Three experimental studies were conducted to quantify the effects of system cycling, evaporator airflow, and condenser coil fouling on the performance of residential air conditioners. For all studies, the indoor dry-bulb (db) temperature was 80°F (26.7°C) db. The cycling study consisted of twelve transient tests conducted with an outdoor temperature of 95°F (35°C) db for cycle times of 6, 10, 15, and 24 minutes. Indoor relative humidities of 40%, 50%, and 60% were also considered. The evaporator airflow study consisted of twenty-four steady-state tests conducted with an indoor condition of 67°F (19.4°C) wet-bulb (wb) for evaporator airflows ranging from 50% below to 37.5% above rated airflow. Outdoor temperatures of 85°F (29.4°C) db, 95°F (35°C) db, and 105°F (40.6°C) db were also considered. The coil fouling study used a total of six condensers that were exposed to an outdoor environment for predetermined amounts of time and tested periodically. Three of the condensers were cleaned and retested during the periodic testing cycles. Testing consisted of thirty-three steady-state tests conducted with an indoor condition of 67°F (19.4°C) wb for outdoor exposure times of 0, 2000, 4000, and 8000 hours. Outdoor temperatures of 82°F (27.8°C) db and 95°F (35°C) db were also considered.

To survive in today's manufacturing environments companies must push the standards of accuracy and speed to the highest levels possible. Electro Discharge Machining (EDM) has been used for over 50 years and recent developments have seen the use of EDM become much more viable. The goal of this research is to produce and evaluate electrodes produced by different manufacturing methods. The use of electroforming and spray-metal deposition has only recently become viable methods of producing usable rapid tooling components. The speed and accuracy as well as the cost of manufacture play a vital role in the tool and mould manufacturing process. Electroforming and spray-metal deposition offer an alternate option to traditional machining of electrodes. Electroforming is one method of producing electrodes for EDM. The fact that electroforming can be used to produce multiple electrodes simultaneously gives it the advantage of saving on costs when multiple electrodes are needed. Spray-metal deposition offers another alternative that is much cheaper and relatively faster to manufacture. The used of these non-traditional manufacturing methods in this research are compared to the performance of traditional solid electrodes in terms of machining time, material removal rate, tool wear rates and surface roughness at several standard machining settings. The results of this research are presented in this thesis along with conclusions and comments on the performance of the different methods of electrode manufacture. The major findings of the research include the solid electrodes performed better than the electroformed electrodes in Material Removal Rate (MRR), Tool Wear Rate (TWR), and Surface Roughness (Ra) at all machine settings. However it was found that the production cost of the solid electrodes was six times that of the electroformed electrodes. The production of spray metal electrodes was unsuccessful. The electrode shell walls were not an even thickness and the backing material broke through the shell making them unusable. It is concluded that with further refinements and research, electroforming and spray metal processes will become an extremely competitive method in electrode manufacture and other rapid tooling processes.

The SIR can be expressed either as a system of nonlinear ordinary differential equations or as a nonlinear Volterra integral equation. In general, neither of these can be solved in closed form. In this thesis, it is shown that if we assume S(t) is a finite multi-exponential, i.e. function of the form S(t) = a+ ∑nk=1 rke-σkt or a logistic function which is an infinite-multi-exponential, i.e. function of the form S(t) = c + a/b+ewt, then we can have closed form solution. Also we will formulate a method to determine R0 the basic reproductive rate of an infection.

