The Thesis presents an in-depth study of arcing behaviour of H. B. C. Fuses for a range of fuse elements and fillers, under critical current conditions. The methodologies used were the standard breaking capacity short-circuit test plus the application of crow-bar, Xray studies, metallographic microscopic and optical fiber arc detection techniques. Due to the observation of some unknown and puzzling arc phenomena it was decided to pursue the arc investigation by an extensive test programme of single uniform wire fuse elements. From the investigation a basic arc mechanism for the pre-peak and post-peak arcs period was discovered. The new mechanism was applied to single wire, strip, long notched, medium notched and short notched fuse elements and to paralleled wires and strips immersed in three quartz filler types: standard sand, high quality granular quartz and bound quartz in two different sizes. The proposed arc mechanism was modelled by a computer program which was used to simulate the described fuse constructions. The results of over 800 tests and subsequent simulation undoubtedly confirm that the proposed arc mechanism is applicable for the described fuse types. The experimental and analytical results are close enough to justify the model application for fuse designers and fuse users. A critical comparison of the experimental and analytical results with previous findings published by other researchers is presented. A detailed arc mechanism and the key behaviour rules are proposed, they are: " Maximum column voltage can not exceed the arc-root voltage. " The arc-root voltage and the initial dv/dt values are influenced by filler characteristics and are able to precisely characterize the filler behaviour. " The dv/dt, and consequently the burn-back are instantaneous current density functions. The application of the above rules allows the fuse designer to tailor the fuse element in order to obtain specific current and arc voltage waveforms. It is believed that the proposed arc mechanism and computer model is able to explain some puzzling are phenomena and eventually could be applied to predicting other low overload H. B. C. fuse behaviour.

In modern integrated circuits, electrostatic discharge (ESD) is a major problem that influences the reliability of operation, yield and cost of fabrication. ESD discharge events can generate static voltages beyond a few kilo volts. If these voltages are dissipated in the chip, high electric field and high current are generated and will destroy the gate oxide material or melt the metal interconnects. In order to protect the chip from these unexpected ESD events, special protection devices are designed and connect to each pin of the IC for this purpose. With the scaling of nano-metric processing technologies, the ESD design window has become more critical. That leaves little room for designers to maneuver. A good ESD protection device must have superior current sinking ability and also does not affect the normal operation of the IC. The two main categories of ESD devices are snapback and non-snapback ones. Non-snapback designs usually consist of forward biased diode strings with properties, such as low heat and power, high current carrying ability. Snapback devices use MOSFET and silicon controlled rectifier (SCR). They exploit avalanche breakdown to conduct current. In order to investigate the properties of various devices, they need to be modeled in device simulators. That process begins with realizing a technology specific NMOS and PMOS in the device simulators. The MOSFET process parameters are exported to build ESD structures. Then, by inserting ESD devices into different simulation test-benches, such as human-body model or charged-device model, their performance is evaluated through a series of figures of merit, which include peak current, voltage overshoot, capacitance, latch-up immunity and current dissipation time. A successful design can sink a large amount of current within an extremely short duration, while it should demonstrate a low voltage overshoot and capacitance. In this research work, an inter-weaving diode and SCR hybrid device demonstrated its effectiveness against tight ESD test standards is shown.

In modern integrated circuits, electrostatic discharge (ESD) is a major problem that influences the reliability of operation, yield and cost of fabrication. ESD discharge events can generate static voltages beyond a few kilo volts. If these voltages are dissipated in the chip, high electric field and high current are generated and will destroy the gate oxide material or melt the metal interconnects. In order to protect the chip from these unexpected ESD events, special protection devices are designed and connect to each pin of the IC for this purpose. With the scaling of nano-metric processing technologies, the ESD design window has become more critical. That leaves little room for designers to maneuver. A good ESD protection device must have superior current sinking ability and also does not affect the normal operation of the IC. The two main categories of ESD devices are snapback and non-snapback ones. Non-snapback designs usually consist of forward biased diode strings with properties, such as low heat and power, high current carrying ability. Snapback devices use MOSFET and silicon controlled rectifier (SCR). They exploit avalanche breakdown to conduct current. In order to investigate the properties of various devices, they need to be modeled in device simulators. That process begins with realizing a technology specific NMOS and PMOS in the device simulators. The MOSFET process parameters are exported to build ESD structures. Then, by inserting ESD devices into different simulation test-benches, such as human-body model or charged-device model, their performance is evaluated through a series of figures of merit, which include peak current, voltage overshoot, capacitance, latch-up immunity and current dissipation time. A successful design can sink a large amount of current within an extremely short duration, while it should demonstrate a low voltage overshoot and capacitance. In this research work, an inter-weaving diode and SCR hybrid device demonstrated its effectiveness against tight ESD test standards is shown.

