The emergence of small and affordable satellites has led to rapid growth in the number of launched satellites over the past two decades. To save costs, small satellites often use mass-produced electronic components not explicitly designed for the radiation environment of space, which reduces reliability and makes them unsuitable for higher orbits. Improved radiation protection would enable small satellites to operate in high radiation environments and increase their reliability. This work investigates how small satellite electronics can be protected against the high radiation environment of geostationary transfer orbit on the example of the Foresail-2mission. Foresail-2 is a planned 6U CubeSat mission to the Earth radiation belts and is intended to use consumer-grade electronics components. In this harsh environment, most semiconductor devices require radiation shielding. The Space EnvironmentInformation System of the European Space Agency was used to analyse expected particle spectra along the planned orbit through the radiation belts. These particle spectra were then used in Monte-Carlo simulations based on the Geant4 particle transport toolkit to simulate the performance of different shielding configurations. Several thousand multilayer shielding configurations were simulated to optimise the material composition and layer structure of multilayer shielding. The best multilayer configurations against the combined proton and electron spectra of the Earth’s radiation belts use materials with low proton numbers on top of materials with high proton numbers and can significantly outperform conventional aluminium shielding. However, the usage of alternative materials might introduce significant overhead in the design and manufacturing of the satellite structure. Additionally, the influence of satellite structure geometry and openings in the shield was analysed. Even a 1 cm2 opening in the shield can increase the total ionising dose received by electronic components over a mission lifetime by more than an order of magnitude. In conclusion, the work recommends an aluminium body of 6 mm or equivalent multilayer shielding for the Foresail-2 mission to reduce the radiation level to a tolerable level for consumer-grade electronics, while openings in the satellite body should be avoided or covered up with additional shielding. / FORESAIL

L’électronisation de l’industrie a mené à l’augmentation de la pollution électromagnétique pouvant être néfaste pour les systèmes électroniques sensibles et les êtres vivants. L’un des moyens pour limiter la propagation des champs électromagnétiques est l’utilisation d’un blindage. L’étude s’est ainsi focalisée sur l’élaboration à froid d’un composite bimétallique pour le blindage magnétique. Le composite étudié allie les propriétés physiques de l’aluminium et de l’acier via le trilame Al8011/AcierDC01/Al8011. Le trilame est élaboré par colaminage à température ambiante. Il s’est avéré que la qualité de l’adhérence des interfaces Al/Acier et l’architecture du trilame dépendent fortement des paramètres du colaminage. Une préparation minutieuse des tôles et de leurs surfaces concomitantes se révèle être tout aussi importante que le colaminage en lui-même. De plus, au cours du colaminage, la tôle d’acier s’est montrée sensible à des instabilités plastiques qui amènent par la suite à sa striction et à sa fragmentation. Ces instabilités plastiques favorisent l’adhérence grâce à des soudages Al/Al mais n’en sont pas un prérequis. Au niveau de l’efficacité de blindage, le trilame s’est révélé être particulièrement intéressant puisque, grâce à sa composition et à sa structuration, il est capable d’atténuer aussi bien les champs magnétiques basses fréquences (< 1 kHz) que les champs magnétiques de plus hautes fréquences (> 1 kHz). Dans une étude à iso-masse, le trilame a présenté une meilleure efficacité de blindage que les tôles d’Al, de Cu et d’acier. Cependant, la fragmentation de l’acier dans le trilame s’est révélée être néfaste pour le blindage magnétique, nécessitant de faire alors un compromis entre tenue mécanique et efficacité de blindage. / The growth of electronic devices has led to an increase in electromagnetic pollution that can be harmful to sensitive electronic systems and living beings. One of the means of limiting the propagation of electromagnetic fields is the use of shielding. Then, the study focused on the elaboration of a bimetallic composite for magnetic shielding. The studied composite combines the physical properties of aluminum and steel via the Al8011/SteelDC01/Al8011 trilayer. The trilayer is produced by cold roll bonding (CRB). It has been found that the adherence quality of the Al/Steel interfaces and the architecture of the composite heavily depend on the CRB parameters. Careful preparation of the sheet and their concomitant surfaces is just as important as CRB itself. Furthermore, during CRB, the steel sheet was sensitive to plastic instabilities which subsequently led to its necking and fragmentation. These plastic instabilities promote adherence through Al/Al welds but are not a prerequisite. In terms of shielding effectiveness, the bimetallic composite has proved to be particularly interesting. Thanks to its composition and its structuring, it can attenuate both low (< 1 kHz) and high frequency (> 1 kHz) magnetic fields. In an iso-mass study, the composite showed a higher shielding effectiveness than Al, Cu and steel sheets. However, the steel fragmentation in the composite proved to be detrimental to magnetic shielding, then requiring a compromise between mechanical strength and shielding effectiveness.

