Diss.--Heidelberg--Universität, 1986.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2003. / Title from first page of PDF file. Document formatted into pages; contains xv, 144 p.; also includes graphics (some col.) Includes bibliographical references (p. 129-144). Available online via OhioLINK's ETD Center

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 1999. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 184-198). Available also in a digital version from Dissertation Abstracts.

Thèse (M.Sc.) -- Université Laval, 1998. / Bibliogr.: f. 29-32. Publié aussi en version électronique.

Thèse--Johannes Gütenberg-Universität, 1997. / Contient des textes en gagaouz avec trad. allemande en regard. Bibliogr. p. [125]-133. Index.

Contact lens manufacture requires a high level of accuracy and surface integrity in the range of a few nanometres. Amidst numerous optical manufacturing techniques, single-point diamond turning is widely employed in the making of contact lenses due to its capability of producing optical surfaces of complex shapes and nanometric accuracy. For process optimisation, it is ideal to assess the effects of various conditions and also establish their relationships with the surface finish. Presently, there is little information available on the performance of single point diamond turning when machining contact lens polymers. Therefore, the research work undertaken herewith is aimed at testing known facts in contact lens diamond turning and investigating the performance of ultra-high precision manufacturing of contact lens polymers. Experimental tests were conducted on Roflufocon E, which is a commercially available contact lens polymer and on Precitech Nanoform Ultra-grind 250 precision machining. Tests were performed at varying cutting feeds, speed and depth of cut. Initial experimental tests investigated the influence of process factors affecting surface finish in the UHPM of lenses. The acquired data were statistically analysed using Response Surface Method (RSM) to create a model of the process. Subsequently, a model which uses Runge-Kutta’s fourth order non-linear finite series scheme was developed and adapted to deduce the force occurring at the tool tip. These forces were also statistically analysed and modelled to also predict the effects process factors have on cutting force. Further experimental tests were aimed at establishing the presence of the triboelectric wear phenomena occurring during polymer machining and identifying the most influential process factors. Results indicate that feed rate is a significant factor in the generation of high optical surface quality. In addition, the depth of cut was identified as a significant factor in the generation of low surface roughness in lenses. The influence some of these process factors had was notably linked to triboelectric effects. This tribological effect was generated from the continuous rubbing action of magnetised chips on the cutting tool. This further stresses the presence of high static charging during cutting. Moderately humid cutting conditions presented an adequate means for static charge control and displayed improved surface finishes. In all experimental tests, the feed rate was identified as the most significant factor within the range of cutting parameters employed. Hence, the results validated the fact that feed rate had a high influence in polymer machining. The work also established the relationship on how surface roughness of an optical lens responded to monitoring signals and parameters such as force, feed, speed and depth of cut during machining and it generated models for prediction of surface finishes and appropriate selection of parameters. Furthermore, the study provides a molecular simulation analysis for validating observed conditions occurring at the nanometric scale in polymer machining. This is novel in molecular polymer modelling. The outcome of this research has contributed significantly to the body of knowledge and has provided basic information in the area of precision manufacturing of optical components of high surface integrity such as contact lenses. The application of the research findings presented here cuts across various fields such as medicine, semi-conductors, aerospace, defence, telecom, lasers, instrumentation and life sciences.