Chemical-mechanical Planarization (CMP) has emerged as one of the fastest-growing processes in the semiconductor manufacturing industry, and it is expected to show equally explosive growth in the future (Braun, 2001). The development of CMP has been fueled by the introduction of copper interconnects in microelectronic devices. Other novel applications of CMP include the fabrications of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), advanced displays, three dimensional systems, and so on (Evans, 2002). CMP is expected to play a key role in the next-generation micro- and nanofabrication technologies (Singh, et al., 2002). Despite the rapid increase in CMP applications, the fundamental understanding of the CMP process has been lacking, particularly the understanding of the wafer-slurry-pad interactions that occur during the CMP process. Novel applications of CMP are expected to expand to materials that are complex chemically and fragile mechanically. Thus, fundamental understanding and improvement of slurry design for CMP is the key to the development of sophisticated next-generation CMP processes. Slurry performance for CMP can be determined by several output parameters including removal rate, global planarity, surface topography, and surface defectivity. To achieve global planarity, it is essential to form a very thin passivating surface layer ( < 2 nm) that is subsequently removed by the mechanical component of the slurry (Kaufman et al., 1991) or by combined chemo-mechanical effects (Tamboli, 2000). Chemical additives like hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), potassium ferricyanide, and ferric chloride are added to slurries as oxidizers in order to form a desirable surface layer. Other chemical additives such as inhibitors (e.g. benzotriazole) and complexing agents (e.g. ammonia) are added to the copper slurry in order to modify the oxide layer. That the removal rate of the thin surface layer is greater at the highest regions of the wafer surface than at the lowest regions leads to surface planarity. In this study, various complexing agents and inhibitors are combined to form slurry chemistry for copper CMP processing in H2O2 based slurries at pH values ranging from 2 to 10. Two complexing agents (glycine and Ethylenediamine) and one inhibitor (3-amino-1, 2, 4-triazole) were selected as slurry constituents for detailed chemical synergistic effect study because they showed good materials removal and surface planarity performances. To understand the fundamental mechanisms involved in copper CMP process with the afore-mentioned slurry chemical formations, various techniques, such as electrochemical testing techniques (including potentiodynamic polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy), x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), were applied. As a result, guidelines for optimized slurry chemical formulation were arrived at and the possible mechanisms of surface-chemical-abrasive interactions were determined. From applications point of view, this study serves as a guide for further investigations in pursuing highly effective slurry formulations for copper/low-k interconnect applications.

Wire Electrical Discharge Machining (WEDM) is a nontraditional machining process used for machining intricate shapes in high strength and temperature resistive (HSTR) materials. WEDM provides high accuracy, repeatability, and a better surface finish; however the tradeoff is a very slow machining rate. Due to the slow machining rate in WEDM, machining tasks take many hours depending on the complexity of the job. Because of this, users of WEDM try to predict machining rate beforehand so that input parameter values can be pre-programmed to achieve automated machining. However, partial success with traditional methodologies such as thermal modeling, artificial neural networks, mathematical, statistical, and empirical models left this problem still open for further research and exploration of alternative methods. Also, earlier efforts in applying the decision tree rule induction algorithms for predicting the machining rate in WEDM had limitations such as use of coarse grained method of discretizing the target and exploration of only C4.5 as the learning algorithm. The goal of this dissertation was to address the limitations reported in literature in using decision tree rule induction algorithms for WEDM. In this study, the three decision tree inductive algorithms C5.0, CART and CHAID have been applied for predicting material removal rate when the target was discretized into varied number of classes (two, three, four, and five classes) by three discretization methods. There were a total of 36 distinct combinations when learning algorithms, discretization methods, and number of classes in the target are combined. All of these 36 models have been developed and evaluated based on the prediction accuracy. From this research, a total of 21 models found to be suitable for WEDM that have prediction accuracy ranging from 71.43% through 100%. The models indentified in the current study not only achieved better prediction accuracy compared to previous studies, but also allows the users to have much better control over WEDM than what was previously possible. Application of inductive learning and development of suitable predictive models for WEDM by incorporating varied number of classes in the target, different learning algorithms, and different discretization methods have been the major contribution of this research.

