- / -

- / -

The cost of manufacturing high quality composite components can be significantly reduced by using Out of Autoclave (OOA) processes if they can achieve final parts with a finish quality as high as that obtained using an autoclave process. Much research has been carried out recognising that regardless of the reinforcement fibre orientation, manufacturing of preimpregnated (prepregs) carbon components is much affected during its forming stage by fibre deformation and failure modes. This work sought to reduce wrinkling in the moulding of prepregs by introducing slip layers within the lay-up. Three types of slip layers were used: a dry fabric, a resin rich layer and a resin film. In order for the slip layers to be fully incorporated into the final laminate the resin content within the slip layer must be adjusted prior to crosslinking. In the case of dry fabric layer, additional resin must be introduced and in the case of a resin rich layer and resin film layer, excess resin has to be removed. The laminates used in the project were based on 2/2 twill and unidirectional carbon prepregs. These were manufactured by either Resin Infusion (RI) or Vacuum Bagging (VB). Resin adjustments were made at the same time. The 2/2 twill and unidirectional carbon prepregs were first characterised by Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) and Dynamic Mechanical Thermal Analysis (DMTA) before RI and VB. Dry 2/2 twill and unidirectional carbon fabrics and/or Resin Film (for VB) or fabrics and Epoxy Resin (for RI) were introduced in several plybooks and then cured. Final parts were either made of 2/2 twill carbon or unidirectional carbon. The parts were used to investigate the relationship between individual plies during the consolidation of a plybook. The first characterisations were done on flat laminates. Also two moulds were manufactured and used to produce new parts for further characterisations. The first, an aluminium mould was machined using a Computer Numerical Control (CNC). The second mould was a fan blade, made using chopped strand mats. The final parts had 3, 4 or 6 plies. These parts were characterised using Optical Microscopy (OM), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), and Torsion testing. The results provide a first step towards understanding how the friction at a ply/ply level can be influenced by the "starving" or the "enriching" of resin in a plybook during its consolidation. The work showed that in OOA manufacturing, the friction at a ply/ply level can be controlled by introducing Resin Film, Dry or Resin Rich Fabrics in a prepreg plybook. It was demonstrated that introducing lubrication to control ply friction during forming can result in quality part as high as that obtained from a traditional composite forming process. As the final parts were made using a fixed die mould and a vacuum bag, most of the plies in the layups could deform individually and accommodate interply shear. Torsion testing on a number of a random selection of samples showed negligible effects on shear stresses, strengths and modulus within the parts were negligible. It is argued that the flexibility of the vacuum bag could have had an impact on the layups during forming. The plies could conform to the mould easier. This work has potential for other applications. For example in match die moulding, introducing wet lubrication could improve interply shear during forming and help in improving accuracy and geometrical conformity of final parts. Furthermore, developing techniques to control friction during forming in OOA can be attractive to industries which could not afford to invest in this OOA prepreg technology. OOA processing times have become very attractive to industries such as the sporting good, automotive, wind energy and transportation. These industries could explore the opportunity presented by the work in this EngD thesis.

Geochemistry plays a vital role in our understanding mechanisms behind major geological systems such as the Earth's crust and its oceans (Albarède, F. 2003). More recently, geo-chemistry has played a vital role in the field of forensic investigation and in period dating. Forensic soil samples have been traditionally analysed via examinations of colour, texture and mineral content by physical or chemical methods. However, these methods leave any organic or water-soluble fractions unexamined. Tephrochronology (the dating of sedimentary sequences using volcanic ash layers) is an important tool for the dating and correlation of sedimentary sequences containing archives and proxies of past environmental change. Its importance in this area has increased since the increased free carbon in out atmosphere has made radio-carbon dating unreliable. Tephrochronology requires successful geo-chemical identification of the tephras, a method reliant on electron probe micro-analysis (EPMA) to analyse major element composition. However, it is often impossible to differentiate key tephra layers using EPMA alone. Raman spectroscopy is commonly used in chemistry, since vibrational information is specific to the chemical bonds and symmetry of molecules, and can provide a fingerprint by which these can be identified. Here, we demonstrate how Raman spectroscopy can be used for the successful discrimination of mineral species in tephra through the analysis of individual glass shards. We further demonstrate how, with the use of oxidative preparation methods, Raman spectroscopy can be used to successfully discriminate between soil types using mineralogy as well as the organic and water-soluble fractions of soils.

