No presente trabalho descreve-se: a determinação da permitividade dielétrica complexa através de medidas de fase; a aplicação de técnicas de correlação e análise em séries de Fourier, para a determinação da fase, amplitude, qualidade e deformação do sinal atrasado; os circuitos eletrônicos do medidor de fase e do oscilador de U.B.F. programável; a programação desenvolvida em FORTRAN IV e MACRO-ASSEMBLER para o computador PDP 11/45, utilizado para operar o medidor de fase e o oscilador de U.B.F. / In the present work we describe: the determination of the complex dielectric permittivity by phase shift measurements; the application of correlation and Fourier series analyses to determine the phase shift, amplitude, quality and deformation of the shifted signal; the designed electronic hardware of the phase meter and programmb1e ultra-low frequency oscillator; the developed software written in FORTRAN IV and MACRO- ASSEMBLER for PDP 11/45, to operate the phase meter

Ground penetrating radar (GPR) technology has existed for many decades, but it has only been in the last 20 to 30 years that it has undergone great development for use in near surface ground investigations. The early 1980's saw the first major developments in the application of GPR for pavements (i.e. engineered structures designed to carry traffic loads), and it is now an established investigation technique, with generic information included in several national standard guidance documents. Analysis of GPR data can provide information on layer depths, material condition, moisture, voiding, reinforcement and location of other features. Assessing the condition of pavements, in order to plan subsequent maintenance, is essential to allow the efficient long-term functioning of the structure and GPR has enhanced and improved the range and certainty of information that can be obtained from pavement investigations. Despite the recent establishment of the technique in pavement investigation, the current situation is one in which GPR is used routinely for pavement projects in only a minority of countries, and the specialist nature of the technique and the sometimes variable results that are obtained can mean that there is both a lack of appreciation and a lack of awareness of the potential information that GPR can provide. The fact that GPR is still a developing technique, and that many aspects of its use are specialised in their nature, means that there are also several technical aspects of GPR pavement investigations which have not been fully researched, and knowledge of the response of GPR to some material conditions has not been fully established. The overall aim of this EngD research project was to provide improved pavement investigation capabilities by enhancing the methodologies and procedures used to obtain information from GPR. Several discrete research topics were addressed through various research methods including a literature review, fieldwork investigations, experimental laboratory investigations and a review of previously collected data. The findings of the research allowed conclusions and recommendations to be made regarding improved fieldwork methodologies, enhancing information and determining material condition from previously collected GPR data, assessing the effect of pavement temperature and moisture condition on GPR data and also on managing errors and uncertainty in GPR data. During the EngD project, a number of documents and presentations have been made to publicise the findings both within the EngD sponsoring company (Jacobs) and externally, and an in-house GPR capability has been established within Jacobs as a direct result of the EngD project.

