This study evaluates the benefits and limitations of soft processors operating in a radiation-hardened FPGA, focusing primarily on the performance and reliability of these systems. FPGAs designs for four popular soft processors, the MicroBlaze, LEON3, Cortex-M0 DesignStart, and OpenRISC 1200 are developed for a Virtex-5 FPGA. The performance of these soft processor designs is then compared on ten widely-used benchmark programs. Benchmarking results indicate that the MicroBlaze has the best integer performance of the soft processors, with at least 2.23X better performance on average than the other three processors. However, the LEON3 has the best floating-point performance, with benchmark scores 8.9X higher on average than its competitors.The soft processors' performance is also compared against estimated benchmark scores for a radiation-hardened processor, the RAD750. We find the average performance of the RAD750 to be 2.58X better than the best soft processor scores on each benchmark, although the best soft processor scores were higher on two benchmarks. The soft processors' inability to compete with the performance of the decade-old RAD750 illustrates the substantial performance gap between hard and soft processor architectures. Although soft processors are not capable of competing with rad-hard processors in performance, the flexibility they provide nevertheless makes them a desirable option for space systems where speed is not the key issue.Fault injection experiments are also completed on three of the soft processors to evaluate their configuration memory sensitivity. Our results demonstrate that the MicroBlaze is less sensitive than the LEON3 and the Cortex-M0 DesignStart, but that the LEON3 has lower sensitivity per FPGA slice than the other processors. A combined metric for soft processor performance and configuration sensitivity is then developed to aid future researchers in evaluating the trade-offs between these two distinct processor attributes.

No description available.

Industrial generator components experience high stresses and electrical fields during their service life. Material integrity is key in guaranteeing component performance. CuNi2SiZr, used as rotor wedges in generators, serve to maintain rotor slot content in place while experiencing high centrifugal stresses and low cycle fatigue during start and stop at elevated temperature. The quality and integrity of this material in service can be directly related to its microstructure, which is determined by the processing procedures of the wedges. In this study, the microstructure development in this material is evaluated to eliminate grain boundary defects by optimizing processing parameters, determining the best temperature/time combination for precipitation hardening, and determining cold work effect on aging parameters. Two chemistries containing Nickel-to-Silicon ratios of 3.2 and 3.8 were selected for analysis. Cast samples were hot extruded, cold worked, and precipitation hardened. Parameters were varied at each processing step. Five different levels of cold work (4, 5, 7, 10 and 13%) were evaluated using 5 different aging temperatures (450, 460, 470, 490 and 500°C). Each processing parameters' effect on microstructure and subsequently on hardness, conductivity, and tensile strength was recorded to assess material performance and identify grain boundary defects origination. Finding of this study identified observed grain boundary defects, using Transmission Electron Analysis, as voids/micro-tears. These defects on grain boundary are detrimental to low cycle fatigue, creep rupture and tensile strength properties and important aspects of the material performance. Grain boundary defects were observed at all levels of cold work, however, origination of defects was only observed in grain sizes larger than 50µm. The strengthening phases for the CuNi2Si+Zr alloy system were identified as Ni2Si and Cr3Si. The Nickel-to-Silicon ratio had an evident effect on the electrical conductivity of the material. However, aging benefits were not clearly established between the two Nickel-to-Silicon ratios.

No description available.

No description available.

Atlas Copco Secoroc AB are searching after new bulk materials for drill heads that are used in percussive drilling in order to improve their strength and durability. The aim of this project is to assist Atlas Copco in this search and provide them with further information regarding material properties, alloying elements, suppliers, etc. A literary study was carried out in order to identify materials that had UTS and KIC more than or equal to 1700 MPa and 70 MPa*m1/2, respectively. Materials that fulfilled these criteria were T250 grade maraging steel, Cobalt free maraging steel, High cobalt maraging steel, 300 grade maraging steel, AerMet 100, AF1410, S53, M54, 300M, 4340M and PremoMet. These were categorized into maraging steels, high alloy secondary hardened steels, and low alloy steels, and were then further researched.  The material with the highest combination of UTS and KIC was M54 followed by AerMet 100; while AF1410 had the highest KIC but a low UTS, and PremoMet had the highest UTS but a low KIC. Maraging steels and HASH steels have a similar price range, while low alloy steels are much cheaper.

