The thesis inquiry is a study of the interrelations between character, emotion and rationality in architecture. The primary modes of representation are digital still photography and hand drawing. To best illuminate these issues the work of the eye and hand of the architect play a vital role. Pastel, pencil and charcoal are the preferred media for the works on paper. Programmatically the building is a boathouse for eight-men crew shells. The boathouse is embedded into an ideal hillside, with one curved side angled slightly to the water and the landscape beyond. Together with a generous curved roof running the length of the boathouse they provide a covered architectural prow and dry sanctuary below for the storage of the crew shells. From the prow above one has an expansive overlook on the water and the varied activities upon it. In the thesis project water is not seen as a substance, but rather as a material with a capacity to influence the character of the interior space. For example in the lower level of the boathouse there are small windows adjacent to an artificial water basin. Filtered sunlight passes through the water collected in the basin and then through the small windows. This condition allows a subtle colored light to pervade the lower space. Another important aspect of this building is a consideration of the twenty-four hour rhythm of day and night. For much of the rowing community, mornings and afternoons are when races or practice activities occur. However the building must be able to show itself when the sun is arriving and departing. In the morning the boathouse and its interior act as an invitation to the rising sun. At night the building provides light to gently illuminate the darkening surroundings at dusk â similar to a lighthouse resting on its side for shells to navigate towards. / Master of Architecture

Separation of complex gaseous mixtures using gas chromatography (GC) is an important step in analytical systems for environmental monitoring, medical diagnosis, and forensic science. Due to its high resolving power, analysis speed, and small sample size, GC, has become the premier technique for separation and analysis of volatile and semi-volatile organic compounds. Miniaturization of analytical systems has become a major trend which is mainly driven by advancements in microfabrication techniques and a need for portable lab-on-a-chip systems for onsite monitoring. Microfabricated columns have been explored for applications in analytical processes like GC in several research studies. These microGC columns typically have open rectangular or open circular cross sections which is a result of the etching process utilized in the fabrication. This work reports the fabrication and performance of a new generation of silicon-on-glass micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) based GC columns with microposts namely "semi-packed." These columns can be fabricated on a 2 cm2-die for a 1 m-long channel or a 1 cm2-die for a 25 cm-long channel. The semi-packed columns have a higher sample capacity as the overall surface area is larger than that of open rectangular columns of the same dimensions. The separation efficiency of these columns is also superior to that of open columns due to the presence of the microposts. As compared to conventional packed columns, the semi-packed columns show lower pressure drops and a more uniform flow profile, both of which contribute to, performance in terms of separation efficiency. / Master of Science

There is an undefinable order in the universe. In our solar system, nine planets revolve around one sun. The earths’ orbit around the sun takes 365 days. The moons’ orbit about the earth take 30 days. The earths’ revolution about its own axis takes 24 hours. The sun rises in the east and sets in the west. This is how man begins to define his portion of the universe, to distinguish limits. There is much more to explore, learn and explain. As humans we subconsciously desire a harmony and balance around us. Order. It is a physical, tangible presence that we can see, label and understand, which is evident throughout the human existence. We have a need to define, regulate and establish rules, to create order. Order permeates our lives on a daily basis. This thesis seeks to give order to a structure, a House. It is the study of grids, columns and walls in relation to the structure that it supports. A sixteen square grid is a constant of this project. It is the controlling element that gives rise to the placement of the walls and columns. Walls and columns are placed with in the house according to an order that is defined by the grid. Materials are also used to distinguish boundaries of the grid establishing its influence throughout the house. / Master of Architecture

Lime-cement columns were constructed to improve soft ground at the I-95/Route 1 Interchange in Alexandria, Virginia. As part of the test embankment program, two different commercial laboratories performed laboratory tests on treated soil, and they produced strikingly different unconfined compression test results. Further, both sets of results are different from test results for similar soils available in the published literature. This situation created uncertainties and a conservative design philosophy, accompanied by increased construction costs compared to typical lime-cement column projects. The goals of this research project were to assess factors that influence strength gain of lime-cement-soil mixtures and to develop a detailed laboratory test procedure that produces consistent results. Key findings from the research are that a laboratory test procedure that produces consistent results has been developed, drying and subsequent restoration of soil moisture prior to treatment can decrease the strength of the mixture, the mixture strength decreases as the ratio of soil water content to cement content increases for 100 percent cement-soil mixtures, the addition of lime can increase the mixture strength for some soils and decrease the strength for others, and presenting the test results in the form of contour plots of unconfined compressive strength can be very useful. / Master of Science

