Carbon fiber-reinforced plastics (CFRPs) have gained widespread popularity as a lightweight, high-strength alternative to traditional materials. The unique anisotropic properties of CFRP make processing difficult, especially using conventional methods. This study investigates laser cutting by ablation as an alternative by comparing two near-infrared laser systems to a typical mechanical machining process. This research has potential applications in the automotive and aerospace industries, where CFRPs are particularly desirable for weight savings and fuel efficiency. First, a CNC mill was used to study the effects of process parameters and tool design on machining quality. Despite high productivity and flexible tooling, mechanical drilling suffers from machining defects that could compromise structural performance of a CFRP component. Rotational feed rate was shown to be the primary factor in determining the axial thrust force, which correlated with the extent of delamination and peeling. Experimental results concluded that machining quality could be improved using a non-contact laser-based material removal mechanism. Laser machining was investigated first with a Yb:YAG fiber laser system, operated in either continuous wave or pulse-modulated mode, for both cross-ply and woven CFRP. For the first time, energy density was used as a control variable to account for changes in process parameters, predicting a logarithmic relationship with machining results attributable to plasma shielding effects. Relevant process parameters included operation mode, laser power, pulse overlap, and cross-ply surface fiber orientation, all of which showed a significant impact on single-pass machining quality. High pulse frequency was required to successfully ablate woven CFRP at the weave boundaries, possibly due to matrix absorption dynamics. Overall, the Yb:YAG fiber laser system showed improved performance over mechanical machining. However, microsecond pulses cause extensive thermal damage and low ablation rates due to long laser-material interaction time and low power intensity. Next, laser machining was investigated using a high-energy nanosecond-pulsed Nd:YAG NIR laser operating in either Q-Switch or Long Pulse mode. This research demonstrates for the first time that keyhole-mode cutting can be achieved for CFRP materials using a high-energy nanosecond laser with long-duration pulsing. It is also shown that short-duration Q-Switch mode results in an ineffective cutting performance for CFRP, likely due to laser-induced optical breakdown. At sufficiently high power intensity, it is hypothesized that the resulting plasma absorbs a significant portion of the incoming laser energy by the inverse Bremsstrahlung mechanism. In Long Pulse mode, multi-pass line and contour cutting experiments are further performed to investigate the effect of laser processing parameters on thermal damage and machined surface integrity. A logarithmic trend was observed for machining results, attributable to plasma shielding similar to microsecond fiber laser results. Cutting depth data was used to estimate the ablation threshold of Hexcel IM7 and AS4 fiber types. Drilling results show that a 2.2 mm thick cross-ply CFRP panel can be cut through using about 6 laser passes, and a high-quality machined surface can be produced with a limited heat-affected zone and little fiber pull-out using inert assist gas. In general, high-energy Long Pulse laser machining achieved superior performance due to shorter pulse duration and higher power intensity, resulting in significantly higher ablation rates. The successful outcomes from this work provide the key to enable an efficient high-quality laser machining process for CFRP materials.

