abstract: Stereolithography files (STL) are widely used in diverse fields as a means of describing complex geometries through surface triangulations. The resulting stereolithography output is a result of either experimental measurements, or computer-aided design. Often times stereolithography outputs from experimental means are prone to noise, surface irregularities and holes in an otherwise closed surface. A general method for denoising and adaptively smoothing these dirty stereolithography files is proposed. Unlike existing means, this approach aims to smoothen the dirty surface representation by utilizing the well established levelset method. The level of smoothing and denoising can be set depending on a per-requirement basis by means of input parameters. Once the surface representation is smoothened as desired, it can be extracted as a standard levelset scalar isosurface. The approach presented in this thesis is also coupled to a fully unstructured Cartesian mesh generation library with built-in localized adaptive mesh refinement (AMR) capabilities, thereby ensuring lower computational cost while also providing sufficient resolution. Future work will focus on implementing tetrahedral cuts to the base hexahedral mesh structure in order to extract a fully unstructured hexahedra-dominant mesh describing the STL geometry, which can be used for fluid flow simulations. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Aerospace Engineering 2014

Yes / Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a growing global crisis with an increasing number of untreatable or exceedingly difficult-to-treat bacterial infections, due to their growing resistance to existing drugs. It is predicted that AMR will be the leading cause of death by 2050. In addition to ongoing efforts on preventive strategies and infection control, there is ongoing research towards the development of novel vaccines, antimicrobial agents, and optimised diagnostic practices to address AMR. However, developing new therapeutic agents and medicines can be a lengthy process. Therefore, there is a parallel ongoing worldwide effort to develop materials for optimised drug delivery to improve efficacy and minimise AMR. Examples of such materials include functionalisation of surfaces so that they can become self-disinfecting or non-fouling, and the development of nanoparticles with promising antimicrobial properties attributed to their ability to damage numerous essential components of pathogens. A relatively new class of materials, metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), is also being investigated for their ability to act as carriers of antimicrobial agents, because of their ultrahigh porosity and modular structures, which can be engineered to control the delivery mechanism of loaded drugs. Biodegradable polymers have also been found to show promising applications as antimicrobial carriers; and, recently, several studies have been reported on delivery of antimicrobial drugs using composites of MOF and biodegradable polymers. This review article reflects on MOFs and polymer-MOF composites, as carriers and delivery agents of antimicrobial drugs, that have been studied recently, and provides an overview of the state of the art in this highly topical area of research.

In many outage management systems, customer trouble calls have been used as the primary source of outages for distribution level outages. However the information from the trouble calls is not completely reliable as they lead to problems like okay-on-arrival reports, over escalation and extended outage times for the customers. But with the recent developments in communication and information technologies, utilities started to adopt Automated Meter Reading systems for their operational needs. In this thesis, an algorithm is developed and implemented that makes efficient use information available from the customers and powerline communication based AMR systems for outages. The work has taken advantage of the polling feature of powerline based AMR systems to identify the scope of the outage. The polling procedure uses the on demand read feature of the AMR systems that allows the utility to communicate directly with the customers. The meters in the neighborhood of the trouble calls are polled to identify the affected customers and the outages are located by back tracking to common point. In the first part of the algorithm, the distribution system is modeled as a tree and the meters are strategically polled based on the customers reporting the outages. The outage areas are identified and escalated to find the actual outage location. The crew can be directed to the outage scene to fix the cause of the outage. The algorithm discusses the rules to identify single outages, single customer outages and multiple outages. The algorithm was tested on different test systems representing distribution systems of various sizes. The algorithm is tested for different outage scenarios for all the test cases.