Certos solos não saturados ao serem umedecidos experimentaram bruscas reduções de volume, sob cargas praticamente constantes. O fenômeno é atribuído a um colapso de estrutura do solo, donde a designação de solo colapsível. Essa redução de volume pode ocorrer sob a ação do próprio peso do solo, mas é mais comum ocorrer quando o solo está sujeito a um carregamento adicional. Muitos dos problemas de recalques nas áreas urbanas e industrias na Região Sudeste do Brasil estão associados ao colapso dos solos. Deformações induzidas por umedecimento (colapso) têm sido reportados como decorrrentes de vazamentos oriundo das redes de esgoto e de abastecimento de água. Porém, pouco se sabe sobre a influência de vazamentos de diferentes efluentes químicos nesse fenômeno e em outros fenômenos eventualmente associados com a dispersão dos solos. Neste trabalho, analisa-se o comportamento colapsível de dois solos típicos do interior do Estado de São Paulo, considerando diferentes soluções como líquido inundante. Utilizaram-se substâncias orgânicas e inorgânicas com o intuito de verificar a interferência de algumas propriedades químicas destas soluções (pH, constante dielétrica, concentração e temperatura) no comportamento colapsível dos solos. Para evitar a ação dos fluídos químicos na dispersão dos solos, realizou-se o \"pinhole test\". Análises porosimétricas por intrusão de mercúrio foram utilizadas para identificar mudanças ocorridas nos poros das amostras após os ensaios edométricos. Para a análise estrutural, foram analisadas lâminas delgadas em microscópio óptico. Verificou-se que a presença de um agente dispersivo na solução tende a influenciar o potencial de colapso dos solos. A constante dielétrica, o pH e a concentração mostraram-se influentes para alguns fluídos de saturação. Os resultados dos \"pinholes tests\" revelaram que o fluxo das diferentes soluções não provocou a dispersão do solo. Ensaios de porosimetria ) por intrusão de mercúrio indicaram que as deformações por colapso resultam de uma redução do volume de macroporos. A análise das lâminas delgadas mostrou diferentes facetas dos processos ocorrentes em nível estrutural, como diminuição considerável dos poros e modificações no plasma para as amostras inundadas com as soluções defloculantes de hexametafosfato de sódio e hidróxido de sódio. / Some non saturated soils show considerable volume reduction when wetted under constant loads. The phenomenon is attributed to soil structure collapse, thus the designation collapsible soils;. Volume reduction upon wetting can arise under soil self weight, but it is more common when the soil is subjected to an additional load. Many settlement problems in urban and industrial areas in Southern Brazil are associated to soil collapse. Wetting induced strains (collapse) have been related to water and sewer leakage. However little is known about the influence of different effluent leakage from industrial plants in the phenomenon and in other related phenomenon such as soil dispersion. This work deals with the collapsible behavior of two typical soils from the state of São Paulo assessed by means of wetting both soils with different chemical solutions. Organic and inorganic solutions were applied, aiming to verify the interference of some physic-chemical properties of the solutions (pH, dielectric constant, concentration, temperature) in the collapse behavior of the soils. The soil dispersion was evaluated through pinhole tests, where the same solutions used in the collapse tests were applied in the leaching procedures. Thin sections and mercury porosimetry of the soils were used to study the soil structural features. It is shown that the dielectric constant and the pH tends to influence the collapse potential of the soils when some solutions are concerned. Mercury intrusion tests have revealed that collapse deformations are related to macropores volume reduction. Thin sections have shown some features of the occurring processes on a structural levei, such as pore reductions and changes in fine matrix for the soil samples soaked with sodium hexametaphosphate and sodium hydroxide solution.

A dispersão e absorção das ondas eletromagnéticas que se propagam através de um material dielétrico podem ser medidas ao longo de uma ampla região do espectro que se estende desde a região de freqüências extremamente baixas até a região óptica incluindo as faixas das microondas, objeto de interesse do presente estudo. Dentre os dielétricos, incluem-se os materiais cristalinos e amorfos isolantes e semicondutores. Os vidros de composições (1-x)(60\'P IND. 2\'\'O IND.5\'.\'40\'BA\'\'O).x(\'M\'\'O\'), (1-X)(25\'LI IND. 2\'\'O\'.25\'NA IND. 2\'\'O\'.50\'P IND. 2\'\'O IND. 5\').x(\'M\'\'O\') e 60\'B IND. 2\'\'O IND. 3\'.30\'BA\'\'O\'.