Ce travail de thèse explore l’excitation électrique de micro-OLEDs en régime d’impulsion afin d’évaluer la possibilité d’atteindre le seuil laser dans les diodes laser organiques qui restent encore à démontrer. Ils’agit d’identifier des solutions scientifiques et techniques ouvrant la voie vers des densités d’excitations électriques équivalentes aux seuils laser observés en pompage optique. Dans la littérature, les seuils les plus bas sont équivalents à des densités de courant entre 0.72 et 4kA/cm² si on suppose une efficacité quantique externe de 1%. De telles densités de courant imposent un régime d’excitation électrique impulsionnel pour s’affranchir des risques de destructions par effet thermique et des pertes par annihilation singulet-triplet dès lors que l’on travaille avec des durées d’impulsion de l’ordre de la nanoseconde. Et pour espérer des réponses électriques et optiques efficaces à de telles durées d’impulsions, il est proposé ici de combiner l’électronique hyperfréquence et l’optoélectronique organique. A cet effet, un modèle électrique équivalent de l’OLED permettant d’accéder à son temps de réponse en mode tout-ou-rien est développé. De plus, des électrodes spécifiques sont dimensionnées et structurées sous forme de lignes coplanaires d’impédance caractéristique 50Ω afin de maîtriser l’impédance du circuit d’excitation et d’assurer le transfert du maximum d’énergie de l’impulsion d’excitation vers celui-ci. Après dépôts de l’hétéro-structure organique basée sur le système hôte-dopant Alq3:DCM, les composants ainsi réalisés sont caractérisés électriquement et optiquement avec différentes techniques par analyse vectorielle, en régime continu et en régime d’impulsion. En régime d’impulsion de très courtes durées (2.5~20ns) et à faible taux de répétition (100Hz), des temps de réponse de 330ps etdes densités de courant maximales entre 4 et 6kA/cm² ont été mesurés alors que le maximum de luminance culmine à 4.11x10⁶ cd/m². / This thesis explores the pulsed electrical excitation of micro-OLEDs in order to evaluate the possibility of reaching the laser threshold in organic laser diodes that have not yet be demonstrated. The main goal is the identification of the scientific and technical solutions towards high electrical excitation current densities equivalent to the laser thresholds observed under optical pumping. In the literature, the lowest reported thresholds are equivalent to current densities between 0.72 and 4kA/cm², assuming an external quantum efficiency of 1%. Such current densities imply a pulsed electrical excitation regime to prevent the risks of device breakdown by Joule heating effects and to avoid losses by excitons annihilation processes, as long as the pulses duration are in nanosecond range. To expect efficient electrical and optical responses to such pulse durations, it is suggested to combine microwave electronics and organic optoelectronics. For this purpose, an equivalent electrical model of the organic light emitting device, allowing access to its on-off mode time response, is developed. Additionally, specific electrodes are designed and patterned in the coplanar waveguide configuration with characteristic impedance of 50Ω, inorder to control the impedance of the excitation circuit and to ensure the maximum energy transfer of the excitation pulse to the device. After deposition of organic hetero-structure based on the Alq3:DCM host-guest system, the device is characterized electrically and optically with different techniques by vector network analysis, in continuous mode and in pulse mode. In pulse excitation regime with very short pulses durations (2.5~20ns) and low repetition rate (100Hz), time response of 330ps and maximum current densities between 4 and 6kA/cm² are recorded while the maximum of luminance peaks at 4.11x10⁶ cd/m².

We demonstrate intracellular delivery of various molecules by inducing controlled and reversible cell damage through pulsed laser irradiation of carbon black (CB) nanoparticles. We then characterized and optimized the system for maximal uptake and minimal loss of viability. At our optimal condition 88% of cells exhibited uptake with almost no loss of viability. In other more intense cases it was shown that cell death could be prevented through addition of poloxamer. The underlying mechanism of action is also studied and our hypothesis is that the laser heats the CB leading to thermal expansion, vapor formation and/or chemical reaction leading to generation of acoustic waves and then there is energy transduction to the cell causing poration of the cell membrane. We also delivered anti-EGFR siRNA to ovarian cancer cells. Cells exposed to a laser at 18.75 mJ/cm2 for 7 minutes resulted in a 49% knockdown of EGFR compared to negative control. We established an alternative way to deliver siRNA to knockdown proteins, for the first time using laser CB interaction.

