Dispersed particle flows are encountered in many biological, geophysical but also in industrial situations, e.g. during processing of materials. In these flows, the particles usually are non-spherical and their angular dynamics play a crucial role for the final material properties. Generally, the angular dynamics of a particle is dependent on the local flow in the frame-of-reference of this particle. In this frame, the surrounding flow can be linearized and the linear velocity gradient will determine how the particle rotates. In this thesis, the main objective is to improve the fundamental knowledge of the angular dynamics of non-spherical particles related to two specific biobased material processes. Firstly, the flow of suspended cellulose fibers in a papermaking process is used as a motivation. In this process, strong shear rates close to walls and the size of the fibers motivates the study of inertial effects on a single particle in a simple shear flow. Through direct numerical simulations combined with a global stability analysis, this flow problem is approached and all stable rotational states are found for spheroidal particles with aspect ratios ranging from moderately slender fibers to thin disc-shaped particles. The second material process of interest is the production of strong cellulose filaments produced through hydrodynamic alignment and assembly of cellulose nanofibrils (CNF). The flow in the preparation process and the small size of the particles motivates the study of alignment and rotary diffusion of CNF in a strain flow. However, since the particles are smaller than the wavelength of visible light, the dynamics of CNF is not easily captured with standard optical techniques. With a new flow-stop experiment, rotary diffusion of CNF is measured using Polarized optical microscopy. This process is found to be quite complicated, where short-range interactions between fibrils seem to play an important role. New time-resolved X-ray characterization techniques were used to target the underlying mechanisms, but are found to be limited by the strong degradation of CNF due to the radiation. Although the results in this thesis have limited direct applicability, they provide important fundamental stepping stones towards the possibility to control fiber orientation in flows and can potentially lead to new tailor-made materials assembled from a nano-scale. / <p>QC 20160929</p>

Lithium tetraborate (Li2B4O7) has aroused interest of scientists since 1960s by the courtesy of the thermoluminescence (TL) property it possesses. Over and above, it found widespread use in surface acoustic wave apparatuses, in sensor sector and in laser technology due to its non linear optical characteristics. For the uses in thermoluminescence dosimetry lithium tetraborate is activated by addition of a variety of metals as dopants. This study comprises the synthesis of lithium tetraborate by two methods (high temperature solid state synthesis and water/solution assisted synthesis) as well as doping and characterization of the material. Lithium tetraborate is readily commercially available in TL dosimetry / hence, the main aim is to specify practical production conditions to pioneer domestic production. In high temperature synthesis, the initial heating was performed at 400oC for 3 hours. Then the samples were heated at 750oC for two hours, intermittently mixed to enhance diffusion and exposed to the same temperature for another two hours. In water/solution assisted synthesis, stoichiometric quantities of reactants were mixed in water by heating and agitating in order to achieve homogenous mixing and good dispersion of the material. The remnant of water was removed from the system by 3 hours initial heating at 150oC. The synthesis stage is followed by doping step where the metals Cu, Ag and In in different proportions were doped in lithium tetraborate by solid state and solution assisted synthesis techniques. Powder X-ray diffraction method was employed for the characterization of the material. The thermal properties of doped and un-doped materials were studied by DTA (Differential Thermal Analyses). Besides, FT-IR (Fourier Transform Infra red) spectrometry analyses were performed in order to detect differences in the bond structure caused by doping The XRD patterns obtained showed that lithium tetraborate production was successful by both high temperature solid state synthesis and solution assisted synthesis Moreover, it was inferred from the XRD results that addition of dopants did not have a sound effect on the crystal structure. Furthermore, the DTA results displayed that addition of different dopants to the structure of lithium tetraborate did not cause any noticeable difference. The extensive TL measurements showed that the TL response of the material produced is affected by production and doping methods.