Grace à leur simplicité de routage, la réduction du bruit, de la consommation d'energie, d'espace de routage et d'interférences électromagnétiques en comparaison avec les liaisons parallèles, les Liaisons Série Haut Débit (High-Speed Serial Links) se trouvent aujourd'hui dans la grande majorité des systèmes sur puce (SoC) connectant les différents composants : la puce principale avec ses entrées/sorties, la puce principale avec une autre puce, la communication inter-processeurs etc…Par contre, changer des liaisons parallèles pour utiliser des liaisons séries haut débit présente plusieurs défi : les liaisons série haut débit doivent tourner à des fréquences plus élevées que celle des liaisons parallèles pour atteindre plusieurs Gigabits par seconde (Gbps) pour garder le même débit que celui des liaisons parallèles, tout en répondant à l'augmentation exponentielle de la demande de débit. L'atténuation du signal sur le cuivre augmente avec la fréquence, nécessitant de plus en plus d'égaliseurs et de techniques de filtrage, et donc augmentant la complexité du design et la consommation d'énergie.L'une des façons pour optimiser le design avec des hautes fréquences c'est d'intégrer l'horloge dans la ligne de données, car une ligne d'horloge implique plus de surface de routage et elle pourra bien devenir une source d'interférences électromagnétiques (EMI). Une autre bonne raison pour utiliser une horloge intégrée c'est que la déviation du signal d'horloge par rapport au signal de data (skew en anglais) devient difficile à contrôler sur des fréquences élevées. Des transitions doivent donc être assurées dans les données transmises, pour que le récepteur soit capable de se synchroniser et de récupérer les données correctement. En d'autres termes, le nombre de bits consécutifs, aussi appelé la Run Length (RL) en anglais doit être réduit ou borné à une certaine limite.Un autre défi ou caractéristique à réduire ou borner dans les données à transmettre est la différence entre le nombre de bits à 1 et le nombre de bits à 0 transmis. On l'appelle la disparité RD (de l'anglais Running Disparity). Les grands écarts entre le nombre de bits à 1 et les bits à 0 transférés peuvent provoquer un décalage du signal par rapport à la ligne de base. On appelle ça le Baseline Wander en anglais (BLW). Le BLW pourra augmenter le taux de bits erronés (Bit Error Rate – BER) ou exiger des techniques de filtrage et d'égalisations au récepteur pour être corrigé. Cela va donc augmenter la complexité du design et la consommation d'énergie.Pour assurer une RL et une RD bornées, les données à transmettre sont généralement encodés. A travers le temps, plusieurs méthodes d'encodages ont été présentées et utilisées dans les standards ; certaines présentent de très bonnes caractéristiques mais au cout d'un grand nombre supplémentaire de bits, en anglais appelé Overhead, affectant donc le débit. D'autres encodages ont un overhead moins important mais n'assurent pas les mêmes limites de RL et de RD, et par conséquence ils nécessitent plus de complexité analogique pour corriger les conséquences et donc augmentant ainsi la consommation d'énergie.Dans cette thèse, on propose un nouvel encodage de données qui peut borner la RD et la RL pour les bornes souhaités, et avec un très faible cout sur la bande passante (l'overhead). Ce codage permet de borner la RL et la RD aux mêmes limites que les autres codages et avec un overhead 10 fois moins important.Dans un premier temps on montre comment on peut borner la RL à la valeur souhaitée avec un codage à très faible overhead. Dans un second temps on propose un encodage très faible cout pour borner la RD à la valeur souhaitée aussi. Ensuite on montrera comment on pourra fusionner ces deux encodages en un seul, pour construire un encodage de données programmable et à faible cout de bande passante, limité en disparité et en nombre de bits identiques consécutifs. / Thanks to their routing simplicity, noise, EMI (Electro-Magnetic Interferences), area and power consumption reduction advantages over parallel links, High Speed Serial Links (HSSLs) are found in almost all today's System-on-Chip (SoC) connecting different components: the main chip to its Inputs/Outputs (I/Os), the main chip to a companion chip, Inter-Processor Communication (IPC) and etc… Serial memory might even be the successor of current DDR memories.However, going from parallel links to high-speed serial links presents many challenges; HSSLs must run at higher speeds reaching many gigabits per second to maintain the same end-to-end throughput as parallel links as well as satisfying the exponential increase in the demand for throughput. The signal's attenuation over copper increases with the frequency, requiring more equalizers and filtering techniques, thereby increasing the design complexity and the power consumption.One way to optimize the design at high speeds is to embed the clock within the data, because a clock line means more routing surface, and it also can be source to high EMI. Another good reason to use an embedded clock is that the skew (time mismatch between the clock and the data lanes) becomes hard to control at high frequencies. Transitions must then be ensured inside the data that is sent on the line, for the receiver to be able to synchronize and recover the data correctly. In other words, the number of Consecutive Identical Bits (CIBs) also called the Run Length (RL) must be reduced or bounded to a certain limit.Another challenge and characteristic that must be bounded or reduced in the data to send on a HSSL is the difference between the number of ‘0' bits and ‘1' bits. It is called the Running Disparity (RD). Big differences between 1's and 0's could shift the signal from the reference line. This phenomenon is known as Base-Line Wander (BLW) that could increase the BER (Bit Error Rate) and require filtering or equalizing techniques to be corrected at the receiver, increasing its complexity and power consumption.In order to ensure a bounded Run Length and Running Disparity, the data to be transmitted is generally encoded. The encoding procedure is also called line coding. Over time, many encoding methods were presented and used in the standards; some present very good characteristics but at the cost of high additional bits, also called bandwidth overhead, others have low or no overhead but do not ensure the same RL and RD bounds, thus requiring more analog design complexity and increasing the power consumption.In this thesis, we propose a novel programmable line coding that can perform to the desired RL and RD bounds with a very low overhead, down to 10 times lower that the existing used encodings and for the same bounds. First, we show how we can obtain a very low overhead RL limited line coding, and second we propose a very low overhead method which bounds the RD, and then we show how we can combine both techniques in order to build a low overhead, Run Length Limited, and Running Disparity bounded Line Coding