Les matériaux composites sont largement utilisés dans l'industrie automobile comme pièces de structure. Alliant légèreté et bonnes propriétés mécaniques, ils ont remplacé les métaux classiquement adoptés dans la fabrication de moyens de transport. Toutefois, l'emploi des matériaux composites doit tenir compte de leur comportement électromagnétique. En effet, les composites à fibres conductrices, généralement moins conducteurs que les métaux, engendrent une interaction avec les ondes électromagnétiques, différente de celle introduite par les alliages métalliques. Il s'avère donc important de développer des outils de modélisation permettant de mieux appréhender le comportement électromagnétique de matériaux composites, et d'éclairer les changements qu'apportent ces matériaux sur la distribution des champs, provenant d'une multitude de sources externes, au voisinage des systèmes mécatroniques. Par ailleurs, l'étude du comportement électromagnétique de matériaux composites permet de tirer parti de leurs propriétés mécaniques attractives afin d'alléger les boîtiers de blindage en gardant un niveau d'atténuation conforme aux normes de l'industrie. Cependant, la modélisation numérique de structures composites de grande taille, telles que les boîtiers de blindage, bien que classiquement adoptée pour les structures métalliques, est rendue complexe par le fait que les composites présentent des hétérogénéités à l'échelle microscopique, et que leurs mécanismes de blindage diffèrent de ceux des conducteurs homogènes. Le calcul numérique s'avère envisageable une fois le composite remplacé par un matériau homogène ayant une réponse identique face à une sollicitation électromagnétique. Ainsi, au travers de ce travail de thèse, nous proposons une technique d'homogénéisation permettant d'estimer les propriétés électriques équivalentes que nous appliquons aux composites à fibres conductrices unidirectionnelles et tissées. Les résultats obtenus sont utilisés pour la simulation numérique d'un boîtier de blindage. / Composite materials are widely used in the automotive industry as structural components. By combining lightness and robust mechanical properties, they are increasigly replacing the conventionnally used metallic alloys, for the manufacturing of vehicle parts. However, the use of composite materials is not without consequences on the electromagnetic behavior of these parts. Since carbon fiber reinforced composites are generally worse conductors of electricity than metals, they interact differently with the electromagnetic waves which surround them. It is therefore important to develop modeling tools to better understand the electromagnetic behavior of composite materials. This is to explain the changes that these materials bring to the distribution of waves, generated by a multitude of external sources, in the vicinity of mechatronic systems. On the other hand, the study of the electromagnetic behavior of composite materials makes it possible to determine the possibility of taking advantage of their attractive mechanical properties in order to further reduce the weight of electromagnetic shielding enclosures while maintaining a level of attenuation in accordance with the standards of the industry. However, numerical modeling of large composite structures, such as shielding enclosures, although conventionally adopted for metal structures, is hindered by the fact that composites exhibit heterogeneities at the microscopic scale. The numerical calculation becomes possible once the composite is replaced by a homogeneous material that exhibits an identical response to an identical electromagnetic solicitation. In this work, we present a homogenization technique, based on finite element simulation and an optimisation method, that computes an estimate of the equivalent electrical properties of unidirectional and woven fiber reinforced composites. The results are then used to simulate the shielding effectiveness of an enclosure constructed by combining composite materials and metallic alloys.