Yes / Scale formation of carbonates and sulphates is one of the most well-known types of crystallization fouling in heat exchangers. Tackling crystallization fouling in Once-Through Multistage Flash Desalination (MSF-OT) is one of the most challenging tasks in the desalination industry. In this paper, a fouling model is developed and then incorporated into a MSF model to investigate the fouling behaviour under variable seawater temperature. The proposed dynamic model investigates the crystallization of calcium carbonate and magnesium hydroxide at the inside tube surface areas by considering the attachment and removal mechanisms. The results show that the fouling rate is higher at high constant seawater temperature. Overall, the fouling rate is lower at the seasonal variation of the seawater temperature, resulting in a higher performance ratio (PR). The results also show that although the brine heater duty increases in winter due to low seawater temperature, the drop of fouling rate in cold months may save some energy.

La réalisation de formes complexes comme les moules ou les prothèses médicales nécessite l’utilisation d’opérations de super finition pour obtenir de faibles défauts géométriques, pouvant aller jusqu’au poli-miroir. Ces opérations de pré-polissage et de polissage sont encore régulièrement réalisées manuellement. En effet, malgré des avantages en termes de répétabilité, de productivité et de qualité géométrique, les méthodes de polissage automatique sont peu utilisées car elles nécessitent une mise au point importante. Les travaux de recherche présentés participent à la maîtrise du procédé de polissage automatique tout en contrôlant la qualité géométrique des pièces. Pour parvenir à cette maîtrise, un outil de simulation de l’enlèvement de matière est mis en place. Cet outil permet de simuler l’enlèvement de matière au cours d’une opération de prépolissage réalisée sur centre d’usinage 5 axes. Il se base sur un modèle du contact obtenu entre l’outil de pré-polissage et la pièce, ainsi que sur un modèle du pouvoir abrasif intégrant l’usure et l’encrassement du disque. Cette simulation permet de vérifier la régularité de l’abrasion sur une surface et d’identifier les zones pouvant faire apparaitre des défauts macro-géométriques importants. Une méthode est également proposée pour compenser les variations du pouvoir abrasif au cours du temps. La compensation s’effectue en optimisant les consignes de vitesse d’avance et/ou de fréquence de broche le long de la trajectoire. Cette méthode de pilotage permet d’obtenir un taux d’enlèvement de matière plus constant et ainsi de réduire les défauts géométriques générés pendant une opération de prépolissage. / Complex shapes such as medical implants or injection molds require the use of super-finishing operations to minimize geometrical defects, down to mirror effect finish. These pre-polishing and polishing operations are still regularly performed manually by skilled workers. In spite of advantages in terms of repeatability, productivity and geometrical quality, automatic polishing methods are not widely used because they require systematic and significant developments. The present work contributes to enhance the automatic polishing process compared to the geometric quality of the parts. To achieve this control, a numerical simulation of material removal is implemented. This software simulates the material removal during a pre-polishing operation performed on 5-axis machining center. It is based on a contact model obtained between the pre-polishing tool and the part, as well as an abrasive model including wear of the disc. This simulation allows to check the uniformity of the material removal on the surface and to identify potential areas where macro-geometric defects appear. A method is also proposed to balance variations of the abrasive efficiency. The correction is performed by optimizing the federate and/or the spindle speed along the tool path. This method provides a constant material removal and reduces the geometrical deviations generated during pre-polishing operations.

