Des lots de scintillateurs orthosilicates et grenats dope terres rares ont été cristallisés par les méthodes micro-pulling down (μ-PD) et Czochralski. Pour la première fois des fibres Lu2xGd2 2xSiO5 dopées Ce (LGSO:Ce) (x = 0.5) ont été tirées par la méthode micro-pulling down (μ-PD). Dans le but de déterminer la concentration optimale de l'ion activateur avec les meilleurs paramètres de scintillation, la concentration du cérium dans le liquide a été variée dans l'intervalle 0.01-1.5 at%. La distribution spatiale des cations le long des cristaux LGSO :Ce tirés par la méthode de la micro-pulling down a été étudiée par microscopie à champ proche et microscopie Confocale à travers l'excitation du Ce3+ sur les sites cristallographiques du CeO6. Des fibres de composition Lu3A15O12 (LuAG) non dopées et dopées Ce3+ et Pr3+, des matrices mixtes (Lu, Y)3A15O12 (LuYAG) et Y3A15O12 (YAG) dopés Ce3+ ont été fabriqués pour évaluer les possibilités de développer un calorimètre dual-readout pour fonctionner dans le Grand collisionneur de hadrons du CERN. Les cristaux LuAG ont été choisis dans le but de détecter la scintillation (ion activateur) et les radiations Chernkov. Pour confirmer l'amélioration de la qualité des fibres cristallines à travers les conditions de croissance cristalline, nous avons réalisé des mesures d'atténuation le long des fibres. La bonne reproductivité des fibres a été vérifiée par des tests faisceau en conditions de calorimètre. Nous avons étudié la structure et la scintillation dans les cristaux appartenant à la solution solide Y3(Al1-xGax)5O12 :Ce. Les cristaux ont été tirés à partir de l'état liquide par la méthode Czochralski. La distribution des cations de la matrice a été étudiée. L'effet de la substitution du Al/Ga dans Y3(Al1-xGax)5O12 :Ce sur le rendement de scintillation a été déterminé. Le rendement de scintillation a atteint 130 % par rapport au grenat aluminium-yttrium dopé Ce. L'évolution des propriétés de luminescence en fonction de la substitution al/Ga a été étudiée / A set of rare earth orthosilicate and garnet scintillators were grown by the micropulling down (μ-PD) and Czochralski methods. Ce-doped Lu2xGd2 2xSiO5 (LGSO:Ce) fibers were grown by the micro-pulling down (μ-PD) method for the first time. In order to determine the optimal activator concentration with regard to the best scintillating parameters, cerium concentration in the melt was varied within 0.01-1.5 at.%. A set of results on optical and scintillation characteristics of the grown fibers with the different activator content was determined and discussed. Distribution of Gd3+ and Ce3+ in LGSO:Ce structure was compared to the Czochralski grown crystals. Spatial distribution of cations across LGSO:Ce scintillation shaped crystals grown by the micro-pulling-down method is studied using wide-field microscopy under simultaneous excitation of both cerium-related centers and confocal microscopy under selective excitation of Ce3+ in CeO6 crystallographic sites. Undoped fibers of Lu3Al5O12 (LuAG) and doped by Ce3+, Pr3+, mixed (Lu,Y)3Al5O12 (LuYAG) and Y3Al5O12 (YAG) both doped by Ce3+ were produced to evaluate a possibility of their potential use in the new dual-calorimeter planned to operate in the upgraded Large Hadron Collider in CERN. The choice of grown crystals was made to detect scintillation (activated materials) and Cherenkov radiation (LuAG). Growth conditions for the improvement of fibers quality were selected basing on measurements of attenuation length of the fibers. The activator segregation coefficient in LuAG:Ce and LuYAG:Ce fibers was evaluated by the cathodoluminescence measurements. The effect of annealing and radiation damage was studied. The good productivity of the grown fibers was verified on the test beam calorimeter. Structure and scintillation yield of Y3(Al1 xGax)5O12:Ce solid solution crystals are studied. Crystals are grown from melt by the Czochralski method. Distribution of host cations in crystal lattice is determined. The trend of light output at Al/Ga substitution in Y3(Al1-xGax)5O12:Ce is determined. Light output in mixed crystals reaches 130% comparative to Ce-doped yttrium–aluminum garnet. The evolution of luminescence properties at Al/Ga substitution is studied

[pt] O efeito da atenuação por chuvas em enlaces satélites que operam em frequências acima de 10 GHz é decisivo no cálculo de desempenho do sistema. A evolução da tecnologia dos sistemas satélite e a necessidade de expansão dos serviços de comunicações móveis pessoais levaram ao uso de sistemas de comunicação com satélites de órbita baixa. Estes sistemas são particularmente interessantes para o oferecimento destes serviços por suas características de pequeno atraso de propagação e uso de potência de transmissão mais baixas que os sistemas geoestacionários. Satélites em órbita baixas (LEO) operam em altitudes de cerca de 1000km e possuem movimento em relação à estação terrena. Esta característica de mobilidade traz novas questões sobre o comportamento da atenuação por chuvas, em particular a necessidade de um modelo de previsão de atenuação para estes enlaces com ângulo de elevação variante no tempo. Neste trabalho um modelo para a previsão de atenuação em enlaces com ângulo de elevação fixo, mais preciso do que os existentes na