Made available in DSpace on 2014-10-09T12:34:59Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 / Made available in DSpace on 2014-10-09T14:04:28Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 / Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP) / Neste trabalho foi utilizado o método de regressão do diâmetro para a medida do limiar de ablação nos materiais Suprasil, BK7, Safira e Ti:Safira por pulsos de femtossegundos. Através de medidas dos limiares de ablação para pulsos únicos e pulsos sobrepostos, quantificou-se o parâmetro de incubação para cada dielétrico. Essas medidas preliminares serviram para validação do método denominado Diagonal Scan ou D-scan. Para tanto, o método D-scan teve seu formalismo expandido o que possibilitou a quantificação da sobreposição de pulsos durante o seu uso. A simplicidade e rapidez do método D-scan permitiram que o limiar de ablação no BK7 fosse medido para diferentes larguras temporais e sobreposições. O limiar de ablação para pulsos únicos em função da largura temporal dos pulsos foi comparado com uma simulação teórica. A partir do conhecimento do parâmetro de incubação desenvolveu-se uma metodologia de usinagem em dielétricos que considera a sobreposição de pulsos durante a ablação. Isso permitiu a fabricação de microcanais para uso em microfluídica em BK7. / Tese (Doutoramento) / IPEN/T / Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares - IPEN-CNEN/SP / FAPESP:08/00284-0

Submitted by Marco Antonio Oliveira da Silva (maosilva@ipen.br) on 2016-08-26T10:48:20Z No. of bitstreams: 0 / Made available in DSpace on 2016-08-26T10:48:20Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 / O presente trabalho descreve o procedimento experimental do método de purificação do sal de Triiodeto de Bismuto (BiI3), visando uma futura aplicação destes em cristais semicondutores, como detector de radiação à temperatura ambiente. A técnica de Bridgman Vertical Repetido foi aplicada para a purificação e crescimento de BiI3, baseada na teoria da fusão e o fenômeno de nucleação do material. Uma ampola preenchida com sal de BiI3, na quantidade máxima de 25% do seu volume interno, foi posicionada no interior do forno de Bridgman Vertical e verticalmente deslocada à uma velocidade de 2 milímetros por hora dentro do forno programado obedecendo um perfil térmico e gradiente de temperatura, com uma temperatura máxima de 530°C, estabelecidos neste trabalho. A redução de impurezas no BiI3, para cada purificação, foi analisada por Análise por Ativação Neutrônica Instrumental (AANI), para a verificação da eficiência do técnica de purificação estabelecida neste trabalho, para impurezas de metais traço, presente na matéria prima do cristal Foi demonstrado que a técnica de Bridgman Repetido é eficiente para a redução da concentração de diversas impurezas, como Ag, As, Br, Cr, K, Mo, Na, e Sb. As estruturas cristalinas nos cristais purificados duas e três vezes apresentou similaridade com o padrão do BiI3. No entanto, para o sal de partida e cristal purificado somente uma vez foi observado a contribuição de intensidade BiOI (Oxido de Iodeto de Bismuto) similar ao padrão observada no seu difratograma. É conhecido que detectores semicondutores fabricados a partir de cristais com alta pureza exibem uma melhora significativa no seu desempenho, comparado com os cristais produzidos com cristais de baixa pureza. / Dissertação (Mestrado em Tecnologia Nuclear) / IPEN/D / Instituto de Pesquisas Energéticas e Nucleares - IPEN-CNEN/SP

With commercial availability of non-real and real-time spectrum analyzers, the speech-language pathologist has the means to objectively extract and measure pitch taken from speech samples. Though both types of spectrum analyzers provide the clinician with viable methods of measuring fundamental frequency and frequency range values, pitch extraction using real time allows for greater efficiency in acoustic measurements. The Kay Elemetrics Visi-Pitch is one such real-time spectrum analyzer that is less expensive and more accessible than other real time speech science hardware. The purpose of this study was to investigate the capability of a computerized Visi-Pitch to reflect elevation of fundamental frequency and expansion of frequency range by female adults.

No description available.

No description available.