Dans cette thèse, nous présentons la conception et les performances de capteurs magnétiques basés sur les technologies AMR et GMR en vue d'une utilisation dans la navigation. Afin d'obtenir une sensibilité et une linéarité optimales à champ nul, le design des capteurs utilise des barberpoles et un pont de wheatstone pour l'un et prend avantage des différentes anisotropies et couplages pour l'autre. Les capteurs sont fabriqués par pulvérisations cathodiques et photolithographies et leurs performances en terme de sensibilité, de linéarité et de bruit sont testées et comparées. La conception de gradiomètres nécessaires à la navigation magnéto-inertielle repose sur l'utilisation de magnétorésistances placées aux extrémités du capteur reliées par un pont de WheatStone dont la sortie est proportionnelle au gradient du champ magnétique. Des concentrateurs de Flux destinés à amplifier le champ afin d'améliorer la sensibilité sont conçus et testés sur les capteurs. Un concentrateur de flux destiné à amplifier un champ ayant la forme du gradient est proposé comme amélioration des gradiomètres. Des solutions innovantes pour le swithching d'anisotropie et la compensation d'offset utilisant l'effet Hall de spin et le couplage spin-transfer sont étudiées. Dans cette optique, un dispositif de mesure du couplage spin-transfer appelé spin-torque-bridge est conçu et utilisé pour étudier l'effet Hall de spin et le spin transfer dans différentes multi-couches. / In this work, we present the conception and the performances of AMR and GMR-based sensors for navigation applications In order to obtain the best sensitivity and linearity at zero field, the design include barberpoles and a Wheatstone bridge for the first and takes advantage of the different anisotropies and coupling for the other. The sensor are fabricated by magnetron sputtering and photolithography and their performances in terms of sensitivity, linearity and noise are compared. The concept of gradiometers used for magneto-inertial navigation is based on the utilisation of magnetoresistances placed at each extremity of the sensor connected by a wheatstone bridge whose output is proportional to the gradient of the magnetic field. Flux concentrators designed to amplify the incoming field in order to improve the sensitivity are fabricated and tested on the sensors. A flux concentrator designed to amplify a magnetic gradient is proposed as an improvement of the gradiometers. Innovant solutions for low consumption anisotropy switching and offset compensation are being experimented using spin Hall effect and spin transfer torque with adjacent Pt and AuW layers. In that regard a spin torque measurement device: the spin-torque-bridge, is designed and used to study the spin hall effect and the spin transfer couplings in different multi layers.

Antibody-mediated rejection (AMR) is the main cause of the kidney graft dysfunction and its failure after transplantation. Antibodies lead to vascular damage that is either acute or chronic and manifests as sudden or progressive graft dysfunction. Risk factors for development of AMR are time spent on haemodialysis, retransplantation, previous sensitisation against HLA antigens, and persistence of panel-reactive antibodies. Diagnosis is based on detection of deposits of C4d component of complement in peritubular capilaries and presence of donor-specific antibodies (DSA). We can also observe injury caused by antibodies against non-HLA antigens without detection of anti-HLA DSA. Use of "molecular microscope" can be beneficial in diagnosis and stratification of the risk of graft failure. High expression of ENDAT (endothelial activation and injury transcript) improves prediction of kidney graft failure more than C4d staining. Based on gene expression, the AMR scoring system correlates with the diagnosis of AMR and predicts graft loss in the future. The main goal of our work was to recognize patients at risk of AMR. In our study, we confirmed the efficacy and safety of acute AMR therapy with plasmaphereses and administration of intravenous immunoglobulins for improving outcomes of kidney transplantation....