literatura técnica, foi desenvolvido como primeiro passo para o tratamento do problema de enlaces com ângulo de elevação variável. A seguir foi feita uma simulação de medidas em enlaces LEO a partir do banco de dados de medidas de atenuação em enlaces fixos no Brasil, considerando um modelo de constelação de satélites. Foi implementado um método geral que utiliza o histograma dos ângulos de elevação do satélite como ponderação da distribuição cumulativa de atenuação em cada ângulo. O método foi testado contra os resultados obtidos com simulações para a constelação Globalstar sendo obtida muito boa concordância entre o modelo de predição desenvolvido e a simulação. / [en] Rain attenuation is the most important propagation effect to be taken into account in the performance calculation for satellite systems operation at frequencies above 10 GHz. The technological evolution of such systems and the need for personal communication systems with global coverage lead to the use of low earth orbit communication systems, that not only have shorter propagation delays but also allow the use of lower transmission power than the traditional geostationary systems. Low earth orbit (LEO) satellites have altitudes around 1.000 Km and are in motion relatively to the earth stations. This mobility requires a new approach to the problem of rain attenuation prediction, particularly the need for a prediction model that takes into account the elevation angle variability. In this work, an improved rain attenuation prediction method for the geostationary case has been developed as a starting point for the analysis of the nongeostationary case. Then, the rain attenuation in the a LEO system has been simulated using measured data from fixed system systems and the satellite constellation model. A general method for slant path rain attenuation prediction considering variable elevation angles is proposed. The method uses the histogram of the elevation angles to weight the distributions obtained for fixed elevation. The method has been tested with simulations performed for the Globalstar LEO system and a very good agreement was obtained.

Over the last two centuries, there has been a continual evolution of how occupied rooms are heated, with inventors competing to design new heating devices. In particular, there is a wide range of convector types, which vary in shape, size, design, material, operating medium and application. With approximately 190 million convectors installed in the UK alone, the question arises regarding the dependencies on the efficiency of heat distribution through convector-induced filling flows. A standard approach to evaluate convector performance is based on the convector strength only, the implication being the stronger the convector the better the performance. This work has gone beyond the limits of a stereotypical assessment in pursuit of answers regarding the physics of convector-induced filling and a new objective method to evaluate the efficiency of this transient process. The ultimate goal has been to provide a deep understanding of filling and stratification induced by a convector, in order to heat rooms rapidly and effectively. An experimental facility has been designed that approximates dynamic similarity between the experimental set-up and a real-life room with a convector. In the experiments, a rectangular sectioned water tank represents a room and a saline source rectangular sectioned panel with sintered side walls provides a convector representation. Experiments have been performed in water with a saline solution to ensure high Rayleigh numbers. Diagnostic techniques involve a combination of a shadowgraph method, a dye-attenuation method, direct salinity measurements and a new application of Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV). Interesting insight into convector-induced buoyancy-driven flows has been gained. As a result, new guidelines aimed at heating rooms more rapidly and effectively have been proposed. The key outcome that can be immediately applied is that, for a given convector strength, heat distribution with height can be improved by adjusting the convector position. For instance, faster filling leading to more uniform heat distribution occurs in rooms with convectors detached from side walls, due to large-scale mixing flows in the early period of filling. Also shorter convectors relative to the room height, positioned close to the floor level, promote faster and more uniform filling. An attempt to describe the transient filling has been made and to do so statistical methods, application specific, have been developed. As a result, the empirical equations describing both the filling rates in different stages of filling and the development of stratification have been derived, which rank the governing parameters, based on their importance, as either dominant or subordinate. Two dominant parameters governing filling flows are the non-dimensional accumulation parameter B and the Rayleigh number ΔRa, which are related to the convector strength. The impact of these two parameters is constant throughout the process. The parameters accounting for the system geometry and filling time (T) are subordinate parameters. Their impact, visible in the early period, decreases as filling continues.

