered: copper and snow. In the case of copper, the microstructural data were available and the stresses induced in the material as it sintered could be evaluated. In the case of snow, the microstructural data were not available so only an estimate of the stresses induced in snow as it sinters was found. The application of the theory to copper gave very good results. This indicates that the proposed theory is an accurate representation of the processes that occur in a material as it sinters. The result of applying the theory to snow indicates that the stresses produced by sintering are of comparable magnitude to other stresses found in a natural snowpack.