Calcium phosphate cements are used in medicine to fill bone defects or give support to screws and plates in fracture fixation. The cements are formed via mixing a powder with water and the mixture harden through a dissolution-precipitation reaction. Today the cement mixing is performed in the operating room and consists of several complicated steps that need to be performed under sterile conditions. This renders the mixing a risk factor, potentially leading to harm for the patient e.g. unsatisfactory healing or infection. To reduce this risk, premixed cements have been developed using glycerol as mixing liquid. The premixed cement sets when it is exposed to body liquids. Therefore, premixed cement can be delivered to the operating room in prefilled syringes ready for use, thus eliminating the mixing step. The aim of this thesis is to describe differences between premixed and water-mixed cements and their advantages and drawbacks. The differences will be discussed based on results obtained from bench testing of specific cement properties as function of cement formulations as well as in vitro and in vivo studies. Several cement formulations were evaluated e.g. the influence of powder to liquid ratio (P/L), powder particle size and addition of water on key properties. The results showed that premixed cements have excellent handling properties and have mechanical properties similar to water-based cements. Both P/L and particle size can be used to control these properties. It was shown that small amounts of water improve certain cement properties while dry raw materials were important for long shelf life. To better understand the setting of premixed cements new methods for evaluating working time and setting of premixed cements were developed. In vivo studies showed that the formulations developed in this thesis are biocompatible, resorbable and show good tissue response in bone. This thesis concludes, that the premixed cements are a promising biomaterial with excellent handling properties and good biological response. The most important challenge for the premixed cements, in order to become commercially successful, is to obtain clinically relevant setting time and shelf life simultaneously. An increasing use of premixed cements in the clinics should shorten operation times and reduce infection rates to the benefit of both patients and medical staff.

The main goal for a packaging is to protect the product inside. Typical packaging nowadays is made of layers of paper and barriers consisting of plastics or aluminum foil. A problem with the barrier used today is the environmental thinking. Xylophane® is an environmental friendly and biodegradable alternative to the current barrier material used in packaging. It consists of the natural carbohydrate xylan and additives. Xylophane® is an efficient barrier to oxygen, grease and aroma and can prolong the shelf life of sensitive food. The raw material xylan is water soluble and Xylophane® can be coated on paper, board and plastics without using other solvents. A problem with the drying process is the amount of energy needed and the consumption needs to be decreased. Also, the drying capacity of the equipment to be used is often limited and the amount of water to be dried off is critical for the success of the coating process. By increasing the dry content of Xylophane® without increasing the viscosity too much, the drying process can be more effective. In this thesis, studies were made of using a filler as an additive to increase the dry content without destroying the barrier properties. With an experimental design, a suitable relationship between the ingredients xylan (X), plasticizer (P) and filler (F) was found. Xylan is the main component and is needed to get a good oxygen barrier. The plasticizer decreases the oxygen barrier properties but is needed to make the material more flexible. The filler is positive for the barrier properties. The chosen composition was X:P = 7:3 and X:F = 1:1. Some extra experiments were made to find a reasonable value of the dry content. Dry contents around 18 % work well with temperatures at and above 45°C, but to manage to perform coating at room temperature the dry content needs to be lower.

Abstract The objective of this study is to demonstrate an ecological and economic recovery process, which was developed and implemented at Stora Enso Oyj Fine Paper Oulu mill during the period 2000 to 2002. The ECO plant recovers the material called ECO pigment from the effluent treatment sludge and it can be used as a filler in multicoated fine paper production for art printing purposes. The ECO plant process consists of the following process stages. First, there is a separating phase for the recoverable material from fibres and other rejects, which is done with a wire washer. Then the fractionating of the recoverable material is performed with two-stage centrifugal cleaners. Chemical treatment with peracetic acid is used as a preservative and to increase the brightness of the ECO pigment a little. Then the recoverable material is stored in the pigment storage area and dosed to the paper machines as a filler. The rejects from the ECO plant are thickened in belt filter presses and then transferred to the bark storage area, where they are mixed with bark and combusted in a solid fuel boiler. The majority of the particles of the recovered ECO pigment were less than 45 μm; this size of particle accounted for 96.4% (on average) according to the studies made between June and December 2002. The use of ECO pigment is not found to cause more web defect problems on the base paper than before, according to the studies of the number of total web defects with the achieved particle size distribution and because the microbe content has been controlled. There are three sources from which the ash content of the base paper is composed after the start-up of the ECO plant, i.e. the broke, the virgin filler and ECO pigment. Therefore the use of ECO pigment partly decreases the need to use virgin filler. The ECO pigment was tested in the coating colour in pilot tests, and based on these results it could be used in the coating colour. The dry solid content of the ECO pigment has to be increased from the present level for the coating application.