Nanosecond repetitively pulsed (NRP) discharges are being increasingly used in various applications, in particular in plasma-assisted combustion and aerodynamic flow control. First, we studied the thermal and hydrodynamic effects of NRP discharges using quantitative Schlieren measurements and numerical analyses in atmospheric pressure air. The time resolved images show the expansion of the heated gas channel starting from as early as 50 ns after the discharge and the shock-wave propagation from about 500 ns. Gas density profiles simulated in 1-D cylindrical coordinates are used to reconstruct numerical Schlieren images for comparison with experimental ones. We propose an original method to determine the initial gas temperature and the fraction of energy transferred into fast gas heating, using a comparison of the contrast profiles obtained from experimental and numerical Schlieren images. The results show that a significant fraction of the electric energy is converted into gas heating within a few tens of ns. The values range from 25 % at a reduced electric field of 164 Td in air at 300 K to about 75 % at 270 Td in air preheated to 1000 K, which supports the fast heating processes via dissociative quenching of N2(B, C) by molecular oxygen. Second, we provide a database to test the kinetic modeling of lean mixture ignition by NRP discharges. We characterize the initial spark radius and the ignition kernel development at pressures up to 10 bar. Comparisons with a conventional igniter show that better results are obtained with NRP discharges in terms of flame propagation speed, especially at high pressure. The flame speed increases by up to 20 % at 10 bar due to the increased wrinkling of the flame front induced by NRP discharges. Finally, we investigate the dynamic response of a flame to actuation by NRP discharges in a 12-kW bluff-body stabilized burner. The results show a significant reduction in flame lift-off height, within 5 ms after applying the NRP discharges. The mechanism is attributed to the entrainment of the OH radicals and heat towards the shear layer of incoming fresh gases. This opens up new applications in the control of combustion instabilities.

The effect of temperature on fuel-air ignition and combustion (thermal effects) have been widely studied and well understood. However, a comprehensive understanding of nonequilibrium plasma effects (in situ generation of reactive species and radicals combined with gas heating) on the combustion process is still lacking. Over the past decade, research efforts have advanced our knowledge of electron impact kinetics and low temperature chain branching in fuel-air mixtures considerably. In contrast to numerous experimental investigations, research on modeling and simulation of plasma assisted combustion has received less attention. There is a dire need for development of self-consistent numerical models for construction and validation of plasma chemistry mechanisms. High-fidelity numerical models can be invaluable in exploring the plasma effects on ignition and combustion in turbulent and high-speed flow environments, owing to the difficulty in performing spatially resolved quantitative measurements. In this work, we establish a multi-scale modeling framework to simulate the physical and chemical effects of nonequilibrium, nanosecond plasma discharges on reacting flows. The model is capable of resolving electric field transients and electron impact dynamics in sub-ns timescales, as well as calculating the cumulative effects of multiple discharge pulses over ms timescales. Detailed chemistry mechanisms are incorporated to provide deep insight into the plasma kinetic pathways. The modeling framework is utilized to study ignition of H₂-air mixtures subjected to pulsed, nanosecond dielectric barrier discharges in a plane-to-plane geometry. The key kinetic pathways responsible for radicals such as O, H and OH generation from nanosecond discharges over multiple voltage pulses (ns-ms timescales) are quantified. The relative contributions of plasma thermal and kinetic effects in the ignition process are presented. The plasma generated radicals trigger partial fuel oxidation and heat release when the temperature rises above 700 K, after which the process becomes self-sustaining leading to igntion. The ignition kernel growth is primarily due to local plasma chemistry effects rather than flame propagation, and heat transport does not play a significant role. The nanosecond pulse discharge plasma excitation resulted in nearly simultaneous ignition over a large volume, in sharp contrast to hot-spot igniters. Next, the effect of nanosecond pulsed plasma discharges on the ignition characteristics of nC₇H₁₆ and air in a plane-to-plane geometry is studied at a reduced pressure of 20.3 kPa. The plasma generated radicals initiate and significantly accelerate the H abstraction reaction from fuel molecules and trigger a “self-accelerating” feedback loop via low-temperature kinetic pathways. Application of only a few discharge pulses at the beginning reduces the initiation time of the first-stage temperature rise by a factor of 10. The plasma effect after the first stage is shown to be predominantly thermal. A novel plasma-flame modeling framework is developed to study the direct coupling of steady, laminar, low-pressure, premixed flames to highly non-equilibrium, nanosecond-pulsed plasma discharges. The simulations are performed with and without a burst of 200 nanosecond discharge pulses to quantify the effect of non-equilibrium plasma on a pre-existing lean premixed H₂/O₂/N₂ (ϕ = 0.5) flame at 25 torr. Simulation results showed a significant increase in O and H densities due to plasma chemistry, with peak values increasing by a factor of 6 and a factor of 4, respectively. It is demonstrated that Joule heating alone cannot move the temperature and species profiles as far upstream (i.e. closer to the burner surface) as the pulsed plasma source of the same total power. LES (large eddy simulation) of ignition and combustion of H₂ jets injected into a supersonic O₂ crossflow is performed. Nanosecond plasma discharges are studied for their potential to produce radicals and impact on the flame-holding process. The plasma has a significant effect on the O atom distribution near the discharge domain as well as in the leeward side of the second jet. The other species distributions, however, remained unchanged with or without plasma. We believe the reason for this behavior was the high jet momentum ratios considered in the present study. The plasma generated radicals were unable to have an effect on the flame development downstream because of the strong penetration of the cold fuel jet.