The use of personal hearing protection devices (HPDs) is often recommended to protect workers' hearing from noise-induced damage when no other means of reducing noise levels at the source is effective. The effects of HPDs on speech communication cannot be neglected in spite of their benefit in reducing the risk of hearing loss. While much research has been directed at speech perception, much less is known on how HPDs affect speech production. The tendency of talkers to raise their vocal effort in noise, known as the Lombard effect, is often disrupted by HPDs due to their occlusion effect and the lower noise at the ears as well as the attenuated feedback from one’s own voice. Three main knowledge gaps are addressed in this thesis. The first gap is to characterize speech produced by talkers with or without HPDs under realistic acoustic conditions while immersed in an external noise field. The second gap is to evaluate more comprehensively speech production under protected and unprotected talker and listener ear conditions in different types of fluctuating and continous noises. The third gap is to assess the alterations in the characteristics of speech produced by talkers wearing level-dependent HPDs set at different transmission gain settings and in comparison with passive HPDs. This thesis extends methods used to recover Lombard speech elicited in an external noise field. For this purpose, two noise suppression methods, direct waveform subtraction (DWS) and adaptive noise cancellation (ANC), were found to adequately remove noise from speech recorded for SNRs as low as −10 dB. Moreover, this work contributes new knowledge on the effects of conventional passive HPDs on speech production. When talker wears HPD in noise then speech level were found to decrease by up to 9 dB in continuous noises and by 7 dB in fluctuating noises compared to open ears, while speech levels were found to increase by about 5 dB in all noises when the listener wears HPD. Furthermore, changes in pitch and spectral levels were consistent with changes in speech levels. The effects of level-dependent HPD on speech production, depending on the chosen transmission gain setting, revealed that it led to smaller decrease in talkers’ speech levels in noise compared to conventional passive HPD. These findings indicate that the level-dependent HPDs may impede communication less than conventional passive HPDs, while providing protection against high levels of noise.

Despite the enactment of hearing protection laws and recommended standards over the last four decades, the prevalence of hearing loss among workers has remained unchanged. Limiting the amount of time spend in high noise areas, as well as wearing hearing protection devices, can reduce the effects of noise on hearing loss. Though research has examined the consistency of use of hearing protection devices (HPD) among workers, the importance of fit, and a real-world comparison to the marketed attenuation needed further examination. The goal of this project is to evaluate the effectiveness of HPDs used by agricultural and industrial workers enrolled in a hearing conservation program by comparing personal attenuation rating (PAR) to the manufacturer’s reported noise reduction rating (NRR). The two study groups were selected since workplaces are required to train workers enrolled in an OSHA Hearing Conservation Program on proper insertion techniques, but farmers do not typically receive any training on using hearing protection unless they are employed elsewhere. The effectiveness of the inserted HPDs were quantified via the 3M E-A-RfitTM Dual Ear Validation System, and the results were compared to the NRR provided by the manufacturer. The fit of hearing protection was evaluated for 60 farmers (247 plug pairs) and 76 workers (275 plug pairs), using four models of earplugs (two formable and two non-formable). The results show that although formable ear plugs have higher reported NRRs, a higher percentage of participants achieved PARs greater than or equal to the A-weighted adjusted NRR-7 for the non-formable plugs.