Retarding Potential Analyzers (RPA) have a rich flight heritage. These instruments are largely popular since a single current-voltage (I-V) profile can provide in-situ measurements of ion temperature, velocity and composition. The estimation of parameters from an RPA I-V curve is affected by grid geometries and non-ideal biasing which have been studied in the past. In this dissertation, we explore the uncertainties associated with estimated ion parameters from an RPA in the presence of instrument noise. Simulated noisy I-V curves representative of those expected from a mid-inclination low Earth orbit are fitted with standard curve fitting techniques to reveal the degree of uncertainty and inter-dependence between expected errors, with varying levels of additive noise. The main motive is to provide experimenters working with RPA data with a measure of error scalable for different geometries. In subsequent work, we develop a statistics based bootstrap technique designed to mitigate the large inter-dependency between spacecraft potential and ion velocity errors, which were seen to be highly correlated when estimated using a standard algorithm. The new algorithm - BATFORD, acronym for "Bootstrap-based Algorithm with Two-stage Fit for Orbital RPA Data analysis" - was applied to a simulated dataset treated with noise from a laboratory calibration based realistic noise model, and also tested on real in-flight data from the C/NOFS mission. BATFORD outperforms a traditional algorithm in simulation and also provides realistic in-situ estimates from a section of a C/NOFS orbit when the satellite passed through a plasma bubble. The low signal-to-noise ratios (SNR) of measured I-Vs in these bubbles make autonomous parameter estimation notoriously difficult. We thus propose a method for robust autonomous analysis of RPA data that is reliable in low SNR environments, and is applicable for all RPA designs. / Doctor of Philosophy / The plasma environment in Earth’s upper atmosphere is dynamic and diverse. Of particular interest is the ionosphere - a region of dense ionized gases that directly affects the variability in weather in space and the communication of radio wave signals across Earth. Retarding potential analyzers (RPA) are instruments that can directly measure the characteristics of this environment in flight. With the growing popularity of small satellites, these probes need to be studied in greater detail to exploit their ability to understand how ions - the positively charged particles- behave in this region. In this dissertation, we aim to understand how the RPA measurements, obtained as current-voltage relationships, are affected by electronic noise. We propose a methodology to understand the associated uncertainties in the estimated parameters through a simulation study. The results show that a statistics based algorithm can help to interpret RPA data in the presence of noise, and can make autonomous, robust and more accurate measurements compared to a traditional non-linear curve-fitting routine. The dissertation presents the challenges in analyzing RPA data that is affected by noise and proposes a new method to better interpret measurements in the ionosphere that can enable further scientific progress in the space physics community.

This dissertation presents a new alternative type of object-oriented load-flow called Segflow. Segment objects are used to support the modeling of individual types of power system equipment. Current and voltage trace techniques are used by Segflow to bind Segment models in support of Kirchoff’s laws. Affiliation objects and the Target Voltage method are used to bring the solution of the Segflow model to the solution of the power system network. An example for modeling a simple transformer is given along with the solution results for a collection of common power system models. ‘ Analysis of the Target Voltage method and simulation results show that Segflow is capable of consistently solving the nonlinear load-flow problem. The object-oriented layout of Segflow provides very distinct modeling advantages. Power system modeling is from the perspective of each equipment’s model. Rather than force all equipment models into large sets of equations to be solved simultaneously by an equation solver, Segflow allows component models to remain intact and independent as Segment objects. Each Segment has a one-to-one correspondence with some piece of equipment in the respective power system which is maintained in the system solution. The behavior of a Segment can be evaluated throughout the load-flow process. An important feature of Segflow is the object-oriented design enabling new equipment models to be added into the Segflow environment as autonomous objects. New models are created from the Segment class and their inputs and outputs are always relative to the same Segment attributes. Because all Segment objects are derived from a Segment modeling class and all Segments are treated the same by Segflow, many types and varieties of power system equipment models can be easily created. A Segflow application is a collection of interacting objects whose interactions lead to a load-flow solution. Segflow is an interesting alternative to classical approaches for solving the load-flow problem with large sets of simultaneous nonlinear equations. It also adds new aspects to the application of object-oriented design in load-flow analysis. / Ph. D.