Atlas Copco Secoroc AB are searching after new bulk materials for drill heads that are used in percussive drilling in order to improve their strength and durability. The aim of this project is to assist Atlas Copco in this search and provide them with further information regarding material properties, alloying elements, suppliers, etc. A literary study was carried out in order to identify materials that had UTS and KIC more than or equal to 1700 MPa and 70 MPa*m^1/2, respectively. Materials that fulfilled these criteria were T250 grade maraging steel, Cobalt free maraging steel, High cobalt maraging steel, 300 grade maraging steel, AerMet 100, AF1410, S53, M54, 300M, 4340M and PremoMet. These were categorized into maraging steels, high alloy secondary hardened steels, and low alloy steels, and were then further researched. The material with the highest combination of UTS and KIC was M54 followed by AerMet 100; while AF1410 had the highest KIC but a low UTS, and PremoMet had the highest UTS but a low KIC. Maraging steels and HASH steels have a similar price range, while low alloy steels are much cheaper.

No processo de beneficiamento da vermiculita é gerado um resíduo fino para o qual atualmente ainda não foi desenvolvida uma aplicação que possibilite a utilização em larga escala. Uma alternativa que vem sendo estudada é a associação com cimento Portland em composições de argamassas e concretos, em função da composição química do resíduo: elevada quantidade de alumínio, silício e magnésio, que podem apresentar interações com o ligante. No entanto, em função da elevada área superficial específica, em comparação ao cimento, sua utilização nas composições pode afetar a demanda de água de amassamento e limitar a sua aplicação. Para tanto, uma alternativa é a calcinação deste resíduo fino, assim como é realizado para outras argilas (caulim, por exemplo), para que a área superficial específica (ASE) seja menor e eventualmente ative propriedades pozolânicas na respectiva argila. Deste modo, neste trabalho foram avaliadas as diversas características de pastas cimentícias após adição de resíduo fino de vermiculita: reação química, formação dos produtos hidratados, propriedades reológicas, tanto após a mistura como ao longo da hidratação. Foi verificado que de forma geral a reação química não é afetada após a adição de vermiculita, embora a formação de aluminatos seja intensificada na composição com maior quantidade de resíduo in natura. Com relação ao seu comportamento no estado fresco, foi observado que a maior ASE do resíduo impacta fortemente as propriedades reológicas das pastas, embora que com um teor de 5% as mudanças sejam menores. Utilizando-se dessas mesmas composições para a avaliação do desempenho no estado endurecido de argamassas, foi verificado que não há efeito sobre essas propriedades até 5% de substituição, independentemente do tratamento térmico empregado. Assim, considerando aspectos econômicos de transporte assim como os custos decorrentes da calcinação, pode-se recomendar a adição de 5% de vermiculita in natura sem comprometer o desempenho dos produtos, embora não se possa precisar com os dados obtidos a sua durabilidade ao longo do uso. / In the process to obtaining vermiculite a fine residue is generated, which does not yet have a large-scale application. An alternative that has been studied is the association with Portland cement in mortar and concrete formulations, as a function of the chemical composition of the residue: high amount of aluminium, silicon and magnesium which may have interactions with the binder. However, the residue has a high specific surface area, in comparison to cement, a fact that can increase the water-demand to mix and limit its application. For this, an alternative is the calcination of this fine residue, as it is done for other clays (kaolin, for example), so that the specific surface area (SSA) is smaller and eventually activates pozzolanic properties in the respective clay. Thus, in this work the various characteristics of cement pastes after addition of vermiculite fine residue were evaluated: chemical reaction, formation of the hydrated products, rheological properties, both after mixing and along the hydration. It was verified that in general the chemical reaction is not affected after the addition of vermiculite, although the formation of aluminates is intensified in the composition with greater amount of in nature residue. Regarding its behaviour in the fresh state, it was observed that the higher SSA of the residue strongly impacts the rheological properties of the pastes, although with a 5% content the changes are minimal. Using these same compositions to evaluate the performance in the hardened state of mortars, it was verified that there is no effect on these properties up to 5% of substitution, regardless of the thermal treatment used. Thus, considering the economic aspects of transport as well as the costs of calcination, it is possible to recommend the addition of 5% of vermiculite in nature without compromising the performance of the products, although it is not possible to determine the its durability during the use.