The research described herein was undertaken to determine how masked thresholds changed when individuals wore an active noise reduction (ANR) hearing protection device (HPD), a passive HPD, or no HPD. An ANR earmuff, a passive earmuff, and a user-molded foam earplug were tested in two types of noises (pink and red) at two different noise levels (85 dBA and 100 dBA). The signal used was an industry-standard backup alarm. The experimental design was completely within-subjects. An ascending method of limits was used to obtain 15-20 correct positive responses, which were then averaged to obtain the masked thresholds for each treatment condition. A visual probability monitoring task was incorporated in the experimental design to provide a loading task for the participants. In addition to masked thresholds, comfort and mental workload were assessed. Finally, participants were asked to rank each of the three HPDs with respect to their perceived ability to facilitate hearing the signal in noise. Results indicated that in 85 dBA noise, masked thresholds were lower when hearing protection devices were worn, compared to the unoccluded condition. Additionally, the results indicated that the ANR device provided a significant advantage (lower masked thresholds) over the passive earmuff in the low-frequency biased red noise (across both noise levels) and the 100 dBA noise level (across both noise spectra). However, the ANR earmuff exhibited no significant advantage over the user-molded foam earplug in any of the conditions. Rather, the user-molded foam earplug produced significantly lower masked thresholds at 100 dBA. The results also indicated that there was no difference between the three devices in their perceived ability to facilitate detection of the signal. There was also not a significant difference in comfort ratings between the three HPDs, although there were several complaints about the comfort of the ANR earmuff during the experiment. / Master of Science

Orientador: João Candido Fernandes / Banca: Edson Antonio Capello Sousa / Banca: Andrea Cintra Lopes / Resumo: O objetivo desta pesquisa foi determinar os níveis de atenuação de Dispositivos de Proteção Auditivos (DPAs), usando um teste chamado Resposta Auditiva de Estado Estável (RAEE). O teste RAEE é um exame eletrofisiológico que usa elétrodos para captar a atividade elétrica do tronco encefálico, sem depender da resposta do indivíduo, eliminando a subjetividade, assim como aspectos ligados à atenção, tempo de resposta, níveis de audição, etc. Neste método foram avaliados dez indivíduos, por meio da RAEE, estimulando-se o sistema de audição, primeiro sem protetor e, subsequentemente, com dois tipos de protetores auditivos, a saber um de inserção intra-auricular outro circunauricular de uso comum no mercado. Os resultados evidenciaram valores inferiores àqueles expressos no Certificado de Aprovação: para o plug, uma diferença de 10,3 dB, e para a concha, 4,3 dB. Na repetição dos testes, encontrou-se uma boa repetitividade, com diferença entre zero e 5 dB para 75% das frequências testadas. / Abstract: The purpose of this research was to determine the levels of attenuation of Hearing Protection Devices (HPDs) using a test called Auditory Steady-State Response (ASSR). The ASSR test is an electrophysiological examination that uses electrodes to capture the electrical activity of the auditory nerve and the brainstem without depending on the individual's response, thus eliminating the subjectivity of personal factors such as attention, response time, hearing ability, etc. This paper presents the results of a ten test which evaluated the hearing threshold of individuals, by first stimulating the hearing system without a protector and subsequently with a hearing protector. The results of this study were lower than those expressed in the Certificate of Approval: to plug a gap of 10.3 dB and dB the ear mufflers. The repetition of tests found a good repeatability with a difference between zero and 5 dB for 75% of the frequencies tested. / Mestre

