The concept of material dispersion is an important factor in analyzing the performance of an optical fiber system. The thesis presents an analysis of the material dispersion as a function of any pressure (in Mega Newton's per square meter) and temperature (in degrees Celsius). The pressure dependent and temperature dependent Sellmeier coefficients are considered for the analysis. The results obtained can be used in building a sensor that can be used for measuring dispersion as a function of pressure or temperature.

Geopolímero é um material que possui boas propriedades físicas e químicas como resistência mecânica, resistência a ataque químico, material inerte depois de pronto, é de fácil obtenção, pois a sua base é uma argila, material abundante e de baixo custo. Muitos trabalhos são desenvolvidos com o geopolímero, como aplicações para pisos, cimentos, refratários, adesivos e isolamento acústico e térmico. O desenvolvimento do geopolímero é simples, são necessário um percussor que pode ser metacaulim ou argilas com quantidades aceitáveis de SiO2 e Al2O3, um ativador alcalino como NaOH, KOH ou silicato de sódio e aditivos se necessário para contribuir com algumas relações molares que devem ser atendidas para a formação do geoplímero. A formação do geopolímero ocorre através de reações de policondensação originando uma estrutura amorfa e até cristalina dependendo do processo. O uso de aditivos e agregados conferem características desejadas como melhor resistência mecânica, melhor capacidade de isolamento térmico ou acústico, melhor resistência química entre outros fatores. A execução foi a partir do metacaulim com o uso de NaOH e aditivos, a serragem e fibras de sisal ( algave sisalana ) para conferir maiores porosidades no geopolímero desenvolvido. O geopolímero desenvolvido gerou valores de resistência mecânica na ordem de 20 MPa em um tempo de cura de 11 dias, sua densidade variou de 1,0 a 2,5 g/ml, a porosidade volumétrica ficou na faixa de 25,0% a 47,0%, as concentrações utilizadas de NaOH foram entre 0,0 e 15,0 mol/Litro. Todos os dados foram compatíveis com dados verificados em literatura. / Geopolymer is a material that has good physical and chemical properties such as mechanical resistance, chemical etch resistance, inert material after ready, it is easy to obtain because its base is a clay, abundant material and low cost. Many jobs are developed with the geopolymer, such as floor applications, cements, refractories, adhesives and acoustic and thermal insulation. The development of the geopolymer is simple, a percussor is required which may be metakaolin or clays with acceptable amounts of SiO2 and Al2O3, an alkaline activator such as NaOH, KOH or sodium silicate and additives if necessary to contribute some molar ratios that must be met for the formation of the geoplímero. The formation of the geopolymer occurs through polycondensation reactions leading to an amorphous and even crystalline structure depending on the process. The use of additives and aggregates impart desired characteristics such as better mechanical strength, better thermal or acoustic insulation capacity, better chemical resistance among other factors. The execution was from metacaulim with the use of NaOH and additives, sawdust and sisal fibers (algae sisalana) to impart larger porosities in the developed geopolymer. The developed geopolymer generated values of mechanical strength in the order of 20 MPa in a cure time of 11 days, its density ranged from 1.0 to 2.5 gmL-1, the volumetric porosity was in the range of 25.0% to 47,0%, the concentrations of NaOH used were between 0.0 and 15.0 mol / Liter. All data were compatible with data verified in the literature.

"The increasing global demands for materials and energy directly contributes to the devastating ecological, toxicological, and climate consequences currently observed. Biomass-derived energy and materials offers a sustainable option to meeting current needs and developing novel materials. Hydrothermal carbonization is a promising green platform to valorize biomass by forming Hydrochar, a carbon solid. Hydrothermal carbonization converts biomass using liquid phase water at elevated temperatures (180-350 °C), forming organic intermediates, which dehydrate and polymerize to form the solid material on time scales of several hours. Hydrochar shows promise for a wide variety of applications, including aqueous heavy-metal adsorption. The complexity of the hydrochar prevents reliable characterization, hindering a full understanding of how to optimize the material. The focus of this study was to develop spectroscopic methods better understand the material as it changes with reaction time (ex-situ). This study developed IR and Raman Spectroscopy and Mass Spectrometry (MS) methods. Hydrochars were prepared from glucose (a model for biomass) and were prepared at different reaction times between 3 and 24 hours to understand the formation of the material and how it matures under process conditions (180 °C, autogenous pressure). IR and MS identified hydroxyl and ketone functionalities and aliphatic, furanic, and aromatic moieties, and both techniques indicated decreasing hydroxyl and furan content and increasing methyl and aromatic content. The Raman spectra were consistent with aldehyde-functionalized 1- and 2-ring arenes and aldehyde-functionalized furans, and indicated increasing 2-ring arene content relative to 1-ring arenes. MS showed a significant increase in the aromatic to furan ratio, and MS confirmed the increase in 2-ring arenes relative to 1-ring arenes seen in the Raman. These spectroscopic methods are in good agreement and will allow for greater chemical information in the hydrochar, which will inform the link between material modification under process conditions and application performance."

