Carbon dioxide removal from flue gases of power plants is critical for reduction of greenhouse gas emissions implicated in global warming. Metal Organic Frameworks (MOFs) promising potential applications in carbon dioxide capture due to their unique structural properties such as high porosity and high thermal stability. These MOFs have application in separation processes and gas storage. By the assembly of the organic ligands and metal oxide clusters, porous MOFs can be synthesized. The use of s-block metals such as calcium, magnesium and rubidium in porous materials is appealing because their ionic binding characters with organic ligands will general flexible MOFs. The bonding interaction of s-block metal centers with carboxylate oxygen atoms is mainly ionic in nature due to large differences in electronegativity. The s-block elements can form low density frameworks which could increase the gas uptake capacity of small molecules. This work focuses on synthesis of new metal organic frameworks (MOFs) using s-block metals. Different types of the carboxylic ligands were utilized for synthesis of MOFs. Four new calcium or rubdium metal organic frameworks, [Ca3(btc)2(H2O)12] (1) and [Ca2(btc)(pzc)(H2O)3] (2) (btc=benzene-1,3,5-tricarboxylate, pzc = pyrazine-2- carboxylate), [Ca(Hbtc)(H2O)]•H2O (6), and [Rb(Hbdc)] (7) have been synthesized using the hydro/solvothermal method and have been characterized using X-ray diffraction, IR, UV-vis, TGA and fluorescence analysis. The structures of compounds 1, 6 and 7are three-dimensional frameworks while that of compound 2 is a double layered network.

In this report we focus on the use of an economical way on how Scalar Network Analyzer (SNA) works instead of Vector Network Analyzer (VNA) to estimate the phase angle of signals in indoor channel. This is detailed in RMS delay theory and simulation section, experimental is designed in the according Experiment Design section, where we also state the required measurements known from the math part. In our work, data are recorded both from two different channel characteristics. Method of achieving amplitude is by using deconvolution theory. The condition of applying Hilbert transform are highlighted as impulse response h(t) in time domain should be causal.  The recorded data amplitude is computed by Hilbert Transform, and therefore validate the condition using Inverse Discrete Fourier Transform (IDFT) back to time domain to achieve h(t). Power delay profile P(t) is therefore presented afterwards. In paper calculations of rms delay τrms  of the channel which is the most important variable are also performed, the results calculated from different windowing truncation and the LOS and NLOS characteristics are compared in discussion and conclusion section, it also includes Opinions of window functions chosen for the phase estimation.

Noise contribution in nonlinear systems is very different from that in linear systems. The noise effects in nonlinear systems can be complicated and not obvious to predict. In this thesis, the focus was on the noise contribution in nonlinear systems when measuring with the nonlinear vector network analyzer (NVNA). An additional noise source together with a single sinewave signal was fed into the input of the amplifier and the performance was studied. The input power of the amplifier is considered to be the sum of the noise power and the signal power. The variation of the 1 dB compression point and the third order interception point as functions of the added noise power were studied. From the measured results in this thesis, the 1 dB compression point referred to the output power will decrease when increasing the added noise power at the input of the amplifier. The contribution of the added noise to the 1 dB compression point of an amplifier is considered dual: with the added noise the linear regression lines of the AM/AM curves are changed, and due to hard clipping the useful output power is reduced. As a result of those two effects, the added noise made the compression start at a lower power level. When the added noise reaches a certain level, the 1 dB compression point is hard to measure. Thus when performing nonlinear measurements, the noise effects should be taken into considerations and further studies are required to get better understanding of the system’s behavior in noisy environment.

The main purpose of a Flight Data Recorder (FDR) is to facilitate the investigation of incidents. In order to interpret the data that has been recorded in the FDR the data has to be visualized in some way. This can be done with software on a computer or with hardware that is specific for the model of aircraft that the data originates from. The aim of this project is to visualize data for six parameters from the FDR of Saab 2000 in an avionics rig. The avionics rig resembles the cockpit of Saab 2000 and the displays in it are identical to the ones found in the plane. All six parameters are shown on the same display. Due to safety regulation vital systems in aircraft are doubled, with one system on the left side and one on the right. Because of the architecture of the rig it was decided that data from the right-hand side systems were to be visualized on the right-hand side display. It is not possible to guarantee that no incorrect values are shown for the parameter altitude when values are taken from the right-hand side, but it can be done for values from the left side. This is the reason why values are taken from the left-hand side for altitude. In the rig a computer with an ARINC429-card and the software Data Bus Analyzer was accessible to transmit data to the displays. DBA can save received data in ASCII-files and also open and transmit the data in such files. Data that has been extracted from an FDR can be converted to the format which DBA can read with macros that have been written in the project. After conversion the data can be transmitted to the display on which it is supposed to be visualized.