In this study, differences in glow curves of Mn doped LTB powder samples synthesized with solid and wet synthesis methods and doped by using solid and wet doping techniques were investigated. Firstly, LTB was synthesized by using wet synthesis method which mainly comprises dissolution of reactants in water as solvent. Second way to produce LTB which was used in this study was solid synthesis method. In solid synthesis method, reactants were mixed in powder form. In the second part of the study, LTB produced by two different methods were doped with Mn and additionally Ag, Mg or P by using two different doping techniques. In order to see structural differences between differently synthesized and differently doped LTB samples which contained different amount of dopant powder X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) method was employed. Besides, FTIR (Fourier Transform Infrared) spectroscopy analyses were performed in order to detect differences in the bond structure caused by doping. Additionally, Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometer (ICP-OES) was used to determine the actual amount of dopant in LTB. Also morphological structures of samples were compared by using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). Thermoluminescence measurements were performed with (TLD) Thermoluminescence Dosimeter equipment. XRD and FTIR analysis showed that syntheses of products were done in well success. Addition of dopants did not cause any changes in structural or bonding properties of LTB. It was possible to observe that, synthesis and doping methods and dopant concentration effect the thermoluminescence glow curves of doped LTB.

Strontium pyrophosphate is a promising phosphate that is used widely in the industry as a result of its luminescent, fluorescent, dielectric, semi-conductor, catalyst, magnetic and ion exchange properties. Thermoluminescent dosimetry (TLD) is one of such areas. Recent researches in METU on thermoluminescence property of strontium pyrophosphate showed that strontium pyrophosphate could give enough intensity for radiation dosimetry when doped with oxides of some rare-earth elements. In this study strontium pyrophosphate was synthesized and the product was doped with copper-silver, copper-indium and manganese-praseodymium ions by solid-state reaction. In addition to these processes, characterization and the investigation of thermoluminescence properties of strontium pyrophosphate with and without dopants was conducted. Stoichiometric quantities of strontium carbonate and ammonium dihydrogen phosphate were weighed, mixed and ground by agate mortar. Afterwards, the mixture was heated at 900&amp / #730 / C for 14.5 hours. For doping process, synthesized strontium pyrophosphate and different amounts of copper oxide, indium oxide, silver nitrate, manganese oxide and praseodymium oxide were weighed and powdered together. Then, mixture was heated at 950&amp / #730 / C for 11 hours. For characterization of strontium pyrophosphate samples with and without dopants / X-ray Diffraction (XRD) was implemented. Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) was used to determine whether the bond structures were affected from doping or not. Thermal properties of the samples were investigated with the help of Differential Thermal Analysis (DTA). Morphology of compounds was observed by Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). Afterwards thermoluminescence (TLD) studies were carried out. XRD pattern of samples showed that the intensity of hkl-310 peak of strontium pyrophosphate increased with the inclusion of metal oxides, however none of the characteristic peaks of metal oxides was observed. Addition of metal oxides caused no change in FTIR meaning that the anionic part of matrix compound, which is strontium pyrophosphate, has structural stability. Thermal analysis and morphological investigation of this material were performed. TLD results were different for each sample, which has different content. The most significant peak, which is suitable for radiation dosimetry was observed at 160&amp / #730 / C in the glow curve with the sample doped with 7% manganese oxide and 1% praseodymium oxide.

No description available.

Complex patterns arise in many extended nonlinear nonequilibrium systems in physics, chemistry and biology. Information extraction from these complex patterns is a challenge and has been a main subject of research for many years. We study patterns in Rayleigh-Benard convection (RBC) acquired from our laboratory experiments to develop new characterization techniques for complex spatio-temporal patterns. Computational homology, a new topological characterization technique, is applied to the experimental data to investigate dynamics by quantifying convective patterns in a unique way. The homology analysis is used to detect symmetry breakings between hot and cold flows as a function of thermal driving in experiments, where other conventional techniques, e.g., curvature and wave-number distribution, failed to reveal this asymmetry. Furthermore, quantitative information is acquired from the outputs of homology to identify different spatio-temporal states. We use this information to obtain a reduced dynamical description of spatio-temporal chaos to investigate extensivity and physical boundary effects in RBC. The results from homological analysis are also compared to other dimensionality reduction techniques such as Karhunen-Loeve decomposition and Fourier analysis.

