Cement-based concrete is one of the main construction materials that is widely used for many construction applications due to its strength, durability, reflectivity, and versatility. However, it is acknowledged that production of cement as a primary material of concrete releases 1.8 Gt carbon dioxide (CO2) into the environment. It is estimated that one ton of cement production releases one ton of CO2 to the atmosphere. That is why, this work aims to create a concrete that could be an alternative to cement-based concrete. Geopolymer concrete (GPC) is an eco-friendly construction material and an alternative to conventional concrete that is produced by reacting aluminate and silicate bearing constituents with a caustic activator (i.e. sodium-based or potassium-based). Both potassium and sodium have been considered as generally safe intergradient by the FDA, based upon the observance of several good manufacturing practice conditions of use. Theses activators are used in various application including concrete, food, as a stabilizer, and as a thickening agent. Moreover, these activators are also used in making soap, as an electrolyte in alkaline batteries and in electroplating, lithography, and paint and varnish removers. Medically, these activators are widely used in the wet mount preparation of various clinical specimens for microscopic visualization of fungi and fungal elements in skin, hair, nails, and even vaginal secretions, Currently, it was determined that these activators solution were found to be a safe and effective treatment of plane warts. Despite the developments in the studies relating to GPC made by various precursors such as fly-ash and slag in the literatures, the use of GPC made by fly-ash and bottom-ash has not been overly researched. In this study, attempts have been made to produce a unique mix proportion for Potassium-based GPC made by fly-ash and bottom-ash and investigate various mechanical properties of this type of GPC including elastic modulus, freeze-thaw resistance, heavy metal leach-ability and corrosion in both laboratory and real environmental conditions using Non-Destructive Tests (NDT)s. / Graduate / 2021-12-15

<p>Stress relaxation in tin films can result in microstructural changes visible on the surface, referred to as “surface defects,” and can include whisker and hillock formation, cracking, nucleation of new grains, and grain growth. Sn whiskers are of particular concern for microelectronics reliability in which Sn whiskers growing from component surface and cause catastrophic short-circuiting. While prior research has identified the conditions and mechanisms for surface defect evolution during aging and thermal cycling, the response of tin films due to mechanical stress, especially high frequency vibration, is not fully understood. In practical terms, high frequency vibration is an important source of mechanical stress generation in microelectronics for automotive and aerospace applications. This research, based on high frequency vibration of cantilevers, adds to the existing mechanisms for stress relaxation process in metal thin films, not just for tin films, as well as proposed new mechanisms for such processes.</p> <p>In the first study, the piezoelectric drive of small atomic force microscopy (AFM) cantilevers vibrated at resonance are used for high frequency cyclic bending experiments. Intermetallic (IMC) formation as well as initial film morphology and thickness (corresponding to surface grain size) all influence the response of tin films for cyclic bending. A laser doppler vibrometer (LDV) system was used to identify the real-time strain along the cantilever during cycling, suggesting that the small strains are responsible for the limited nucleation and growth for defects though the defect density increases with the number of cycles and strain distribution along the cantilever.</p> <p>In the second study, the effect of larger strains on defect evolution was determined using vibration of larger cantilevers at resonance as a function of number of cycles, frequency, temperature, and whether the vibration was continuous or interrupted for SEM characterization of defect type and density. In addition to typical micro-sized whiskers and hillocks, intragranular breakup (IGB) with intrusions and extrusions and nanowhiskers (NWs) with diameters < 1 𝜇m were observed. Both increasing number of cycles and strain amplitude/rate promote defect formation for a fixed frequency, with the defect density being strongly frequency dependent.Vibration at low temperature and interrupting measurements for SEM characterization affected the relative densities. The density of larger surface defects is strongly influenced by interruptions while NW density is almost unaffected. </p><p>Both low resonant frequency and low T (223 K) promote IGB formation during cyclic bending due to large maximum strain amplitude and slower diffusion/creep at low T, respectively. Though the overall defect density for low T is smaller than that at room temperature (RT), the response of films is similar to that at RT, indicating the same mechanisms. The defect density decrease at low T is mainly determined by NW formation, and there is a transition from micro-sized surface defects to IGBs for cyclic bending at low T.</p><p>This research demonstrated that cyclic bending of cantilevers can be used to quantify the stress relaxation of tin films in an important stress regime for microelectronics and to develop defect mitigation strategies to improve the reliability of interconnects in electronic applications.</p>

The project examines, in an experimental way, how differences in massing, aperture, and sectioning are affecting the natural resonant frequency of an architectural space. An investigation of boxes with these different qualities resulted in more than 200 minutes of sound material. By creating visual representations of the sounds, a catalogue and scheme for amassment of the boxes, could be organized. With the knowledge of how resonant frequency in prehistoric megalithic structures could have been used to support ritual chanting and the parallel to historic and contemporary religious buildings, a chapel was designed. Each room of the chapel has its own reign of resonant frequencies, with the third node being generated from my own voice and a monologue. Since the sound is a big part of the project, the main representation of the project is a series of soundscapes of each room of the chapel. This illustrates that architecture should not always only be looked at, but also listened to.

