No / Nickel alloys including Inconel 718 are considered as challenging materials for machining. Laser beam machining could be a promising choice to deal with such materials for simple to complex machining features. The machining accuracy is mainly dependent on the rate of material removal per laser scan. Because of the involvement of many laser parameters and complexity of the machining mechanism it is not always simple to achieve machining with desired accuracy. Actual machining depth extremely varies from very low to aggressively high values with reference to the designed depth. Thus, a research is needed to be carried out to control the process parameters to get actual material removal rate (MRRact) equals to the theoretical material removal rate (MRRth) with minimum surface roughness (SR) of the machined surfaces. In this study, five important laser parameters have been used to investigate their effects on MRR and SR. Statistical analysis are performed to identify the significant parameters with their strength of effects. Mathematical models have been developed and validated to predict the machining responses. Optimal set of laser parameters have also been proposed and confirmed to achieve the actual MRR close to the designed MRR (MRR% = 100.1%) with minimum surface roughness (Ra = 2.67 µm). / The authors extend their appreciation to the Deanship of Scientific Research at King Saud University for funding this work through research group number RG-1440-026.

Yes / The ever-increasing demand for high-processing electronic systems has unequivocally called for improved microprocessor performance. However, increasing microprocessor performance requires increasing power and on-chip power density, both of which are associated with increased heat dissipation. Electronic cooling using fins have been identified as a reliable cooling approach. However, an investigation into the thermal behaviour of fin would help in the design of miniaturized, effective heatsinks for reliable microprocessor cooling. The aim of this paper is to investigates the simultaneous effects of surface roughness, porosity and magnetic field on the performance of a porous micro-fin under a convective-radiative heat transfer mechanism. The developed thermal model considers variable thermal properties according to linear, exponential and power laws, and are solved using Chebychev spectral collocation method. Parametric studies are carried using the numerical solutions to establish the influences of porosity, surface roughness, and magnetic field on the microfin thermal behaviour. Following the results of the simulation, it is established that the thermal efficiency of the micro-fin is significantly affected by the porosity, magnetic field, geometric ratio, nonlinear thermal conductivity parameter, thermogeometric parameter and the surface roughness of the micro-fin. However, the performance of the micro-fin decreases when it operates only in a convective environment. In addition, we establish that the fin efficiency ratio which is the ratio of the efficiency of the rough fin to the efficiency of the smooth fin is found to be greater than unity when the rough and smooth fins of equal geometrical, physical, thermal and material properties are subjected to the same operating condition. The investigation establishes that improved thermal management of electronic systems would be achieved using rough surface fins with porosity under the influences of the magnetic field. / Supported in part by the Tertiary Education Trust Fund of Federal Government of Nigeria, and the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement H2020-MSCA-ITN- 2016SECRET-722424.

In our age in which the use of electronic devices is expanding all over the world, their reliability and miniaturization have become very crucial. The thesis is based on the study of one of the most frequent failure mechanisms in semiconductor packages, the delamination of interface or the separation of two bonded materials, in order to improve their adhesion and a fortiori the reliability of microelectronic devices. It focuses on the metal (-oxide) / polymer interfaces because they cover 95% of all existing interfaces. Since several years, research activities at mesoscopic scale (1-10µm) have proved that the more roughened the surface of the interface, i.e., presenting sharp asperities, the better the adhesion between these two materials. Because roughness exhibits extremely complex shapes, it is difficult to find a description that can be used for reliability analysis of interfaces. In order to investigate quantitatively the effect of roughness variation on adhesion properties, studies have been carried out involving analytical fracture mechanics; then numerical studies were conducted with Finite Element Analysis. Both were done in a deterministic way by assuming an ideal profile which is repeated periodically. With the development of statistical and stochastic roughness representation on the one hand, and with the emergence of probabilistic fracture mechanics on the other, the present work adds a stochastic framework to the previous studies. In fact, one of the Stochastic Finite Element Methods, the Perturbation method is chosen for implementation, because it can investigate the effect of the geometric variations on the mechanical response such as displacement field. In addition, it can carry out at once what traditional Finite Element Analysis does with numerous simulations which require changing geometric parameters each time. This method is developed analytically, then numerically by implementing a module in a Finite Element package MSc. Marc/Mentat. In order to get acquainted and to validate the implementation, the Perturbation method is applied analytically and numerically to the 3 point bending test on a beam problem, because the input of the Perturbation method in terms of roughness parameters is still being studied. The capabilities and limitations of the implementation are outlined. Finally, recommendations for using the implementation and for furture work on roughness representation are discussed.