In this work we present the results of the analysis of the surface structures and absorption properties with respect to the CO and O2 molecules of the Sn/Rh and Rh/SnO2 model systems. In the part dedicated to the Sn structures on Rh surfaces with two different orientations - Rh(110) and Rh(111) - we have investigated the development of the core electron levels and valence band during the development of surface reconstructions and absorption of CO molecules. The surface reconstructions of the Sn/Rh(110) systems were studied for the first time. Difference in behaviour w.r.t. Sn/Rh(111) was observed and explanation offered. Finally, on in-situ prepared epitaxial SnO2 layers, the surface reconstruction (4×1) was observed. The CO adsorp- tion properties of Rh on polycrystalline and epitaxial SnO2 layers were also studied and difference in behaviour explained.

This thesis uses neutron and x-ray reflectivity to measure the interfacial structures of three molecular components associated with bacteria. Firstly, the way in which the membrane targeting sequence of a cell division protein interacts with monolayer models for the inner leaflet of the inner membrane of bacteria was measured at the air-water interface. Secondly, the influence of lipopolysaccharide on a monolayer model for the outer leaflet of the outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria was measured at the air-water interface, as well as how this lipopolysaccharide interacts with an antimicrobial peptide. Finally, the structure of a layer of protein found at the surface of a Gram-positive biofilm was measured at the air-water interface. Binding of the membrane targeting sequence of the MinD protein (MinD-mts) to the inner leaflet of the cytoplasmic membrane is thought to be key for bacterial cell division. Modelling this membrane as a monolayer at the air-water interface, it was found that the insertion of the MinD-mts increased with decreasing lateral pressure within the monolayer, as well as with increasing unsaturation of the lipid components, and the incorporation of cardiolipin into the monolayer. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) is the major component of Gram-negative outer membranes, such as Escherichia coli, and can be considered as having three structural components: lipid A, a core oligosaccharide, and a variable polysaccharide chain. By incorporating LPS into a model membrane at the air-water interface, it was found that the polysaccharide chain undergoes conformational changes depending on the area per molecule. The effect of the antimicrobial peptide Pexiganan on the structure of this LPS layer was also determined, and was found to insert into the polysaccharide chain layer, but have no impact on the conformation of the chains. In nature, many bacteria live within a biofilm structure. A critical component of the Gram-positive Bacillus subtilis biofilm is a surface active amphipathic protein called BslA, which gives rise to the formation of the highly hydrophobic surface of the biofilm. The kinetics of this film formation, its thickness, and the lateral packing of the protein at the air-water interface, were measured using both neutron and x-ray reflectivity. It was found that a native BslA protein consistently formed the same structural film, whilst the structure of films formed by mutant proteins depended on the conditions under which the film was formed.