High-frequency and large amplitude current is a driving requirement for applications such as induction heating, wireless power transfer, power amplifier for magnetic resonant imaging, electronic ballasts, and ozone generators. Voltage-fed resonant inverters are normally employed, however, current-fed (CF) resonant inverters are a competitive alternative when the quality factor of the load is significantly high. The input current of a CF resonant inverter is considerably smaller than the output current, which benefits efficiency. A simple, parallel resonant tank is sufficient to create a high-power sinusoidal signal at the output. Additionally, input current is limited at the no-load condition, providing safe operation of the system. Drawbacks of the CF resonant inverter are associated with the implementation of the equivalent current source. A large input inductor is required to create an equivalent dc current source, to reduce power density and the bandwidth of the system. For safety, a switching stage is implemented using bidirectional voltage-blocking switches, which consist of a series connection of a diode and a transistor. The series diode experiences significant conduction loss because of large on-state voltage. The control of the output current amplitude for constant-frequency inverters requires a pre-regulation stage, typically implemented as a cascaded hard-switched dc/dc buck converter. The pre-regulation also reduces the efficiency. In this dissertation, a variety of CF resonant inverters with two input inductors and two grounded switches are investigated for an inductive-load driver with loaded quality factor larger than ten, constant and high-frequency (~500 kHz) operation, high reactive output power (~14 kVA), high bandwidth (~100 kHz), and high efficiency (over 95 %). The implementation of such system required to question the fundamental operation of the CF resonant inverter. The input inductance is reduced by around an order of magnitude, ensuring sufficient bandwidth, and allowing rich harmonic content in the input current. Of particular importance are fundamental and second harmonic components since they influence synchronization of the zero-crossing of the output voltage and the turn-on of the switches. The synchronization occurs at a particular frequency, termed synchronous frequency, and it allows for zero switching loss in the switches, which greatly boosts efficiency. The synchronous conditions were not know prior this work, and the dependence among circuit parameters, input current harmonics, and synchronous frequency are derived for the first time. The series diode of the bidirectional switch can reduce the efficiency of the system to below 90 %, and has to be removed from the system. The detrimental current-spikes can occur if the inverter is not operated in synchronous condition, such as in transients, or during parametric variations of the load coil. The resistance of the load coil has a wide variance, five times or more, while the inductance changes as well by a few percent. To accommodate for non-synchronous conditions, a low-loss current snubber is proposed as a safety measure to replace lossy diodes. The center-piece of the dissertation is the proposal of a two-phase zero-voltage switching buck pre-regulator, as it enables fixed frequency and synchronous operation of the inverter under wide parametric variations of the load. The synchronous operation is controlled by phase-shifting the switching functions of the pre-regulator and inverter. The pre-regulator reduces the dc current in the input inductors, which is a main contributor to current stress and conduction losses in the inverter switches. Total loss of the inverter switches is minimized since no switching loss is present and minimal conduction losses are allowed. The dc current in the input inductors, once seen as a means to transfer power to load, is now contradictory perceived as parasitic, and the power is transferred to the load using a fundamental frequency harmonic! The input current to the resonant tank, previously designed to be a square-wave, now resembles a sine-wave with very rich harmonic content. Additionally, the efficiency of the pre-regulator at heavy-load condition is improved by ensuring ZVS for with an additional inductive tank. The dissertation includes five chapters. The first chapter is an introduction to current-fed resonant inverters, applications, and state-of-the-art means to ensure constant frequency operation under load's parametric variations. The second chapter is dedicated to the optimization of the CF resonant inverter topology with a dc input voltage, two input inductors, and two MOSFETs. The topology is termed