Dans le contexte de la dynamique moléculaire classique appliquée à la physique de la matière condensée, les chercheurs du CEA étudient des phénomènes physiques à une échelle atomique. Pour cela, il est primordial d'optimiser continuellement les codes de dynamique moléculaire sur les dernières architectures de supercalculateurs massivement parallèles pour permettre aux physiciens d'exploiter la puissance de calcul pour reproduire numériquement des phénomènes physiques toujours plus complexes. Cependant, les codes de simulations doivent être adaptés afin d'équilibrer la répartition de la charge de calcul entre les cœurs d'un supercalculateur.Pour ce faire, dans cette thèse nous proposons d'incorporer la méthode de raffinement de maillage adaptatif dans le code de dynamique moléculaire ExaSTAMP. L'objectif est principalement d'optimiser la boucle de calcul effectuant le calcul des interactions entre particules grâce à des structures de données multi-threading et vectorisables. La structure permet également de réduire l'empreinte mémoire de la simulation. La conception de l’AMR est guidée par le besoin d'équilibrage de charge et d'adaptabilité soulevé par des ensembles de particules se déplaçant très rapidement au cours du temps.Les résultats de cette thèse montrent que l'utilisation d'une structure AMR dans ExaSTAMP permet d'améliorer les performances de celui-ci. L'AMR permet notamment de multiplier par 1.31 la vitesse d'exécution de la simulation d'un choc violent entraînant un micro-jet d'étain de 1 milliard 249 millions d'atomes sur 256 KNLs. De plus, l'AMR permet de réaliser des simulations qui jusqu'à présent n'étaient pas concevables comme l'impact d'une nano-goutte d'étain sur une surface solide avec plus 500 millions d'atomes. / In the context of classical molecular dynamics applied to condensed matter physics, CEA researchers are studying complex phenomena at the atomic scale. To do this, it is essential to continuously optimize the molecular dynamics codes of recent massively parallel supercomputers to enable physicists to exploit their capacity to numerically reproduce more and more complex physical phenomena. Nevertheless, simulation codes must be adapted to balance the load between the cores of supercomputers.To do this, in this thesis we propose to incorporate the Adaptive Mesh Refinement method into the ExaSTAMP molecular dynamics code. The main objective is to optimize the computation loop performing the calculation of particle interactions using multi-threaded and vectorizable data structures. The structure also reduces the memory footprint of the simulation. The design of the AMR is guided by the need for load balancing and adaptability raised by sets of particles moving dynamically over time.The results of this thesis show that using an AMR structure in ExaSTAMP improves its performance. In particular, the AMR makes it possible to execute 1.31 times faster than before the simulation of a violent shock causing a tin microjet of 1 billion 249 million atoms on 256 KNLs. In addition, simulations that were not conceivable so far can be carried out thanks to AMR, such as the impact of a tin nanodroplet on a solid surface with more than 500 million atoms.

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to identify the current transport flow for circuit board racks and to investigate the potential implementation of an automated solution for the transportation of circuit board racks in order to increase efficiency in the flow. The research questions answered during this study were: What does the transport flow for circuit board racks look like today?  What could an automated transport flow for circuit board racks look like?  Is an automated transport flow for circuit board racks a sufficient solution to improve efficiency in the flow? Theoretical framework: The study applied several different theories, with waste being a central part. This, in combination with bottleneck identification, mapping, and automation, has been theories used to study the flow and find improvements. Method: A case study was conducted to analyze the transport flow of circuit board racks and identify potential improvements. The method included a literature review, observations, interviews, brainstorming, Value Stream Mapping, and spaghetti diagrams to collect and analyze data from different perspectives. Results: With a combination of theories and empirical data, an analysis of the current transport flow for the circuit board racks could be made. Furthermore, bottlenecks and waste were identified, and automated transport solutions linked to AMR systems were found as a potential solution for a more efficient transport flow. The result showed that an AMR system is the most advantageous solution. However, the study showed that the automated solution was not sufficient without eliminating the bottlenecks in order to generate maximum efficiency in the automated transport flow. Implications: This study has the implication of highlighting the challenges and opportunities of a more efficient transport flow using AMR systems. This includes an improved working environment, reduced work-related injuries, increased production efficiency by eliminating bottlenecks, and waiting times.