Cette thése traite du contrôle de la formation et du confinement variant dans le temps pour les systèmes multi-agents linéaires invariants avec hétérogénéité en tenant compte des délais d’entrée / sortie constants / variables dans le temps et des perturbations adaptées / incompatibles sous topologie de communication dirigée et fixe. De nouveaux formats de formes de formation variables dans le temps pour des systèmes homogènes et hétérogènes sont proposés. Les contrôleurs, conçus sur la base de techniques prédictives et adaptatives avec une technique d’observation, sont entièrement distribués et peuvent être appliqués à des systèmes à grande échelle. L’application sur les systèmes robotisés multi hétérogènes linéarisés est vérifiée. / This thesis deals with the time-varying formation and containment control for linear time-invariant multi-agent systems with heterogeneity considering constant / time-varying input / output delays and matched / mismatched disturbances under directed and fixed communication topology. New formats of time-varying formation shapes for homogeneous and heterogeneous systems are proposed. The controllers, which are designed based on predictive and adaptive techniques with observer technique, are fully distributed and can be applied to large-scale systems. The application on linearized heterogeneous multi mobile robot systems is verified.

Submitted by Angela Maria de Oliveira (amolivei@uepg.br) on 2018-06-06T14:39:52Z No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 811 bytes, checksum: e39d27027a6cc9cb039ad269a5db8e34 (MD5) Tech, Lohane.pdf: 2007649 bytes, checksum: ed3cf3b82a08ab6680c21d8be8071469 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-06-06T14:39:52Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 811 bytes, checksum: e39d27027a6cc9cb039ad269a5db8e34 (MD5) Tech, Lohane.pdf: 2007649 bytes, checksum: ed3cf3b82a08ab6680c21d8be8071469 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-02-26 / No presente trabalho foram analisadas 25 solos com diversas texturas, do estado do Paraná Brasil. Com o intuito de avaliar os parâmetros de interação da radiação com os solos, as amostras foram submetidas a análise semi-quantitativa por fluorescência de raios X (FRX) por dispersão de energia a fim de se obter os teores dos óxidos que compunham o solo. Dois tamanhos de partículas foram analisados, sendo eles: diâmetro de 45 μm, que é o padrão recomendado pelo fabricante do equipamento de FRX, e diâmetro de 2-1 mm. O teor dos óxidos, o coeficiente de atenuação de massa (⁄), a seção de choque molecular (), a seção de choque atômica (), a seção de choque eletrônica (), o número atômico efetivo () e a densidade eletrônica (), foram analisadas para os 25 solos para os dois tamanhos de partículas. Os resultados mostraram diferenças nos teores de óxidos dos solos entre um tamanho de agregado e outro, constatando mudanças nas porcentagens do óxidos de Al2O3, SiO2 e Fe2O3. Como consequência, houve alteração nos valores dos outros parâmetros analisados, as seções de choque, o número atômico efetivo e a densidade eletrônica. A seção de choque molecular e a densidade eletrônica mostrou dependência com o teor dos óxidos Al2O3 e SiO2, que são encontrados em maior porcentagem nos solos arenosos e nos solos com textura franco, para os dois tamanhos de agregados. A seção de choque atômica mostrou dependência com o número total de unidades de fórmulas moleculares presentes na composição do solo. Já os parâmetros restantes, coeficiente de atenuação de massa, seção de choque eletrônica e número atômico efetivo mostraram dependência com o óxido Fe2O3, que é encontrado em maior teor nas amostras com textura mais argilosa, para os dois tamanhos de agregados. Desta forma, observou-se dependência da textura e do tamanho de partículas ambas com a composição química elementar porque no primeiro caso, diferentes texturas são relacionadas a composição mineral e elementar nos diferentes solos e a segunda devido a conformação dos agregados nos dois conjuntos analisados. / This study analysed 25 soil samples from the State of Paraná, Brazil, with different textures. Aiming at evaluating the parameters of radiation interaction with the matter, the samples were submitted to the semi-quantitative analysis using energy dispersive X-ray (XRF) fluorescence, to obtain the content of oxides contained in the soil mixture. Two particle sizes were analysed, being: the 45 μm, wich is the standard required by the manufacturer of the X-ray fluorescence equipment, and the 2-1mm. The oxide content, mass attenuation coefficient (⁄), molecular cross section (), atomic cross section (), electronic cross section (), effective atomic number () and the electronic density () were analysed in the 25 samples and for the two particle sizes. The results showed differences in the soil oxide content between one aggregate size and the other, revealing changes in the percentage of the Al2O3, SiO2 and Fe2O3 oxides. With the difference observed, there was change in the values of other parameters under analysis, the cross sections, the effective atomic number and the electronic density. The