Die vorliegende Arbeit beschreibt die Berechnung und Optimierung von Silicon-On-Insulator-Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor-Field-Effect-Transistors, einschließlich noch nicht in Massenproduktion hergestellter neuartiger Transistorarchitekturen für die nächsten Technologiegenerationen der hochleistungsfähigen Logik-MOSFETs mit Hilfe der Prozess- und Bauelementesimulation. Die neuartigen Transistorarchitekturen umfassen dabei vollständig verarmte SOI-MOSFETs, Doppel-Gate-Transistoren und FinFETs. Die statische und dynamische Leistungsfähigkeit der neuartigen Transistoren wird durch Simulation bestimmt und miteinander verglichen. Der mit weiterer Skalierung steigende Einfluss von statistischen Variationen wird anhand der Oberflächenrauheit sowie der Polykantenrauheit untersucht. Zu diesem Zweck wurden Modelle für die Generierung der Rauheit erarbeitet und in das Programmsystem SIMBA implementiert. Die mikroskopische Rauheit wird mit der makroskopischen Bauelementesimulation kombiniert und deren Auswirkungen auf die Standardtransistoren und skalierte Bauelemente aufgezeigt. Zudem erfolgt eine ausführliche Diskussion der Modellierung mechanischer Verspannung und deren Anwendung zur Steigerung der Leistungsfähigkeit von MOSFETs. Die in SIMBA implementierten Modelle zur verspannungs-abhängigen Änderung der Ladungsträgerbeweglichkeit und Lage der Bandkanten werden ausführlich dargestellt und deren Einfluss auf die elektrischen Parameter von MOSFETs untersucht. Weiterhin wird die Verspannungsverteilung für verschiedene Herstellungsvarianten mittels der Prozess-simulation berechnet und die Wirkung auf die elektrischen Parameter dargestellt. Exponential- und Gaußverteilungsfunktionen bilden die Grundlage, um die mechanische Verspannung in der Bauelementesimulation nachzubilden, ohne die Verspannungsprofile aus der Prozesssimulation zu übernehmen. Darüber hinaus werden die Grenzfrequenzen der Logiktransistoren in Bezug auf die parasitären Kapazitäten und Widerstände und zur erweiterten MOSFET-Charakterisierung dargestellt.

Die vorliegende Arbeit beschreibt die Berechnung und Optimierung von Silicon-On-Insulator-Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor-Field-Effect-Transistors, einschließlich noch nicht in Massenproduktion hergestellter neuartiger Transistorarchitekturen für die nächsten Technologiegenerationen der hochleistungsfähigen Logik-MOSFETs mit Hilfe der Prozess- und Bauelementesimulation. Die neuartigen Transistorarchitekturen umfassen dabei vollständig verarmte SOI-MOSFETs, Doppel-Gate-Transistoren und FinFETs. Die statische und dynamische Leistungsfähigkeit der neuartigen Transistoren wird durch Simulation bestimmt und miteinander verglichen. Der mit weiterer Skalierung steigende Einfluss von statistischen Variationen wird anhand der Oberflächenrauheit sowie der Polykantenrauheit untersucht. Zu diesem Zweck wurden Modelle für die Generierung der Rauheit erarbeitet und in das Programmsystem SIMBA implementiert. Die mikroskopische Rauheit wird mit der makroskopischen Bauelementesimulation kombiniert und deren Auswirkungen auf die Standardtransistoren und skalierte Bauelemente aufgezeigt. Zudem erfolgt eine ausführliche Diskussion der Modellierung mechanischer Verspannung und deren Anwendung zur Steigerung der Leistungsfähigkeit von MOSFETs. Die in SIMBA implementierten Modelle zur verspannungs-abhängigen Änderung der Ladungsträgerbeweglichkeit und Lage der Bandkanten werden ausführlich dargestellt und deren Einfluss auf die elektrischen Parameter von MOSFETs untersucht. Weiterhin wird die Verspannungsverteilung für verschiedene Herstellungsvarianten mittels der Prozess-simulation berechnet und die Wirkung auf die elektrischen Parameter dargestellt. Exponential- und Gaußverteilungsfunktionen bilden die Grundlage, um die mechanische Verspannung in der Bauelementesimulation nachzubilden, ohne die Verspannungsprofile aus der Prozesssimulation zu übernehmen. Darüber hinaus werden die Grenzfrequenzen der Logiktransistoren in Bezug auf die parasitären Kapazitäten und Widerstände und zur erweiterten MOSFET-Charakterisierung dargestellt.