In this study, a mathematical model is developed for investigating the discrete sound propagation in viscoelastic medium to identify its viscoelastic properties. The outcome of the model suggests that pulse repetition frequency is a very important parameter for the determination of relaxation time. Adjusting the order of magnitude of the pulse repetition frequency, the corresponding relaxation time which has similar magnitude with pulse repetition frequency is filtered while the others in the spectrum are discarded. Discrete relaxation spectrum can be obtained by changing the magnitude of the pulse repetition frequency. Therefore, the model enables to characterize the relaxation times by ultrasonic measurements.

Les dispositifs avancés pour la microélectronique intègrent divers matériaux et sont de dimensions nanométriques. Une connaissance précise de leur composition est requise pour améliorer leurs procédés de fabrication et comprendre leur comportement électrique. Le ToF-SIMS est un candidat intéressant, qui souffre cependant des effets de matrice et ne possède pas toujours une résolution spatiale suffisante. Le but de ce travail est de permettre une analyse quantitative et résolue en profondeur de matériaux et structures pour la microélectronique avancée à l'aide d'un ToF-SIMS standard. Cette étude porte sur SiGe, sur des matériaux à haute permittivité, des implants basse énergie et des matériaux organiques. Elle se concentre sur la préparation d'échantillons, l'optimisation des conditions expérimentales et le traitement de données pour mettre au point des protocoles d'analyse originaux dont la précision est évaluée grâce à d'autres techniques de caractérisation de pointe. Ces protocoles permettent d'améliorer la qualité des analyses en termes de résolution en profondeur, de précision et de reproductibilité / Next generation devices for microelectronics feature nanometric dimensions and incorporate heterogeneous materials. Accurate knowledge is needed on their chemical composition to address elaboration processes and understand electrical properties. ToF-SIMS is an interesting candidate, but it suffers from matrix effects and insufficient depth resolution. The aim of this work is to enable quantitative, depth resolved analysis of materials and structures for advanced devices with a standard ToF-SIMS. Studies focus in SiGe and high-k based materials, ultra shallow implants and materials for organic electronics. We investigate sample preparation, experimental condition optimization and data treatment to setup original analysis protocols. Accuracy of the new protocols is tested with leading edge external characterization techniques in each of the materials of interest. These developments allowed enhanced analysis quality in terms of depth resolution, accuracy and reproducibility.

No description available.

Radionuclide liquid wastes generated from nuclear facilities can affect humans and the environment, thus substantial attention for their safe management has been received worldwide. Treatment of radionuclide liquid wastes is an important step in its management. In the present work, new composite nanomaterials, graphene oxide base nanomaterial (GO) are developed for treatment purpose. Graphene oxide (GO), one of the most graphene derivatives, its unique properties, such as chemical stability, hydrophilicity, large surface area and functional groups, make them able to form strong chemical bonds with radionuclides. GO was successfully synthesized via Hummers method, characterized by Raman spectroscopy, X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), UV/Vis Spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and applied as an adsorbent in removal of the metallic long-lived radionuclide 68Ge from of aqueous solution The method used for evaluation of nanomaterials retention properties was sorption experiment, being based on contact of solid material with tracer solution under defined boundary conditions (solid/solution ratio, solution composition etc.). Two sorption experimental methods were used in this study. Firstly, an aqueous solution of 68Ge radionuclide solution mixed with GO solution, the solution was filtered using syringe filter membrane unit and the aliquot was quantified by gamma spectrometry. Secondly, the 68Ge radionuclide was mixed with GO solid powder, suspension rotated in a mechanical shaker, centrifuged, an aliquot of 1.0 ml sample taken for gamma spectroscopy and the supernatant was put in an oven to dry overnight for characterization analysis. The results obtained from experiments were the evaluated, using sorption percentage equation and showed that the GO had much low sorption capacity for the pre-concentration of radionuclides from aqueous solutions. The function of the pH, the ionic strength and the reduction of GO will be investigated for future studies for the improvement of the research results. / Physics / M. Sc. (Physics)