Planetary gearboxes are key rotating motion transmission components used in many types of machinery. Syncrude Canada uses planetary gearboxes in their Fort McMurray oil sands field operations to transport stockpile for further downstream processing. There is currently no condition monitoring capability for these gearboxes. As such, unexpected failures are not detected in advance. Failure of these gearboxes results in costly bottlenecks and secondary damages. Routine inspections to check on condition of the gearbox, requiring the gearbox to be off-line, are also costly. This thesis investigates into condition monitoring for Syncrude's planetary gearbox through analyzing the data collected at a test rig that is modeled after the one used in field operations. The condition at specific points in the testing is analyzed, and the desired fault to be detected early is identified. The Time Synchronous Averaging (TSA) preprocessing technique is applied to the original data, and results show that it is superior for modeling purposes. Health indicators and statistical control charts are applied based on the TSA model, and show clear indication of deterioration.

Planetary gearboxes are key rotating motion transmission components used in many types of machinery. Syncrude Canada uses planetary gearboxes in their Fort McMurray oil sands field operations to transport stockpile for further downstream processing. There is currently no condition monitoring capability for these gearboxes. As such, unexpected failures are not detected in advance. Failure of these gearboxes results in costly bottlenecks and secondary damages. Routine inspections to check on condition of the gearbox, requiring the gearbox to be off-line, are also costly. This thesis investigates into condition monitoring for Syncrude's planetary gearbox through analyzing the data collected at a test rig that is modeled after the one used in field operations. The condition at specific points in the testing is analyzed, and the desired fault to be detected early is identified. The Time Synchronous Averaging (TSA) preprocessing technique is applied to the original data, and results show that it is superior for modeling purposes. Health indicators and statistical control charts are applied based on the TSA model, and show clear indication of deterioration.

Modern communication systems have increased the need for creative antenna solutions and low-profile circuit configurations that can offer high-quality performance at a low cost. The microwave and millimeter-wave frequency ranges have shown much promise allowing for increased data transmission rates while also offering smaller and compact designs. Specific applications for these wireless systems include radar, biomedical sensors, phased arrays, and communication devices. Planar antennas and circuits are generally well adopted for these applications due to their low profile and ease of fabrication. However, classic feeding techniques for planar structures can be problematic. Losses can also be observed in these conventional feeding schemes due to unwanted surface wave (SW) excitation. This can lead to reduced antenna and circuit efficiencies, and thus, diminished system performance. It is shown in this thesis that by the use of planar SW sources, or surface-wave launchers (SWLs), innovative and efficient antennas and feed systems are possible. Theoretical analysis and experimental verification for these SWLs are initially presented. New topologies and array configurations are also examined for directive beam steering at end-fire and at broadside. Additionally, studied structures include novel surface-wave antennas (SWAs) and leaky-wave antennas (LWAs) for 3-D beam pattern control in the far-field. A comprehensive design strategy is also examined which describes the implementation of these planar antennas using SWLs. This design strategy is based on a full-wave analysis of the modes that can be supported by the planar structures which include various planar-periodic metallic strip configurations and partially reflecting surfaces (PRSs) or screens. With appropriate conditions SWs can also be bound and guided for field channeling and power routing. For instance, novel planar metallic SW lenses and guidance structures are developed. Demonstrated applications include couplers, transition sections, as well as new planar circuits for power dividing/combining. To the author's knowledge, similar techniques have not been previously studied in the literature which allow for such controlled SW propagation and radiation. This way, SWs, which are normally considered an unwanted effect are used here to advantage. / Thesis (Ph.D, Electrical & Computer Engineering) -- Queen's University, 2013-09-30 08:29:04.107

Spacecraft thermal design is an inverse problem that requires one to determine the choice of surface properties that yield a desired temperature distribution within a satellite. The current techniques for spacecraft thermal design are very much in the frame of trial and error. The goal of this work is to move away from that procedure, and have the thermal design solely dependent on heat transfer parameters. It will be shown that the only relevant parameters to attain this are ones which pertain to radiation. In particular, these parameters are absorptivity and emissivity. We intend to utilize an optimal/analytical approach, and obtain a solution via optimization. As mentioned in the motivation, having a purely passive thermal system will greatly reduce costs, and our optimization solution will enable that. This topic involves heat transfer (conduction and radiation), spacecraft thermal network models, numerical optimization, and materials selection.

Scanning electron microscope, X-ray diffraction and photoluminescence measurements were conducted on Be(x)Zn(1−x)O nanowires prepared by electrochemical and hydrothermal deposition to study their morphology, structure and optical properties. The bowing parameter for nanowires prepared by electrochemical and hydrothermal deposition was found to be 4.8 eV and 3.6 eV, respectively. It was observed that for electrochemical deposition, it is more difficult for Be(2+) to incorporate in the crystal lattice than Zn(2+). The electrochemical deposited samples exhibited stronger deep level emissions, indicating a higher density of deep level states. A home-made Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) system was successfully constructed and calibrated with Al2O3:C and BeO. The OSL lifetime measurements on electrochemical deposited samples showed there were measurable OSL signals even on 500 nm long Be(x)Zn(1−x)O nanowires. The lifetimes of these OSL signals were found to decrease with increasing Be concentration. Be(x)Zn(1−x)O nanowires show considerable promise as new OSL materials.