Tato dizertační práce je zaměřena na studium deformace nerovnosti uvnitř elastohydrodynamicky mazaného (EHD) kruhového kontaktu. Práce se zabývá studiem přechodu příčné nerovnosti přes kontaktní oblast, která je modelována pomocí numerických metod. Model dále uvažuje nenewtonské chování maziva. Použitý matematický model se skládá z parciální diferenciální rovnice druhého řádu pro řešení tlaku a integro-diferenciální rovnice pro řešení elastických deformací. Pro řešení tohoto modelu je použitá takzvaná multigrid (vícesíťová) metoda. Práce obsahuje popis matematického modelu EHD kontaktu a aplikované numeriké metody. Výsledky simulací jsou porovnány s experimentálně stanovenýma hodnotama tloušťky mazacího filmu. Deformace nerovnosti uvnitř kontaktní oblasti je studována pro různé provozní podmínky (střední rychlost, poměr proklzu) a různá vlastnosti maziva.

Traditionally, surface topography measurement was in the domain of quality control of engineering parts. With the advancement of manufacturing technology and affordable computational costs, different types of surfaces are produced with varied shapes and surface textures. These pose significant measurement problems, therefore, surface topography research is gaining momentum to achieve a better control of the surface. Coherence scanning interferometry (CSI) is one of the most common techniques used for measurement of surface topography. It is preferred over tactile and other non-contact techniques since it provides fast and accurate measurement with high vertical (~ 1 nm) and lateral (~1 μm) resolutions over larger areas without any damage to the surface. Essentially, CSI is treated as one dimensional (1D) superposition of the light waves from an object and a reference that generates a three dimensional (3D) interferogram. Secondly, despite the advantages, there is no standard configuration of CSI that can provide absolute surface topography measurement of an engineering part with multiple materials. An effective solution to this problem will be particularly useful in the field of semiconductor and bio-related industries where chips and instruments are made of many materials. In this Thesis, first, the CSI technique is analysed in terms of a wider theoretical framework of 3D linear filtering technique which shows the similarities among other seemingly disparate techniques such as confocal and optical coherence tomography. Due consideration to the spectral characteristic of the source and the effect of numerical aperture are given and important parameters such as vertical and lateral resolutions are computed to compare this theory with standard analysis methods. Additionally, it is shown that the 3D fringe pattern can be considered to be a superposition of a reference field and the scattered field from the top foil-like layer on the top the object. The scattered field from this foil object is dependent on the normal Fresnel reflection coefficients. Therefore, it explains the phase offset and the proportional height offset introduced by different materials, especially, metals. In an object, where multiple materials are present, each material introduces different phase to the fringe pattern and therefore, the surface topography of the entire object is altered. To overcome this problem, the optical polarising properties of the material are exploited. A novel configuration of polarisation sensitive CSI is presented where interferograms with orthogonal circular polarisations are recorded and analysed. The configuration, initially, needs to be calibrated with a material and after that at each point on the object, the refractive index and height offset can be calculated. Therefore, it can be dually used to identify unknown materials present on the object and also to compensate for the height offset introduced by each material to produce absolute surface topography of the entire object. The configuration provides good agreement with ellipsometric results for metals. Additionally, it retains the advantages of high vertical and lateral resolution same as other standard coherence scanning interferometers.