\'10\'AL IND. 2\'\'O IND. 3\' onde x é a concentração (mol%) de óxido do metal de transição \'FE\' ou \'CO\' (\'M\'\'O\'), foram escolhidos para representar o comportamento das propriedades dielétricas dos vidros óxidos, tanto na região das freqüências mais baixas (0 - 100 MHz), como na faixa de microondas (2 - 30 GHz). Os íons de metais de transição, quando ocupam posições intersticiais da rede vítrea, como ocorre com os elementos modificadores alcalinos e alcalinoterrosos atuam como compensadores de carga junto às unidades estruturais tetraédricas eletricamente carregadas, formando dipolos permanentes locais, contribuindo para a constante dielétrica do vidro. A polarização desses dipolos, quando submetido ao campo elétrico oscilatório de uma onda eletromagnética, atinge valores maiores às freqüências mais baixas decrescendo gradualmente à medida que estas atingem a região de microondas. Um novo método alternativo foi desenvolvido para a medida da temperatura da transição vítrea (\'T IND. g\') utilizando técnicas de microondas. Mostramos que a posição da inflexão do gráfico da constante dielétrica em função da temperatura do vidro 25\'LI IND. 2\'\'O\'.25\'NA IND. 2\'\'O\'.50\'P IND. 2\'\'O IND. 5\' medida em 9 GHz, na faixa de temperaturas em torno de \'(270 \'+ OU -\' 10) GRAUS\' C coincidiu com o valor da \'T IND. g\' deste vidro obtida por análise térmica diferencial (DTA). Outro método também foi desenvolvido para monitorar o resfriamento do vidro em função do tempo a partir do estado liquido até a solidificação, registrando o sinal de microondas refletido sobre o material vertido no interior de um guia de ondas. Pudemos observar, também, mudanças no espectro de ressonância paramagnética eletrônica (EPR) do vidro fosfato contendo níquel após ter sido irradiado com diferentes níveis de potência das microondas, por cerca de duas horas. Este efeito pode estar relacionado com mecanismos de acoplamento de spins paramagnéticos. Os espectros de transmissão de microondas das amostras de vidros fosfatos contendo diferentes concentrações de cobalto, bário, ferro e manganês, obtidos por meio de uma varredura de freqüências desde 7 até 13 GHz, mostraram a presença de uma intensa atenuação do sinal próximo de 9,7 GHz. Essa atenuação diminuiu conforme aumenta a concentração dos modificadores. / The dispersion and absorption of electromagnetic waves that propagate through a dielectric material can be measured along a wide spectral region ranging from extremely low frequency to the optical region, including microwaves one, which is the subject of interest of the present study. Among dielectrics, there are crystalline and amorphous materials that can be either insulators or semiconductors. Glasses of compositions (1-x)(60\'P IND. 2\'\'O IND.5\'.\'40\'BA\'\'O).x(\'M\'\'O\'), (1-X)(25\'LI IND. 2\'\'O\'.25\'NA IND. 2\'\'O\'.50\'P IND. 2\'\'O IND. 5\').x(\'M\'\'O\') and 60\'B IND. 2\'\'O IND. 3\'.30\'BA\'\'O\'.\'10\'AL IND. 2\'\'O IND. 3\', where x is the concentration (mol %) of the \'FE\' or \'CO\' (\'M\'\'O\') transition metal oxide, were selected to investigate the behavior of the dielectric properties of oxide glasses in the lower frequency range (0 - 100 MHz) and in the microwave region (2- 30 GHz). When transition metal ions occupy interstitial positions in the glass matrix, as it happens with the regular alkaline and alkaline-earth modifier ions, they compensate the electrically charged tetrahedral structural units. As a consequence, local permanent dipoles are formed, contributing to the dielectric constant of the glass. The polarization of these dipoles, when submitted to an oscillating electromagnetic field, is higher at lower frequencies and decreases gradual1y as the frequency approaches the microwave region. An alternative new method was developed to measure the glass transition temperature (\'T IND. g\') using microwave techniques. It was shown that the inflexion position of the dielectric constant of the glass 25\'LI IND. 2\'\'O\'.25\'NA IND. 2\'\'O\'.50\'P IND. 2\'\'O IND. 5\' measured at 9 GHz, in the temperature range about \'(270 \'+ OU -\' 10) GRAUS\' C, coincided with the \'T IND. g\' value obtained by differential thermal analysis (DTA). Another method was also developed for monitoring the melt cooling as a function of time from the liquid to the solid state, by recording the reflected microwave signal crossing the material poured inside the wave guide. We observed, also, changes in the electronic paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectrum of phosphate glass containing nickel after being irradiated for two hours with several microwave power levels. This effect may be related with coupling and decoupling mechanisms among the spin clusters developed in the sample. The microwave transmission spectra of the phosphate glass samples containing different concentrations of iron, cobalt, barium, manganese and barium, obtained by a frequency sweep from 7 to 13 GHz, presented an intense attenuation of the signal near to 9,7 GHz. This attenuation was found to decrease with the increase of modifier content.