Diffraction Enhanced X-ray Imaging (DEI) uses synchrotron X-ray beams prepared and analyzed by perfect single crystals to achieve imaging contrast from a number of phenomena taking place in an object under investigation. The crystals used in DEI for imaging requires high precision positioning due to a narrow rocking curve. Typically, the angular precision required should be on the order of tens of nanoradians.<p>One of the problems associated with DEI is the inability to control, set, and fix the angle of the analyzer crystal in relation to the beam exiting the monochromator in the system. This angle is used to interpret the images acquired with an object present and the usual approach is to determine where the image was taken after the fact. If the angle is not correct, then the image is wasted and has to be retaken. If time or dose is not an issue, then retaking the image is not a serious problem. However, since the technique is to be developed for live animal or eventually human imaging, the lost images are no longer acceptable from either X-ray exposure or time perspectives.<p>Therefore, a mechanical positioning system for the DEI system should be developed that allows a precise setting and measurement of the analyzer crystal angles. In this thesis, the fundamental principles of the DEI method, the DEI system at the National Synchrotron Light Source (NSLS) and the sensitivity of the DEI system to vibration and temperature has been briefly studied to gain a better understanding of the problem. The DEI design at the NSLS was analyzed using finite element analysis software (ANSYS) to determine the defects in the current design which were making the system dimensionally unstable. Using the results of this analysis, the new analyzer support was designed aiming to eliminate the problems with the current design. The new design is much stiffer with the natural frequency spectrum raised about eight times. <p> This new design will improve the performance of the system at the National Synchrotron Light Source (NSLS) of Brookhaven National Laboratory, New York, USA and should assist in the development of a new DEI system for the Bio-Medical Imaging and Therapy (BMIT) beamline at the Canadian Light Source (CLS), Saskatoon, CANADA.

Fatigue cracking and moisture damage are two important modes of distresses in asphalt pavements. Recently, the Dynamic Mechanical Analyzer (DMA) was used to characterize fatigue cracking and evaluate the effects of moisture damage on the Fine Aggregate Matrix (FAM) portion of asphalt mixtures. The FAM specimens should be properly fabricated to represent the composition and structure of the fine portion of the mixture. The objective of the first phase of this study was to develop a standard test procedure for preparing FAM specimens such that it is representative of the mixture. The method consists of preparing loose full asphalt mixtures and sieving through different sizes. Then, the ignition oven was used to determine the binder content associated with the small size materials (passing on sieve #16). Sieve #16 is used to separate fine aggregates from the coarse aggregates. The applicability of this new method will be evaluated using a number of asphalt mixtures. The objective of the second phase of this study was to develop software to analyze the data from DMA test. Such software will enable engineers and researchers to perform the complex analysis in very short time. This is Microsoft Windows ® based software, executable in any hardware configuration under this operational system.

Digitizing wideband signals requires very demanding analog-to-digital conversion (ADC) speed and resolution specifications. In this dissertation, a mixed-signal parallel compressive sensing system is proposed to realize the sensing of wideband sparse signals at sub-Nqyuist rate by exploiting the signal sparsity. The mixed-signal compressive sensing is realized with a parallel segmented compressive sensing (PSCS) front-end, which not only can filter out the harmonic spurs that leak from the local random generator, but also provides a tradeoff between the sampling rate and the system complexity such that a practical hardware implementation is possible. Moreover, the signal randomization in the system is able to spread the spurious energy due to ADC nonlinearity along the signal bandwidth rather than concentrate on a few frequencies as it is the case for a conventional ADC. This important new property relaxes the ADC SFDR requirement when sensing frequency-domain sparse signals. The mixed-signal compressive sensing system performance is greatly impacted by the accuracy of analog circuit components, especially with the scaling of CMOS technology. In this dissertation, the effect of the circuit imperfection in the mixed-signal compressive sensing system based on the PSCS front-end is investigated in detail, such as the finite settling time, the timing uncertainty and so on. An iterative background calibration algorithm based on LMS (Least Mean Square) is proposed, which is shown to be able to effectively calibrate the error due to the circuit nonideal factors. A low-speed prototype built with off-the-shelf components is presented. The prototype is able to sense sparse analog signals with up to 4 percent sparsity at 32 percent of the Nqyuist rate. Many practical constraints that arose during building the prototype such as circuit nonidealities are addressed in detail, which provides good insights for a future high-frequency integrated circuit implementation. Based on that, a high-frequency sub-Nyquist rate receiver exploiting the parallel compressive sensing is designed and fabricated with IBM90nm CMOS technology, and measurement results are presented to show the capability of wideband compressive sensing at sub-Nyquist rate. To the best of our knowledge, this prototype is the first reported integrated chip for wideband mixed-signal compressive sensing. The proposed prototype achieves 7 bits ENOB and 3 GS/s equivalent sampling rate in simulation assuming a 0.5 ps state-of-art jitter variance, whose FOM beats the FOM of the high speed state-of-the-art Nyquist ADCs by 2-3 times. The proposed mixed-signal compressive sensing system can be applied in various fields. In particular, its applications for wideband spectrum sensing for cognitive radios and spectrum analysis in RF tests are discussed in this work.