Mixture model-based clustering has become an increasingly popular data analysis technique since its introduction almost fifty years ago. Families of mixture models are said to arise when the component parameters, usually the component covariance matrices, are decomposed and a number of constraints are imposed. Within the family setting, it is necessary to choose the member of the family --- i.e., the appropriate covariance structure --- in addition to the number of mixture components. To date, the Bayesian information criterion (BIC) has proved most effective for this model selection process, and the expectation-maximization (EM) algorithm has been predominantly used for parameter estimation. We deviate from the EM-BIC rubric, using variational Bayes approximations for parameter estimation and the deviance information criterion (DIC) for model selection. The variational Bayes approach alleviates some of the computational complexities associated with the EM algorithm. We use this approach on the most famous family of Gaussian mixture models known as Gaussian parsimonious clustering models (GPCM). These models have an eigen-decomposed covariance structure. Cluster-weighted modelling (CWM) is another flexible statistical framework for modelling local relationships in heterogeneous populations on the basis of weighted combinations of local models. In particular, we extend cluster-weighted models to include an underlying latent factor structure of the independent variable, resulting in a novel family of models known as parsimonious cluster-weighted factor analyzers. The EM-BIC rubric is utilized for parameter estimation and model selection. Some work on a mixture of multivariate t-distributions is also presented, with a linear model for the mean and a modified Cholesky-decomposed covariance structure leading to a novel family of mixture models. In addition to model-based clustering, these models are also used for model-based classification, i.e., semi-supervised clustering. Parameters are estimated using the EM algorithm and another approach to model selection other than the BIC is also considered. / NSERC PGS-D

Submitted by Claudinei Pracidelli (cpracide@ipen.br) on 2016-06-22T13:39:10Z No. of bitstreams: 0 / Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-22T13:39:10Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 / Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP) / Tese (Doutorado em Tecnologia Nuclear) / IPEN/T / Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares - IPEN-CNEN/SP / FAPESP:11/00769-7

Submitted by Claudinei Pracidelli (cpracide@ipen.br) on 2016-06-22T13:39:10Z No. of bitstreams: 0 / Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-22T13:39:10Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 / Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP) / A emissão de poluentes em megacidades e áreas industriais pode ter fortes impactos no clima e na saúde. Nos últimos anos tem sido crescente a preocupação com emissões atmosféricas contendo partículas nanométricas, cuja presença, juntamente com compostos orgânicos voláteis, óxidos de nitrogênio e outros, pode resultar na formação de uma série de substâncias gasosas poluentes e na formação de aerossóis. Medições mais precisas da concentração e distribuição de tamanho de fuligem são importantes, não só do ponto de vista ambiental, mas também para a saúde humana. O objetivo deste trabalho foi determinar a distribuição de tamanho de partículas na chaminé de uma refinaria em Cubatão. Para isso foi utilizada uma abordagem baseada nos métodos de inversão, tradicionalmente usados para calcular parâmetros de aerossóis atmosféricos, ao contexto dos aerossóis de tochas industriais. Os resultados se mostraram consistentes com a literatura científica, sendo possível determinar alguns parâmetros da distribuição do tamanho de partículas provenientes da chama de uma tocha industrial utilizando um sistema lidar de três comprimentos de onda com um nível de discrepância aceitável. Um estudo do expoente de Angström foi realizado com o objetivo de validar o algoritmo de inversão desenvolvido neste trabalho. Os resultados deste estudo mostraram que os dados experimentais corroboram com as curvas teóricas e, portanto, o algoritmo pode ser utilizado como ferramenta para a medição de emissões atmosféricas provenientes de tochas industriais. O desenvolvimento deste projeto representará um passo importante, não somente do ponto de vista tecnológico, mas principalmente como recurso para tratar de problemas de emissões que futuramente poderão surgir, dentre as medidas voltadas ao controle de mudanças climáticas. / Tese (Doutorado em Tecnologia Nuclear) / IPEN/T / Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares - IPEN-CNEN/SP / FAPESP:11/00769-7