as a boost amplifier. If the amplifier operates away from the synchronous frequency, detrimental current spikes will flow though the switches since the series diodes are eliminated. Current spikes reduce the efficiency up to few percent and can create false functioning of the system. Operation at the synchronous frequency is achieved with large, bulky, input inductors, typically around 1-2 mH or higher, when the synchronous frequency follows the resonant frequency of the tank at 500 kHz. The input inductance cannot be reduced arbitrarily to meet the system bandwidth requirement, since the synchronous frequency is increased based on the inductance value. The relationship between the two (input inductance and the synchronous frequency) was unknown prior this work. The synchronous frequency is determined to be a complicated mathematical function of harmonic currents through the input inductors, and it is found using the harmonic decomposition method. As a safety feature, a current snubber is implemented in series with the resonant tank. Snubber utilizes a series inductance of cable connection between the tank and the switching stage, and it is more efficient than the previously employed series diodes. Topology optimization and detailed design procedure are provided with respect to efficiency and system dynamics. The mathematics is verified by a prototype rated at 14 kVA and 1.25 kW. The input inductance is reduced by around an order of magnitude, with the synchronous frequency increase of 2 %. The efficiency of the power amplifier reached 98.5 % and might be improved further with additional optimization. Silicon carbide MOSFETs are employed for their capability to operate efficiently at high frequency, and high temperature. The third chapter is dedicated to the development of the boost amplifier's large signal model using the Generalized State-space Averaging (GSSA) method. The model accurately predicts amplifier's transient and steady-state operation for any type of input voltage source (dc, dc with sinusoidal ripple, pulse-width modulated), and for either synchronous or non-synchronous operating frequency. It overcomes the limitation of the low-frequency model, which works well only for dc voltage-source input and at synchronous frequency. As the measure of accuracy, the zero-crossing of the resonant voltage is predicted with an error less than 2° over a period of synchronous operation, and for a range of interest for input inductance (25 μH – 1000 μH) and loaded-quality factor (10 – 50). The model is validated both in simulation and hardware for start-up transient and steady-state operation. It is then used in the synthesis of modulated output waveforms, including Hann-function and trapezoidal-function envelopes of the output voltage/current. In the fourth chapter, the GSSA model is employed in development of the PWM compensation method that ensures synchronous operation at constant frequency for the wide variation of the load. The boost amplifier is extended with a cascaded pre-regulator whose main purpose is to control the output resonant voltage. The pre-regulator is implemented as two switching half-bridges with same duty-cycle and phase-shift of 180°. The behavior of the cascaded structure is the same as of the buck converter, so the half-bridges are named buck pre-regulators. ZVS operation is ensured by putting an inductive tank between the half-bridges. Each output of half-bridges is connected to each of input inductors of the boost to provide the PWM excitation. Using the GSSA model, the synchronous condition and control laws are derived for the amplifier. Properties of the current harmonics in the input inductors are well examined. It is discovered that the dc harmonic, once used to transfer power, is unwanted (parasitic) since it increases conduction loss in switches of the boost. A better idea is to use the fundamental harmonic for power transfer, since it does not create loss in the switches. Complete elimination of the dc current is not feasible for constant frequency operation of the amplifier since the dc current depends on the load coil's resistance. However, significant mitigation of around 55 % is easily achievable. The proposed method improves significantly the efficiency of both the buck pre-regulator and the boost. Synchronous operation is demonstrated in hardware for fixed switching frequency of 480 kHz, power level up to 750 W, input voltage change from 300 V to 600 V, load coil's resistance change of three times, and load coil's inductance change of 3.5 %. Measured efficiency is around 95 %, with a great room for improvements. Chapter five summarizes key contributions and concludes the dissertation. / Ph. D.

