• Experimental investigation of film-cooling hole performance 

  Dlamini, Zimase (University of Pretoria, 2020-06)

  Film cooling has, over the years, allowed for the operation of modern gas turbines at temperatures far exceeding the limits of the material properties of the turbine components. This has resulted in increased power output ...
• Testing and development of a solar-dish cavity receiver for the melting of zinc metal 

  Bezuidenhout, Pieter J.A. (University of Pretoria, 2024-08)

  Concentrating solar power technologies can be applied to reduce the cost and carbon footprint of zinc melting processes. This study aims to improve the knowledge related to small-scale solar melting using a dish concentrator. ...
• Handling improvement & rollover mitigation by influencing load transfer 

  Zulu, Bongani (University of Pretoria, 2024)

  The increasing popularity of SUVs in the global market has led to a corresponding increase in accidents and fatalities associated with these vehicles, particularly rollovers. Such incidents have raised concerns about the ...
• Development of an approach to incorporate proportional hazard modelling into a risk-based inspection methodology for an optimal inspection policy 

  Lelo, Nzita Alain (University of Pretoria, 2024-07-26)

  The health and safety of pressure vessels are a concern in the power, chemical, petrochemical, and other industries handling gases or liquids at high temperatures. The content of a pressure vessel usually is at a substantially ...
• Development of low-cost focus control systems for vacuum-membrane solar dish facets 

  McGee, Duncan Sean (University of Pretoria, 2024-07-25)

  Concentrating solar power (CSP) is a growing method of harnessing energy from the sun for generating electricity and process heat, especially in South Africa which boasts one of the most plentiful solar resources globally. ...
• The development of a linear cutting machine used to characterise fem modelling parameters for cutting ug2 reef 

  Du Preez, Ulrich (University of Pretoria, 2024-05)

  Mining is still an important industry in South Africa. Traditional mining methods involving drilling and blasting have steadily been replaced by mechanised mining systems in soft rock environments but not in hard rock ...
• Development and application of a photogrammetry based statistical shape analysis technique for condition monitoring of rotating structures 

  Gwashavanhu, Benjamin (University of Pretoria, 2024-05)

  Large rotating structures such as wind turbine blades require specialized measurement techniques for the purpose of online condition monitoring and assessment. Contact transducers such as accelerometers and strain gauges ...
• Sensitivity study of dynamic features to monitor the condition of vibrating screen isolators 

  Pienaar, Simeon (University of Pretoria, 2023-11-07)

  Vibrating screens form an integral part in the processing of bulk materials. The major components of a vibrating screen are purposefully designed and selected to contribute to the operational parameters required. The ...
• Automated learning rates in machine learning for dynamic mini-batch sub-sampled losses 

  Kafka, Dominic (University of Pretoria, 2020-12)

  Learning rate schedule parameters remain some of the most sensitive hyperparameters in machine learning, as well as being challenging to resolve, in particular when mini-batch subsampling is considered. Mini-batch sub-sampling ...
• Modelling and multi-objective optimisation of heat transfer characteristics and pressure drop of nanofluids in microtubes 

  Meyer, Marcel (University of Pretoria, 2020-02)

  A literature study was performed on the inner mechanisms of nanofluids and flow in microchannels. With ever changing technology, the need for smaller and more efficient devices has come about in the last couple of years. ...
• The shape optimisation of compliant structures to produce a desired snap-through load-placement path 

  Bouwer, Johann Mynhardt (University of Pretoria, 2023)

  The research problem completed in this thesis is to develop an efficient procedure to design the optimal shape of compliant mechanisms for specified load-deflection paths and snap-through behaviour. Here, computationally ...
• Latent approaches for unsupervised learning-based methodologies in gearbox fault diagnosis applications 

  Balshaw, Ryan Cameron (University of Pretoria, 2024-02-28)

  The monitoring of critical industrial assets is of fundamental importance to the longevity and sustainability of many industrial sectors. Vibration-based fault diagnosis methodologies seek to enhance the monitoring process ...
• Investigation of the effects of welding parameters on the tensile strength and fatigue life of the structural welded joints S355J2+N steel plate 

  Moloi, Vusimuzi Patrick (University of Pretoria, 2023)

  The railway industry wants to obtain structural welded joints that have optimum weld strength and fatigue life. Since the variance of welding parameters producing welding defects and weak structural integrity, there are ...
• Heat transfer of nanostructure coating on commercially micro-enhanced refrigerant tubes under pool boiling and falling film boiling conditions 

  Dickson, Dian (University of Pretoria, 2023)

  Refrigeration tube manufacturers commercially produce micro-enhanced tubes for the refrigeration industry with the aim to enhance outside heat transfer coefficients. A new engagement on commercially micro-enhanced tubes ...
• Predicting and analyzing geometric and morphing wing characteristics of the Grey-Headed Albatross 

  Winter, Alexander Ernest (University of Pretoria, 2023)

  Geometric and aerodynamic properties of various avian species allow engineers and biologists to gain valuable insight into the evolutionary honing of the capabilities of natural flyers. Very little research has been done ...
• The effect of large values of relative surface roughness on heat transfer and pressure drop characteristics in the laminar, transitional, quasi-turbulent, and turbulent flow regimes 

  Mahomed, Faiyaad (University of Pretoria, 2023)

  Numerous studies experimentally investigated the heat transfer and pressure drop characteristics of laminar, transitional, quasi-turbulent, and turbulent flow through smooth tubes, however, studies that investigate the ...
• Computational investigation into jet impingement boiling on pin-fin surfaces 

  Ludick, Luwan (University of Pretoria, 2023)

  Thermal management of densely packed chips is critical for developing prevailing chips. For years, conventional air-cooling techniques have been utilised for numerous microsystems where fans and heat sinks were used in ...
• Incorporating sensor measurements using data assimilation and machine learning to improve the accuracy of thermal finite element models 

  Hellberg, Karl Gustav (University of Pretoria, 2022)

  Complex systems are commonly encountered in engineering. Such systems have a degree of unpredictability, which can lead to undesirable results. The digital twin concept has been proposed as a method to obtain more information ...
• Experimental Investigation of Factors that Influence Bevameter Terrain Characterisation 

  Kruger, Ray (University of Pretoria, 2022)

  The Bekker‐Wong soil‐wheel interaction model has been widely adopted in the terramechanics field. This model traditionally requires the soil to be characterised using a Bevameter, which entails performing in situ plate ...
• Utilizing available time-varying operating condition information in learning-based methods for fault diagnostics of rotating machinery 

  Nortje, Abel Hermanus (University of Pretoria, 2022)

  Historical failure datasets for critical assets are rarely available. This makes it difficult to integrate condition monitoring techniques found in literature into industry, as these techniques are often either equipment-specific ...

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