There is no abstract available for this thesis.

Thesis (M. Sc. in Landscape design)--University of Michigan. / Type-written.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin, 1950. / Typewritten. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 428-451).

There is no abstract available for this dissertation.

The intent of this study was to analyze the geographical and social mobility patterns of Muncie's population within the 1850-1880 period utilizing the "new urban history" methodology. The subject of urban history has assumed a prominent position in the present curricula of many colleges and universities. A major component of urban history is titled "new urban history." Historians working under this rubic have adopted a research methodology distinct from that used in the past. This is a social science methodology which emphasizes the manipulation of quantitative data. It is this methodology which has distinguished the "new urban history" and the urban historians who utilize this approach.Stephan Thernstrom was one of the first "new urban historians" to use social science methodology in the study of large masses of urban dwellers. His purpose was to examine systematically the lives of those people who had previously gone unrecorded, but who, in the past, had automatically been included in commonly held assumptions about Americans. Thernstrom's study of the unskilled laborers in Newburyport, Massachusetts from 1850-1880 (Poverty and Progress: Social Mobility in a Nineteenth Century American City, 1850-1880) represented the initial effort in cataloguing the experiences of the common man in an urban setting.Thernstrom's use of social science methodology allowed him to discern the geographical and social mobility patterns of Newburyport's laborers. The results from his analysis did a great deal to dispell the myth that the "rags-to-riches" ideology of the nineteenth century was operative in American society for men regardless of their status.Since Thernstrom's study several other communities and their residents have been similarly examined in terms of geographical and social mobility patterns. The results have not always coincided with the Newburyport example. Dean Esslinger, in a study of the immigrant population of South Bend, Indiana from 1850-1880, (Immigrants and the City: Ethnicity and Mobility in a Nineteenth-Century Midwestern Community) discovered that significant upward social mobility occurred for this group. The development of South Bend as an industrial center did not block the opportunity for upward occupational and economic mobility among the city's foreign-born residents.I discovered in this dissertation that Muncie's population was very physically unstable, but that general upward social mobility was the reward for those who stayed. Less than one-half of Muncie's residents recorded on the federal census in 1850, 1860, and 1870 remained in Muncie for ten years. For the minority who did remain, however, improved status, both occupationally and economically, was the rule.One's place of birth had minimal affect on his ability to improve his job and economic status in Muncie. Muncie's foreignborn residents were able to enjoy nearly equal social mobility overtime as the native-born segment of the population. The unskilled foreign-born workers were the major exception to this pattern. They were not as successful in improving their status.Of major significance in the mobility studies of individual communities is the increased awareness which is gained of a broader, national perspective on population movement and status over time. More knowledge about the mobility patterns of America's urban dwellers leads to a more accurate determination of the nation's urban development and growth. The placement of Muncie in a broader urban context was one of the major accomplishments of this study. Direct comparisons were made between Muncie's mobility patterns and those of Newburyport, Massachusetts and South Bend, Indiana. The results show that Muncie was not unlike other communities in the same era.

The present PhD thesis summarizes the results of experimental activities carried out on the production and characterization of cast aluminum alloys and Al-based nanocomposites for room and high temperature applications. Two quaternary Al-Si-Cu-Mg alloys (A354 and C355) were studied, aiming to investigate the effect of chemical composition, solidification rate and heat treatment condition on the tensile and fatigue behavior at room and high temperature. Heat treatment optimization of A354 alloy was carried out. The overaging behavior of A354 and C355 alloys was compared to that of A356 (Al-Si-Mg) alloy, in order to evaluate the thermal stability of the alloys. As a result, the concurrent presence of Cu and Mg confers, by precipitation hardening, enhanced mechanical properties and higher thermal stability in comparison to the traditional Al-Si-Mg alloy. A preliminary study aimed to evaluate the effect of Molybdenum addition on A354 overaging response was also carried out. Enhanced mechanical properties after long-term overaging were registered in A354-0.3wt.%Mo alloy, in comparison to the base A354. Casting techniques for the production of Al-matrix composites were implemented at the laboratory scale. The stir-casting method assisted with ultrasonic treatment and in situ reactive casting were applied to produce Al2O3-A356 micro/nanocomposites and ZrB2-A356 composites, respectively. Friction Stir Process (FSP) was evaluated as possible solid state processing route to: (i) enhance Al2O3 nanoparticles distribution in a semisolid processed AA2024-based nanocomposite, and (ii) directly distribute Al2O3 nanoparticles into AA7075 alloy at the solid state. Experimental results highlighted difficulties in obtaining an even distribution of nanoparticles, by both liquid and semi-soli state routes, due to the low wettability of nano-sized ceramic reinforcement. The application of FSP led to enhanced nanoparticles distribution, mitigation of casting defects associated to nanoparticles addition (porosity, nanoparticles clusters) and microstructural homogenization, thus allowing to better exploit nanoparticles strengthening effect.

In this thesis integration of high temperature superconductor technology in the future advanced power system will be investigated. In particular, superconducting magnetic energy storage system (SMES) for power quality of distribution grid and customer protection will be discussed. The complete design method, including the magnet and power electronic interface design will be discussed in more details. The method will be applied to the design of an industrial scale SMES system. Commercially available high temperature superconductor (HTS) material (YBCO) and magnesium diboride (MgB2) tapes will be considered for the design of the magnet. A multifunctional control algorithm for compensating voltage sag and improving power quality will be implemented, and the advantages of the SMES system and utilized control algorithm for this application will be illustrated. As a second part of the thesis, high temperature superconducting DC (HTS-DC) cables for transmission and distribution will be introduced. A method for both electromagnetic and thermo fluid-dynamic design of power cable will be developed. As a first case study superconducting DC collector grid for offshore wind-park will be technically and economically evaluated and the cost and loss model of the system will be discussed. Also, the transient behavior of the high temperature superconducting DC cable in high voltage DC (HVDC) system, which is crucial for stability, will be evaluated. Both line commutated converters (LCC) and voltage source converters (VSC) will be considered.

The aim of this thesis is to develop a depth analysis of the inductive power transfer (or wireless power transfer, WPT) along a metamaterial composed of cells arranged in a planar configuration, in order to deliver power to a receiver sliding on them. In this way, the problem of the efficiency strongly affected by the weak coupling between emitter and receiver can be obviated, and the distance of transmission can significantly be increased. This study is made using a circuital approach and the magnetoinductive wave (MIW) theory, in order to simply explain the behavior of the transmission coefficient and efficiency from the circuital and experimental point of view. Moreover, flat spiral resonators are used as metamaterial cells, particularly indicated in literature for WPT metamaterials operating at MHz frequencies (5-30 MHz). Finally, this thesis presents a complete electrical characterization of multilayer and multiturn flat spiral resonators and, in particular, it proposes a new approach for the resistance calculation through finite element simulations, in order to consider all the high frequency parasitic effects. Multilayer and multiturn flat spiral resonators are studied in order to decrease the operating frequency down to kHz, maintaining small external dimensions and allowing the metamaterials to be supplied by electronic power converters (resonant inverters).

No description available.

No description available.