Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2006. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 151-164).

Lights is almost always detected by its interaction with matter. One of these interaction phenomena is the scattering of light by small particles. A model is developed that estimates the amount of energy that is scattered towards a detector from a beam given the locations of the source, detector and particle. This collection of particles is allowed to be very dense so that a photon scattered from the beam can be scattered several times before leaving the scattering medium. By considering the single-scatter component and multiple-scatter component separately, the model retains the characteristics of both types.

Les nanocomposites polymère intéressent depuis de nombreuses années la communauté scientifique, du fait, notamment, de leurs bonnes propriétés mécaniques. Il est établi que l'amélioration des propriétés mécaniques observées dans les nanocomposites est principalement due à des effets de structure (dispersion des particules) et à des effets d'interface (interactions particule/matrice et particule/particule). Cependant, de nombreux résultats expérimentaux restent difficiles à expliquer. Dans ce contexte, nous avons synthétisé des nanocomposites modèles constitués de nanoparticules de silice greffées de chaînes de polystyrène (PS) (ou de PS-b-poly(acrylate de tertio-butyle)) par polymérisation radicalaire contrôlée par les nitroxydes (NMP) et réparties dans une matrice de PS. Ces nanocomposites ont ensuite été caractérisés en couplant la diffusion de rayons X et la microscopie électronique à transmission. En variant la taille des chaînes de la matrice, nous sommes parvenus à obtenir différentes répartitions spatiales de particules allant de la dispersion totale à l'agrégation en passant par un état intermédiaire s'apparentant à un réseau connecté aux fractions volumiques élevées. Les propriétés mécaniques de ces nanocomposites ont été étudiées par des mesures de cisaillement aux faibles fréquences puis reliées aux différentes dispersions observées. Enfin, nous avons mesuré la dynamique locale et intermédiaire des chaînes de polymères greffées dans les matériaux préparés en couplant la diffusion quasiélastique des neutrons (rétrodiffusion et écho de spin) et la résonance magnétique nucléaire. Ces mesures ont ensuite été reliées aux propriétés mécaniques des nanocomposites. / Polymer nanocomposites interest for many years the scientific community, due in particular, to their good mechanical properties. It is established that the improvement of these properties observed in nanocomposites are mainly due to structural effects (particles dispersion) and interfacial effects (particle/matrix and particles/particles interactions). However, many experimental results are difficult to explain. In such a context, we have synthesized model nanocomposites based on silica nanoparticles grafted with polystyrene (PS) chains (or PS-b-poly(ter-butyl acrylate)) by nitroxide mediated polymerization and dispersed in a PS matrix. Then, these nanocomposites have been characterized by combining X-ray scattering and transmission electronic microscopy. By varying the length of the matrix chains, we have obtained different fillers structure going from individual nanoparticles dispersion to aggregate, up to an intermediate state (equivalent to an interconnected network for high volume fraction). Mechanical properties of these nanocomposites were studied by the mean of shear measurements at low frequency and linked to the different states of dispersion observed. Finally, we have measured local and intermediate dynamics of the grafted polymer chains by combining quasielastic neutron scattering (backscattering and spin echo) and nuclear magnetic resonance. Then, we have linked these measurements with the mechanical properties of the materials.

The Finite Element Method (FEM) is a powerful numerical method to solve wave propagation problems for open-region electromagnetic radiation/scattering problems involving objects with arbitrary geometry and constitutive parameters. In high-frequency applications, the FEM requires an electrically large computational domain, implying a large number of unknowns, such that the numerical solution of the problem is not feasible even on state-of-the-art computers. An appealing way to solve a large FEM problem is to employ a Domain Decomposition Method (DDM) that allows the decomposition of a large problem into several coupled subproblems which can be solved independently, thus reducing considerably the memory storage requirements. In this thesis, two new domain decomposition algorithms (FB-DDM and ILF-DDM) are implemented for the finite element solution of electromagnetic radiation/scattering problems. For this purpose, a nodal FEM code (FEMS2D) employing triangular elements and a vector FEM code (FEMS3D) employing tetrahedral edge elements have been developed for 2D and 3D problems, respectively. The unbounded domain of the radiation/scattering problem, as well as the boundaries of the subdomains in the DDMs, are truncated by the Perfectly Matched Layer (PML) absorber. The PML is implemented using two new approaches: Locally-conformal PML and Multi-center PML. These approaches are based on a locally-defined complex coordinate transformation which makes possible to handle challenging PML geometries, especially with curvature discontinuities. In order to implement these PML methods, we also introduce the concept of complex space FEM using elements with complex nodal coordinates. The performances of the DDMs and the PML methods are investigated numerically in several applications.

Submitted by Marco Antonio Oliveira da Silva (maosilva@ipen.br) on 2017-05-25T13:39:09Z No. of bitstreams: 0 / Made available in DSpace on 2017-05-25T13:39:09Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 / As sínteses de nanopartículas de ouro (AuNPs) com os agentes redutores e estabilizantes citrato de sódio e goma arábica bem como sua caracterização foram estudadas neste trabalho. As sínteses foram realizadas por meio de aquecimento e uso de radiação gama em fonte de 60Co nas doses 1, 7,5 e 15 kGy. Neste contexto, foram estudadas as propriedades e a estabilidade das AuNPs formadas por meio de técnicas de caracterização tais como espectroscopia de absorção UV-Vis, verificando as bandas características das AuNPs assim como a estabilidade física das mesmas. As amostras sintetizadas com citrato de sódio (AuCit) apresentaram comprimentos de onda que variaram entre 520 e 525 nm e as amostras sintetizadas com goma arábica (AuGA) apresentaram comprimentos de onda entre 530 e 540 nm. A análise de espalhamento de luz dinâmica, do inglês \"Dynamic Light Scattering\" (DLS) foi utilizada para determinar o tamanho hidrodinâmico das nanopartículas formadas no período de três meses, demonstrando que as amostras AuCit apresentaram tamanhos hidrodinâmicos médios que variaram de 20 a 50 nm enquanto que as amostras AuGA sintetizadas por aquecimento e com uso de radiação gama apresentaram tamanhos hidrodinâmicos médios que variaram de 50 a 115 nm. As análises de microscopia eletrônica de varredura com emissão de campo (MEV-FEG) e microscopia eletrônica de transmissão (MET) foram utilizadas para determinar a distribuição real de tamanhos das nanopartículas e sua forma geométrica. Nesta caracterização as AuGA apresentaram diâmetros menores do que os analisados por DLS, sugerindo assim possível encapsulamento das AuNPs. / Dissertação (Mestrado em Tecnologia Nuclear) / IPEN/D / Instituto de Pesquisas Energéticas e Nucleares - IPEN-CNEN/SP

Thesis (M.S.)--Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, 2005. / Typescript (photocopy).