Abstract This thesis describes the application of Low Coherence Interferometry (LCI) and Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) in paper measurements. The developed measurement system is a combination of a profilometer and a tomographic imaging device, which makes the construction versatile and applicable in several paper measurement applications. The developed system was first used to measure the surface structure of paper. Different grades of paper were selected to provide maximum variation in surface structure. The results show that the developed system is capable of measuring grades of paper from rough base paper to highly coated photo printing paper. To evaluate the developed system in surface characterization, the roughness parameters of five laboratory-made paper samples measured with the developed system and with a commercial optical profilometer were compared. A linear correlation was found with roughness parameters Ra and Rq. Next, the surface quality of paper was evaluated using LCI, a Diffractive Optical Element Based Glossmeter (DOG), and a commercial glossmeter. The results show linear correlation between Ra and gloss measured with the commercial glossmeter. The roughness Ra and averaged gloss measured with the DOG didn't give such a correlation, but a combination of these techniques provided local properties of gloss and surface structure, which can be used to evaluate the local surface properties of paper. In the next study, determination of the filler content of paper using OCT is discussed. The measurement results show clear correspondence of the slope of the averaged logarithmic fringe signal envelope and the filler content. The last studies focus on 2D and 3D imaging of paper using OCT and begin with imaging of a self-made wood fiber network. The visibility of the fibers was clear. Next, several refractive index matcing agents are studied by means of light transmittance and OCT measurements to find the best possible agent for enhancing the imaging depth of OCT in paper. Benzyl alcohol was found to have the best possible combination of optical, evaporation, and sorption characteristics, and it is applied in 2D and 3D visualizations of copy paper.

This final project solves a proposal of mechanism for splitting of unfilled cans before a can filling process in the food industry. From all possible options such as the one with a simple conception, easy applicated in practice and at a low price, should be chosen. The selected option is constructed and drawn in a 3D programme called AUTODESK Inventor 10. Please, see the attached technical drawings for the chosen parts.

Filler words and expressions in Portuguese (Abstract) The aim of this study is to describe the morphological, syntactic, semantic and pragmatic aspects of the filler words and expressions (discourse markers) in Portuguese. For that purpose, a corpus of more than 3000 occurences of these expressions was assembled. It is composed of Portuguese and Brazilian mostly spoken texts belonging to different genres. The approach taken in this work is based on textual-interactive grammar, whose vision of the text is based on the social-communicative perspective, i.e. it takes not only the cognitive- informational part of the utterances, but also their interactional part in consideration. This study describes Portuguese as one language. The differences between the Brazilian and the European variety are taken in consideration only when it is necessary to treat them separately. This work can be divided into two parts. History of the filler expressions, different approaches to this issue, processes of grammaticalization and pragmaticalization and prototypical conception of the class of discourse markers (whose brief characterization as well) are discussed in the first part. A more detailed analysis of the morphological, syntactic, semantic and pragmatic aspects of the discourse markers are discussed in the second part. The...