Les plasmas froids dans l’air à pression atmosphérique ont trouvé de nombreuses applications ces dernières années. Grâce à une chimie très réactive, les plasmas froids offrent une solution prometteuse pour le traitement bio-médical. Dans ce contexte, deux dispositifs d’exposition au plasma sont présentés :• le premier dispositif permet de générer des DBD (Décharges à Barrière Diélectrique) sur une échelle de temps nanoseconde (ns-DBD). L’échantillon biologique joue le rôle d’une électrode. La décharge se développe dans l’intervalle d’air entre la surface du diélectrique et l’échantillon biologique.• le.second dispositif d’exposition permet de générer des DBD de surface sur une échelle de temps nanoseconde (ns-SDBD). La décharge se forme le long de la surface du diélectrique, à proximité de l’électrode active. Pendant l’exposition au plasma, l’échantillon est placé face à l’applicateur. Contrairement à l’applicateur DBD, la décharge n’est pas directement en contact avec la solution biologique.Les deux systèmes d’exposition au plasma sont conçus de façon similaire, leurs dimensions autorisent l’exposition d’un échantillon biologique placé dans une boite de Petri classique. La cible biologique est un ensemble de cellules cancéreuses placées dans une solution de culture. Le travail présenté est essentiellement expérimental. Il se concentre sur la caractérisation électrique des décharges. Le plasma est créé avec des impulsions haute tension (de 4 kV à 11 kV), sur des temps très courts (de 10 ns à 14 ns de largeur) et avec des temps de montée brefs (2,5 ns, en fonction du générateur utilisé). Dans la configuration ns-DBD, l’énergie déposée par le plasma par impulsion est de l’ordre du mJ. En configuration ns-SDBD, l’énergie déposée est calculée, elle est de l’ordre de quelques dizaines de μJ. Une étude préliminaire sur le traitement d’échantillons biologiques est réalisée dans la configuration ns-SDBD. La viabilité de cellules de glioblastome est présentée en fonction de l’énergie déposée dans le plasma par impulsion. Selon les résultats de cette première étude, le plasma ns-SDBD a un effet sur la viabilité des cellules exposées dans les conditions décrites. / Cold plasmas in atmospheric pressure air have been used in many different applications in the past few years. Because of its high chemical reactivity, cold plasma treatment appears to be a promising solution for biomedical applications. In this context the study and realization of nanosecond plasma exposure devices for biomedical applications are presented :• the first exposure device generates DBD (Dielectric Barrier Discharge) on a nanosecond time scale (ns-DBD). The biological sample acts as an electrode. The discharges develops in the air gap be- tween the dielectric layer and the biological sample.• The second exposure device generates surface DBD on a nanosecond time scale (ns- SDBD). The discharge develops along the dielectric layer surface close to an active electrode. During plasma exposure, the biological sample faces the discharge device. By contrast to the DBD configuration, the discharge is not in direct contact with the surface of the solution.Both exposure devices are designed in a same way,. the dimensions allow plasma treatment of biological sample contained in a standard Petri dish. The biological targets are cancer cells in a liquid culture medium. The work is mainly experimental. It focuses on the electrical characterization of discharges. The plasma is created using short (10-14 ns of FWHM) high-voltage (up to 4 or 11 kV) pulses of fast rise times (2-5 ns depending on the pulse generator). In the ns-DBD configuration the energy deposited into plasma per pulse is in the order of millijoule. In the ns-SDBD configuration, we calculated the energy deposited into plasma per pulse in a range of tens of μJ. A preliminary study on treatment of biological samples by ns-SDBD plasma is performed. The glioblastoma cells viability was presented as a function of the energy deposited into plasma per pulse. According to this preliminary result the ns-SDBD plasma has an influence on the viability of the cells in the given conditions.