In 1949, W. T. Thompson proposed a procedure for the solution of an n-section column using the matrix calculus. Since the matrix method was rather long and unfamiliar to most engineers, it was felt that a further investigation was warranted in the hope that 2 further development of the Thompson method would result in a simplified procedure not involving matrices, thus placing a worthwhile tool in the hands of the practicing structural engineer. From the theoretical point of view, at least, the investigation proved successful. However, the resulting equations could net be simplified as much as was originally hoped which meant that the practical value of the method was limited from the point of view of time required for the solution of a typical problem. In an attempt to circumvent this difficulty, to some degree, a secondary investigation was undertaken. Two common types of columns were analyzed in detail and the results presented in graphical form in such a manner that the critical design load could be found, for the column types investigated, in a matter of minutes. A bibliography of the more important column papers, dealing essentially with variable section columns, is included in the thesis to provide a convenient ready reference source of column information for future investigators.

Ground Improvement using vibro stone columns is gaining increasing acceptance on marginal soft clay sites as a sustainable foundation solution, particularly for lightly loaded low-rise structures supported by shallow, narrow footings. Most experience in this context however has been with widespread loads and use of the wet top-feed stone column technique, which has now been largely superseded, on environmental grounds, by the dry bottom-feed technique, and for which no significant published field trial data currently exists in deep soft clay deposits in the context of shallow, narrow footings. This research is therefore principally concerned with evaluating both the ground response to installation of partial depth vibro stone columns using the dry bottom-feed method in a deep moderately sensitive soft clay soil, together with the influence of parameters such as stone column spacing and length, founding depth within a thin surface 'crust', and also foundation shape on the performance of narrow footings subsequently constructed and subjected to incremental loading, over the installed stone columns, at the Bothkennar soft clay research site in Scotland. Comparisons are made with footings constructed within the surface 'crust' at Bothkennar without stone columns. Whilst stone columns were satisfactorily constructed with the dry bottom-feed technique at Bothkennar, it was evident that the vibroflot should not remain in the ground for longer than is necessary, in order to avoid excessive soil disturbance. For this reason construction of partial depth stone columns to a more uniform diameter, without construction of an 'end bulb', is advocated. Stress ratio was found to increase significantly with increasing length of stone column and also applied load, up to a maximum value of around 4.0. Moreover, for a trial footing founded at the base of the 'crust', stresses attracted by the columns were higher than all other columns where founding depth (level) was at shallower depth in the crust. A significant stress transfer was also measured beneath the toe of columns intentionally installed shorter than the minimum design length predicted by the Hughes and Withers (1974) approach at all iii applied loads, but not for columns equal to, or longer than minimum design length, confirming the predictions of this laboratory-based approach at the field scale. The stress measurements recorded by the field instrumentation demonstrate that the behaviour of the composite stone column-soil-foundation system is complex, with simultaneous and interdependent changes in pore pressures, soil stress ratios and resulting stiffness of both soil and columns. Whilst observed settlements exceeded those predicted, with larger foundation settlements observed at low applied loads over stone columns than at the same loading level in untreated ground, principally due to soil disturbance and accelerated consolidation effects during initial loading, at higher applied loadings however the stone columns significantly reduced the rate and magnitude of settlement compared to a foundation in the untreated 'crust'. It is therefore clear that the stone columns 'reinforced' the weak soil, providing a significantly increased factor of safety against bearing failure.