molecular cross section and the effective electronic density showed dependence on the content of Al2O3 and SiO2 oxides, which were found in higher percentages in sandy and loam soils, for both aggregate sizes. The atomic cross section was seen to present dependence on the total number of molecular formula units contained in the soil composition. While the remaining parameters, mass attenuation coefficient, electronic cross sections and the effective atomic number showed dependence on the Fe2O3 oxide, whose higher contents were found in the clay textured samples, for both aggregate sizes. In this way, it was observed texture and size dependency, both with the elementary chemical composition because in the first case, different textures are related to elementary and mineral composition in the different soils and the second due to the conformation of the aggregated in both analyzed arrays.

Dans les études épidémiologiques, les erreurs de mesure de l’exposition étudiée peuvent biaiser l’estimation des risques liés à cette exposition. Un grand nombre de méthodes de correction de l’effet de ces erreurs a été développé mais en pratique elles ont été rarement appliquées, probablement à cause du fait que leur capacité de correction et leur mise en œuvre sont peu maîtrisées. Une autre raison non moins importante est que, en l’absence de données répétées ou de données de validation, ces méthodes de correction exigent la connaissance détaillée des caractéristiques (taille, nature, structure et distribution) des erreurs de mesure. L’objectif principal de cette thèse est d’étudier l’impact de la prise en compte des erreurs de mesure dans les analyses du risque de décès par cancer du poumon associé à l’exposition au radon à partir de la cohorte française des mineurs d’uranium (qui ne dispose ni de données répétées, ni de données de validation). Les objectifs spécifiques étaient (1) de caractériser les erreurs de mesure associées aux expositions radiologiques (radon et ses descendants, poussières d’uranium et rayonnements gamma), (2) d’étudier l’impact des erreurs de mesure de l’exposition au radon et à ses descendants sur l’estimation de l’excès de risque relatif (ERR) de décès par cancer du poumon et (3) d’étudier et comparer la performance des méthodes de correction de l’effet de ces erreurs. La cohorte française des mineurs d’uranium comprend plus de 5000 individus exposés de manière chronique au radon et à ses descendants qui ont été suivis en moyenne pendant 30 ans. Les erreurs de mesure ont été caractérisées en prenant en compte l’évolution des méthodes d’extraction et de la surveillance radiologique des mineurs au fil du temps. Une étude de simulation basée sur la cohorte française des mineurs d’uranium a été mise en place pour étudier l’impact de ces erreurs sur l’ERR ainsi que pour comparer la performance des méthodes de correction. Les résultats montrent que les erreurs de mesure de l’exposition au radon et à ses descendants ont diminué au fil des années. Pour les premières années, avant 1970, elles dépassaient 45 % et après 1980 elles étaient de l’ordre de 10 %. La nature de ces erreurs a aussi changé au cours du temps ; les erreurs essentiellement de nature Berkson ont fait place à des erreurs de nature classique après la mise en place des dosimètres individuels à partir de 1983. Les résultats de l’étude de simulation ont montré que les erreurs de mesure conduisent à une atténuation de l’ERR vers la valeur nulle, avec un biais important de l’ordre de 60 %. Les trois méthodes de correction d’erreurs considérées ont permis une réduction notable mais partielle du biais d’atténuation. Un avantage semble exister pour la méthode de simulation extrapolation (SIMEX) dans notre contexte, cependant, les performances des trois méthodes de correction sont fortement tributaires de la détermination précise des caractéristiques des erreurs de mesure.Ce travail illustre l’importance de l’effet des erreurs de mesure sur les estimations de la relation entre l’exposition au radon et le risque de décès par cancer du poumon. L’obtention d’estimation de risque pour laquelle l’effet des erreurs de mesure est corrigé devrait s’avérer d’un intérêt majeur en support des politiques de protection contre le radon en radioprotection et en santé publique. / In epidemiological studies, measurement errors in exposure can substantially bias the estimation of the risk associated to exposure. A broad variety of methods for measurement error correction has been developed, but they have been rarely applied in practice, probably because their ability to correct measurement error effects and their implementation are poorly understood. Another important reason is that many of the proposed correction methods require to know measurement errors characteristics (size, nature, structure and distribution).The aim of this thesis is to take into account measurement error in the analysis of risk of lung cancer death associated to radon exposure based on the French cohort of uranium miners. The mains stages were (1) to assess the characteristics (size, nature, structure and distribution) of measurement error in the