Scanning electron microscope, X-ray diffraction and photoluminescence measurements were conducted on Be(x)Zn(1−x)O nanowires prepared by electrochemical and hydrothermal deposition to study their morphology, structure and optical properties. The bowing parameter for nanowires prepared by electrochemical and hydrothermal deposition was found to be 4.8 eV and 3.6 eV, respectively. It was observed that for electrochemical deposition, it is more difficult for Be(2+) to incorporate in the crystal lattice than Zn(2+). The electrochemical deposited samples exhibited stronger deep level emissions, indicating a higher density of deep level states. A home-made Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) system was successfully constructed and calibrated with Al2O3:C and BeO. The OSL lifetime measurements on electrochemical deposited samples showed there were measurable OSL signals even on 500 nm long Be(x)Zn(1−x)O nanowires. The lifetimes of these OSL signals were found to decrease with increasing Be concentration. Be(x)Zn(1−x)O nanowires show considerable promise as new OSL materials.

Recent evidence suggests that radiation may have a significant effect on tumour vascu lature in addition to damaging tumour cell DNA. It is well established that endothelial cells are among the first cells to respond after administration of ionizing radiation in both normal and tumour tissues. It has also been suggested that microvascular dysfunction may regulate tumour response to radiotherapy at high doses. However, due to limitations in imaging the microcirculation this response is not well characterized. Advances in high-frequency ultrasound and computation methods now make it possible to acquire and analyze 3-D ultrasound data of tumour blood flow in tumour micro-circulation. This thesis outlines the work done to test the hypothesis that single dose 8 Gy radio- therapy produces changes in tumour blood vessels which can be quantified using high- frequency power Doppler ultrasound. In addition, the issue of reproducibility of power Doppler measurements and the relationship between histopathology and power Doppler measurements have been examined.

Recent evidence suggests that radiation may have a significant effect on tumour vascu lature in addition to damaging tumour cell DNA. It is well established that endothelial cells are among the first cells to respond after administration of ionizing radiation in both normal and tumour tissues. It has also been suggested that microvascular dysfunction may regulate tumour response to radiotherapy at high doses. However, due to limitations in imaging the microcirculation this response is not well characterized. Advances in high-frequency ultrasound and computation methods now make it possible to acquire and analyze 3-D ultrasound data of tumour blood flow in tumour micro-circulation. This thesis outlines the work done to test the hypothesis that single dose 8 Gy radio- therapy produces changes in tumour blood vessels which can be quantified using high- frequency power Doppler ultrasound. In addition, the issue of reproducibility of power Doppler measurements and the relationship between histopathology and power Doppler measurements have been examined.

Spacecraft thermal design is an inverse problem that requires one to determine the choice of surface properties that yield a desired temperature distribution within a satellite. The current techniques for spacecraft thermal design are very much in the frame of trial and error. The goal of this work is to move away from that procedure, and have the thermal design solely dependent on heat transfer parameters. It will be shown that the only relevant parameters to attain this are ones which pertain to radiation. In particular, these parameters are absorptivity and emissivity. We intend to utilize an optimal/analytical approach, and obtain a solution via optimization. As mentioned in the motivation, having a purely passive thermal system will greatly reduce costs, and our optimization solution will enable that. This topic involves heat transfer (conduction and radiation), spacecraft thermal network models, numerical optimization, and materials selection.

Light transport simulation aims at the numerical computation of the propagation of visible electromagnetic energy in macroscopic environments. In this thesis, we develop the foundations for a modern theory of light transport simulation, unveiling the geometric structure of the continuous theory and providing a formulation of computational techniques that furnishes remarkably efficacy with only local information. Utilizing recent results from various communities, we develop the physical and mathematical structure of light transport from Maxwell's equations by studying a lifted representation of electromagnetic theory on the cotangent bundle. At the short wavelength limit, this yields a Hamiltonian description on six-dimensional phase space, with the classical formulation over the space of "positions and directions" resulting from a reduction to the five-dimensional cosphere bundle. We establish the connection between light transport and geometrical optics by a non-canonical Legendre transform, and we derive classical concepts from radiometry, such as radiance and irradiance, by considering measurements of the light energy density. We also show that in idealized environments light transport is a Lie-Poisson system for the group of symplectic diffeomorphisms, unveiling a tantalizing similarity between light transport and fluid dynamics. Using Stone's theorem, we also derive a functional analytic description of light transport. This bridges the gap to existing formulations in the literature and naturally leads to computational questions. We then address one of the central challenges for light transport simulation in everyday environments with scattering surfaces: how are efficient computations possible when the light energy density can only be evaluated pointwise? Using biorthogonal and possibly overcomplete bases formed by reproducing kernel functions, we develop a comprehensive theory for computational techniques that are restricted to pointwise information, subsuming for example sampling theorems, interpolation formulas, quadrature rules, density estimation schemes, and Monte Carlo integration. The use of overcomplete representations makes us thereby robust to imperfect information, as is often unavoidable in practical applications, and numerical optimization of the sampling locations leads to close to optimal techniques, providing performance which considerably improves over the state of the art in the literature.