Date of Award
1-1-2023
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
M.S. in Engineering Science
First Advisor
Hakan Yasarer
Second Advisor
Matteo D'Alessio
Third Advisor
Hunain Alkhateb
School
University of Mississippi
Relational Format
dissertation/thesis
Abstract
Levees are fundamental infrastructures for reducing and mitigating flood risk during extreme weather events. Unfortunately, levees do not eliminate flood risk entirely due to floods potentially exceeding a levee’s capacity. Graphene has become a significant material for enhancing the mechanical properties of materials such as concrete and soil. The focus of this study was to determine methods to coat two materials commonly used in levee sites, sand and geotextile, with graphene to determine the stability of the coating on the materials under different flow conditions simulating real-life scenarios such as wet and dry periods. These graphene-coated materials could then be implemented during levee repair or retrofit to help mitigate contaminants commonly found in floodwaters. Graphene-coated sand was achieved using two different methods: sugar-coating and C-750 graphene coating. The effectiveness of the coating procedures used was investigated under continuous and intermittent flow conditions with vertical flow-through columns, using a digital microscope, scanning electron microscope, and analyzing basic water quality parameters before and after being exposed to water. Over the course of this thesis, successful graphene coating was achieved for the sand and geotextile. The sugar-coating method proved to be more successful for the sand, as grains were fully coated with a thin layer of graphene prior to flow conditions testing. The intermittent flow was proven to result in more coating removal for all materials more than continuous. Additionally, the graphene-coated materials increased pH levels as all measured sample levels were above the influent measurement of 6.9. Limitations of this study include failure to wash the C-750 coated sand samples prior to flow conditions testing, the percentage of graphene between the two sand coating methods is not the same, and samples were only taken in one location for the sand columns and geotextile. In the future, graphene-coated materials can be further investigated under more strenuous environments with varying flow conditions and influent water sources to evaluate their ability to reduce potential contaminants.
Recommended Citation
Power, Brennan, "Impact of Flow Conditions on Graphene-Coated Soil and Geotextile Materials" (2023). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 2713.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/etd/2713