O foco principal do presente trabalho é estender uma metodologia numérica embasada no uso de uma técnica de refinamento adaptativo de malha (AMR - Adaptive Mesh Refinement) e no uso de esquemas temporais multipasso implícitos-explícitos (IMEX) a aplicações envolvendo escoamentos reativos com baixo número de Mach. Originalmente desenvolvida para escoamentos incompressíveis, a formulação euleriana daquela metodologia emprega as equações de Navier-Stokes como modelo matemático para descrever a dinâmica do escoamento e o Método da Projeção, baseado no divergente nulo da velocidade do escoamento, para tratar o acoplamento pressão-velocidade presente na formulação com variáveis primitivas. Tal formulação euleriana original é estendida para acomodar novas equações agregadas ao modelo matemático da fase contínua: conservação de massa, fração de mistura (para representar as concentrações de combustível e oxidante), e energia. Além disso, uma equação termodinâmica de estado é integrada ao modelo matemático estendido e é empregada juntamente com a equação de conservação de massa para produzir uma nova restrição (não nula desta vez) ao divergente do campo de velocidade. Assume-se que o escoamento ocorre a baixo número de Mach (hipótese principal). O Método de Diferença Finita é empregado na discretização espacial das variáveis eulerianas de estado, empregando-se uma malha AMR. As vantagens e dificuldades desta extensão são cuidadosamente investigadas e reportadas. Pela importância, do ponto de vista de aplicações práticas, alguns estudos numéricos preliminares envolvendo escoamentos incompressíveis turbulentos com sprays são realizados (as gotículas compõem a fase dispersa). Num primeiro momento, apenas sprays com gotículas inertes são considerados. Embora ainda apenas iniciais, tais estudos já se mostram importantes pois identificam com clareza, em primeira instância, algumas das dificuldades inerentes a serem enfrentadas ao se tratar dentro desta nova metodologia um conjunto relativamente grande de gotículas lagrangianas. No caso de escoamentos incompressíveis turbulentos com sprays, a integração temporal se dá com métodos IMEX para a fase contínua e com o Método de Euler Modificado para a fase dispersa. A turbulência, em todos os casos que a envolvem, é tratada pelo modelo de Simulação das Grandes Escalas (LES - Large Eddy Simulation). As simulações computacionais se dão em um domínio tridimensional, um parelelepípedo, e empregam uma extensão (resultante do presente trabalho) do código AMR3D, um programa de computador sequencial implementado em Fortran90, oriundo de uma colaboração de longa data entre o IME-USP e o MFLab/FEMEC-UFU (Laboratório de Dinâmica de Fluidos da Universidade Federal de Uberlândia). O processamento foi efetuado no LabMAP (Laboratório da Matemática Aplicada do IME-USP). / It is the main goal of the present work to extend a numerical methodology based on both the use of an adaptive mesh refinement technique (AMR) and the use of a multistep, implicit-explicit time-step strategy (IMEX) to applications involving low Mach number reactive flows. Originally developed for incompressible flows, the Eulerian formulation of that methodology employs the Navier-Stokes equations to model the flow dynamics and the Projection Method, based on the vanishing divergence of the velocity field, to tackle the pressure-velocity coupling present when using primitive variables. That Eulerian formulation is extended by adding a new set of equations to the original mathematical model, describing the various properties of the continuous phase: mass conservation, mixture fraction (to represent concentrations of fuel and oxidizer) and energy. Also, a thermodynamic equation of state is included into the extended mathematical model which is employed, along with the equation for the conservation of mass, to derive a new restriction (this time, different from zero) to the divergence of the velocity field. It is assumed that one is dealing with a low Mach number flow (the main hipothesis). The discretization in space employs the Finite Difference Method for the Eulerian variables on a AMR mesh. Advantages and difficulties of such an extension of the previous methodology are carefully investigated and reported. For its importance in the real-world applications, few preliminary numerical studies involving incompressible turbulent flows with sprays are performed (the droplets form what it is called the dispersed phase). Only sprays formed by inert droplets are considered. Even though initial yet, such studies are most important because they clearly identify, first hand, certain difficulties in handling relatively large sets of Lagrangian droplets in the context of this new AMR methodology. In the context of turbulent incompressible flows with sprays, the overall time-step scheme is given by IMEX methods for the continuous phase and by the Improved Euler Method for the dispersed phase. In all the cases in which it is considered, turbulence is modeled by the Large Eddy Simulation (LES) model. The computational simulations are held in a tridimensional domain given by a paralellepiped and all of them employ the extention (resulting of the present work) of the AMR3D code, a sequencial computer program implemented in Fortran90, whose origin is the collaborative work between IMEUSP and MFLab/FEMEC-UFU (Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, Federal University of Uberlândia). Computations were performed at LabMAP (Applied Mathematics Laboratory at IME-USP).