La thèse concerne l’usinage à 5 axes de formes complexes. Le but est d’estimer le plus précisément possible les efforts induits par la coupe pour ajuster la vitesse d’avance et gagner en performance. Pour cela, il est nécessaire d’estimer les engagements radial et axial de la fraise à chaque instant. Ce calcul est rendu particulièrement complexe à cause de la forme de la pièce, de la forme du brut et de la complexité de la géométrie de l’outil. Les méthodes usuelles par Zbuffer sont particulièrement couteuses en temps de calcul. Dans ces travaux nous proposons une méthode de calcul rapide à partir d’une modélisation du contact dans toutes les situations envisageables. Différentes simulations et expérimentations ont permis de valider la précision expérimentalement. / This study presents a simple method to define the Cutter Workpiece Engagement (CWE) during sculptured surface machining in five-axis milling. The instantaneous CWE was defined by determining two engagement points, lowermost engagement (LE)-point and uppermost engagement (UE)-point. LE-point was calculated using a method called grazing method. Meanwhile the UE-point was calculated using a combination of discretization and analytical method. During rough milling and semi-finish milling, the workpiece surface was represented by vertical vector. The method called Toroidal–boundary was employed to obtain the UE-point when it was located on cutting tool at toroidal side. On the other hand, the method called Cylindrical-boundary was used to calculate the UE-point for flat-end cutter and cylindrical side of toroidal cutter. For a free-form workpiece surface, a hybrid method, which is a combination of analytical method and discrete method, was used. All the CWE models proposed in this study were verified and the results proved that the proposed method were accurate. The efficiency of the proposed model in generating CWE was also compared with Z-mapping method. The result confirmed that the proposed model was more efficient in term of computational time. The CWE model was also applied for supporting the method to predict cutting forces. The test results showed that the predicted cutting force has a good agreement with the cutting force generated from the experimental work.

There is a strong industrial driving force to find alternative production technologies in order to make the production of aero engine components of superalloys even more efficient than it is today. Introducing new and nonconventional machining technologies allows taking a giant leap to increase the material removal rate and thereby drastically increase the productivity. However, the end result is to meet the requirements set for today's machined surfaces.The present work has been dedicated to improving the knowledge of how the non-conventional machining methods Abrasive Water Jet Machining, AWJM, Laser Beam Machining, LBM, and Electrical Discharge Machining, EDM, affect the surface integrity. The aim has been to understand how the surface integrity could be altered to an acceptable level. The results of this work have shown that both EDM and AWJM are two possible candidates but EDM is the better alternative; mainly due to the method's ability to machine complex geometries. It has further been shown that both methods require post processing in order to clean the surface and to improve the topography and for the case of EDM ageneration of compressive residual stresses are also needed.Three cold working post processes have been evaluated in order to attain this: shot peening, grit blasting and high pressure water jet cleaning, HPWJC. There sults showed that a combination of two post processes is required in order to reach the specified level of surface integrity in terms of cleaning and generating compressive residual stresses and low surface roughness. The method of high pressure water jet cleaning was the most effective method for removing the EDM wire residuals, and shot peening generated the highest compressive residual stresses as well as improved the surface topography.To summarise: the most promising production flow alternative using nonconventional machining would be EDM followed by post processing using HPWJC and shot peening.

<p>Predmet istraživanja ove disertacije predstavlja unapređenje, modelovanje i optimizacija procesa elektroerozivne obrade (EDM) savremenih inženjerskih materijala. Prvo su predstavljene dve inovativne metode: EDM u dielektrikumu sa pome&scaron;anim prahom i EDM sa pomoćnom elektrodom, a zatim i njihova kombinacija. Za generisanje matematičkih modela primenjene su metodologija odzivne povr&scaron;ine i alati ve&scaron;tačke inteligencije. U nastavku su postavljeni optimizacioni procesi određivanja ulaznih parametara sa jednom i vi&scaron;e funkcija cilja koji su re&scaron;eni primenom klasičnih metoda optimizacije. U zavr&scaron;nom osvrtu sprovedena je verifikacija dobijenih modela i optimalnih ulaznih parametara elektroerozivne obrade.</p> / <p>The subject of the research of this dissertation is the improvement, modeling and optimization of the electrical discharge machining (EDM) of advanced engineering materials. First, two innovation methods are presented: EDM in powder mixed dielectric fluid and EDM with assisted electrode and that their combination. The method of response surface and artificial intelligence tools were applied to generate mathematical models. The optimization problems of determining the input parameters with single and multiple target functions are solved by the application of classical optimization methods. Finally, verification of the obtained models and optimal input parameters of electrical discharge machining was carried out.</p>