Ultra-short and high-peak-power laser pulses have important industrial and scientific applications. While direct laser amplification can lead to peak powers of several million watts, higher values than these cannot be achieved without causing damage to the amplifier material. Chirped pulse amplification technique is thus invented to break this barrier. By temporally stretching pulses before entering amplifier, the pulse peak power is significantly reduced and thus becomes safe to be passed through the amplifier. After amplification, a compressor is used to recover the pulse width, and high-power ultra-short laser pulses are produced. Chirped pulse amplification technology increases the pulse energy by transferring the damaging effects of high-peak power laser pulses from the vulnerable amplifier to a relatively robust compressor system. The compressor is therefore a crucial device for producing high peak powers. However, there are some major drawbacks associated with it. First, compressors in high-energy laser system are usually over 1 cubic meter in size. For many applications, this large and cumbersome size is a limiting factor. Second, compressors are sensitive to outside disturbances; a little misalignment can lead to failure of pulse compression process. Third, gratings with large uniformly ruled area are difficult to fabricate, which impose a limit on achievable peak powers and pulse durations of laser pulses through the use of conventional compressors. In this project, we present a grating-based monolithic optical compressor that offers a way around some of the major problems of existing compressors. By integrating the key optical components, one can make a robust and monolithic compressor that requires no alignment. In the new scheme, folding the optical path with reflective coatings allows one to design a compressor of significantly reduced size by minimizing both the longitudinal and transverse dimensions of the device. The configuration and operation mechanism of this novel compressor are described. A method for calculating the volume of the compressor is investigated. This is validated by computing the size of a specific monolithic compressor. Simulation results obtained through finite-difference time-domain method are presented, proving that the new compressor provides a compact, portable, and robust means for temporally compressing long duration pulses.

Preclinical micro-computed tomography (microCT) images are of utility for 3D morphological bone evaluation, which is of great interest in cancer detection and treatment development. This work introduces a compression strategy for microCTs that allocates specific substances in different Volumes of Interest (Vols). The allocation procedure is conducted by the Hounsfield scale. The Vols are coded independently and then grouped in a single DICOM-compliant file. The proposed method permits the use of different codecs, identifies and transmit data corresponding to a particular substance in the compressed domain without decoding the volume(s), and allows the computation of the 3D morphometry without needing to store or transmit the whole image. The proposed approach reduces the transmitted data in more than 90% when the 3D morphometry evaluation is performed in high density and low density bone. This work can be easily extended to other imaging modalities and applications that work with the Hounsfield scale. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The problem of this study was to assess the desirability and practicality of utilizing compressed speech as an instructional technique within a junior college setting.

Sandwich panels using fibre-reinforced composite skins and low-density cores are being increasingly used in the aerospace industry due to their superior specific strength and stiffness, and increased design flexibility over traditional metallic and composite structures. However, it is well-known that sandwich panels are highly vulnerable to the effects of impact damage, with even low-energy impacts potentially causing very severe reductions in the in-plane compressive strength of these structures. The objective of this project was to produce a faithful and reliable numerical model for the simulation of the compression-after-impact strength of composite sandwich panels. An in-depth literature review revealed that delamination within the skins of a sandwich panel is a damage mechanism that has gone almost entirely neglected in previous efforts at modelling this problem, despite the proven significance of this mechanism in the failure of impact damaged sandwich panels in compression. Consequently, the use of the cohesive zone model for delamination initiation and propagation is the key unique feature of this model, with Hashin s criteria being used for intra-laminar damage formation, and a simple plasticity response capturing core crushing. An experimental study is performed to produce a thorough dataset for model validation, featuring differing levels of damage induced via quasi-static indentation, and novel asymmetric panels with skins of unequal thickness (the thinner skin being on the unimpacted side). The experimental study revealed that the use of a thinner distal (undamaged) skin could improve the strength of mildly damaged sandwich panels over undamaged sandwich panels using the same asymmetric configuration. It is believed that this effect is due to the movement of the neutral plane of the sandwich panel caused by the reduction in the stability of the damaged skin through stiffness reduction and geometric imperfections. This removes the eccentricity of the compressive loading that exists in the undamaged asymmetric panels, which has mismatched axial stiffness between the indented skin and the thinner distal skin, and thus a noticeably lower ultimate strength than the undamaged symmetric panels. The sandwich model is developed using pre-existing experimental and material data, and trialled for a variety of different skin lay-ups, core thicknesses and indenter sizes. The numerical model generally agreed well with the ultimate stress found in the experiments for these different configurations, but is quite poor at estimating the magnitude of the damage induced by the indentation. When used to model the experimental study, the model gave generally good, conservative estimates for the residual compressive strength of both the symmetric and asymmetric panels. The tendency of the asymmetric panels to become stronger with mild damage was not captured by the model per se, with the numerical results instead showing an insensitivity to damage in the asymmetric panels, which was not shared by the symmetric panels. However, the numerical model did exhibit erroneous strain-stress responses for both panel configurations, particularly for the undamaged and mildly damaged cases. Investigations revealed that this erroneous behaviour was caused by inconsistency in the material data, which had been collected partially via experimentation and partly from literature sources. Overall, the model developed here represents a promising advancement over previous efforts, but further development is required to provide accurate damage states.