Cette étude par éléments finis se propose d estimer la tenue en Fatigue de Contact de Roulement (FCR) d'une roue ferroviaire. La première partie de la thèse présente une analyse critique des approches de la littérature consacrées aux différents aspects du problème de FCR. La deuxième partie porte sur la modélisation bidimensionnelle d'une roue ferroviaire, comportant un défaut circulaire, et soumise à une pression de contact hertzien en mouvement. L'endommagement est quantifié par un paramètre de fatigue basé sur la densité d'énergie et la notion de plan critique. La durée de vie est calculée à l'aide d une loi utilisant les paramètres de fatigue oligocyclique. On montre que la technique du submodeling est un outil efficace permettant de réduire le temps de calcul CPU. Le troisième chapitre est une étude paramétrique de l'influence sur la durée de vie, du niveau de chargement, de la profondeur, de la nature et de la taille des défauts. Les résultats montrent que le plan critique d amorçage de fissure est parallèle à la surface de contact lorsque le mode I domine¡; il s'en écarte quand le mode II est prépondérant. Le quatrième chapitre porte sur l'influence des chargements à amplitudes variables ainsi que celle du frottement. On montre l effet bénéfique d une surcharge sur la durée de vie à l'amorçage de fissure. L'incidence néfaste du coefficient de frottement sur la durée de vie est mise en évidence dans le cas d'une roue avec et sans défaut. Enfin, la dernière partie de ce travail aborde les effets d'inertie dans le cas de la FCR. La durée de vie est surestimée dans le cas statique et diminue en dynamique avec la vitesse de roulement et le niveau de chargement / This study by finites elements proposes to estimate the Rolling Contact Fatigue (RCF) strength of a railway wheel. The first part of the thesis presents a critical analysis of the approaches of the literature relatives to the various aspects of the problem of RCF. The second part relates to the two-dimensional modeling of a railway wheel, consist a defect circular, and subjected to a moving hertzian contact pressure .The damage is quantified by a Fatigue Parameter (FP) based on the density of energy and the concept of critical plan. The lifetime is calculated using a law consist of the parameters of low-cycle fatigue. It is shown that the technique of the submodeling is an effective tool to reduce the computing time CPU. The third chapter is a parametric study about the influence over the lifetime, of the loading level, the defect depth, the nature and the size of the defects. The results show that the critical plan of crack initiation is parallel to the contact surface when mode I dominate; it deviates when mode II is dominating. The fourth chapter relates to the influence of the loadings with variable amplitudes and that of friction. We show the beneficial effect of an overload over the lifetime to crack initiation. The harmful incidence of the coefficient of friction over the lifetime is highlighted in the case of a wheel with and without defect. Finally, the last part of this work approaches the effects of inertia in the case of the RCF. The lifetime is over-estimated in the static case and decreases in dynamics with the rolling speed and the loading level

To study the effect of the substrate support on the nanoscale contact, three different regimes, i.e., graphene on rigid (ultra-crystalline diamond) and on elastic (Polydimethylsiloxane) supports and free-standing graphene, were considered. The contribution of the graphene support to the mechanical and electrical characteristics of the graphene/metal contact was studied using the conductive atomic force microscopy (AFM) technique.The results revealed that the electrical conductivity of the graphene/metal contact highly depends on the nature of the graphene support. The conductivity increased when transitioning from suspended to elastic and then to rigid substrates, which is attributed to the changes in the contact area being higher for the suspended graphene and lower for the rigid substrate. The experimental observations showed good agreement with theoretical results obtained from modeling of the studied material systems. Further, the results indicated that in addition to the substrate support, the nature of the contact, static or dynamic, results in large variations of the electrical conductivity of the graphene/metal contacts. In case of the static mode, the contact made with supported graphene was very stable for a wide range of applied normal loads. Transitioning to the dynamic mode led to instability of the graphene/metal contact as demonstrated by lowering in the electrical conductivity values. This transition was even more pronounced for free-standing graphene which is attributed to graphene sagging during rapid scanning of the tip over the graphene surface. This study creates a new knowledge on understanding of the nanoscale contacts forming with 2D materials thus enabling further advances in the applications of 2D materials in highly stable and reliable electronic devices.

Contact angle behavior controls the spreading, sticking, or movement of fluid droplets on top of solid substrates, and the immiscible displacement of mixed fluids in porous media. Therefore, it influences applications such as oil recovery, CO2 geological storage, water transport in unsaturated soils, and DNAPL soil remediation techniques. The attraction forces and geometrical-molecular arrangement at the atomic scale define the strength of the interfacial tension that changes in response to changes in temperature, pressure, or the fluid composition within the system. Contact line behavior such as contact line pinning or depinning, microscale roughness, and changes in interfacial tensions influence advancing and receding contact angles. This study consists of a comprehensive database of published advancing and receding contact angles to understand the underlying mechanisms of contact line pinning and depinning and the implications of these phenomena on advancing and receding contact angles. Calcite experiments that investigate advancing and receding contact angle measurements as a function of ionic concentration complement the published literature. Critical results include: an advancing contact angle trend with calcite as a function of ionic concentration, a point of minimum contact angle hysteresis when brine concentrations are close to 0.1 M, and that contact angle behavior depends on cation type and the calcite surface anisotropy. Contact line pinning prevents flow and increases contact angle hysteresis. An analysis of the database suggests that the wide range of contact angle hysteresis of calcite and quartz with water results both from hydrogen bonds and microscale roughness at the surface which leads to pinned contact lines. The Jamin effect reduces significantly in calcite when the resultant injection brines have an ionic concentration close to 0.1 M. Thus, the pressure difference required to displace a non-wetting fluid for a wetting fluid reduces, and leads to enhanced recovery of trapped oil, gas or DNAPL.