Tesis por compendio / [EN] Different electronic interfaces have been proposed to measure major parameters for the characterization of quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) during the last two decades. The measurement of the adequate parameters of the sensor for a specific application is very important, since an error in this measure can lead to an error in the interpretation of the results. The requirements of the system of characterization depend on the application. In this thesis we propose two characterization systems for two types of applications that involve the majority of sensor applications: 1) Characterization of materials under variable damping conditions and 2) Detection of substances with high measurement resolution. The proposed systems seek to solve the problems detected in the systems currently in use. For applications in which the sensor damping varies during the experiment, we propose a system based on a new configuration of the technique of automatic capacitance compensation (ACC). This new configuration provides the measure of the series resonance frequency, the motional resistance and the parallel capacitance of the sensor. Moreover, it allows an easy calibration of the system that improves the precision in the measurement. We show the experimental results for 9 and 10 MHz crystals in fluid media, with different capacitances in parallel, showing the effectiveness in the capacitance compensation. The system presents some deviation in frequency with respect to the series resonance frequency, as measured with an impedance analyser. These deviations are due to the non-ideal, specific behaviour of some of the components of the circuit. A new circuit is proposed as a possible solution to this problem. For high-resolution applications we propose an integrated platform to characterize high-frequency acoustic sensors. The proposed system is based on a new concept in which the sensor is interrogated by means of a very stable, low-noise external source at a constant frequency, while the changes provoked by the charge in the phase of the sensor are monitored. The use of high-frequency sensors enhances the sensitivity of the measure, whereas the design characterization system reduces the noise in the measurement. The result is an improvement in the limit of detection (LOD). This way, we achieve one of the challenges in the acoustic high-frequency devices. The validation of the platform is performed by means of an immunosensor based in high fundamental frequency QCM crystals (HFF-QCM) for the detection of two pesticides: carbaryl and thiabendazole. The results obtained for carbaryl are compared to the results obtained by another high-frequency acoustic technology based in Love sensors, with the optical technique based in surface plasmonic resonance and with the gold standard technique Enzyme Linked Immunoassay (ELISA). The LOD obtained with the acoustic sensors HFF-QCM and Love is similar to the one obtained with ELISA and improves by one order of magnitude the LOD obtained with SPR. The conceptual ease of the proposed system, its low cost and the possibility of miniaturization of the quartz resonator, allows the characterization of multiple sensors integrated in an array configuration, which will allow in the future to achieve the challenge of multianalyte detection for applications of High-Throughput Screening (HTS). / [ES] Durante las dos últimas décadas se han propuesto diferentes interfaces electrónicos para medir los parámetros más importantes de caracterización de los cristales de microbalanza de cuarzo (QCM). La medida de los parámetros adecuados del sensor para una aplicación específica es muy importante, ya que un error en la medida de dichos parámetros puede resultar en un error en la interpretación de los resultados. Los requerimientos del sistema de caracterización dependen de la aplicación. En esta tesis se proponen dos sistemas de caracterización para dos ámbitos de aplicación que comprenden la mayoría de las aplicaciones con sensores QCM: 1) Caracterización de materiales bajo condiciones de amortiguamiento variable y 2) detección de sustancias con alta resolución de medida. Los sistemas propuestos tratan de resolver la problemática detectada en los ya existentes. Para aplicaciones en las que el amortiguamiento del sensor varía durante el experimento, se propone un sistema basado en una nueva configuración de la técnica de compensación automática de capacidad (ACC). La nueva configuración proporciona la medida de la frecuencia de resonancia serie, la resistencia dinámica y la capacidad paralelo del sensor. Además, permite una fácil calibración del sistema que mejora la precisión en la medida. Se presentan resultados experimentales para cristales de 9 y 10MHz en medios fluidos, con diferentes capacidades en paralelo, demostrando la efectividad de la compensación de capacidad. El sistema presenta alguna desviación en frecuencia con respecto a la frecuencia resonancia serie, medida con un analizador de impedancias. Estas desviaciones son explicadas convenientemente, debidas al comportamiento no ideal específico de algunoscomponentes del circuito. Una nueva propuesta de circuito se presenta como posible solución a este problema. Para aplicaciones de alta resolución se propone una plataforma integrada para caracterizar sensores acústicos de alta frecuencia. El sistema propuesto se basa en un nuevo concepto en el que el sensor es interrogado, mediante una fuente externa muy estable y de muy bajo ruido, a una frecuencia constante mientras se monitorizan los cambios producidos por la carga en la fase del sensor. El uso de sensores de alta frecuencia aumenta la sensibilidad de la medida, por otro lado, el sistema de caracterización diseñado reduce el ruido en la misma. El resultado es una mejora del límite de detección (LOD). Se consigue con ello uno de los retos pendientes en los dispositivos acústicos de alta