French uranium miners cohort, (2) to investigate the impact of measurement error in radon exposure on the estimated excess relative risk (ERR) of lung cancer death associated to radon exposure, and (3) to compare the performance of methods for correction of these measurement error effects.The French cohort of uranium miners includes more than 5000 miners chronically exposed to radon with a follow-up duration of 30 years. Measurement errors have been characterized taking into account the evolution of uranium extraction methods and of radiation protection measures over time. A simulation study based on the French cohort of uranium miners has been carried out to investigate the effects of these measurement errors on the estimated ERR and to assess the performance of different methods for correcting these effects.Measurement error associated to radon exposure decreased over time, from more than 45% in the early 70’s to about 10% in the late 80’s. Its nature also changed over time from mostly Berkson to classical type from 1983. Simulation results showed that measurement error leads to an attenuation of the ERR towards the null, with substantial bias on ERR estimates in the order of 60%. All three error-correction methods allowed a noticeable but partial reduction of the attenuation bias. An advantage was observed for the simulation-extrapolation method (SIMEX) in our context, but the performance of the three correction methods highly depended on the accurate determination of the characteristics of measurement error.This work illustrates the importance of measurement error correction in order to obtain reliable estimates of the exposure-risk relationship between radon and lung cancer. Corrected risk estimates should prove of great interest in the elaboration of protection policies against radon in radioprotection and in public health.

Nous étudions la propagation et l'atténuation du son dans la silice avec deux techniques expérimentales complémentaires, la diffusion Brillouin de la lumière et l'acoustique picoseconde. L'analyse de nouvelles données Brillouin précises obtenues dans une large gamme de températures (4-1300 K), complétées avec les données de la littérature sur un large intervalle de fréquences, montre que le frottement interne résulte de deux principaux mécanismes : l'interaction du son avec les défauts relaxants et avec les modes du bain thermique (anharmonicité). La spectroscopie Brillouin à haute pression (0-6 GPa) révèle l'existence d'une modification structurale à environ 2 GPa à température ambiante. L'atténuation du son est observée pour la première fois autour de 250 GHz avec une nouvelle technique acoustique picoseconde. Ce résultat démontre que l'atténuation du son est encore dominée par l'anharmonicité à l'échelle des longueurs d'onde mésoscopiques. La relation avec un régime de forte atténuation au THz est discutée.

Atmospheric models are strongly dependent on the turbulent exchange of momentum, sensible heat and moisture (latent heat) at the surface. Oceans cover about 70% of the Earth’s surface and understanding the processes that control air-sea exchange is of great importance in order to predict weather and climate. In the atmosphere, for instance, hurricane development, cyclone intensity and track depend on these processes. Ocean waves constitute an obvious example of air-sea interaction and can cause the air-flow over sea to depend on surface conditions in uniquely different ways compared to boundary layers over land. When waves are generated by wind they are called wind sea or growing sea, and when they leave their generation area or propagate faster than the generating wind they are called swell. The air-sea exchange is mediated by turbulent eddies occurring on many different scales. Field measurements and high-resolution turbulence resolving numerical simulations have here been used to study these processes. The standard method to measure turbulent fluxes is the eddy covariance method. A spatial separation is often used between instruments when measuring scalar flux; this causes an error which was investigated for the first time over sea. The error is typically smaller over ocean than over land, possibly indicating changes in turbulence structure over sea. Established and extended analysis methods to determine the dominant scales of momentum transfer was used to interpret how reduced drag and sometimes net upward momentum flux can persist in the boundary layer indirectly affected by swell. A changed turbulence structure with increased turbulence length scales and more effective mixing was found for swell. A study, using a coupled wave-atmosphere regional climate model, gave a first indication on what impact wave mixing have on atmosphere and wave parameters. Near surface wind speed and wind gradients was affected especially for shallow boundary layers, which typically increased in height from the introduced wave-mixing. A large impact may be expected in regions of the world with predominant swell. The impact of swell waves on air-sea exchange and mixing should be taken into account to develop more reliable coupled Earth system models.