Certos solos não saturados ao serem umedecidos experimentaram bruscas reduções de volume, sob cargas praticamente constantes. O fenômeno é atribuído a um colapso de estrutura do solo, donde a designação de solo colapsível. Essa redução de volume pode ocorrer sob a ação do próprio peso do solo, mas é mais comum ocorrer quando o solo está sujeito a um carregamento adicional. Muitos dos problemas de recalques nas áreas urbanas e industrias na Região Sudeste do Brasil estão associados ao colapso dos solos. Deformações induzidas por umedecimento (colapso) têm sido reportados como decorrrentes de vazamentos oriundo das redes de esgoto e de abastecimento de água. Porém, pouco se sabe sobre a influência de vazamentos de diferentes efluentes químicos nesse fenômeno e em outros fenômenos eventualmente associados com a dispersão dos solos. Neste trabalho, analisa-se o comportamento colapsível de dois solos típicos do interior do Estado de São Paulo, considerando diferentes soluções como líquido inundante. Utilizaram-se substâncias orgânicas e inorgânicas com o intuito de verificar a interferência de algumas propriedades químicas destas soluções (pH, constante dielétrica, concentração e temperatura) no comportamento colapsível dos solos. Para evitar a ação dos fluídos químicos na dispersão dos solos, realizou-se o \"pinhole test\". Análises porosimétricas por intrusão de mercúrio foram utilizadas para identificar mudanças ocorridas nos poros das amostras após os ensaios edométricos. Para a análise estrutural, foram analisadas lâminas delgadas em microscópio óptico. Verificou-se que a presença de um agente dispersivo na solução tende a influenciar o potencial de colapso dos solos. A constante dielétrica, o pH e a concentração mostraram-se influentes para alguns fluídos de saturação. Os resultados dos \"pinholes tests\" revelaram que o fluxo das diferentes soluções não provocou a dispersão do solo. Ensaios de porosimetria ) por intrusão de mercúrio indicaram que as deformações por colapso resultam de uma redução do volume de macroporos. A análise das lâminas delgadas mostrou diferentes facetas dos processos ocorrentes em nível estrutural, como diminuição considerável dos poros e modificações no plasma para as amostras inundadas com as soluções defloculantes de hexametafosfato de sódio e hidróxido de sódio. / Some non saturated soils show considerable volume reduction when wetted under constant loads. The phenomenon is attributed to soil structure collapse, thus the designation collapsible soils;. Volume reduction upon wetting can arise under soil self weight, but it is more common when the soil is subjected to an additional load. Many settlement problems in urban and industrial areas in Southern Brazil are associated to soil collapse. Wetting induced strains (collapse) have been related to water and sewer leakage. However little is known about the influence of different effluent leakage from industrial plants in the phenomenon and in other related phenomenon such as soil dispersion. This work deals with the collapsible behavior of two typical soils from the state of São Paulo assessed by means of wetting both soils with different chemical solutions. Organic and inorganic solutions were applied, aiming to verify the interference of some physic-chemical properties of the solutions (pH, dielectric constant, concentration, temperature) in the collapse behavior of the soils. The soil dispersion was evaluated through pinhole tests, where the same solutions used in the collapse tests were applied in the leaching procedures. Thin sections and mercury porosimetry of the soils were used to study the soil structural features. It is shown that the dielectric constant and the pH tends to influence the collapse potential of the soils when some solutions are concerned. Mercury intrusion tests have revealed that collapse deformations are related to macropores volume reduction. Thin sections have shown some features of the occurring processes on a structural levei, such as pore reductions and changes in fine matrix for the soil samples soaked with sodium hexametaphosphate and sodium hydroxide solution.