Les décharges Nanosecondes Répétitives Pulsées (NRP) sont de plus en plus utilisées dans diverses applications, en particulier dans la combustion assistée par plasma et le contrôle d'écoulement aérodynamique. Tout d'abord, nous étudions les effets thermiques et hydrodynamiques d'une décharge NRP en utilisant des mesures de Schlieren rapide quantitatives et des analyses numériques dans l'air à la pression atmosphérique à 300 et 1000 K. Les images Schlieren résolues en temps montrent l'expansion du canal de gaz chauffé à partir de 50 ns après la décharge et la propagation d'ondes de choc à partir d'environs 500 ns. L'onde de choc change de forme cylindrique à sphérique après 3 µs. Nous analysons des images Schlieren enregistrées à partir de 50 nanosecondes à 3 microsecondes après la décharge. Des profils de densité de gaz simulés en coordonnées cylindriques 1-D sont utilisés pour reconstruire des images Schlieren numériques pour la comparaison avec les résultats expérimentaux. Nous proposons une méthode originale pour déterminer la température du gaz initial et la fraction de l'énergie transférée dans le chauffage rapide, en utilisant une comparaison des profils de contraste d'images obtenues à partir d'images Schlieren expérimentales et numériques. Les résultats montrent qu'une fraction importante de l'énergie électrique est convertie en chauffage du gaz en quelques dizaines de nanosecondes. Les valeurs vont de 25 % pour un champ électrique réduit de 164 Td dans l'air à 300 K à environ 75 % à 270 Td dans l'air à 1000 K. Celles-ci reflètent les processus de chauffage rapide par quenching dissociatif de N2(B,C) par l'oxygène moléculaire. Deuxièmement, nous fournissons une base de données pour tester la modélisation cinétique de l'allumage pauvre de mélange par les décharges NRP. Le rayon d'allumage initial, le développement du noyau d'allumage à des pressions jusqu'à 10 bar sont caractérisées. Les comparaisons avec un allumeur classique montrent que de meilleurs résultats sont obtenus avec des décharges NRP en termes de vitesse de propagation de la flamme, en particulier à haute pression, où la vitesse de flamme augmente jusqu'à 20% à 10 bar en raison de l'augmentation de plissement du front de flamme induit par les décharges NRP. Enfin, nous étudions la réponse dynamique d'une flamme à l'actionnement par les décharges NRP dans un brûleur 12-kW. Les résultats montrent une réduction significative (75%) de la hauteur de décollement de flamme après l'application des décharges NRP. Le mécanisme en jeu est l'entrainement des radicaux OH et de la chaleur produite par la décharge vers la couche de cisaillement de gaz frais entrant. Cette étude ouvre ainsi de nouvelles perspectives vers le contrôle des instabilités de combustion. / Nanosecond repetitively pulsed (NRP) discharges are being increasingly used in various applications, in particular in plasma-assisted combustion and aerodynamic flow control. First, we studied the thermal and hydrodynamic effects of NRP discharges using quantitative Schlieren measurements and numerical analyses in atmospheric pressure air. The time resolved images show the expansion of the heated gas channel starting from as early as 50 ns after the discharge and the shock-wave propagation from about 500 ns. Gas density profiles simulated in 1-D cylindrical coordinates are used to reconstruct numerical Schlieren images for comparison with experimental ones. We propose an original method to determine the initial gas temperature and the fraction of energy transferred into fast gas heating, using a comparison of the contrast profiles obtained from experimental and numerical Schlieren images. The results show that a significant fraction of the electric energy is converted into gas heating within a few tens of ns. The values range from 25 % at a reduced electric field of 164 Td in air at 300 K to about 75 % at 270 Td in air preheated to 1000 K, which supports the fast heating processes via dissociative quenching of N2(B, C) by molecular oxygen. Second, we provide a database to test the kinetic modeling of lean mixture ignition