The numerical treatment of nonlocal problems, which taking into account material microstructures, by means of meshless approaches is promising due to its efficiency in addressing integropartial differential equations. This thesis focuses on the investigation of meshless methods to nonlocal elasticity. Firstly, mathematical constructions of meshless shape functions are introduced and their properties are discussed. Shape functions based upon different radial basis function (RBF) approximations are implemented and solutions are compared. Interpolation errors of different meshless shape functions are examined. Secondly, the Point Collocation Method (PCM), which is a strong-form meshless method, and the Local Integral Equation Method (LIEM) that bases on the weak-form, are presented. RBF approximations are employed both in PCM and LIEM. The influences of support domains, different kinds of RBFs and free parameters are studied in PCM. While in LIEM, analytical forms of integrals, which is new in meshless method, is addressed. And, the number of straight lines that enclose the local integral domain as well as the integral radius are analyzed. Several examples are conducted to demonstrate the accuracy of PCM and LIEM. Besides, comparisons are made with Abaqus solutions. Then, PCM and LIEM are applied to nonlocal elastostatics based on the Eringen's model. Formulations of both methods are reported in the nonlocal frame. Numerical examples are presented and comparisons between solutions obtained from both methods are made, validating the accuracy and effectiveness of meshless methods for solving static nonlocal problems. Simultaneously, the influence of characteristic length and portion factors are investigated. Finally, LIEM is employed to solve nonlocal elastodynamic problems. The Laplace transform method and the time-domain technique are implemented in LIEM respectively as the time marching schemes. Numerical solutions of both approaches are compared, showing reasonable agreements. The influence of characteristic length and portion factors are investigated in nonlocal dynamic cases as well.

Orientador: Fernando Augusto Silva Marins / Banca: Ubirajara Rocha Ferreira / Banca: Ualison Rébla de Oliveira / Resumo: As mudanças econômicas ocorridas na segunda metade do século vinte têm redesenhado as bases da competitividade industrial no mundo. Na indústria automotiva verifica-se que este processo de reestruturação possui como forte inspiração uma filosofia de produção diferenciada. Em virtude deste reconhecimento neste trabalho traçou-se como objetivo fundamental mapear o fluxo de informações e materiais na cadeia de suprimentos automobilística a fim de detectar padrões no relacionamento entre os principais elos da cadeia, montadoras e fornecedores, à luz das novas mudanças no processo produtivo, dinamismo do mercado, fluxo de informações e materiais. Para isto realizou-se primeiramente um levantamento bibliográfico para procurar referências destes aspectos em transição em estudos já publicados e confrontar esses resultados com os de uma pesquisa realizada junto a empresas do mesmo setor. Nas amostras estudadas foram incluídas empresas localizadas na região sul/sudeste do país e, seguindo uma estratégia de pesquisa quali-quantitativa, foi possível captar a informação necessária para cumprir os objetivos previstos. Como resultados destacam-se: o diagnóstico da situação e a análise de propostas de melhorias para os fluxos de materiais e de informação em empresas automobilísticas que utilizam acordos de relacionamento diferentes, destacando-se a importância da ferramenta Mapeamento do Fluxo do Valor. Outros resultados interessantes referem-se à caracterização dos padrões de relacionamento existentes hoje nesses tipos de empresas que, ainda, estão distantes de uma uniformidade / Abstract: The economical changes that have occurred on the second half of the twentieth century, has redrawn the industrial competiveness in the world. In Automotive industry it's verified that this re-structure process has as a strong inspiration, a different production philosophy. Regarding this recognition the current final paper has defined as a fundamental objective mapping information flow and materials on automobilistic supply chain in order to detect the patterns on the relationship among the main links on the net, assemblers and suppliers, under a whole new light: productive process, dynamic market, information and materials flow. For this reason at first a literature review was performed with the intention of identifying references of these aspects under transition in studies already publicized and it faces these results with a research on samples of related companies. On these samples, companies located on the south/southeast were included and also following a quali-quantitative research strategy it was possible to collect in necessary information to fulfill the previewed objectives. As a result it is pointed out: the situation diagnosis and the proposal analysis of improvement for the material flow and information of automobilistic companies which use agreements of different matters, highlighting the importance of the tool value flow mapping. Other interesting results are related to the characterization of relation patterns which exists nowadays on this type of companies and away from uniformity we still can find differences pointed out on them / Mestre

Orientador: Gerson Tontini. / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Regional de Blumenau, Centro de Ciências Sociais Aplicadas, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Administração.