Pyroelectric activity is exhibited by materials which possess a spontaneous temperature-dependent electric polarisation. These materials generate a current as their temperature is changed. Many classes of organic materials exhibit pyroelectric activity but only if processed in such a way that a non-centrosymmetric arrangement of dipole results. When deposited as alternate layers by the Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) technique a macroscopically polar assembly is formed. To date, the best performance has been achieved by alternately depositing two materials, one containing acid groups and the other containing amine groups. Calixarenes are one family of materials which are particularly good vehicles for the acid and amine groups. Alternate layer LB films of acid- and amine-substituted calixarenes have high pyroelectric coefficients and form extremely robust films. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy is a useful tool in examining the properties of thin film samples. Using the FTIR techniques of attenuated total reflection (ATR) and reflection-absorption infrared spectroscopy (RAIRS) it is possible to study the behaviour of the acid and amine groups within the pyroelectric samples. This thesis describes the pyroelectric properties of a series of calix[8]arenes. The dependence of the pyroelectric coefficient on temperature, film thickness and substituent chain length is analysed. The infrared spectra show that the acid and amine groups interact by proton transfer but also that the remaining acid groups form either facing dimers with the amine or sideways dimers between themselves. The spectra do not change with temperature. This demonstrates that the films are thermally stable. Additionally, this invariance shows that the pyroelectric activity in these films does not arise from a change in the proton transfer as has been previously postulated. Theoretical calculations undertaken predict that the source of the dipole change required for the level of pyroelectric activity seen is likely to be a change in distance between the acid and amine groups. Further observations, quantitatively examined by curve fitting techniques, show that the greater the number of proton-transferred pairs, the lower the pyroelectric coefficient. Thus, only the temperature-dependent separation of the acid and amine pairs which have not undergone proton transfer is responsible for the pyroelectric activity in these systems.

Les revêtements semi-conducteurs déposés sur des substrats souples sont utilisés dans différentes applications de haute technologie, par exemple pour la fabrication de composants micro-électroniques flexibles ou de cellules photovoltaïques flexibles. Sous un chargement de traction, ces revêtements subissent un endommagement caractérisé par l'apparition de multiples fissures sur leur surface avec ou sans délaminage à l'interface film/substrat. A la fin du processus de la multi-fissuration, une distance caractéristique entre les fissures peut être mesurée. Cette distance dépend principalement de l'épaisseur du film et du comportement mécanique du substrat.Dans ce projet, une étude expérimentale sur des monocouches d'oxyde et des multicouches d'oxyde et d'argent de différentes épaisseurs déposées sur deux substrats souples a été menée. Cette étude nous a permis de déterminer le comportement mécanique de chaque substrat, d'identifier les stades de la multi-fissuration des couches minces à savoir un premier stade d'apparition aléatoire de fissures, un deuxième stade de fissuration régulière et un dernier stade de saturation du réseau de fissures. L'influence de l'épaisseur de la couche d'argent a été également étudiée.Nous avons développé un modèle mécanique 2D basé utilisant des zones cohésives pour simuler l'amorçage et la propagation de fissures à travers le film. Ce modèle a permis de simuler numériquement les trois stades de la multi-fissuration des monocouches d?oxyde déposées sur polymère tels qu' observés expérimentalement. Nous avons ensuite réduit le modèle à une cellule représentative permettant de modéliser seulement les deux derniers stades de la multi fissuration. Cette cellule nous a permis d'identifier l'influence des propriétés géométriques et mécaniques des couches minces et de leur substrat sur la distance inter fissures à saturation. L'influence du délaminage interfacial a également été étudié. / Semiconductor coatings deposited on flexible substrates are used in various high-tech applications, for example flexible micro-electronic components or flexible sollar cells.When submitted to large tensile strains, these coatings undergo damage characterized by the appearance of multiple cracks on their surface with or without delamination at the film/substrate interface.At the end of the multi-cracking process, a characteristic distance between cracks can be measured.This distance depends mainly on the thickness of the film and the mechanical behavior of the substrate.In this project, an experimental study on oxide layers and oxide and silver multilayers of different thicknesses deposited on two polymer substrates was carried out.Were able to determine the mechanical behavior of each substrate and to identify the stages of the three stades of multi-cracking of thin layers.A first stade of random appearance of cracks, a second stade of regular cracking and a last stade of saturation of the network of cracks were identified.The influence of the thickness of the silver layer has also been studied.We have developed a 2D based mechanical model using cohesive zones to simulate the initiation and propagation of cracks in the film.Using this model, we successfully simulate the three stages of the multi-cracking of oxide monolayers deposited on polymer as observed experimentally.We then reduced the model to a representative cell allowing only the last two stages of multi-cracking to be modeled. This cell allowed us to identify the influence of the geometric and mechanical properties of the thin layers and their substrate on the distance between cracks to saturation.The influence of interfacial delamination has also been studied.

This diplom theses is concerned with the possibilities of using non-thermal plasma in biomedical and enviromentally friendly applications. The theoretical part is drawn up as research overview of the current knowledge from the stated issue. The practical part is focused on the modification of nanofibres by deposition of TiOx layers.