by NRP discharges. We characterize the initial spark radius and the ignition kernel development at pressures up to 10 bar. Comparisons with a conventional igniter show that better results are obtained with NRP discharges in terms of flame propagation speed, especially at high pressure. The flame speed increases by up to 20 % at 10 bar due to the increased wrinkling of the flame front induced by NRP discharges. Finally, we investigate the dynamic response of a flame to actuation by NRP discharges in a 12-kW bluff-body stabilized burner. The results show a significant reduction in flame lift-off height, within 5 ms after applying the NRP discharges. The mechanism is attributed to the entrainment of the OH radicals and heat towards the shear layer of incoming fresh gases. This opens up new applications in the control of combustion instabilities.

<div>Pulsed electric fields (PEFs) can induce numerous biophysical phenomena, especially perturbation of the outer and inner membranes, that may be used for applications that include nonthermal pasteurization, enhanced permeabilization of tumors to improve the transport of chemotherapeutics for cancer therapy, and enhanced membrane permeabilization of individual cells to enhance RNA and DNA delivery for gene therapy. The applied electric field and pulse duration determine the density, size, and reversibility of the created membrane pores. PEFs with durations longer than the outer membrane’s charging time will induce pore formation with the potential for application in irreversible electroporation for cancer therapy and microorganism inactivation. Shorter duration PEFs, particularly on the nanosecond timescale (nsPEFs), induce a larger density of smaller membrane pores with the potential to permeabilize intracellular membranes, such as the mitochondria, to induce programmed cell death. Thus, the PEFs can effectively kill multiple types of cells, dependent upon the cells. This thesis assesses the ability of nsPEFs to kill different cell types, specifically microorganisms with and without antibiotics as well as varying the parameters to affect populations of immortalized leukemia cells (Jurkats).</div><div>Antibiotic resistance has been an acknowledged challenge since the initial development of penicillin; however, recent discoveries by the CDC and the WHO of microorganisms resistant to last line of defense drugs combined with predictions of potential infection cases reaching 50 million a year globally and the absence new drugs in the discovery pipeline highlight the need to develop novel ways to combat and overcome these resistance mechanisms. Repurposing drugs, exploring nature for new drugs, and developing enzymes to counter the resistance mechanisms may provide potential alternatives for addressing the scarcity of antibiotics effective against gram-negative infections. One may also leverage the abundance of drugs effective against gram-positive infections by using nsPEFs to make them effective against gram-negative infections, including bacterial species with multiple natural and acquired resistance mechanisms. Numerous drug and microbial combinations for different doses and pulse treatments were tested and presented here.</div><div>Low intensity PEFs may selectively target cell populations at different stages of the cell cycle (quiescence and mitosis) to modify cancer cell population dynamics. Experimental studies of cancer cell growth when exposed to a low number of nsPEFs, while varying pulse duration, field intensity and number of pulses reveals a threshold beyond which cell recovery is not possible, but also a point of diminishing returns if cell death is the intention. A theory comprised of coupled differential equations representing the proliferating and quiescent cells showed how changing PEF parameters altered the behavior of these cell populations after treatment. These results may provide important information on the impact of PEFs with sub-threshold intensities and durations on cell population growth and potential recurrence.</div>

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