A dispersão e absorção das ondas eletromagnéticas que se propagam através de um material dielétrico podem ser medidas ao longo de uma ampla região do espectro que se estende desde a região de freqüências extremamente baixas até a região óptica incluindo as faixas das microondas, objeto de interesse do presente estudo. Dentre os dielétricos, incluem-se os materiais cristalinos e amorfos isolantes e semicondutores. Os vidros de composições (1-x)(60\'P IND. 2\'\'O IND.5\'.\'40\'BA\'\'O).x(\'M\'\'O\'), (1-X)(25\'LI IND. 2\'\'O\'.25\'NA IND. 2\'\'O\'.50\'P IND. 2\'\'O IND. 5\').x(\'M\'\'O\') e 60\'B IND. 2\'\'O IND. 3\'.30\'BA\'\'O\'.\'10\'AL IND. 2\'\'O IND. 3\' onde x é a concentração (mol%) de óxido do metal de transição \'FE\' ou \'CO\' (\'M\'\'O\'), foram escolhidos para representar o comportamento das propriedades dielétricas dos vidros óxidos, tanto na região das freqüências mais baixas (0 - 100 MHz), como na faixa de microondas (2 - 30 GHz). Os íons de metais de transição, quando ocupam posições intersticiais da rede vítrea, como ocorre com os elementos modificadores alcalinos e alcalinoterrosos atuam como compensadores de carga junto às unidades estruturais tetraédricas eletricamente carregadas, formando dipolos permanentes locais, contribuindo para a constante dielétrica do vidro. A polarização desses dipolos, quando submetido ao campo elétrico oscilatório de uma onda eletromagnética, atinge valores maiores às freqüências mais baixas decrescendo gradualmente à medida que estas atingem a região de microondas. Um novo método alternativo foi desenvolvido para a medida da temperatura da transição vítrea (\'T IND. g\') utilizando técnicas de microondas. Mostramos que a posição da inflexão do gráfico da constante dielétrica em função da temperatura do vidro 25\'LI IND. 2\'\'O\'.25\'NA IND. 2\'\'O\'.50\'P IND. 2\'\'O IND. 5\' medida em 9 GHz, na faixa de temperaturas em torno de \'(270 \'+ OU -\' 10) GRAUS\' C coincidiu com o valor da \'T IND. g\' deste vidro obtida por análise térmica diferencial (DTA). Outro método também foi desenvolvido para monitorar o resfriamento do vidro em função do tempo a partir do estado liquido até a solidificação, registrando o sinal de microondas refletido sobre o material vertido no interior de um guia de ondas. Pudemos observar, também, mudanças no espectro de ressonância paramagnética eletrônica (EPR) do vidro fosfato contendo níquel após ter sido irradiado com diferentes níveis de potência das microondas, por cerca de duas horas. Este efeito pode estar relacionado com mecanismos de acoplamento de spins paramagnéticos. Os espectros de transmissão de microondas das amostras de vidros fosfatos contendo diferentes concentrações de cobalto, bário, ferro e manganês, obtidos por meio de uma varredura de freqüências desde 7 até 13 GHz, mostraram a presença de uma intensa atenuação do sinal próximo de 9,7 GHz. Essa atenuação diminuiu conforme aumenta a concentração dos modificadores. / The dispersion and absorption of electromagnetic waves that propagate through a dielectric material can be measured along a wide spectral region ranging from extremely low frequency to the optical region, including microwaves one, which is the subject of interest of the present study. Among dielectrics, there are crystalline and amorphous materials that can be either insulators or semiconductors. Glasses of compositions (1-x)(60\'P IND. 2\'\'O IND.5\'.\'40\'BA\'\'O).x(\'M\'\'O\'), (1-X)(25\'LI IND. 2\'\'O\'.25\'NA IND. 2\'\'O\'.50\'P IND. 2\'\'O IND. 5\').x(\'M\'\'O\') and 60\'B IND. 2\'\'O IND. 3\'.30\'BA\'\'O\'.