This thesis covers recent advances in the adjoint variable method for the sensitivity estimations through time-domain electromagnetic simulations. It considers both frequency-independent and frequency-dependent response functions, and at the same time, provides a novel adjoint treatment for addressing dispersive sensitivity parameters in the material constitutive relation. With this proposed adjoint technique, response sensitivities with respect to all N sensitivity parameters can be computed through at most one extra simulations regardless of the value of N. This thesis also extends the existing adjoint technique to estimate all N^2 second-order sensitivity entries in the response Hessian matrix through N additional simulations. All adjoint sensitivity techniques presented in this thesis are numerically validated through various practical examples. Comparison shows that our produced adjoint results agree with those produced through central finite-difference approximations or through exact analytical approaches. / Dissertation / Doctor of Engineering (DEng)

No abstract is provided. / Thesis / Master of Engineering (MEngr) / Scope and contents: The aim of this thesis is to present a finite difference method, for analysing coupled shear walls with constant or variable cross-section, resting on rigid or elastic foundations and with elastic or inelastic connecting beams. It is also intended to compare the finite difference method with the continuous connection method, which can be developed using Rosman's approach or Newmark's concept for analysing composite beams or the energy approach, and with the finite element method. An analysis of coupled shear walls with multiple piers is presented.

<p> High index contrast optical waveguides have recently attracted much attention as a promising platform for ultradense photonic integrated circuits. The vector nature and fine geometry of such waveguiding structures impose new challenges for numerical modeling. By introducing the high-order finite-difference method, highly accurate and efficient modeling techniques have been developed in this thesis for simulation and design of high index contrast waveguiding structures with compact size.</p> <p> High-order mode solving techniques are first presented for modal analyses. Their advantages in accuracy have been demonstrated for high index contrast optical waveguides and bent waveguides with small bending radius.</p> <p> Later, a class of high-order propagation algorithms, including the paraxial and wide-angle beam propagation methods, reflective operator method and bidirectional beam propagation method, have been developed for modeling longitudinally slow-varying structures, single waveguide discontinuity and piecewise z-invariant structures, respectively. All the proposed propagation algorithms have been shown to provide significant improvement in accuracy and efficiency in comparison with conventional methods, especially when simulating high index contrast structures with small feature size.</p> <p> Accurate modeling of evanescent waves is critical for the simulation of strongly reflecting structures with high longitudinal index contrast. Various rational approximations to square root operators used in the bidirectional beam propagation method have been comprehensively assessed. Useful guidelines for accurate modeling of evanescent and propagating modes are provided.</p> <p> Finally, the efficient high-order bidirectional beam propagation method is introduced for the design of Bragg gratings on high index contrast and plasmonic waveguides. Good performance is achieved.</p> / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

The current research investigates the use of solid-embedded thermocouples for determining accurate transient temperature measurements within a solid medium, with emphasis on measurements intended for use in inverse heat conduction problems. Metal casting experiments have been conducted to collect internal mold temperatures to be used, through inverse conduction methods, to estimate the heat exchange between a casting and mold. Inverse conduction methods require accurate temperature measurements for valid boundary estimates. Therefore, various sources of thermocouple measurement uncertainty are examined and some suggestions for uncertainty reduction are presented. Thermocouple installation induced bias uncertainties in experimental temperature data are dynamically corrected through the development and implementation of an embedded thermocouple correction (ETC) transfer function. Comparisons of experimental data to dynamically adjusted data, as well as the inverse conduction estimates for heat flux from each data set, are presented and discussed.

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