Arsenic (As) poses a significant water quality problem and it is a big challenge for all coal-based power plant industries worldwide. Currently most of the researches on the leaching behavior of arsenic from fly ash are based on the titration experiments. In this study a simulation method is used to study on the pH effect on the arsenic separation of coal-based power plants. Both single point and composition survey simulation of the OLI stream analyzer are used in the study. The simulation results of single point calculation indicates that for the fly ash which has high lime weight percent and equilibrium fly ash solution pH is over 11 and between 7 and 9, that is, Type C fly ash, the simulation results for equilibrium pH in fly ash solutions have great accuracy compared to actual experiment results. Based on the results obtained from single point simulation, both acid and base titrations of composition survey are simulated and the output results suggest that for the same type of fly ash, the simulation results proves the general trend of arsenic solubility in fly ash solutions. The solubility of arsenic decreases with the increase of pH value. It is also noted that at the equilibrium pH fly ash solutions, the maximum solid/liquid ratio of arsenic concentration is observed for type C fly ash. For other fly ashes which have low lime weight percent, the simulation results have discrepancy compared to actual experiment results. This work is important in offering an alternative way of analyze the reasonable output species and relative concentrations for type C fly ash in the waste water storage pond under specific pH conditions, which can be of great importance for the power plants to monitor and minimize the environment pollution in order to meet the future federal regulations.

A Neutral Beam Probe (NBP) was developed for studying the Texas Helimak plasma experiment. The probe consisted of a beam of neutral sodium atoms that were injected into the magnetized plasma of the Helimak. After some fraction of the atoms underwent electron impact ionization, the resulting ion beam followed a path to an energy analyzer where the change of energy was detected along with the total ion current. The measurement of the change of energy implies a change of potential energy at the point of ionization since all the neutral beam particles enter the plasma with a well determined energy. The total current detected at the energy analyzer also implies a rate of electron impact ionization, which in turn implies an electron density and temperature. The NBP was developed based on the Elmo Bumpy Torus (EBT) Heavy Ion Beam Probe (HIBP), which was operated at Oak Ridge National Labs. In fact, the majority of the equipment that was used in this experiment was taken from that HIBP, and some of it was rebuilt. We generated an estimate of the radial electric field in the Helimak along with an estimate of density changes as a result of biasing experiments. Interestingly, when a bias voltage was applied inside the Helimak, the radial electric field did not change significantly at the sample region, but the electron density did vary. The probe data taken by the Helimak team agree with the density changes. The electric field derived from Langmuir probes is not trivial (especially in plasmas with flows) and was not computed for this thesis. / text

Surface acoustic wave sensors have been a focus of active research for many years. Its ability to respond for surface perturbation is a basic principle for its sensing capability. Sensitivity to surface perturbation changes with every inter-digital transducer (IDT) design parameters, substrate selection, metallization choice and technique, delay line length and working environment. In this thesis, surface acoustic wave (SAW) sensors are designed and characterized to improve sensitivity and reduce loss. To quantify the improvements with a specific design configuration, the sensors are employed to measure temperature. Four SAW sensors design configurations, namely bi-directional, split electrode, single phase unidirectional transducer (SPUDT) and metal grating on delay line (shear transvers wave sensors) are designed and then fabricated in Nanotechnology Research and Education Center (NREC) facility using traditional MEMS fabrication processes Additionally, sensors are then coated with guiding layer SU8-2035 of 40 m using spin coating and SiO2 of 6 m using plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) process. Sensors are later diced and tested for every 5oC increment using network analyzer for temperature ranging from 30oC–0.5oC to 80oC–0.5oC. Data acquired from network analyzer is analyzed using plot of logarithmic magnitude, phase and frequency shift. Furthermore, to investigate the effect of metallization technique on the sensor performance, sensors are also fabricated on substrates that were metallized at a commercial MEMS foundry. All in-house and outside sputtered sensor configurations are compared to investigate quality of sputtered metal on wafer. One with better quality sputtered metal is chosen for further study. Later sensors coated with SU8 and SiO2 as guiding layer are compared to investigate effect of each waveguide on sensors and determine which waveguide offers better performance. The results showed that company sputtered sensors have higher sensitivity compared to in-house sputtered wafers. Furthermore after comparing SU8 and SiO2 coated sensors in the same instrumental and environmental condition, it was observed that SU8 coated di-directional and single phase unidirectional transducer (SPUDT) sensors showed best response.