In this thesis, we investigate the application of compressive sensing and sparse signal processing techniques to image compression and inpainting problems. Considering that many signals are sparse in certain transformation domain, a natural question to ask is: can an image be represented by as few coefficients as possible? In this thesis, we propose a new model for image compression/decompression based on sparse representation. We suggest constructing an overcomplete dictionary by combining two compression matrices, the discrete cosine transform (DCT) matrix and Hadamard-Walsh transform (HWT) matrix, instead of using only one transformation matrix that has been used by the common compression techniques such as JPEG and JPEG2000. We analyze the Structural Similarity Index (SSIM) versus the number of coefficients, measured by the Normalized Sparse Coefficient Rate (NSCR) for our approach. We observe that using the same NSCR, SSIM for images compressed using the proposed approach is between 4%-17% higher than when using JPEG. Several algorithms have been used for sparse coding. Based on experimental results, Orthogonal Matching Pursuit (OMP) is proved to be the most efficient algorithm in terms of computational time and the quality of the decompressed image. In addition, based on compressive sensing techniques, we propose an image inpainting approach, which could be used to fill missing pixels and reconstruct damaged images. In this approach, we use the Gradient Projection for Sparse Reconstruction (GPSR) algorithm and wavelet transformation with Daubechies filters to reconstruct the damaged images based on the information available in the original image. Experimental results show that our approach outperforms existing image inpainting techniques in terms of computational time with reasonably good image reconstruction performance.

Volumes of data obtained from the next generation sequencing platforms is growing faster than the available capacity of storage media. Sequencers mainly produce short reads of DNA. However, output of the sequencing machines also contains other information, for example information about read reliability/quality. This data must be archived even after successful complete genome assembly. Standard file format used for this type of data is format SAM (Sequence Alignment/Mapping Format) and its binary compressed version BAM. In this thesis we describe the construction of a better lossless compression scheme for compression of files in the SAM/BAM format. This compression scheme provides better compression ratios than the BAM format. In addition, random access to data in the compressed file is retained. Implementation of this compression scheme is platform independent and allows simple configuration of the compression process. Implementation also offers easy extensibility. Thanks to this, we will be able to respond to changes in current sequencing platforms as well as to changes in the SAM format.

Generators of pseudorandom sequences are widely used objects, not in the least place because of their application in stream ciphers. One of the ways to improve resistance to different types of attack is to use compression on the generated sequence in order to remove redundant information, that might lead to an attack against the generator. In this work we try to explore from a wider perspective the theoretical foundations for compressing pseudorandom sequences created thus far. Using this general view we will examine some known attacks against the PRN generators and look for a way to resist such attacks.

Ultrasonic technology is commonly used in the eld of Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) of metal structures such as steel, aluminium, etc. Compared to ultrasonic bulk waves that travel in infinite media with no boundary influence, Ultrasonic Guided Waves (UGWs) require a structural boundary for propagation such that they can be used to inspect and monitor long elements of a structure from a single position. The greatest challenges for any UGW system are the plethora of wave modes arising from the geometry of the structural element which propagate with a range of frequency dependent velocities and the interpretation of these combined signals reflected by discontinuities in the structural element. In this thesis, a technique is developed which facilitates the measurement of Time of Arrival (ToA) and group velocity dispersion curves of wave modes for one dimensional structures as far as wave propagation is concerned. A second technique is also presented which employs the dispersion curves to deliver enhanced range measurements in complex multimodal UGW responses. Ultimately, the aforementioned techniques are used as a part of the analysis of previously unreported signals arising from interactions of UGWs with piezoelectric transducers. The first signal processing technique is presented which used a combination of frequency-sweep measurement, sampling rate conversion and the Fourier transform. The technique is applied to synthesized and experimental data in order to identify different wave modes in complex UGW signals. It is demonstrated that the technique has the capability to derive the ToA and group velocity dispersion curve of the wave modes of interest. The second signal processing technique uses broad band excitation, dispersion compensation and cross-correlation. The technique is applied to synthesized and experimental data in order to identify different wave modes in complex UGW signals. It is demonstrated that the technique noticeably improves the Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR) of the UGW response using a priori knowledge of the dispersion curve. It is also able to derive accurate quantitative information about the ToA and the propagation distance. During the development of the aforementioned signal processing techniques, some unwanted wave-packets are identified in the UGW responses which are found to be induced by the coupling of a shear mode piezoelectric transducer at the free edge of the waveguide. Accordingly, the effect of the force on the piezoelectric transducers and the corresponding reflections and mode conversions are studied experimentally. The aforementioned signal processing techniques are also employed as a part of the study. A Finite Element Analysis (FEA) procedure is also presented which can potentially improve the theoretical predictions and converge to results found in experimental routines. The approach enhances the con dence in the FEA models compared to traditional approaches. The outcome of the research conducted in this thesis paves the way to enhance the reliability of UGW inspections by utilizing the signal processing techniques and studying the multimodal responses.