frecuencia. La validación de la plataforma desarrollada se realiza con una aplicación de un inmunosensor basado en cristales QCM de alta frecuencia fundamental (HFF-QCM) para la detección de dos pesticidas: carbaryl y tiabendazol. Los resultados obtenidos para el Carbaryl se comparan con los obtenidos con otra tecnología acústica de alta frecuencia basada en sensores Love, con la técnica óptica basada resonancia superficial de plasmones (SPR) y con la técnica de referencia Enzyme Linked Immuno Assay (ELISA). El LOD obtenido con los sensores acústicos HFFQCM y Love es similar al obtenido con las técnicas ELISA y mejora en un orden de magnitud al obtenido con SPR. La sencillez conceptual del sistema propuesto junto con su bajo coste, así como la capacidad de miniaturización del resonador de cuarzo hace posible la caracterización de múltiples sensores integrados en una configuración en array, esto permitirá en un futuro alcanzar el reto de la detección multianalito para aplicaciones High-Throughput Screening (HTS). / [CA] Durant les dues últimes dècades s'han proposat diferents interfases electrònics per a mesurar els paràmetres més importants de caracterització dels cristalls de microbalança de quars (QCM). La mesura dels paràmetres adequats del sensor per a una aplicació específica és molt important, perquè un error en la interpretació dels resultats pot resultar en un error en la interpretació dels resultats. Els requeriments del sistema de caracterització depenen de l'aplicació. En aquesta tesi, es proposen dos sistemes de caracterització per a dos àmbits d'aplicació que comprenen la majoria de les aplicacions amb sensors QCM: 1) Caracterització de materials sota condicions d'amortiment variable i 2) detecció de substàncies amb alta resolució de mesura. Els sistemes proposats tracten de resoldre la problemàtica detectada en els ja existents. Per a aplicacions en les quals l'amortiment del sensor varia durant l'experiment, es proposa un sistema basat en una nova configuració de la tècnica de compensació automàtica de capacitat (ACC). La nova configuració proporciona la mesura de la freqüència de ressonància sèrie, la resistència dinàmica i la capacitat paral¿lel del sensor. A més, permet un calibratge fàcil del sistema que millora la precisió de la mesura. Es presenten els resultats experimentals per a cristalls de 9 i 10 MHz en mitjans fluids, amb diferents capacitats en paral¿lel, demostrant l'efectivitat de la compensació de capacitat. El sistema presenta alguna desviació en freqüència respecte a la freqüència ressonància sèrie, mesurada amb un analitzador d'impedàncies. Aquestes desviacions són explicades convenientment, degudes al comportament no ideal específic d'alguns components del circuit. Una nova proposta de circuit es presenta com a possible solució a aquest problema. Per a aplicacions d'alta resolució es proposa una plataforma integrada per a caracteritzar sensors acústics d'alta freqüència. El sistema proposat es basa en un nou concepte en el qual el sensor és interrogat mitjançant una font externa molt estable i de molt baix soroll, a una freqüència constant mentre es monitoritzen els canvis produïts per la càrrega en la fase del sensor. L'ús de sensors d'alta freqüència augmenta la sensibilitat de la mesura, per altra banda, el sistema de caracterització dissenyat redueix el soroll en la mateixa. El resultat és una millora en el límit de detecció (LOD). S'aconsegueix amb això un dels reptes pendents en els dispositius acústics d'alta freqüència. La validació de la plataforma desenvolupada es realitza amb una aplicació d'un immunosensor basat en cristalls QCM d'alta freqüència fonamental (HFF-QCM) per a la detecció de dos pesticides: carbaryl i tiabendazol. Els resultats obtinguts per al carbaryl es comparen amb els obtinguts amb altra tecnologia acústica d'alta freqüència basada en sensors Love, amb la tècnica òptica basada en ressonància superficial de plasmons (SPR) i amb la tècnica de referència Enzyme Linked Immuno Assay (ELISA). El LOD obtingut amb els sensors acústics HFF-QCM i Love és similar al obtingut amb les tècniques ELISA i millora en un ordre de magnitud el obtingut amb SPR. La senzillesa conceptual del sistema proposat junt amb el seu baix cost, així com la capacitat de miniaturització del ressonador de quars fa possible la caracterització de múltiples sensors integrats en una configuració en array, el que permetrà en un futur assolir el repte de la detecció multianalit per a aplicacions High-Throughput Screening (HTS). / García Narbón, JV. (2016). Improved characterization systems for quartz crystal microbalance sensors: parallel capacitance compensation for variable damping conditions and integrated platform for high frequency sensors in high resolution applications [Tesis doctoral]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/63249 / Compendio

No / A novel multi-standard dual-wide band filter with a compact size of only 8.8 mm by 16.8mm is designed and developed for transceiver devices. The proposed filter has a fundamental bandwidth of 1.6GHz with fractional bandwidth (FBW) of 29.7% centered at the 5.4GHz band, and second bandwidth of 300.0MHz with FBW of 3.6% centered at the 8.15GHz band. The basic dual-wide bandwidth is attributed to the interaction of the novel modified polygon pair and upper stub loaded stepped impedance resonator. Moreover, the added down stub loaded stepped impedance resonator (SLSIR) further enhances the pass band performance by widening the bandwidth and optimizing reflection coefficient performance considerably. To validate the proposed ideas, the multi-standard filter is designed and simulated by Ansoft HFSS software. The simulated results agree well with the theory predictions. The featured broad bandwidths over two frequency bands and the miniaturized size of the proposed filter make it very promising for applications in future multi-standard wireless communication.