Changes in land use and water use can greatly impact the cycling of water and water-borne substances. Increased redistribution of river water to irrigated fields can cause enhanced evapotranspiration and decreased river discharge. Additionally, the water quality can be affected by the external input of fertilisers and pesticides, and by changed pollutant transport pathways in expansive irrigation canal systems. This thesis examines basin-scale changes in water use, river discharge, water quality and nitrogen (N) loading under conditions of intensified irrigated agriculture, using the Aral Sea drainage basin (ASDB) with its two large rivers Syr Darya and Amu Darya in Central Asia as study area. Results show that more efficient irrigation techniques could reduce outtake of river water to the cotton fields in the ASDB by about 10 km3/year, while the corresponding river water saving at the outlet would be 60% lower. The result illustrates the importance of accounting for return flows of irrigation water in basin-scale water saving assessments. Moreover, a decrease in riverine N concentrations at the outlet of the Amu Darya River Basin (ADRB) was observed during a 40-year period of increasing N fertiliser input. The decrease was identified to be primarily caused by increased recirculation of river water in the irrigation system, leading to increased flow-path lengths and enhanced N attenuation. Decreasing N loads were shown to be primarily related to reduced discharge. N export from the basin may further decrease due to projected discharge reductions related to climate change. Furthermore, nutrients and metals were occasionally found at concentrations above drinking water guideline values in surface waters in the ADRB. However, metal concentrations in groundwater in the lower ADRB were subject to orders of magnitude higher health hazards. Projected decrease in downstream surface water availability would thus imply decreased access to water suitable for drinking. / <p>At the time of the doctoral defense, the following papers were unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 4: Submitted. Paper 5: Manuscript.</p>

Zu den wenigen Methoden, die sich für eine prozessnahe Charakterisierung von dispersen Stoffsystemen bezüglich der Partikelgrößenverteilung eignen, zählt die Schalldämpfungsspektroskopie. Dennoch ist ihr Einsatz in der industriellen Praxis auf einen überschaubaren Bereich an Messaufgaben und Stoffsystemen beschränkt. Insbesondere findet sie kaum Einsatz für die Partikelgrößenanalyse von submikronen Emulsionen. Die vorliegende Arbeit macht es sich deshalb zum Ziel, ausgehend von grundsätzlichen Überlegungen die Eignung der Schalldämpfungsspektroskopie zur prozessnahen Charakterisierung des Dispersitätszustandes von submikronen Emulsionen zu bewerten und zu verbessern. Schwerpunkte der Arbeit sind die modellhafte Beschreibung des Schalldämpfungsverhaltens von hoch konzentrierten Partikelsystemen im Submikrometerbereich, die Abschätzung des Einflusses von Emulgatoren auf die Schalldämpfung, die Erkennbarkeit von Einzelheiten der Partikelgrößenverteilung, die Sensitivität berechneter Partikelgrößenverteilungen bezüglich der Partikelkonzentration und der verschiedenen Stoffeigenschaften sowie die Auswertung von Schalldämpfungsspektren bei Unkenntnis dieser Modellparameter. Die angesprochenen Aspekte werden am Beispiel typischer Charakterisierungsaufgaben diskutiert. / The ultrasonic spectroscopy is one of few measurement methods applicable to the online characterization of disperse systems with regard to particle size distribution. However, its application in industrial practise is restricted to a rather low number of measurement tasks and material systems. In particular it is hardly used for the particle size analysis of submicron emulsions. This thesis therefore aims to the evaluation of the ultrasonic spectroscopy regarding its applicability to the online characterization of submicron emulsions. Main issues of the thesis are the modelling of sound attenuation in dense particle systems, the estimation on the influence that surfactant layers exert on sound attenuation, the resolution at which size distribution can be measured, the sensitivity of calculated size distributions to model parameters (particle concentration and material properties) and the analysis of measured attenuation spectra by unknown model parameters. The meanining of these issues are illustrated for typical characterization tasks.