Doctor of philosophy (phd) / SYNOPSIS This thesis is concerned with the general and fundamental engineering characterisation of a geological formation within Wianamatta group, known as Bringelly shale. Bringelly shale is the neighbouring member of Ashfield shale; both are soft rocks of Triassic age within a geological structure known as the Sydney basin in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Bringelly shale rock and its residual material cover an approximate area of 700km2. It is found inland, to the west of the city of Sydney, where most of the new residential, commercial and industrial development is taking place. There is a limited amount of existing experimental data in part due to the technological difficulties in obtaining specimens and this has contributed to the uncertainties surrounding the engineering behaviour of the rock. In this research, efforts have been made to identify index property tests useful for determining the engineering characteristics of the material. Further aims were to explore the reasons for the difficulty of obtaining core specimens using standard water flush drilling techniques and, to ascertain and explain why Bringelly and Ashfield shales behave differently in many aspects of their engineering performance, even though they are members of the same geological group. Qualitative and semi-quantitative analysis by the X-ray diffraction technique was used to evaluate the clay mineralogy of the Bringelly shale materials at different degrees of weathering. Thin sections were examined by optical microscopy to study the nature of cementation and bonding. Polished sections of natural and reconstituted specimens were examined by electron microscopy to investigate the internal structure of each material and its mineral composition. It has been found that the presence of a significant amount of swelling clay and microcracks in the plane of laminations are responsible for increasing the swelling potential of the Bringelly shale. There is little evidence of induration and only apparently weak bonding due to re-crystallisation of mica at particle contacts. Changes in particle alignment following failure were also observed. Because of the difficulty of obtaining specimens suitable for UCS testing, correlations were established between the point load strength index and the measured values of uniaxial compressive strength in the direction perpendicular to laminations. The strength anisotropy from the point load index was also determined. In this research, it was found that due to the limited number of specimens tested for UCS, the determined correlation factor could over-predict the strength of the shale. Durability and swelling of the shale were also investigated. The durability of Bringelly shale was found to vary from medium for fresh intact material to very low for extremely weathered material. To further investigate the mechanisms responsible for the durability of the shale, unconfined and confined swelling tests were performed. Volumetric strains of 6-8% were measured for cube specimens with a volume of 27000 mm3, however, the material has shown an inverse relationship between its volumetric swelling and specimen dimensions. The chemical composition of the fluid into which the specimen was immersed was found to have a major influence on volume changes in the intact material. The results of the investigation confirmed that potassium chloride solution can be used to reduce swelling potential, and further, to improve core recovery during drilling. An extensive experimental program to investigate the engineering performance of the shale has involved the use of conventional and specialised high pressure triaxial equipment. The program investigated the volumetric compression and shearing behaviour of three different forms of specimen. These were natural core specimens, and reconstituted specimens created from crushed shale by either pressing dry powder in a mould or by compression of a slurry. Isotropic consolidation tests over a wide range of stresses were performed. The program has also involved a series of drained and undrained triaxial strength tests on the three different forms. The series has covered a wide range of confining effective stresses from 20 to 60,000kPa, degree of saturation from 65-100%, and porosities from 10% to 60%. These tests have provided an extensive set of data to investigate the influence of stress, saturation, suction and internal structure on the compression behaviour of the reconstituted and natural rock. Analysis of these data has been conducted in terms of cementation, swelling, saturation, confining stresses, and frictional resistance. A series of standard direct and ring shear tests has been carried out on the reconstituted Bringelly shale at normal stresses in the range from 50 to 200 kPa, and a residual friction angle was determined. It was found that this value has not been affected by the reorientation of clay particle despite the high clay fraction content of the material. The results of this research indicate that the general pattern of behaviour for reconstituted material that has experienced a maximum effective stress of less than 6 MPa is consistent with the assumptions of critical state soil mechanics and similar to many other reconstituted materials. This pattern of behaviour shows a significant deviation from the framework of critical state when the same material (slurry or core form) is subjected to a maximum effective stress of 60MPa. The significance of bonding and structure of the intact shale could be detected from investigating the same material at reconstituted state. However, further development of the critical state framework is required to take into account the reduction in strength caused by the high degree of alignment of clay platelets. The OCR seems to have minor effect on the strength of the material.

