Magnetic cooling is an emerging refrigeration technology with potential to surpass the performance of vapour compression devices. It has been successfully applied in the cryogenic temperature ranges, where magnetic cooling gas liquefiers surpass the performance of conventional liquefaction systems. Magnetic refrigeration technology is based on the magnetocaloric effect, a characteristic present in all magnetic materials and alloys. In magnetic thermodynamic cycles, magnetization of a magnetocaloric material is equivalent to the compression of a gas, while demagnetization is equivalent to expansion of a gas, with a subsequent diminution of the entropy. In this thesis, the applicability of this technology to the domestic environment is reviewed. First, the thermodynamics of magnetic refrigeration are explored. Then, a comprehensive review of magnetocaloric materials suitable for use at room temperature is presented. To ascertain the state of the art, the most relevant prototypes and their performances have been described. Concluding the documentation, a survey on the existing mathematic models has been performed, that provided the foundation to create a Matlab model of a magnetic refrigeration device. To gain greater insight on the internal working of these devices, a representative room temperature cooling device has been modelled, and used to simulate a magnetic refrigerator and room air conditioner. Its performance has been analysed and compared with that of vapour compression devices. Also, the influence of parameters such as magnetic field applied, temperature span, refrigerant fluid and different regenerator configurations has been investigated.

Ion traps can easily be miniaturized to become portable mass spectrometers. Trapped ions can be ejected by adjusting voltage settings of the radiofrequency (RF) signal applied to the electrodes. Several ion trap designs include the quadrupole ion trap (QIT), cylindrical ion trap (CIT), linear ion trap (LIT), rectilinear ion trap (RIT), toroidal ion trap, and cylindrical toroidal ion trap. Although toroidal ion traps are being used more widely in miniaturized mass spectrometers, there is a lack of fundamental understanding of how the toroidal electric field affects ion motion, and therefore, the ion trap's performance as a mass analyzer. Simulation programs can be used to discover how traps with toroidal geometry can be optimized. Potential mapping, field calculations, and simulations of ion motion were used to compare three types of toroidal ion traps: a symmetric and an asymmetric trap made using hyperbolic electrodes, and a simplified trap made using cylindrical electrodes. Toroidal harmonics, which represent solutions to the Laplace equation in a toroidal coordinate system, may be useful to understand toroidal ion traps. Ion trapping and ion motion simulations were performed in a time-varying electric potential representing the symmetric, second-order toroidal harmonic of the second kind—the solution most analogous to the conventional, Cartesian quadrupole. This potential distribution, which we call the toroidal quadrupole, demonstrated non-ideal features in the stability diagram of the toroidal quadrupole which were similar to that for conventional ion traps with higher-order field contributions. To eliminate or reduce these non-ideal features, other solutions to the Laplace equation can be added to the toroidal quadrupole, namely the toroidal dipole, toroidal hexapole, toroidal octopole, and toroidal decapole. The addition of a toroidal hexapole component to the toroidal quadrupole provides improvement in ion trapping, and is expected to play an important role in optimizing the performance of all types of toroidal ion trap mass spectrometers.The cylindrical toroidal ion trap has been miniaturized for a portable mass spectrometer. The first miniaturized version (r0 and z0 reduced by 1/3) used the same central electrode and alignment sleeve as the original design, but it had too high of capacitance for the desired RF frequency. The second miniaturized version (R, r0, and z0 reduced by 1/3) was designed with much less capacitance, but several issues including electrode alignment and sample pressure control caused the mass spectra to have poor resolution. The third miniaturized design used a different alignment method, and its efficiency still needs to be improved.

Mafic magma is the most common magma erupted at the surface of the earth. It is generated from partial melting of the mantle, which has been subdivided into end-members based on unique geochemical signatures. One reason these end members, or heterogeneities, exist is subduction of lithospheric plates back into the mantle. The amount of elements, such as Cl and K, removed during subduction and recycled into the deep mantle, is poorly constrained. Additionally, the amount of volatiles, such as Cl, that are recycled into the deep mantle will strongly affect the behavior of the system. I have looked at Cl and K in HIMU source melts to see how it varies. Cl/Nb and K/Nb suggest that elevated Cl/K ratios are the result of depletion of K rather than increased Cl recycled into the deep mantle. After the mantle has partially melted and mafic melt has migrated to the surface, it usually erupts effusively or with low explosivity because of its low viscosity, but it is possible for larger eruptions to occur. These larger, Plinian eruptions, are not well understood in mafic systems. It is generally thought that basalt has a viscosity that is too low to allow for such an eruption to occur. Plinian eruptions require fragmentation to occur, which means the melt must undergo brittle failure. This may occur if the melt ascends rapidly enough to allow pressure to build in bubbles without the bubbles expanding. To test this, I have done decompression experiments to try to bracket the ascent rate for two Plinian eruptions. One eruption has a fast ascent, faster than those seen in more silicic melts, whereas the other eruption is unable to be reproduced in the lab, however it began with a increased viscosity in the partly crystallized magma. After fragmentation and eruption, it is generally thought that tephra do not continue to crystallize. We have found that crystallinity increases from rim to core in two basaltic pumice. Textural data along with a cooling model has allowed us to estimate growth rates in a natural system, which are similar to experimental data. / text

The thesis deals with the analysis of the properties of the external and internal environment of the buildings, the possibilities of heating and cooling. The emphasis is mainly on the energy intensity and the impact of weather conditions on the building temperature during the year. The model created by UPPAAL SMC describes the behavior of heating and cooling during the year and identifies the energy demand of the given building. The building model itself can be partially modified using the built-in user interface.