The new regulations of the electricity sector have requested from the power utilities great performance efficiency on their distribution systems, requiring more rigorous quality and continuity energy levels. In Brazil, the privatization of the power utility companies has been allowing the adoption of new planning and operation policies, that necessarily consider the system reliability and its economic constraints. Regarding this the companies are looking for objectively estimate all the necessary system investments in order to achieve safe and economic continuity for its consumers. At planning level, there are several alternatives, such as complex systems of larger flexibility, new feeders allowing several possibilities of load transfer, isolating permanent faults confining outages to smaller sections of line, remote operated maneuver and protection equipment and supervised substations featuring devices to help fault location. However, these alternatives normally mean large sums of investment which results are not always easy to measure, due to the difficulty of identifying its benefits from those produced by other accomplished actions. At operational level, it is possible to achieve results on medium and short term through the efficient dimension of emergency dispatching crews, maneuver and maintenance plans, contingency studies, protection devices readjustment, strategic use of protection and maneuvers devices and so forth. The power utility companies have planning areas that define the best practices through its professionals' experiences associated to computing tools. Traditionally, these tools help the professionals with power flow and short circuit simulation, losses calculation, protection coordinating diagrams, etc. Some tools and methods capable to proceed reliability simulations through several criteria have been proposed recently. For example, through continuity indicators such as SAIDI and SAIFI, through network topology and equipment alternatives, as developed by Violin and Martinez [2004], through the number of customers or non-supplied energy helping the decision of inserting or removing equipment, as demonstrated by Abaide [2005], or even through reduction of interrupted customers number by the network reconfiguration due to contingency events as described by Bernardon [2007]. However during the studies of these alternatives many simplifications are usually assumed, mostly on the protection devices models. Due to that, they are considered as completely stable and it is just verified the overload operation possibility. The unsuitable protection devices interruptions caused by coordination problems are totally unconsidered. This thesis aims at presenting the algorithms developed to help determining the best distribution resources alternatives in order to increase the network reliability according to basic continuity criteria and the dynamic relationship among protection and maneuver devices. The developed computing tool can also automatically determine all the protection devices adjustments along the distribution network in order to achieve the best technical and economical application. To check the efficiency of the proposed methods, real case studies are presented with data from power utility companies. / As novas regulamentações do setor elétrico têm solicitado das concessionárias de distribuição de energia elétrica uma maior eficiência no desempenho de seus sistemas, exigindo níveis de qualidade e de continuidade de energia cada vez mais rigorosos. No que se refere ao Brasil, a privatização das empresas distribuidoras está conduzindo à incorporação de novas políticas de planejamento e operação, que necessariamente levam em consideração a confiabilidade do sistema e suas restrições econômicas. Desta forma as empresas estão buscando responder objetivamente o quanto é necessário investir em seus sistemas visando uma continuidade segura e econômica para seus consumidores. Em nível de planejamento existem diversas alternativas, tais como sistemas cada vez mais complexos e de maior flexibilidade, novos alimentadores que permitem diversas possibilidades de transferência de carga, seccionamento de trechos defeituosos, equipamentos de manobra e proteção telecomandados e subestações supervisionadas dotadas de dispositivos de auxílio à localização de falhas. Entretanto, essas alternativas geralmente implicam em investimentos de grande magnitude e nem sempre de fácil mensuração dos resultados, pois os benefícios acabam agregando-se a outras ações realizadas. Já em nível operacional, é possível almejar resultados em médio e curto prazos, através do dimensionamento eficiente das equipes de emergência, planos de manobra e manutenção, estudos de contingência, reajuste dos dispositivos de proteção e utilização estratégica de dispositivos de proteção e manobra entre outros. As empresas distribuidoras de energia possuem áreas de planejamento e operação, as quais definem as melhores práticas através da experiência dos profissionais associadas à utilização de ferramentas computacionais. Tradicionalmente, essas ferramentas auxiliam os profissionais através da realização de simulações de fluxo de potência, curto-circuito, cálculos de perda, cordenogramas de proteção, entre outros. Mais recentemente, surgiram algumas propostas de ferramentas e métodos capazes de realizar simulações de confiabilidade, sendo através dos indicadores de continuidade tais como DIC, FIC, DEC e FEC mediante alternativas de topologia e equipamentos da rede, conforme desenvolvido por Violin e Martinez [2004], do número de consumidores ou energia não fornecida mediante a inserção ou remoção de equipamentos, demonstrado por Abaide [2005], ou até mesmo reduzindo o número de consumidores interrompidos através da reconfiguração emergencial de rede descrita por Bernardon [2007]. Mas, normalmente, simplificações são assumidas na elaboração destas alternativas, principalmente ao que se refere aos dispositivos de proteção, sendo considerados completamente estáveis, verificando-se apenas a possibilidade da operação por sobrecarga e desconsiderando interrupções indevidas mediante a descoordenação dos dispositivos de proteção. Esta tese visa apresentar os algoritmos desenvolvidos aliados a uma ferramenta computacional, a qual possibilita determinar as melhores alternativas de distribuição de recursos visando o aumento da confiabilidade das redes de distribuição, segundo os critérios básicos de continuidade incluindo o relacionamento dinâmico entre dispositivos de proteção e manobra. A ferramenta desenvolvida também é capaz de determinar automaticamente os ajustes de todos os dispositivos de proteção tradicionalmente utilizados nas redes de distribuição de energia de modo a obter a melhor aplicação técnica e econômica. Como resultados, são apresentados estudos de casos com dados reais das concessionárias de energia elétrica, com o objetivo de comprovar a eficiência dos métodos propostos.