On s'interesse aux problèmes elliptiques avec coéficients variables à travers des interfaces intérieures. La solution et ses dérivées normales peuvent subir des variations significatives à travers les frontières intérieures. On présente une méthode compacte aux différences finies sur des maillages adaptés de type octree conçues pour une résolution en parallèle. L'idée principale est de minimiser l'erreur de troncature sur la discretisation locale, en fonction de la configuration du maillage, en rapprochant une convergence à l'ordre deux. On montrera des cas 2D et 3D des résultat liés à des applications concrètes. / We consider problems governed by a linear elliptic equation with varying coéficients across internal interfaces. The solution and its normal derivative can undergo significant variations through these internal boundaries. We present a compact finite-difference scheme on a tree-based adaptive grid that can be efficiently solved using a natively parallel data structure. The main idea is to optimize the truncation error of the discretization scheme as a function of the local grid configuration to achieve second order accuracy. Numerical illustrations relevant for actual applications are presented in two and three-dimensional configurations.

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico / Anisotropic magnetoresistance (AMR) consists in the change of the resistivity of a ferromagnetic metal as a function of the angle between the current and the magnetization, what makes AMR-based sensors promising to measure both angular and linear positions. These devices usually have a structure of Ta/Ni81Fe19/Ta and the thickness of the Ni81Fe19 layer is about 10 nm so as to reduce the demagnetization field parallel to surface. In order to acquire high magnetic field sensitivity (S) and low Barkhausen noise the films should have high AMR values (ΔDR=R) and low coercivity. However, during fabrication, the structures are often exposed to temperatures above 200oC, what changes the characteristics of the interfaces and reduces ΔDR=R. On the other hand, ΔDR=R and S can be remarkably enhanced by insertion of nano-oxide layers that act like difusion barriers on the interfaces. The enhancement is mainly attributed to the large electron specular reflection at the flatter interfaces. In this work we have proposed to verify the possibility of enhance ΔDR=R and S in structures with good thermal stability just by adding an oxidation step after growthing each layer, forming TaOx. We studied the influence of the deposition parameters in the structural and magnetic properties of the samples and otimized the growth of thin films of Ni81Fe19 by magnetron sputtering. We also verified the influence of the annealing in the structural properties of nanostructures of Ta/Ni81Fe19/Ta exposed or not to oxidation on the interfaces. We observed that the TaOx nano-oxide layer can work as expected, however the poor cristalinity of the Ni81Fe19 layers leads to AMR values lower than the literature ones. / Magnetorresistência anisotrópica (AMR) consiste na variação da resistividade de um metal ferromagnético como uma função do ângulo entre a corrente e a magnetização, o que faz com que sensores que utilizam este efeito sejam promissores para medidas de posição tanto angulares quanto lineares. Estes dispositivos normalmente possuem a estrutura Ta/Ni81Fe19/Ta com a espessura da camada de Ni81Fe19 sendo da ordem de 10 nm, para reduzir o campo desmagnetizante paralelo à superfície. Para obter alta sensibilidade (S) e baixos níveis de ruído Barkhausen os filmes devem apresentar alta variação percentual da AMR (ΔDR=R) e baixa coercividade. Entretanto, durante o processo de fabricação as estruturas frequentemente são expostas à temperaturas maiores que 200oC, o que pode alterar as características das interfaces e reduzir ΔDR=R. Por outro lado, ΔDR=R e S podem ser significativamente incrementados através da inserção de nanocamadas de óxidos que atuam como barreiras contra difusão nas interfaces. O aumento é atribuído ao maior nível de reflexões eletrônicas especulares nas interfaces mais lisas. Neste trabalho, propomos verificar se é possível aumentar ΔDR=R e S para estruturas com boa estabilidade térmica simplesmente acrescentando uma etapa de oxidação após o crescimento de cada camada, pela formação de TaOx. Estudamos a influência dos parâmetros de deposição nas propriedades estruturais e magnéticas das amostras e otimizamos o crescimento de filmes finos de Ni81Fe19 pela técnica de magnetron sputtering. Verificamos também a influência do tratamento térmico nas propriedades estruturais de nanoestruturas do tipo Ta/Ni81Fe19/Ta submetidas ou não à oxidação das interfaces. Observamos que a nanocamada de TaOx pode desempenhar o papel esperado, todavia a qualidade cristalina das camadas de Ni81Fe19 acarretou em valores quantitativos de ΔDR=R menores que os encontrados na literatura.