No description available.

Folien aus mehrwandigen Kohlenstoffnanoröhren, auch Buckypaper genannt, stellen eine vielversprechende Alternative zu herkömmlichen Schirmmaterialien für elektromagnetische Strahlung dar. Zum Aufbau eines grundlegenden Verständnisses und zur Verbesserung der Verarbeitbarkeit gegenüber kommerziell erhältlichem Buckypaper, wurden nach Auswahl eines geeigneten Herstellungsverfahrens Buckypaper aus unterschiedlichen Nanomaterialien hergestellt. Zur Untersuchung der Auswirkung ausgewählter Herstellungsparameter erfolgte dabei eine Parametervariation mittels statistischer Versuchsplanung. Zusätzlich wurden im Vorfeld weitere Einflussfaktoren betrachtet. Dadurch konnten unterschiedliche Einwaagemengen und Rohmaterialien, verschiedene Lösungsmittel und Konzentrationen der Nanomaterialien sowie diverse Prozessparameter des angewandten Nassprozesses untersucht werden. Im Rahmen der Charakterisierung der hergestellten Proben, mittels unter anderem Vierleiter- und Schirmdämpfungsmessung sowie Rasterelektronenmikroskopie, wurden die signifikanten Einflüsse der untersuchten Parameter identifiziert und beschrieben. Es konnten dadurch sehr homogene Buckypaper mit hoher Leitfähigkeit und guter Schirmungseffektivität hergestellt werden, die eine verbesserte Grundlage für die weitere Entwicklung mikrostrukturierter Schutzfolien bilden. Aus dem Ergebnis der Arbeit lassen sich optimale Herstellungsparameter von Buckypaper für den Einsatz als Schirmmaterial im Bereich der elektromagnetischen Verträglichkeit ermitteln. / Freestanding multiwalled carbon nanotube sheets, also known as buckypaper, represent a promising alternative for various applications, especially for electromagnetic interference shielding. In order to develop a fundamental understanding and improve the processability compared to commercially available buckypaper, sheets from different nanotube materials were produced after a suitable manufacturing process had been selected. Design of experiments was used to investigate the effects of various manufacturing parameters. Other influencing factors were considered in advance. Several raw materials of different weights, varying solvents and concentrations of the nanomaterials as well as various processing parameters of the applied wet process were thereby examined. Significant influences on the properties of produced buckypaper were identified during characterization by, among other means, four-point probe, shielding attenuation measurements and scanning electron microscopy. From the result, optimal manufacturing parameters can be determined. Thus, very homogeneous buckypaper with high electrical conductivity as well as good mechanical strength and shielding effectiveness could be produced. This provides a solid foundation for further development of frequency selective electromagnetic interference shields.

This thesis presents quantum chemical calculations, applications of the response function formalism recently implemented within the framework of density functional theory (DFT) by our research group. The purpose of the calculations is to assess the performance of this perturbative approach to determining heavy atom effects on magnetic resonance parameters. Relativistic corrections can be generated by spin-orbit interactions or by scalar relativistic effects due to high velocity electrons in the atomic core region of heavy atoms. In this work, the evaluation of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) parameters is considered, the nuclear shielding tensor and the indirect nuclear spin-spin coupling tensor. For series of homologous compounds, it is found that both types of corrections to these parameters are increasing in size upon substitution of a constituent atom by a heavier element, but that their relative importance is system dependent. The obtained results are compatible with the ones provided by electron correlated ab initio methods, and a qualitative agreement with experimentally determined parameters is overall achieved. The methodology presented in this thesis aims to be a practical approach which can be applied in the study of molecular properties of large systems. This thesis also addresses the calculation of hyperfine coupling constants, and evaluates a novel approach to the treatment of spin-polarization in spin restricted calculations without the spin contamination associated with spin unrestricted calculations. / QC 20101122