Cette thèse est subdivisée en deux parties.La première partie porte sur l’étude de la topologie de l’espace des contactomorphismes pour quelques exemples explicites de variétés de contact en grandes dimensions. Plus précisément, en utilisant des constructions et résultats dus à Massot, Niederkrüger et Wendl, on construit, en chaque dimension impaire, une infinité d’exemples de contactomorphismes de variétés de contact vrillées fermées qui sont lissement isotopes mais pas contact-isotopes à l’identité. On donne aussi,en toutes dimensions impaires, des exemples de variétés de contact tendues fermées qui admettent un contactomorphisme tel que tous ses itérées sont lissement isotopes mais pas contacto-isotopes à l’identité ; ceci généralise un résultat en dimension 3 dû à Ding et Geiges.Dans la deuxième partie, on construit des exemples de variétés de contact fermées en grandes dimensions avec des propriétés particulières. Ceci nous amène à l’existence de structures tendues virtuellement vrillées en toutes dimensions impaires, et au fait que chaque variété de contact fermée de dimension 3 se plonge dans une variété de contact tendue fermée de dimension 5 avec fibré normal trivial. Pour cela, on utilise des constructions dues à Bourgeois (sur des produits avec des tores) et à Geiges (sur des revêtements ramifiés). On passe de ces constructions à des définitions ;ceci permet de prouver un résultat d’unicité dans le cas des revêtements ramifiés de contact, et d’étudier leurs propriétés globales, en montrant qu’elles ne dépendent d’aucun choix auxiliaire fait dans les procédures. Un deuxième but permis par ces définitions est l’étude des relations entre ces constructions et les notions de livre ouvert porteur, due à Giroux, et de fibré de contact, due à Lerman. Par exemple, on donne une définition de structure de contact de Bourgeois qui est locale,inclue (strictement) les résultats de la construction de Bourgeois et permet de récupérer une classe d’isotopie de livres ouverts porteurs sur les fibres ; ceci suit d’une réinterprétation, inspirée par une idée de Giroux, des livres ouverts porteurs en termes de paires de champs de vecteurs de contact. / This thesis is divided in two parts.The first part focuses on the study of the topology of the contactomorphism group of some explicit high dimensional contact manifolds. More precisely, using constructions and results by Massot, Niederkrüger and Wendl, we construct (infinitely many) examples in all dimensions of contactomor-phisms of closed overtwisted contact manifolds that are smoothly isotopic but not contact-isotopicto the identity. We also give examples of tight high dimensional contact manifolds admitting a contactomorphism whose powers are all smoothly isotopic but not contact-isotopic to the identity ;this is a generalization of a result in dimension 3 by Ding and Geiges.In the second part, we construct examples of higher dimensional contact manifolds with specific properties. This leads us to the existence of tight virtually overtwisted closed contact manifolds in all dimensions and to the fact that every closed contact 3-manifold embeds with trivial nor-mal bundle inside a tight closed contact 5-manifold. This uses known construction procedures byBourgeois (on products with tori) and Geiges (on branched covering spaces). We pass from these procedures to definitions ; this allows to prove a uniqueness statement in the case of contact branched coverings, and to study the global properties (such as tightness and fillability) of the results of both constructions without relying on any auxiliary choice in the procedures. A second goal allowed by these definitions is to study relations between these constructions and the notions of supporting open book, due to Giroux, and of contact fiber bundle, due to Lerman. For instance,we give a definition of Bourgeois contact structures on flat contact fiber bundles which is local,(strictly) includes the results of Bourgeois’ construction, and allows to recover an isotopy class of supporting open books on the fibers. This last point relies on a reinterpretation, inspired by anidea by Giroux, of supporting open books in terms of pairs of contact vector fields.