Neste trabalho, é apresentado um processo de análise de estruturas de edifícios industriais metálicos, constituídas de pilares de seção composta, com variação brusca de seção ao nível de assentamento da viga de rolamento, e traves em treliça. O processo tem como objetivo a determinação do carregamento crítico que produz a instabilidade elástica geral por flexão ou por flexo-torção, dos pilares supostos engastados na base e vinculados elasticamente na sua extremidade superior à trave do telhado. A estrutura é analisada pelo processo dos deslocamentos, empregando-se a técnica matricial com discretização de seção dos pilares, de modo que todo o pilar discretizado seja representado por uma estrutura tridimensional equivalente composta por barras. Esta análise é desenvolvida no regime elástico, em teoria de segunda ordem, computando as modificações nas condições de equilíbrio decorrentes do estado deslocado da estrutura. Como parte do desenvolvimento do trabalho, é analisado inicialmente os efeitos dos vínculos elásticos na parte superior dos pilares, os quais modificam os comprimentos efetivos de flambagem, considerando o pórtico transversal apenas com elementos de barra deformáveis por flexão em seu plano. Finalmente, é analisado o comportamento completo dos pilares integrados à estrutura do pórtico transversal, considerando-os discretizados e vinculados à trave do telhado. Obtém-se então o limite de estabilidade dos pilares tridimensionais, deformáveis por flexão ou por flexo-torção. Fluxogramas das programações são apresentados para facilitar o entendimento do processo. Exemplos numéricos são apresentados e seus resultados são comparados com os obtidos por outros autores e com os da aplicação de recomendações de normas técnicas. Os resultados mostram que a aplicação do processo proposto fornece parâmetros capazes de representar o comportamento real dos pilares, possibilitando dimensionamentos mais precisos. / This thesis presents a process for analysis of steel industrial buildings, with stepped columns with sudden variation of section at the level of the crane runway girder and truss chords. The process aims at the determination of the global elastic, flexural or flexural-torsional, instability limit for columns with fully restrained rotations at the basis and elastically connected to the chord. The stiffness method is applied, using the matrix analysis technique with discretization of the column elements, resulting an equivalent three-dimensional structure. The analysis is developed in second order theory, in the elastic range, computing the changes in equilibrium due to the deformed shape of the structure. First, the effects of elastic connections at the tops ot the columns are analyzed. These effects are responsible for changes in the effective buckling lengths, considering the transversal frame as beam elements deforming by bending in their own planes. Finally, an analysis is performed for the overall behavior of the whole transversal frame structure, with the discretized columns connected to the frame chord. The stability limit is obtained for the three-dimensional columns, which is deformable by bending or torsion-bending. Flowcharts are presented to help in the process understanding. Numerical examples are presented, comparing to results obtained by other researchers or to specifications from technical norms. Results show that the application ot the proposed approach leads to parameters capable of representing the actual behavior of the columns, thus resulting in more efficient design.

Neste trabalho, é apresentado um processo de análise de estruturas de edifícios industriais metálicos, constituídas de pilares de seção composta, com variação brusca de seção ao nível de assentamento da viga de rolamento, e traves em treliça. O processo tem como objetivo a determinação do carregamento crítico que produz a instabilidade elástica geral por flexão ou por flexo-torção, dos pilares supostos engastados na base e vinculados elasticamente na sua extremidade superior à trave do telhado. A estrutura é analisada pelo processo dos deslocamentos, empregando-se a técnica matricial com discretização de seção dos pilares, de modo que todo o pilar discretizado seja representado por uma estrutura tridimensional equivalente composta por barras. Esta análise é desenvolvida no regime elástico, em teoria de segunda ordem, computando as modificações nas condições de equilíbrio decorrentes do estado deslocado da estrutura. Como parte do desenvolvimento do trabalho, é analisado inicialmente os efeitos dos vínculos elásticos na parte superior dos pilares, os quais modificam os comprimentos efetivos de flambagem, considerando o pórtico transversal apenas com elementos de barra deformáveis por flexão em seu plano. Finalmente, é analisado o comportamento completo dos pilares integrados à estrutura do pórtico transversal, considerando-os discretizados e vinculados à trave do telhado. Obtém-se então o limite de estabilidade dos pilares tridimensionais, deformáveis por flexão ou por flexo-torção. Fluxogramas das programações são apresentados para facilitar o entendimento do processo. Exemplos numéricos são apresentados e seus resultados são comparados com os obtidos por outros autores e com os da aplicação de recomendações de normas técnicas. Os resultados mostram que a aplicação do processo proposto fornece parâmetros capazes de representar o comportamento real dos pilares, possibilitando dimensionamentos mais precisos. / This thesis presents a process for analysis of steel industrial buildings, with stepped columns with sudden variation of section at the level of the crane runway girder and truss chords. The process aims at the determination of the global elastic, flexural or flexural-torsional, instability limit for columns with fully restrained rotations at the basis and elastically connected to the chord. The stiffness method is applied, using the matrix analysis technique with discretization of the column elements, resulting an equivalent three-dimensional structure. The analysis is developed in second order theory, in the elastic range, computing the changes in equilibrium due to the deformed shape of the structure. First, the effects of elastic connections at the tops ot the columns are analyzed. These effects are responsible for changes in the effective buckling lengths, considering the transversal frame as beam elements deforming by bending in their own planes. Finally, an analysis is performed for the overall behavior of the whole transversal frame structure, with the discretized columns connected to the frame chord. The stability limit is obtained for the three-dimensional columns, which is deformable by bending or torsion-bending. Flowcharts are presented to help in the process understanding. Numerical examples are presented, comparing to results obtained by other researchers or to specifications from technical norms. Results show that the application ot the proposed approach leads to parameters capable of representing the actual behavior of the columns, thus resulting in more efficient design.