Thesis (MScEng (Civil Engineering))--University of Stellenbosch, 2006. / Stepped spillways constructed of roller compacted concrete (RCC) is a hydraulic and cost effective measure to dissipate energy of large water flows over the spillway of a dam. Stepped spillways, like other spillway types, have its limitations and a measure to improve the energy dissipation effectiveness is proposed. Two hydraulic models were constructed at the hydraulics laboratory of the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry (DWAF) in Pretoria, South Africa. The scales of the models were 1:20 and 1:30. The study proposes the use of triangular protrusions applied over the spillway surface. The protrusions have the same height as the steps, with the width of the protrusions varying. The triangular protrusions deflect the water sideways resulting in higher energy losses. The results indicate that the protrusions reduce scouring at the toe of the dam, thus increasing the roughness of the steps. It also indicate that aeration occur earlier than with normal stepped spillways. An optimal spacing, lateral and across the steps, are proposed. The construction of the protrusions is also discussed, as well as the cost implications. It is concluded that the protrusions are effective at a unit discharge up to 35 m3/s.m. This value is however dependent on the configuration of the apron downstream of the toe of the dam. It is proposed that protrusions be added on the downstream face of the dam on every second step, with one protrusion and then no protrusion alternating in the flow path. It is recommended that the protrusions be cast in situ.

Study on nanoparticle additives in multiphase systems (liquid, polymer) are of immense interest in developing new product applications. Critical challenges for nanoparticle additives include their synthesis, formulation and characterization. These challenges are addressed in three application areas: nanofluids for engine lubrication, ultrathin nanocomposites for optical devices, and nanoparticle size distribution characterization. Nanoparticle additives in oligomer mixtures can be used to develop extended temperature range motor oils. A model system includes poly(α-olefin) based oligomers with a modest fraction of poly(dimethylsiloxane) oligomers along with graphite as nanoparticle additive. Partition coefficients of each oligomer are determined since the oligomer mixture phase separated at temperatures less than -15 °C. Also, the surface of graphite additive is quantitatively analyzed and modified via silanization for each oligomer. Thus, upon separation of the oligomer mixture, each functionalized graphite additive migrates to its preferred oligomers and forms a uniform dispersion. Similarly, nanoparticle additives in polymer matrices can be used to develop new low haze ultrathin film optical coatings. A model system included an acrylate monomer as the continuous phase with monodisperse or bidisperse mixtures of silica nanoparticles deposited on glass and polycarbonate substrates. Surface (root mean squared roughness, Wenzel’s contact angle) and optical properties (haze) of these self assembled experimental surfaces were compared to simulated surface structures. Manipulating the size ratios of silica nanoparticle mixtures varied the average surface roughness and the height distributions, producing multimodal structures with different packing fractions. In both nanofluid and nanocomposite applications, nanoparticle additives tend to aggregate/agglomerate depending on various factors including the state of nanoparticles (powder, dispersion). A set of well-characterized ceria and titania nanoparticle products from commercial sources along with in-lab synthesized nanoparticles were studied via fractal theory. Fractal coefficients were obtained through two-dimensional images (from electron microscopy) and particle size distributions (from electron microscopy and dynamic light scattering). For some arbitrary collections of aggregated nanoparticle materials, the fractal coefficients via two-dimensional images correlated well to the average primary particle size. This complementary tool could be used along with conventional nanoparticle characterization techniques when not much is known about the nanoparticle surfaces to characterize agglomeration or aggregation phenomena.

A method for numerical simulation of train induced track vibration and wave propagation in subgrade has been proposed. The method uses a mass to simulate the bogie of a train and considers the effect of rail roughness. For this method, rail roughness is considered as a randomly generated signal and a filter is used to block the undesired components. The method predicts the particle velocity around the track and can be applied to many kinds of railroad trackbeds including traditional ballast trackbed and modern Hot mix asphalt (HMA) trackbed. Results from ballast and HMA trackbeds are compared and effects of HMA layer on damping track vibration and dissipating wave propagation are presented. To verify the credibility of the method, in-track measurements were also conducted. Site measurements included performing geophysical tests such as spectral analysis of surface wave test and seismic refraction test to determine the subsurface conditions at the test site. Ballast and HMA samples were tested in the laboratory by resonant column test to obtain the material properties. Particle velocities were measured and analyzed in the frequency domain. Results from in-track tests confirm the applicability of the numerical method. The findings and conclusions are summarized and future research topics are suggested.