During interventional cardiology (IC), medical staff are exposed to scattered ionizing radiation from the patient, potentially leading to various radiation-induced health effects. Therefore, shielding devices are routinely used to reduce occupational exposure during IC procedures. This study explores how the positioning of shielding devices impacts radiation protection efficiency in clinical scenarios. The study aims to determine optimal setups and potential pitfalls that might significantly reduce the efficiency of the shielding devices. It also explores the relationship between DICOM-based production data, clinical observations, and phantom-based measurements to add knowledge to the research field of radiation protection in IC. Clinical DICOM-based production data from 4976 procedures were analyzed to identify C-arm projection angles used during different procedure types. This data and the results of an observational study were used to determine a scattered radiation measurement setup. A survey meter was used to measure air kerma at seven heights in the operator position while an anthropomorphic phantom was irradiated. The measurements were distributed over seven projections with 56 position combinations of the shielding devices. A total of 3171 measurements were performed. The measurements suggest significant variations in the operator dose depending on the projection and how the shielding devices are positioned. The most optimal combination of shielding devices was achieved when placing the table-mounted shield along the table, the ceiling-suspended shield caudal close to the phantom, and without the patient drape. Conversely, the least optimal combination was achieved when placing the table-mounted shield flared out, the ceiling-suspended shield cranial 10 cm above the phantom, and without the patient drape. The air kerma rate for these two shielding setups with the LAO25/CAUD30 projection was reduced from 0.19 μGy/s to 0.05 μGy/s at 110 cm from the floor. This height was shown to be the hardest to properly shield. Despite the implementation of the most optimal shielding combination, it is evident that certain heights present difficulties in effectively protecting the operator from scattered radiation.

Reinforcement Learning (RL) is popular to solve complex tasks in robotics, but using it in scenarios where humans collaborate closely with robots can lead to hazardous situations. In an autonomous warehouse, mobile robotic units share the workspace with human workers which can lead to collisions, because the positions of humans or non-static obstacles are not known by the robot. Such a scenario requires the robot to use some form of visual input from a lidar sensor or RGB camera, to learn how to adjusts its velocity commands to keep a safe distance and reduced speed when approaching obstacles. This is essential to train an RL-based robotic controller to be safe, however, it does not address the issue to make training itself safer, which in foresight is crucial to enable real-world training. This thesis proposes an agent setup with modified reward structure to train a local planner for a Turtlebot robot with lidar sensor that satisfies safety while maximizing the RL reward. Additionally, it presents a shielding approach that can intervene on a complex controller, by using a safe, sub-optimal backup policy in case the agent enters unsafe states. Two agents, an unshielded agent and one with shielding, are trained with this method in a simulated autonomous warehouse to investigate the effects of shielding during training. For evaluation we compare four conditions: Both agents are deployed once with activated shield and once without it. Those four conditions are analysed in regards to safety and efficiency. Finally, a comparison to the performance of the baseline Trajectory Planner is conducted. The results show that shielding during training facilitates task completion and reduces collisions by 25% compared to the unshielded agent. On the other hand, unshielded training yields better safety results during deployment. Generally, an active shield during deployment contributes to efficiency of the agent, independent of the training setup. The system design is integrated into the Robot Operating System (ROS) where its modular design makes the method compatible with different (RL) algorithms and deployable in OpenAI gym environments. / Reinforcement learning (RL) är en vanlig metod för att lösa komplexa uppgifter inom robotik. Användningen av den i scenarier där människor arbetar nära robotar kan dock leda till farliga situationer. I ett autonomt lager delar mobila robotenheter arbetsområdet med mänskliga arbetare, vilket kan leda till kollisioner eftersom roboten inte känner till människornas positioner eller icke-statiska hinder. I ett sådant scenario måste roboten använda någon form av visuell information från en lidarsensor eller RGB-kamera för att lära sig hur den ska anpassa sina hastighetsinstruktioner för att hålla ett säkert avstånd och minskad hastighet när den närmar sig hinder. Detta är viktigt för att träna RL-baserad robotstyrning så att den blir säker. Det löser dock inte problemet med att göra själva utbildningen säkrare, vilket är avgörande för att möjliggöra utbildning i den verkliga världen. I det här examensarbeten presenteras en agentuppsättning med en modifierad belöningsstruktur för att träna en lokal planerare för en Turtlebot robot med en lidarsensor. Detta ger säkerhet samtidigt som belöningen maximeras. Dessutom presenteras en skyddsmekanism som kan ingripa i det komplexa styrsystemet och byta till ett säkert, suboptimalt reservstyrprogram om agenten hamnar i osäkra tillstånd. Två agenter tränas med denna metod i ett simulerat autonomt lager, en agent utan och en med sköld, för att undersöka effekterna av sköldning under träningen. Fyra konfigurationer jämförs för utvärdering: Båda ämnena används en gång med skölden aktiverad och en gång utan. Dessa fyra konfigurationer analyseras med avseende på säkerhet och effektivitet. Slutligen görs en jämförelse med Trajectory Planner som utgångspunkt. Resultaten visar att skydd under träningen gör det lättare att slutföra uppgiften snabbare och minskar antalet kollisioner med 25% jämfört med en agent utan skydd. Å andra sidan leder träning utan avskärmning till bättre säkerhetsmätningar under arbetet. Generellt sett bidrar en aktiv sköld under installationen till agentens effektivitet, oavsett hur utbildningen är upplagd. Systemet är integrerat i Robot Operating System (ROS). Dess modulära utformning möjliggör kompatibilitet med olika RL-algoritmer, liksom användning av metoden i OpenAI gymmiljöer.