\'10\'AL IND. 2\'\'O IND. 3\', where x is the concentration (mol %) of the \'FE\' or \'CO\' (\'M\'\'O\') transition metal oxide, were selected to investigate the behavior of the dielectric properties of oxide glasses in the lower frequency range (0 - 100 MHz) and in the microwave region (2- 30 GHz). When transition metal ions occupy interstitial positions in the glass matrix, as it happens with the regular alkaline and alkaline-earth modifier ions, they compensate the electrically charged tetrahedral structural units. As a consequence, local permanent dipoles are formed, contributing to the dielectric constant of the glass. The polarization of these dipoles, when submitted to an oscillating electromagnetic field, is higher at lower frequencies and decreases gradual1y as the frequency approaches the microwave region. An alternative new method was developed to measure the glass transition temperature (\'T IND. g\') using microwave techniques. It was shown that the inflexion position of the dielectric constant of the glass 25\'LI IND. 2\'\'O\'.25\'NA IND. 2\'\'O\'.50\'P IND. 2\'\'O IND. 5\' measured at 9 GHz, in the temperature range about \'(270 \'+ OU -\' 10) GRAUS\' C, coincided with the \'T IND. g\' value obtained by differential thermal analysis (DTA). Another method was also developed for monitoring the melt cooling as a function of time from the liquid to the solid state, by recording the reflected microwave signal crossing the material poured inside the wave guide. We observed, also, changes in the electronic paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectrum of phosphate glass containing nickel after being irradiated for two hours with several microwave power levels. This effect may be related with coupling and decoupling mechanisms among the spin clusters developed in the sample. The microwave transmission spectra of the phosphate glass samples containing different concentrations of iron, cobalt, barium, manganese and barium, obtained by a frequency sweep from 7 to 13 GHz, presented an intense attenuation of the signal near to 9,7 GHz. This attenuation was found to decrease with the increase of modifier content.

It is essential to properly monitor in-situ soil compaction properties during most earthwork construction projects. Traditional in-situ soil compaction monitoring methods are often limited in their application. As a result, new methods are being developed to more accurately measure in-situ compaction parameters. Time domain reflectometry (TDR) is one such method. Relying on the propagation of an electromagnetic wave through the soil sample, TDR can be used to measure both in-situ moisture content as well as soil dry density. Although TDR is relatively new to the field of geotechnical engineering, it has previously been implemented in other fields with success. Researchers at Purdue University have made several advances to further incorporate the use of TDR technology into the field of geotechnical engineering and as a result an innovative TDR measurement system has been developed for compaction control monitoring. The method was standardized in the form of ASTM D 6780 in 2002. Further advancements led to an improved method referred to as the Purdue one-step TDR method. Research has indicated that the ASTM TDR method is sufficiently accurate for application in compaction monitoring applications. A comparison between the ASTM TDR method and traditional methods was carried out to evaluate the accuracy of the TDR method to traditional methods. To further expand the application of the TDR method, a correlation was developed between the TDR spike driving process with the in-situ CBR test. A comprehensive review of previous research was conducted to examine recent advancements leading to the improved Purdue one-step method. A study was also performed to evaluate the effect of variable pore fluid conductivity on the calibration of the Purdue one-step method.