Natural fibre composites (NFCs), which are polymers reinforced with cellulosic bast fibres, have the potential to be applied into a range of building products. They are seen as an alternative to glass fibre reinforced plastics (GFRP) in some applications, because of natural fibres (NF) relatively high strength and low density. Moreover, natural fibres have a set of beneficial traits, such as thermal insulation, thermal stability, biodegradability, and are inherently renewable. Those characteristics are of importance when NF are used as reinforcements in polymer composites, but developments in mechanical performance, reliability and economic viability are still required in order to be adopted fully by industry. The goal of this thesis was the development of a processing methodology for NFC laminate and subsequent material characterisation to assess the developed material suitability for building applications. Research objectives included materials selection, processing route development for laminates and tubes, manufacture of NFC laminates and analysis of mechanical properties in order to find an optimal composition. Hemp and flax fibres were selected as the reinforcement, because both have high mechanical properties and are important bast fibre crops in the European region with established cultivation and processing methods. As a matrix, fossil-fuel based and partially bio-derived thermoset resin systems were used. Handling and processing methodologies were developed for laminates and composite tubes based on filament winding and compression moulding techniques. The effects of the selected factors, namely material composition, volume fraction, processing parameters, reinforcement linear density, yarn twist, lamination sequence, yarn waviness and hybrid hemp-wool reinforcement were subsequently described in mechanical properties analysis of laminates. The influence of weathering conditions on the mechanical performance of the NFCs was examined. Furthermore, a study of NFC tubes under compression was performed. Results showed that the developed laminates reinforced with NF yarns have sufficient mechanical properties to be utilised in sandwich panels and/or tubes. However, a low resistance to moisture-related weathering restricts the developed NFCs for indoor applications.

Dans un assemblage précontraint, des efforts sont transmis entre les pièces par mobilisation du frottement suite à l'application d'une contrainte de compression normale. L'objectif de ce travail était de transposer ce principe de transmission des efforts au matériau bois. A partir de résultats existants, une étude expérimentale préliminaire a été menée sur des chaumes de bambou. L'intérêt de cette « graminée » par rapport au bois est sa résistance importante en compression transversale. Pour appliquer ce principe à des avivés de bois, il a été nécessaire de les densifier par compression localisée à froid au-delà de leur limite élastique. Une caractérisation de Picea abies en compression transversale au-delà de sa limite élastique a été réalisée. Cette analyse a abouti à une loi de comportement fonction de la densité de l'éprouvette. De plus, l'influence de la densification du bois sur sa résistance en traction longitudinale a été mesurée. Il s'avère que cette résistance est constante puis chute à partir d'un taux de densification critique fonction de la masse volumique du bois. La phase de mise en place de la précontrainte dans les assemblages bois et bambou testés a été modélisée par éléments finis. L'orthotropie des matériaux a été pris en compte par la superposition d'un modèle mousse (comportement non-linéaire transversal) et d'un modèle poutre (direction longitudinale) créant une structure dont la taille des éléments ne descend pas en dessous de celle des cernes. Ce modèle structural mésoscopique a permis de simuler les phases de densification, charge, décharge de l'assemblage et d'atteindre la limite à rupture, permettant d'aller jusqu'à une démarche d'optimisation. / In a pre-stressed fastener, forces are transmitted between two elements by friction which is made possible by the application of transversal compression forces. The aim of this work was to apply this principle to timber fasteners. Thanks to former results, a preliminary experimental study was done on stubbles of bamboo. This “grass” has a higher transversal compression resistance than wood. In order to transpose the principle of pre-stress from bamboo to timber, it was necessary to increase the compression resistance of timber. The idea proposed here is the densification of wood by localised cold compression beyond its elastic limit. Picea abies was characterized in transversal compression beyond its elastic limit. This analysis gave stress-strain curves which depend on the density of the wood. The influence of the densification on the resistance in longitudinal tension was also measured. This resistance is constant and then it decreases rapidly from a critical densification rate function of the density of the wood. The pre-stress of the tested timber and bamboo fasteners was modelled by a finite elements model. The anisotropy of the materials was taken into account by the superposition of a crushable foam model (non linear behaviour in transversal direction) and beams (longitudinal direction). This structural mesoscopic model allowed simulating the densification, the loading and unloading of the fasteners until their failure which lead to an optimization of the connectors.