A new approach for the control of the size of particles fabricated using the Electrohydrodynamic Atomization (EHDA) method is being developed. In short, the EHDA process produces solution droplets in a controlled manner, and as the solvent evaporates from the surface of the droplets, polymeric particles are formed. By varying the voltage applied, the size of the droplets can be changed, and consequently, the size of the particles can also be controlled. By using both a nozzle electrode and a ring electrode placed axisymmetrically and slightly above the nozzle electrode, we are able to produce a Single Taylor Cone Single Jet for a wide range of voltages, contrary to just using a single nozzle electrode where the range of permissible voltage for the creation of the Single Taylor Cone Single Jet is usually very small. Phase Doppler Particle Analyzer (PDPA) test results have shown that the droplet size increases with increasing voltage applied. This trend is predicted by the electrohydrodynamic theory of the Single Taylor Cone Single Jet based on a perfect dielectric fluid model. Particles fabricated using different voltages do not show much change in the particles size, and this may be attributed to the solvent evaporation process. Nevertheless, these preliminary results do show that this method has the potential of providing us with a way of fine controlling the particles size using relatively simple method with trends predictable by existing theories. / Singapore-MIT Alliance (SMA)

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 298-319). Also available on microfiche.

The self-similar evolution of a turbulent Rayleigh-Taylor (R-T) mix is investigated through experiments and numerical simulations. The experiments consisted of velocity and density measurements using thermocouples and Particle Image Velocimetry techniques. A novel experimental technique, termed PIV-S, to simultaneously measure both velocity and density fields was developed. These measurements provided data for turbulent correlations, power spectra, and energy balance analyses. The self-similarity of the flow is demonstrated through velocity profiles that collapse when normalized by an appropriate similarity variable and power spectra that evolve in a shape-preserving form. In the self-similar regime, vertical r.m.s. velocities dominate over the horizontal r.m.s. velocities with a ratio of 2:1. This anisotropy, also observed in the velocity spectra, extends to the Taylor scales. Buoyancy forcing does not alter the structure of the density spectra, which are seen to have an inertial range with a -5/3 slope. A scaling analysis was performed to explain this behavior. Centerline velocity fluctuations drive the growth of the flow, and can hence be used to deduce the growth constant. The question of universality of this flow was addressed through 3D numerical simulations with carefully designed initial conditions. With long wavelengths present in the initial conditions, the growth constant was found to depend logarithmically on the initial amplitudes. In the opposite limit, where long wavelengths are generated purely by the nonlinear interaction of shorter wavelengths, the growth constant assumed a universal lower bound value of

Hur skulle en välfärdsmodell som använder sig av arbetslöshetsgapet i förlustfunktionen istället för BNP-gapet påverka Riksbankens reaktionsfunktion? Detta undersöks i den här uppsatsen. För det skattas en Okuns lag för Sverige, vilken sedan används för att sätta in arbetslöshetsgapet i förlustfunktionen. Variansen på löneprischockerna och efterfrågechockerna i makromodellen varieras för att se hur koefficienten framför BNP-gapet i den antagna Taylor-regeln förändras medan koefficienten framför inflationsavvikelsen hålls konstant. Resultatet av dessa simuleringar visar på att efterfrågechocker ökar koefficienten mer än vad lönesprischocker gör. Vid normal varians kommer dock Riksbanken att reagera mer på inflationsavvikelser än vad de kommer att göra på BNP-gapet.

This thesis consists of four papers, of which paper 1 and 4 are co-written with Mikael Bask. Paper [1] implements chartists trading in a sticky-price monetary model for determining the exchange rate. It is demonstrated that chartists cause the exchange rate to "overshoot the overshooting equilibrium" of a sticky-price monetary model. Chartists base their trading on a short-long moving average. The importance of technical trading depends inversely on the time horizon in currency trade. The exchange rate's perfect foresight path near long-run equilibrium is derived and it is demonstrated that the shorter the time horizon, the greater the exchange rate overshooting. The aim of Paper [2] is to see how the dynamics of the basic target zone model changes when chartists and fundamentalists are introduced. Chartists use technical trading and the relative importance of technical and fundamental analyses depend on the time horizon in currency trade. The model also includes realignment expectations, which increase with the weight of chartists. The introduction of chartists may significantly reduce and reverse, the so-called "honeymoon effect" of a fully credible target zone. Further, chartists may cause the correlation between the exchange rate and the instantaneous interest rate differential to become either positive or negative. Using a chartist-fundamentalist set-up, Paper [3] derives the effects on the current exchange rate of central bank intervention. Fundamentalists have rational expectations and chartists use so called support and resistance levels in their trading. This technique results in chartists having both bandwagon expectations and regressive expectations. Chartists may enhance or suppress the effect of intervention depending on their expectations. The results indicate that a chartist channel exists. The aim of Paper [4] is threefold; (i) to investigate if there is a unique rational expectations equilibrium (REE) in a new Keynesian macroeconomic model augmented with technical trading, (ii), to investigate if the unique REE is adaptively learnable and, (iii), to investigate if this unique and adaptively learnable REE is desirable in an inflation rate targeting regime. The monetary authority is using a Taylor rule when setting the interest rate. A main conclusion is that a robust Taylor rule implies that the monetary authority should increase (decrease) the interest rate when the CPI inflation rate increases (decreases) and when the currency gets stronger (weaker).

