A new approach for studying thermal phase separation in sodium borosilicate glasses using Mn('2+) as a luminescent probe is investigated. Seventy-one samples of glasses activated by Mn('2+) inside and around the Na(,2)O(.)B(,2)O(,3)(.)SiO(,2) miscibility gaps were prepared. These samples were then phase separated by dry thermal treatment. / It is shown that on addition of MnO, the ternary Na(,2)O(.)B(,2)O(,3)(.)SiO(,2) system behaved like other quaternary systems of the type X(,2)O(.)MO(.)B(,2)O(,3)(.)SiO(,2) (X = Na, K; M = Mg, Ca, Ba, Zn). Scanning electron microscopy and X-ray microanalysis demonstrated that manganese concentrates preferentially in the boron-rich phase. This analysis, in conjunction with a comparison of Mn('2+) emission spectra of unheated and heat-treated glasses shows that the glasses are submicroscopically phase separated when prepared. The decay-time analysis of Mn('2+) luminescence indicates that the low energy emission band arises from Mn('2+) in the boron-rich phase while the high energy emission is due to Mn('2+) in the silica-rich phase. The difference in the crystal field parameters obtained from the excitation spectra of the two emission bands shows that the high energy emission band is from Mn('2+) in tetrahedral sites while the low energy emission band is from Mn('2+) in an octahedral environment.

A repetitive low-pressure die casting technique has been developed for casting high quality Mg6SCU2SY10 bulk metallic glass (BMG) samples. Using these as-cast samples, the thermal and mechanical behaviour of the BMG in the supercooled liquid (SCL) region was investigated principally by uniaxial tensile testing, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Using the die casting facility, charge temperature, injection pressure and injection velocity were found to be important parameters for controlling the length, porosity and degree of crystallinity in the as-cast samples. A processing map was generated which showed that a melt temperature and casting pressure in the range 560-580°C and 0.4-0.5 bar, respectively, generated the highest quality samples. The static crystallization behaviour of the as-cast BMG was investigated in detail. It was found that the kinetics of both anisothermal and isothermal crystallization were adequately represented by a number of transformation models. Using the Johnson-Mehl-Avrami-Kolmogorov (JMAK) relation in conjunction with isothermal DSC, the Avrami exponent was found to vary from 2.2 to 2.5 with increasing annealing temperature which implies that, at high annealing temperatures, nucleation occurs at a constant rate accompanied by diffusion-controlled growth of spherical grains. A comparable Avrami exponent of 2.34 was also calculated by anisothermal DSC using the Ozawa method. The tensile flow behaviour of the BMG was investigated over a range of strain rates (10.3to 10.1S•1) and deformation temperatures (150 to 170 QC) in the SCL region using standardized tensile test samples. It was found that, the flow stress increased rapidly to a maximum value followed by a decrease to a very low steady-state value. In the SCL region, the relationship between peak flow stress, strain rate and absolute deformation temperature was described adequately by the classic Sellars-Tegart constitutive relationship. There was also a good correlation between the Zener-Hollomon parameter, Z, and the flow characteristics of the BMG such as the transition from Newtonian to non-Newtonian flow at Z>1 031 S•1 and optimum superplasticity for Z-values in the range 5 x 1030 to 5 x 1031 S•1 where tensile elongations in excess of 1400% were achieved.

This thesis examines the flow of very viscous Newtonian fluids driven by gravity. It is written with concern for specific applications in the optics industry, with emphasis on the slumping of molten glass into a mould, as in the manufacture of optical components, which are in turn used to manufacture ophthalmic lenses. This process is known as thermal replication. However, the work has more general applicability, and disc viscometry, used to determine the viscosity of very viscous fluids, is also considered. In addition, one chapter of the thesis is devoted to the flow of dripping honey, as another example of a very viscous flow to which the model can be applied. The Stokes creeping-flow equations are used to model the very viscous flows of interest. The main solution method is finite elements, and a purpose-written computer program has been developed to solve the creeping-flow equations by this method. The present program is restricted to solving for either two-dimensional or axisymmetric flows but is extendible to three dimensions. In addition, semi-analytic series and asymptotic methods are used for some small portions of the work. The optical applications of this work demand consideration of the topic of computing surface curvature, and therefore second derivatives, from inexact and discrete numerical and experimental data. For this purpose, fitting of B-splines by a least-squares method to coordinate data defining the surface has been used. Much of the work assumes isothermal conditions, but in the context of the accuracy required in optical component manufacture it is also possible that non-isothermal effects will be important. Consequently, this restriction is eventually relaxed and some consideration given to non-isothermal conditions. In order to validate the creeping-flow model and finite-element program, comparisons of numerical simulations with experimental results are performed. A preliminary assessment of the importance of non-isothermal conditions to the thermal-replication process is also made by comparing isothermal and non-isothermal simulations with experimental results. The isothermal model is found to best match the experimental data. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--School of Applied Mathematics, 1998.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Melbourne, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Science, 2005. / Author's name on cover: Leon Hugh Prentice. Typescript. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2007. / The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file. Title from title screen of research.pdf file (viewed on April 9, 2009) Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.S.)--Ohio University, August, 1998. / Title from PDF t.p.

Thesis (M.S.)--Ohio University, March, 1997. / Title from PDF t.p.

Thesis (M.Arch.)--University of Detroit Mercy, 2008. / "28 April 2008". Includes bibliographical references (p. 86-87).

Thesis (M.F.A.)--Rochester Institute of Technology, 1993. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves [23]-[25]).

Thesis (doctoral)--Technische Universiteit Delft, 1997. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 163-171).