Tecnologias submicrônicas (DSM) têm inserido novos desafios ao projeto de circuitos devido a redução de geometrias, redução na tensão de alimentação, aumento da freqüência e aumento da densidade de lógica. Estas características reduzem significativamente a confiabilidade dos circuitos integrados devido a suscetibilidade a efeitos como crosstalk e acoplamento de substrato. Ainda, os efeitos da radiação são mais significantes devido as partículas com baixa energia começam a ser um problema em tecnologias DSM. Todas essas características enfatizam a necessidade de novas ferramentas de automação. Um dos objetivos desta tese é desenvolver novas ferramentas aptas a lidar com estes desafios. Esta tese é dividida em duas grandes contribuições. A primeira está relacionada com o desenvolvimento de uma nova metodologia com o objetivo de gerar circuitos otimizados em respeito ao atraso e ao consumo de potência. Um novo fluxo de projeto é apresentado na qual o circuito é otimizado no nível de transistor. Esta metodologia permite otimizar cada transistor de acordo com as capacitâncias associadas. Diferente da metodologia tradicional, o leiaute é gerado sob demanda depois do processo de otimização de transistores. Resultados mostram melhora de 11% em relação ao atraso dos circuitos e 30% de redução no consumo de potência em comparação à metodologia tradicional. A segunda contribuição está relacionada com o desenvolvimento de técnicas de geração de circuitos tolerantes a radiação. Uma técnica CWSP é usada para aplicar redundância temporal em elementos seqüenciais. Esta técnica apresenta baixa utilização de área, mas as penalidades no atraso estão totalmente relacionadas com a duração do pulso que se planeja atenuar. Além disso, uma nova metodologia de dimensionamento de transistores para falhas transientes é apresentada. A metodologia de dimensionamento é baseada em um modelo analítico. O modelo considera independente blocos de transistores PMOS e NMOS. Então, somente transistores diretamente relacionados à atenuação são dimensionados. Resultados mostram área, atraso e consumo de potência reduzido em comparação com as técnicas CWSP e TMR, permitindo o desenvolvimento de circuitos com alta freqüência. / Deep submicron (DSM) technologies have increased the challenges in circuit designs due to geometry shrinking, power supply reduction, frequency increasing and high logic density. The reliability of integrated circuits is significantly reduced as a consequence of the susceptibility to crosstalk and substrate coupling. In addition, radiation effects are also more significant because particles with low energy, without importance in older technologies, start to be a problem in DSM technologies. All these characteristics emphasize the need for new Electronic Design Automation (EDA) tools. One of the goals of this thesis is to develop EDA tools able to cope with these DSM challenges. This thesis is divided in two major contributions. The first contribution is related to the development of a new methodology able to generate optimized circuits in respect to timing and power consumption. A new design flow is proposed in which the circuit is optimized at transistor level. This methodology allows the optimization of every single transistor according to the capacitances associated to it. Different from the traditional standard cell approach, the layout is generated on demand after a transistor level optimization process. Results show an average 11% delay improvement and more than 30% power saving in comparison with the traditional design flow. The second contribution of this thesis is related with the development of techniques for radiation-hardened circuits. The Code Word State Preserving (CWSP) technique is used to apply timing redundancy into latches and flipflops. This technique presents low area overhead, but timing penalties are totally related with the glitch duration is being attenuated. Further, a new transistor sizing methodology for Single Event Transient (SET) attenuation is proposed. The sizing method is based on an analytic model. The model considers independently pull-up and pull-down blocks. Thus, only transistors directly related to the SET attenuation are sized. Results show smaller area, timing and power consumption overhead in comparison with TMR and CWSP techniques allowing the development of high frequency circuits, with lower area and power overhead.