Termiskt expanderbara mikrosfärer är ihåliga polymera partiklar i vilka en flyktig drivgas har kapslats in. När mikrosfärerna upphettas förgasas drivgasen, vilket ökar trycket i mikrosfärerna så att de expanderar och deras volym ökar avsevärt. Denna unika egenskap gör att expanderade mikrosfärer har en låg densitet och är lämpliga för applikationer där låg vikt är väsentligt, och för att förändra ytstrukturer, så som i till exempel konstläder och textiler. Syftet med denna studie har varit att utveckla ett stabilt system för suspensionspolymerisation för att ge en liten mikrosfär (~20 μm efter expansion) som expanderar vid relativt höga temperaturer. Detta har uppnåtts genom att undersöka effekterna av förändringar i stabiliseringssystemet. Komponenterna som varierades var mängden silika (LX), kondensationsoligomeren mellan adipinsyra och dietanolamin (KO), olika formuleringar och mängd av dilauryl peroxid, samt mängden m(III)nitrat. Ytterligare tester gjordes runt effekten av tvärbindning, tillsats av monomeren metyl metakrylat (MMA), samt tillsats av salt (NaCl). Ett stabilt system för polymerisation i 1L-skala med en homogen dispersion uppnåddes med en av dilauryl peroxide formuleringarna tillsammans med en större mängde LX och KO. Studien visar även att kvoten mellan LX och KO har en signifikant effekt på systemets stabilitet och att mängden av både LX och KO påverkar partikelstorleken. / Thermally expandable microspheres are hollow polymeric particles in which a blowing agent has been encapsulated. Upon heating the blowing agent will vaporize, causing the internal pressure to increase, thereby expanding the microspheres. This unique expandable property reduces the density of the microspheres tremendously and makes them excellent for many applications, as for example as light weight fillers and to alter surface textures, such as in artificial leather and textiles. The purpose of this study has been to develop a viable system for the suspension polymerization of a small microsphere (~20 μm when expanded) expanding at fairly high temperatures. This has been accomplished by investigating the effect of changes in the stabilization system. Components of the stabilization system that have been varied were the amounts of silica (LX), condensation oligomer from adipic acid and diethanol amine (KO), and m(III)nitrate, as well as different formulations and amounts of the initiator dilauryl peroxide. Additional tests were performed concerning the effect of the crosslinking, adding the monomer methyl methacrylate (MMA), and the addition of salt (NaCl). A system for polymerization in 1L-scale was accomplished where it was found that one of the dilauryl peroxide formulations together with a higher amount of LX and KO provided a stable system giving homogeneous dispersions in which the microspheres have the desired expansion properties. Also, the ratio between LX and KO had a significant effect on the stability of the system and the amount of both LX and KO affects the particle size.

Different native starches, modified starches and plant proteins were evaluated as wood adhesives. They were combined with different synthetic polymers in order to achieve improved adhesive properties. The study was divided into two parts: development of starch based adhesive formulations and evaluation of an existing protein based adhesive.  Eight different starches and two different plant proteins were used in the first part. Starch 1 and starch 2 as well as protein 1 and protein 2 were some of the used materials. These materials were dispersed in synthetic polymers such as poly (vinyl acetate) (PVAc), styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR), poly (vinyl alcohol) (PVA), poly (acrylic acid) (PAA) and poly (ethylene-co-vinyl acetate) (EVA). Five different cross-linking agents were also tested. In the second part of the study, protein 2 was used as a renewable material. It was dispersed in dispersing media 2 and filler 1 was used. In an effort to increase the amount of renewable material in the adhesive composition, six different renewable fillers were examined. Lower pressing temperatures as well as lower amounts of cross-linking agent 1 were evaluated in order to observe their influence on the adhesive properties of the protein based adhesive. All formulations were characterized by measurement of viscosity, solid content and pH. The adhesive properties of some of the formulations in both parts of the study were characterized according to SS-EN 204:2001 and EN 14257 (WATT 91). The best results, of the starch based formulations, were obtained when starch 1 and protein 2 were dispersed in dispersing media 2 or dispersing media 7. These formulations in combination with cross-linking agents were classified as D2 and passed the criteria for heat resistance (WATT 91). However, the results were comparable with the reference sample. It was possible to replace filler 1, totally or partly, in the protein based adhesive with renewable fillers. Protein based adhesive formulations with filler 2 and filler 4, amongst others, showed improvement of the adhesive properties. These formulations passed D3 and D4 – wet criteria and almost passed D4 – boiling criteria. The amount of renewable material in the protein based adhesive was increased from ~32 % to ~56 % in the formulations that obtained the best adhesive properties. The amount of non-petrochemical material was ~67 % in all new formulations as well as in the reference sample.  By decreasing the pressing temperature from 110 °C to 90 °C or by decreasing the amount of cross-linking agent 1 from 15 % to 5 %, a protein based system that passes D3 criteria can be obtained.

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El texto completo de este trabajo no está disponible en el Repositorio Académico UPC por restricciones de la casa editorial donde ha sido publicado. / This article analyzes the applicability of an appropriate design of blasting engineering for an underground mine to be used in a Peruvian grain context through the data collection and observation method using the Bieniawski rock mass geomechanical classification system, average vein power weighting, and operational dilution of the pits. The generation of solutions is under both the McCarthy approach formula and final results analysis of the dilution behavior obtained in relation to the initial ones. Moreover, the database provided by a mining company is analyzed with respect to the geological conditions for the rock mass classification of the roof box and floor box to determine the quality of the rock, ore grades, power of the vein, and the percentage of dilution. Then we proceed to determine the continuity and thickness of the vein in a given block and analyze the dilution based on the fundamental criteria of blasting engineering.