Submitted by Maria Eneide de Souza Araujo (mearaujo@ipen.br) on 2017-03-10T12:19:37Z No. of bitstreams: 1 22065.pdf: 2518783 bytes, checksum: e0f2e9eb82a52ecd6b57db50dcdac3fb (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-03-10T12:19:37Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 22065.pdf: 2518783 bytes, checksum: e0f2e9eb82a52ecd6b57db50dcdac3fb (MD5) / Muitos estudos têm sido realizados para determinar elementos essenciais nos alimentos, dentre eles o vinho, devido aos seus importantes papéis nutricionais em funções do corpo humano. Estudos apontam que o consumo diário e moderado de vinho contribui de forma significativa para as necessidades dos elementos essenciais para o corpo humano, tais como Ca, Co, Cr, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Zn, V, entre outros, bem como traz benefícios para a saúde como a prevenção de inúmeras doenças e maior expectativa de vida, relacionados em particular com a ingestão de antioxidantes como os compostos polifenólicos. Por outro lado, outros elementos são bons indicadores da origem do vinho e as suas concentrações podem ser utilizadas como critério para garantir a autenticidade e a qualidade do vinho, bem como avaliar se os limites de tolerância estabelecidos pela lei foram respeitados durante todo o processo de produção. Todavia, embora a indústria do vinho no Brasil esteja entre as 15 maiores do mundo, ainda são poucos os estudos analíticos dos elementos no vinho se comparado a outros grandes produtores. Neste sentido este estudo teve como objetivo avaliar alguns procedimentos para preparação de amostras de vinho para determinar elementos essenciais por Análise por Ativação Neutrônica Instrumental (INAA) e comparar os resultados com a técnica de Espectrometria de Emissão Atômica por Plasma de Argônio Acoplado Indutivamente (ICP OES). Três procedimentos de preparação da amostra foram estudados: liofilização, evaporação e calcinação. Os parâmetros estudados foram precisão, exatidão e limite de detecção. Foram aplicados testes estatísticos de ANOVA e Tukey Kramer para verificar as diferenças estatísticas entre as médias obtidas pelos três procedimentos de preparação do vinho para INAA com as médias obtidas por ICP OES. Foi observado que cerca de 60% dos resultados obtidos por liofilização foram concordantes com aqueles obtidos por ICP OES. / Dissertação (Mestrado em Tecnologia Nuclear) / IPEN/D / Instituto de Pesquisas Energéticas e Nucleares - IPEN-CNEN/SP

Submitted by Maria Eneide de Souza Araujo (mearaujo@ipen.br) on 2017-03-10T16:58:27Z No. of bitstreams: 0 / Made available in DSpace on 2017-03-10T16:58:27Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 / O uso e a aplicação cada vez mais constante da tecnologia nuclear consistente em áreas relacionadas à saúde, energia, industrial, bélica, agrícola, entre outras, faz com que haja a necessidade de uma regulamentação de acordo com os padrões de segurança e proteção radiológica internacionais. Dessa forma, utilizando-se de conceitos provenientes do Direito Constitucional, do Direito Ambiental e do Direito do Trabalho, o enfoque da presente pesquisa foi investigar a difícil questão da competência nuclear e a competência ambiental, a impossibilidade de legislar dos Estados, bem como a falta de regulamentação sobre Rejeitos radioativos. Para tanto, foram atualizados e revisados critérios e métodos de interpretação constitucional para solucionar possíveis antinomias jurídicas advindas de múltipla positivação de normas pelos entes federados que dificultam tanto o asseguramento quanto o aprimoramento da Proteção radiológica do trabalhador e do meio ambiente. Finalmente, a hipótese considerada demonstrou que as mudanças na estrutura legislativa nas três esferas de poderes são necessárias, visando à aplicabilidade de responsabilidade legal na esfera nuclear, principalmente no que se refere às entidades administrativas e estatais. / Dissertação (Mestrado em Tecnologia Nuclear) / IPEN/D / Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares - IPEN-CNEN/SP