Abstract : The objective of this work is the characterization of heat and mechanical damage in the mortar by the nonlinear acoustic waves. The correlation between non-linear/linear acoustic parameters and damage in mortar is studied based on experiments and modelling. Experimental measurements of non-linear acoustic parameters as a function of temperature and crack size were performed on mortar. The velocities showed a decrease when increasing the degradation and the non-linear parameters showed an increase when increasing the damage. For the heat damage, cylindrical specimens were prepared and were characterized by studying the porosity and saturation. Then, the temperature controls the degradation. Indeed, the linear acoustic (UPV) and non-linear acoustic (Higher harmonic generation) were applied to characterize the damage. The linear acoustic tests have shown that the longitudinal, transverse velocities and modulus of Young of the mortar decreases in function of the temperature. The non-linear acoustic tests have shown that beta increases in function of the temperature. For the mechanical damage and the self-healing, an annular specimens were prepared and cracked by controlling the size of each crack. Then the self-healing phenomenon was characterized by the permeability and the acoustic tests. Indeed, the permeability tests have shown that the airflow and the crack size decreases quickly in the first month then slowly for the rest of the self-healing process. On the other hand, the non-linear acoustic tests shown that the alpha and beta decreases according to the self-healing process which means that the nonlinear parameters are good indicators to characterize the self-healing. Moreover, the analysis of the experimental results indicates that the frequency resonant technique is more efficient to characterize the defects in the mortar than the higher harmonic generation. From the experimental tests and to get a general result independent for our case study, the nonlinear parameters were related to a damage index. A polynomial correlations of a 2nd degree was established between the nonlinear parameters and the index damage. A numerical model based on the finite element volume was proposed to establish a correlation between the crack size and the airflow. The numerical results were compared with the results of the permeability tests and shown a good agreement. The findings of this work should be most appropriate as a foundation for the study of the self-healing by the nonlinear acoustic waves. / Résumé : L'objectif de ce travail est la caractérisation de l’endommagement thermique et mécanique dans le mortier par les ondes acoustiques non linéaires. La corrélation entre les paramètres acoustiques linéaires et non linéaires est basée sur les essais expérimentaux et la modélisation. Des mesures expérimentales des paramètres acoustiques non linéaires en fonction de la taille de la fissure et la température ont été effectuées sur mortier. Les vitesses ont montré une diminution et les paramètres non linéaires ont montré une augmentation en augmentant le degré de fissuration. Pour l’endommagement thermique, des éprouvettes cylindriques ont été préparées et ont été caractérisées par l'étude de la porosité et de la saturation. L'acoustique linéaire (UPV) et l’acoustique non linéaire (génération d'harmoniques) ont été appliquées afin de quantifier l’endommagement. Les essais acoustiques linéaires ont montré que les vitesses transversales, longitudinales et le module d'Young du mortier diminuent en fonction de la température. Les essais acoustiques non linéaires ont montré l'augmentation du bêta est fonction de l’endommagement thermique. Pour l’endommagement mécanique et l'autocicatrisation, des anneaux de mortier ont été préparés et fissurés en contrôlant la taille de chaque fissure. Ensuite, le phénomène d'autocicatrisation est suivi par la perméabilité et des essais acoustiques. Les essais de perméabilité ont montré que le débit d'air et la taille de la fissure diminuent rapidement au cours du premier mois, puis lentement durant le reste du processus d'autocicatrisation. D'autre part, les tests acoustiques non linéaires ont montré que « alpha » et « bêta » diminuent durant le processus de l’autocicatrisation, ce qui signifie que les paramètres non linéaires sont des bons indicateurs pour caractériser ce phénomène. En outre, l'analyse des résultats expérimentaux indique que la technique de résonance de fréquence est plus efficace pour caractériser les défauts dans le mortier que la génération d'harmoniques plus élevés. À partir des essais expérimentaux et dans le but d'obtenir un résultat plus général indépendant de notre cas d’étude, les paramètres non linéaires ont été liés à un index d’endommagement. Une corrélation polynomiale de 2e degré a été établie entre les paramètres non linéaires et l’index d’endommagement. Un modèle numérique basé sur la méthode des volumes finis a été proposé afin d'établir une corrélation entre la taille de la fissure et le flux d'air. Les résultats numériques ont été comparés avec les résultats des tests de perméabilité et montré un bon accord. Les résultats de ce travail représentent un bon départ pour étudier le phénomène de l'autocicatrisation par les ondes acoustiques non linéaires.