The flexible substrate was fabricated by BaTi4O9 mixed with O-Cresol Novolac Epoxy, polyether imide or surface active agents. The electrical and physical characteristic measured had been finished. The dielectric property influence of substrate was changed from percentage of BaTi4O9. The dielectric constant model was used by Jayasundere and Smith equation (J. S. eq.) and Lichtenecker equation (L. eq.) The study of crystalline grain, orientation and phase transfer temperature was used by SEM, XRD, and DSC, respectively. The dielectric constant and dielectric loss tangent of the composite was measured using an HP4294A impedance analyzer. The TM mode calculated by resonate frequency of the composite was measured using an HP4156C network analyzer. The dielectric constant was obtained to TM mode at high frequency. The result was showed that dielectric constant at low frequency of BaTi4O9, OCN Epoxy and PEI are 57, 5.8 and 3.65, respectively. OCN Epoxy is better than PEI of electrical characteristic. However, OCN Epoxy is not flexible. For this reason, the PEI was focused on electrical property at high frequency. The BaTi4O9 exhibited a dielectric constant of 39 at frequency during 3~10 GHz. The dielectric constant was measured of 10 at frequency during 2~16 GHz with 70 wt% PEI composite. The dielectric constant is higher than FR-4 substrate to 6.4 of the composite. The low dielectric constant is obtaining to reduce stuffing.

The objective of this thesis is to develop high dielectric constant nanoparticle dispersion for switchable aircraft antenna systems. Two steps were designed to achieve the objective. First, obtain high dielectric, high aspect ratio nanoparticles and disperse them in dielectric oil medium. Second, manipulate the particle-oil dispersion using an external alternating current (AC) electric field to increase the effective dielectric constant. In order to obtain high dielectric dispersions, different sizes and shapes of titanium dioxide (TiO2) and barium titanate (BaTiO3) nanoparticles were purchased and measured. However, after a number of experiments detailed in the thesis, it was found that none of the commercially available nanoparticles could satisfy our requirements for a minimum effective dielectric constant. Thus, to achieve the goals above, we synthesized high aspect ratio BaTiO3 nanowires with BaC2O4 and TiO2 powders as precursors using a molten salt method. The as-synthesized BaTiO3 nanowires were characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) mapping. The nanowires have a diameter ranging from 100 nm to 300 nm, and their lengths range from 1.5 micrometers to 5 micrometers. Mechanical stirring and bath sonication were used to obtain even colloidal dispersions. Different concentrations of BaTiO3 nanoparticles well dispersed in the oil medium were successfully manipulated using AC electric field. To monitor the change in microstructure of BaTiO3 nanoparticles, optical microscopy was used to observe the alignment of particles in the sample under the applied electric field. Various parameters including the magnitude, frequency, and duration of the electric field, and the concentration of BaTiO3 nanoparticles were investigated to achieve the optimal alignment of nanoparticles. The experimental results were validated by theoretical analysis using Maxwell-Garnett mixing rule. It was demonstrated that the effective dielectric constant of the colloidal dispersions would increase with the increase of the magnitude, frequency and duration of applied electric field. Synthesized BaTiO3 nanowire-based dispersions exhibit significant enhancement of the effective dielectric constant compared to other colloidal materials. The effective dielectric constant of 5 wt percent BaTiO3-oil dispersions could reach up to 10 when aligned at 1000 V/mm electric field at 1 kHz frequency for 1 hour.

In microwave communications, the main aspects for affecting the dielectric losses in the materials are relating to the dielectric properties and the radiation frequencies. Normally, the different dielectric materials will lead to the different losses and reflections for microwave frequencies. To evaluate the dielectric properties from the different materials plays an essential role in the microwave engineering. There are many approaches can be used to measure the dielectric materials, e.g. capacitor methods, transmission line methods, cavity resonator methods, open cavity methods and so on. The cavity resonator method is one of the most popular ways for measuring the dielectric materials. In this thesis, some of the techniques will be reviewed, and the TM010 mode cylindrical cavity resonator with perturbation technique will be used for determining the dielectric properties. The design and measurements will be presented in both simulations and practice. With 1.2GHz cavity resonator, in the simulations, the dielectric permittivity for Teflon is measured as 2.09-0.0023i and 2.12-0.0116 in copper cavity and ferromagnetic cavity. Finally the sample is measured as 3.83-0.12i in practice.