No processo de beneficiamento da vermiculita é gerado um resíduo fino para o qual atualmente ainda não foi desenvolvida uma aplicação que possibilite a utilização em larga escala. Uma alternativa que vem sendo estudada é a associação com cimento Portland em composições de argamassas e concretos, em função da composição química do resíduo: elevada quantidade de alumínio, silício e magnésio, que podem apresentar interações com o ligante. No entanto, em função da elevada área superficial específica, em comparação ao cimento, sua utilização nas composições pode afetar a demanda de água de amassamento e limitar a sua aplicação. Para tanto, uma alternativa é a calcinação deste resíduo fino, assim como é realizado para outras argilas (caulim, por exemplo), para que a área superficial específica (ASE) seja menor e eventualmente ative propriedades pozolânicas na respectiva argila. Deste modo, neste trabalho foram avaliadas as diversas características de pastas cimentícias após adição de resíduo fino de vermiculita: reação química, formação dos produtos hidratados, propriedades reológicas, tanto após a mistura como ao longo da hidratação. Foi verificado que de forma geral a reação química não é afetada após a adição de vermiculita, embora a formação de aluminatos seja intensificada na composição com maior quantidade de resíduo in natura. Com relação ao seu comportamento no estado fresco, foi observado que a maior ASE do resíduo impacta fortemente as propriedades reológicas das pastas, embora que com um teor de 5% as mudanças sejam menores. Utilizando-se dessas mesmas composições para a avaliação do desempenho no estado endurecido de argamassas, foi verificado que não há efeito sobre essas propriedades até 5% de substituição, independentemente do tratamento térmico empregado. Assim, considerando aspectos econômicos de transporte assim como os custos decorrentes da calcinação, pode-se recomendar a adição de 5% de vermiculita in natura sem comprometer o desempenho dos produtos, embora não se possa precisar com os dados obtidos a sua durabilidade ao longo do uso. / In the process to obtaining vermiculite a fine residue is generated, which does not yet have a large-scale application. An alternative that has been studied is the association with Portland cement in mortar and concrete formulations, as a function of the chemical composition of the residue: high amount of aluminium, silicon and magnesium which may have interactions with the binder. However, the residue has a high specific surface area, in comparison to cement, a fact that can increase the water-demand to mix and limit its application. For this, an alternative is the calcination of this fine residue, as it is done for other clays (kaolin, for example), so that the specific surface area (SSA) is smaller and eventually activates pozzolanic properties in the respective clay. Thus, in this work the various characteristics of cement pastes after addition of vermiculite fine residue were evaluated: chemical reaction, formation of the hydrated products, rheological properties, both after mixing and along the hydration. It was verified that in general the chemical reaction is not affected after the addition of vermiculite, although the formation of aluminates is intensified in the composition with greater amount of in nature residue. Regarding its behaviour in the fresh state, it was observed that the higher SSA of the residue strongly impacts the rheological properties of the pastes, although with a 5% content the changes are minimal. Using these same compositions to evaluate the performance in the hardened state of mortars, it was verified that there is no effect on these properties up to 5% of substitution, regardless of the thermal treatment used. Thus, considering the economic aspects of transport as well as the costs of calcination, it is possible to recommend the addition of 5% of vermiculite in nature without compromising the performance of the products, although it is not possible to determine the its durability during the use.