With the growth of power system interconnections, the economic drivers encourage the electric companies to load the transmission lines near their limits, therefore it is critical to know those limits well. One important limiting issue is the damping of inter-area oscillation (IAO) between groups of synchronous machines. In this Ph.D. thesis, the contribution of power system components such as load and static var compensators (SVC) that affect the IAO of the power system, are analysed. The original contributions of this thesis are as follows: 1-Identification of eigenvalues and mode shapes of the IAO: In the first contribution of this thesis, the eigenvalues of the IAO are identified using a correlation based method. Then, the mode shape at each identified resonant frequency is determined to show how the synchronous generators swing against each other at the specific resonant frequencies. 2-Load modelling and load contribution to damping: The first part of this contribution lies in identification of the load model using cross-correlation and autocorrelation functions . The second aspect is the quantification of the load contribution to damping and sensitivity of system eigenvalues with respect to the load. 3- SVC contribution to damping: In this contribution the criteria for SVC controller redesign based on complete testing is developed. Then the effect of the SVC reactive power on the measured power is investigated. All of the contributions of this thesis are validated by simulation on test systems. In addition, there are some specific application of the developed methods to real data to find a.) the mode shape of the Australian electricity network, b.) the contribution of the Brisbane feeder load to damping and c.) the effect of the SVC reactive power of the Blackwall substations on the active power supplying Brisbane.

Elektro-ultrazvuková spektroskopie je založena na interakci dvou signálů, elektrického střídavého signálu s frekvencí fE a ultrazvukového signálu s frekvencí fU. Ultrazvukový signál mění vzdálenost mezi vodivými zrny ve vzorku a tím mění jeho celkový elektrický odpor R. Změna odporu R je proměnná s frekvencí ultrazvukového signálu fU. Vzorek, který obsahuje mnoho defektů ve své struktuře, vykazuje vysokou změnu odporu R v porovnání se vzorkem bez defektů při stejné hodnotě ultrazvukového a elektrického signálu. V disertační práci je popsána elektro-ultrazvuková metoda na tlustovrstvých rezistorech, hořčíkových slitinách, monokrystalech Si a CdTe, varistorech a také jeden z prvních pokusů aplikace elektro-ultrazvukové spektroskopie na horninové vzorky a tak diagnostikovat jejich stav poškození. V našem případě byl proměřen vzorek žuly. Jelikož se jedná o nedestruktivní metodu testování, tak má tato metoda velmi perspektivní budoucnost. Tato metoda je citlivá na všechny defekty ve vzorku. Její výhodou je, že se měří velikost signálu ne frekvenci danou rozdílem nebo součtem budících frekvencí fE a fU a tím se dá dosáhnout vysoké citlivosti. V mém případě byl vždy měřen signál na rozdílové frekvenci fi = fE-fU.