<p>CASTRO, SUSANA PATRICIA. Characterization of the Boron Doping Process UsingBoron Nitride Solid Source DiffusionThe purpose of this research has been to develop an optimum process for the borondoping of implants and polysilicon gates of metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) devices.An experimental design was constructed to determine the effects of diffusiontemperature, time, and ambient on characteristics of the doping process. A temperaturerange of 800 to 1000 degrees Celsius was studied with a diffusion time between 10 and60 minutes. Two diffusion ambients were used for doping processes, a pure nitrogenambient and a nitrogen-oxygen gaseous mixture. Device wafers were fabricated, and thetesting of MOS capacitors and van der Pauw test structures was performed to determinethe effect of diffusion conditions on flatband voltage and poly gate doping. Materialscharacterization techniques were used on monitor wafers for each diffusion process todetermine the wafer structure formed for each process and evaluate the effectiveness ofthe deglaze etch. The processes that resulted in the best device characteristics withoutsuffering from significant poly depletion effects and flatband voltage shifts were wafersdoped at 800 degrees Celsius in a pure nitrogen atmosphere for 20 minutes and 45minutes. The presence of oxygen in the atmosphere caused the depletion of boron fromthe Si wafer surface. The formation of the Si-B phase only occurred on devices processedat 1000 degrees Celsius. The deglaze process used in this experiment did not fullyremove this layer, and thus all devices doped at this temperature were seriously degraded.<P>

<p>The characteristics of clean n-type GaN surfaces and the interface between this surface and Pt, Au and Ag, have been investigated. Gallium-terminated (0001) surfaces of GaN, free of carbon and oxygen within the detection limits of XPS have been achieved by annealing in ammonia at 860°C for 15 minutes. Additional, in-situ surface analysis indicated a flat, stoichometric, and unreconstructed surface free of other contaminants. The electron affinity of this surface was 3.1 ± 0.2 eV. The valence band maximum was located 3.0 ± 0.1 eV below the Fermi level, indicating the presence of a surface state near the valence band maximum. Individual layers of Pt, Au or Ag were deposited in-situ on the cleaned surface and the interfaces characterized using XPS, UPS, LEED and TEM. All as-deposited metal/GaN interfaces were abrupt and unreacted; the Pt and Au were deposited epitaxially. The Schottky barrier heights obtained from photoemission measurements were 1.2, 0.9 and 0.5 ± 0.2 eV for Pt, Au and Ag, respectively. Values of the metal work function from UPS results were 5.7, 5.3 and 4.4 ± 0.2 eV for Pt, Au and Ag, respectively. Schottky barrier heights determined via ex-situ current-voltage measurements were 1.15, 0.88 and 0.56 ± 0.05 eV for Pt, Au and Ag, respectively. Capacitance-voltage measurements yielded barrier heights of 1.25 and 0.96 ± 0.05 eV, for Pt and Au, respectively. These results indicate that the Fermi level of the cleaned surface is not pinned. Upon annealing the aforementioned contacts from 400 to 800°C for 3 minutes each. The rectifying behavior of the Pt and Au contacts degraded as a function of temperature during annealing at 400, 600 and 800°C for 3 minutes each until they became ohmic. This was correlated with TEM of the annealed interfaces, which displayed increased chemical reaction and roughening as a function of temperature. <P>

<p>The surface morphology and atomic structure of nitrogen doped, n-type 6H-SiC(0001)Si wafers before and after various surface preparation techniques were investigated. As-received wafers were exposed to in-situ cleaning with or without excess silicon to obtain either a (rt3 x rt3)R30&#176 or a (3 x 3) reconstructed surface. The resulting surfaces were characterized using reflection high-energy electron diffraction, photo-electron emission microscopy, and atomic force microscopy. An atomically clean, reconstructed surface was obtained via thermal annealing at 950ºC. Cleaning with excess silicon resulted in the formation of silicon islands on the surface. The surface morphology of hydrogen etched wafers depended upon their doping concentrations. Wafers with doping concentrations of greater than or equal 2.5 x 10E18 and less than 7 x 10E17 (ND-NA)/cm3 were investigated with the former exhibiting more surface features. The microstructure of all the samples showed regions with full and half unit cell high steps. An atomically clean, ordered, stepped surface was achieved via annealing at 1030 degrees Celcius. Chemical vapor cleaning resulted in the formation of silicon islands. The initial growth of AlN and GaN thin films on the cleaned, hydrogen etched 6H-SiC(0001) substrates were investigated using PEEM and AFM. The AlN films nucleated immediately and coalesced, except in the areas of the substrate surface which contained half unit cell height steps where pits were observed. The GaN films grown at 800ºC for 2.5 minutes exhibited nucleation and three-dimensional growth along the steps. The GaN films deposited at 700&#176 C for 2 minutes grew three-dimensionally with coalescence of the film dependent upon the step structure. Almost complete coalescence occurred in regions with unit cell high steps and incomplete coalesce occurred in regions with half unit cell height steps. Films of AlN grown for 30 minutes via GSMBE on hydrogen etched surfaces exhibited two-dimensional growth and had an RMS roughness value of 4 &Aring. Films grown at 1000 &#176 C exhibited an SK growth mode and had rocking curve FWHM of 150-200 arcsecs. MOCVD grown films on hydrogen etched wafers had an RMS roughness value of 4 &Aring and a XRD rocking curve FWHM of approximately 260 acrsecs. <P>