Un appareil de mesure de la fluorescence, à faible coût et portable a été développé pour quantifier les concentrations d’Ochratoxine A (OTA) dans des échantillons réels. Le système est basé sur l’excitation par une UV-LED à 365 nm et un photo détecteur contrôlé par une interface dans LabVIEW. Aussi, une image capteur, CMOS, contrôlée par une interface conçue dans MATLAB. L’OTA est une molécule naturellement fluorescente. Après excitation par une UV-, l’image de la fluorescence émise est captée par une caméra et traitée en vue de la mesure de la concentration de l’OTA. Le système d’analyse a été basé sur les 3 composants rouge, vert et bleu (RGB, selon l'acronyme anglais). La gamme est linéaire entre de 2-40 µg/L. L’extraction de l’OTA est réalisée par des colonnes d'immuno affinité (IAC, selon l'acronymeanglais) et les colonnes à empreinte moléculaire (MIP, selon l'acronyme anglais) pour les échantillons de cacao, de la bière et du vin. Les résultats obtenus ont été validés par la méthode chromatographique (HPLC). L'appareil conçu est facile à utiliser, économique et portable. En outre, l'utilisation des nouvelles technologies a été inclus tels que l'emploi du smartphone pour détecter l'OTA et la création d'un APP. Des données d'image de fluorescence provenant de la caméra du smartphone et sont analysées par un ordinateur personnel et présentés dans les composantes RGB, où l'image est envoyée à l'ordinateur par WIFI et le téléphone intelligent est utilisé comme source d'énergie trop. Enfin, une APP pour le système Android a été créé pour capturer l'image et fournit les valeurs RGB. Enfin l'utilisation du traitement de l'image a été utilisée pour quantifier l'OTA dans les échantillons réels sans colonnes IAC ou MIP, employée pour extraire la mycotoxine. L’analyse a été réalisée par des techniques colorimétriques et d’analyse de la couleur. / A portable and low cost fluorescence set-up to quantify the concentrations of Ochratoxin A(OTA) in real samples was developed. The detection through the device consist of anultraviolet light at 365 nm and an photo detector or a CMOS sensor controlled by anexecutable interface designed in LabVIEW or MATLAB. It has been reported that OTA is naturally fluorescent, so it allows the user to get a UV LED to excite the sample, get a value involtage when a photodetector is employed or a photograph of the OTA under excitationconditions, and process that image in order to predict the concentrations of the sample. Tocapture and process the image, in an automatically manner, the system was completely basedon the Red, Green and Blue (RGB) components. The linearity for OTA obtained in the rangeof concentrations corresponds to 2-40 µg/L. Immunoaffinity columns (IAC) and molecularimprinted polymer columns (MIP) were used with cocoa, beer and wine samples. Theobtained results were cross-validated using chromatographic method such as HPLC and theFluoroskan equipment. The developed setup is easy to use, economical and portable. Besides,the use of new tendencies was included such as employ the smartphone to detect OTA and thecreation of an APP. Fluorescence image data from the smartphone camera are analyzed by apersonal computer and presented in RGB components, where the image is sent to thecomputer by WIFI and the smartphone is used as a power source too. Finally, an APP forandroid system was created to capture the image and provides the RGB values. At the end, theuse of image processing to quantify the OTA in real samples without incorporated IAC or MIPcolumns to extract the mycotoxin from a complex solution, employing colorimetric techniquesand color analysis.

This paper presents the behaviour and design of axially loaded concrete-filled steel tube circular stub columns. The study was conducted over a wide range of concrete cube strengths ranging from 30 to 110 MPa. The external diameter of the steel tube-to-plate thickness (D/t) ratio ranged from 15 to 80 covering compact steel tube sections. An accurate finite element model was developed to carry out the analysis. Accurate nonlinear material models for confined concrete and steel tubes were used. The column strengths and load¿axial shortening curves were evaluated. The results obtained from the finite element analysis were verified against experimental results. An extensive parametric study was conducted to investigate the effects of different concrete strengths and cross-section geometries on the strength and behaviour of concrete-filled compact steel tube circular stub columns. The column strengths predicted from the finite element analysis were compared with the design strengths calculated using the American, Australian and European specifications. Based on the results of the parametric study, it is found that the design strengths given by the American Specifications and Australian Standards are conservative, while those of the European Code are generally unconservative. Reliability analysis was performed to evaluate the current composite column design rules.