No description available.

Ce mémoire présente l’évaluation du remodelage osseux autour des composantes acétabulaires non cimentées press-fit d’une arthroplastie de resurfaçage (RH) et d’une prothèse totale de hanche (PTH) après un minimum de 21 mois d’implantation. Nous avons mesuré par l’absorptiométrie à rayons X en double énergie (DEXA) la densité minérale osseuse (DMO) supra acétabulaire chez 60 patients (44 RH, 16 PTH). Aucune différence significative de la moyenne des DMO au niveau de la zone globale et de la zone centrale de l’acétabulum n’a été trouvée entre la hanche opérée et la hanche controlatérale, dans les deux groupes de traitement. Cependant, la DMO des zones corticospongieuses médiale et latérale est plus élevée du côté opéré par rapport au côté non opéré avec la cupule en chrome cobalt de la RH; (p=0,014 et 0,031 respectivement). Alors que pour la PTH avec une cupule en titane, la différence de la DMO au niveau de ces zones n’est pas significative; (p=0,130 et 0,733). Ces données semblent démontrer qu’avec des cupules plus rigides, il y a transfert des contraintes de charges vers la périphérie corticale. C’est la première étude à évaluer le remodelage osseux péri acétabulaire avec un RH. Cela montre que la DMO est relativement préservée et que le transfert des contraintes vers la périphérie peut être favorable au maintien de la stabilité de l’implant primaire et aux éventuelles révisions de la cupule press-fit du RH. / We undertook a retrospective study to evaluate bone remodeling around two uncemented press-fit acetabular components: (1. Hip resurfacing (HR) and 2. total hip replacement (THR)) at a minimum of 21 months after implantation. We measured by DEXA (Dual energy X ray absorptiometry) the bone mineral density (BMD) in the supra acetabular area in 60 patients (44 HR, 16 THR). We found no significant difference in the average BMD of the global zone and central zone of the acetabulum between the operated hip and the opposite non-operated hip in both treatment groups. However, the BMD of the medial and lateral cortico-cancellous areas on the side of surgery was significantly higher compared to non-operated side in HR group with the cobalt chrome cup; (p=0,014 and 0,031 respectively) As for THR with a titanium cup, we found no significant difference in BMD at these areas (p=0,130 and 0,733). These data show that with more rigid cups, there seems to be greater load transfer to the periphery of the acetabulum without significant stress shielding. This is the first study to assess peri-acetabular bone remodeling with HR. We showed that BMD is relatively preserved. Stress transfer to the periphery may be beneficial in maintaining the stability of the primary implant while conserving bone stock for possible revisions of the press-fit cup of the HR.