According to the 2019 Canadian infrastructure report card, a concerning amount of municipal infrastructure is in poor or very poor condition. The infrastructure in this condition requires immediate action for rehabilitation or replacement. For concrete infrastructure, an effective repair can extend its service life and ensure that the services it provides continue to meet the community expectations. However, unfavorable environmental factors such as repeated/cyclic loads and freezing and thawing cycles adversely affect the bond between substrate concrete and repair materials, which lowers the structural capacity of repaired structures. So far, researchers have found that bond strength of repair can be affected by surface roughness, surface moisture, chemical adhesion or cohesion, curing regime, properties of substrate and repair materials, use of bond agent, and curing regimes. These findings are mostly based on the studies that focused on cold-jointed cylinders or beams, but in real-life repair situations, repairs of beams or slabs are located at either tension or compression side of the structure. Currently, there is no comprehensive study that investigates the bond of concrete repair under a combination of freezing and thawing and repeated/cyclic loading conditions. In addition, it is challenging to provide a rapid and non-destructive evaluation of the bond deterioration of repair materials. To address these issues systematically, this dissertation breaks the task into four phases. Phase (I) focuses on the development of an engineered “crack-free” repair mix that contains polypropylene (PP) fiber. A novel method is used to surface treat the PP fibers with supplementary cementitious materials. The effectiveness of surface-treating fibers for improved bond strength and reduced cracking is investigated. The compressive, tensile, and flexural strength of this engineered repair mix are determined and compared with two commercially available repair materials. The results from Phase I show that by adding 0.2% (by weight) Metakaolin-treated fibers into concrete mix, the compressive strength improves by up to 15.7% compared to mixes with untreated fibers. This study achieved a strength increase of 13.5% as compared to the reported 3.3% in other studies that use 25 times the amount of metakaolin used in this study. The experimental results confirm that at 0.2% dosage level, the use of novel surface treating technique is a cost-effective way to improve the strength of repair materials. Phase (II) focuses on characterizing the bond strength of various repair systems after freezing-thawing (FT) damage using both non-destructive and destructive methods. Two innovative sounding methods, which overcome the subjectivity of the traditional chain drag method, are used to evaluate FT damage non-destructively. In the experimental study, beams with a U-shaped cut are made to simulate conditions experienced by a concrete structure during a typical repair project. Three types of repair materials are used including cementitious repair concrete, cementitious repair mortar, and polymer-modified cementitious mortar. After up to 300 cycles of freeze-thaw exposure, resonant frequency and bond flexural strength of the prismatic specimens are determined. The empirical equations relating Non-destructive test (NDT) measurements and flexural bond strength of the repaired structures after freeze-thaw (FT) exposure are proposed. The results from Phase II show that the change in dynamic modulus of elasticity determined from NDTs agrees well with the change in other measurements including flexural bond strength, interfacial crack width, and mass loss after freeze-thaw exposure. In this study, linear relationships are established between dynamic modulus of elasticity and flexural bond strength for both cementitious and polymer-modified cementitious repair mortar with a coefficient of determination ranging between 0.87 and 0.95. The proposed empirical models can be used to predict bond flexural strength of repaired structures based on NDT measurement. Also, it was found that the samples repaired with polymer-modified cementitious mortar (Mix P) have superior FT resistance compared to other repaired samples. Phase (III) focuses on investigating the structural capacity and bond performance of repaired beams after cyclic/repeated loading. To accelerate the test process, a novel modified loading regime consisting of cycle groups of increasing cyclic/repeated stress amplitude is proposed. The models proposed by literature and current codes and standards are used to validate the results. Phase (IV) focuses on the development of the damage models for both individual and combined FT and cyclic loading exposure on repaired concrete structures. The results in phase III show the feasibility of using the Palmgren-Miner rule and Goodman linear model to estimate the fatigue life of repaired structures. This was confirmed within the context of this study. This study established the usefulness of using groups of increasing cyclic stress amplitude to accelerate the fatigue test process. The two-million cycle fatigue endurance limit estimated using cycle groups of Mix S (70.8%) was very similar to what was reported in the literature (71%) using the traditional time-consuming cyclic loading method. This study found that the formulas proposed by CSA 23.3 can effectively predict the moment resistance of both intact (control) and repaired RC beams. The ratio of experimental moment resistance values to its predictions ranges from 0.91 to 1.04. Based on the experimental results of previous three phases, an empirical model that predicted the fatigue service life of FT-damaged concrete structures is proposed. Future research requires a more comprehensive study on the FT performance of various polymer-modified cementitious mortars of different mix designs in repairing concrete structures. By increasing the number of tested specimens, a better relationship could be established between destructive and NDT methods. Future research is also required to explore the combined effect of FT and cyclic loading on repaired RC structures experimentally. / Graduate / 2023-03-22