Sapa Profiler AB är ett företag inom den svenska metallindustrin och tillhör koncernen Sapa Group som finns över stora delar av världen. Bolaget är en del av koncernens kärnverksamhet Profiler som specialiserat sig på framställning av strängpressade profiler i aluminium. Inom det strategiska affärssegmentet Automotive förses transportindustrin med komponenter till olika typer av fordon. Under de senaste åren har kundernas serviceanspråk ökat vilket bland annat yttrar sig i krav på kortare leveranstider och högre frekvens på inleveranserna. I dagsläget avhjälps högre servicekrav genom att ett lager lokaliseras i kundens närhet. Strategin leder i förlängningen till en decentraliserad lagerstruktur som kan vara svår att styra och kontrollera. Sapa Profiler AB behöver därför se över sitt sätt att distribuera varor till de europeiska kunderna. Studien tar sin utgångspunkt i en kartläggning av de 20 viktigaste kundernas krav och har som mål att rekommendera en framtida distributionsstruktur som kan bemöta den nya kravbilden till en låg totalkostnad. Den rekommenderade lösningen utnyttjar två centrala lagerpunkter placerade i Nässjö och belgiska Ghlin som tillsammans tillgodoser huvuddelen av de nord- och centraleuropeiska kunderna. Dessutom används fem lokala lagerpunkter som är nödvändiga för att täcka in vissa kunders särskilt höga krav. Jämfört med en decentraliserad struktur kan företaget utnyttja stordriftsfördelar som ger betydande besparingar inom lagerhållning, administration, kommunikation och IT. Transportkostnaderna kan samtidigt hållas på en rimlig nivå. Båda centrallagren är strategiskt placerade och ger företaget goda förutsättningar att knyta andra kunder till distributionsstrukturen. Lösningen är också kompatibel med företagets strategiska mål och kan anpassas till hur kundernas kravbild utvecklas i realiteten. Den ger företaget bättre möjligheter att utveckla serviceerbjudandet till kund för en ökad framtida konkurrensförmåga.

As one category of energetic materials, impact-initiated reactive materials are able to release a high amount of stored chemical energy under high strain rate impact loading, and are used extensively in civil and military applications. In general, polymers are introduced as binder materials to trap the reactive metal powders inside, and also act as an oxidizing agent for the metal ingredient. Since critical attention has been paid on the metal / metal reaction, only a few types of polymer / reactive metal interactions have been studied in the literature. With the higher requirement of materials resistant to different thermal and mechanical environments, the understanding and characterization of polymer / reactive metal interactions are in great demand. In this study, PTFE (Polytetrafluoroethylene) 7A / Ti (Titanium) composites were studied under high strain rates by utilizing the Taylor impact and SHPB tests. Taylor impact tests with different impact velocities, sample dimensions and sample configurations were conducted on the composite, equipped with a high-speed camera for tracking transient images during the sudden process. SHPB and Instron tests were carried out to obtain the stress vs. strain curves of the composite under a wide range of strain rates, the result of which were also utilized for fitting the constitutive relations of the composite based on the modified Johnson-Cook strength model. Thermal analyses by DTA tests under different flow rates accompanied with XRD identification were conducted to study the reaction mechanism between PTFE 7A and Ti when only heat was provided. Numerical simulations on Taylor impact tests and microstructural deformations were also performed to validate the constitutive model built for the composite system, and to investigate the possible reaction mechanism between two components. The results obtained from the high strain rate tests, thermal analyses and numerical simulations were combined to provide a systematic study on the reaction mechanism between PTFE and Ti in the composite systems, which will be instructive for future energetic studies on other polymer / reactive metal systems.

Philosophers who show interest in authenticity tend to narrowly focus on its capacity to help people evade conformity and affirm individuality, a simplistic reduction that neglects authenticity’s moral potential and gives credence to the many critics who dismiss it as a euphemism for excessive individualism. Yet when conceived ethically, authenticity can also allow for worthy human flourishing without falling prey to conformity’s opposite extreme—egoism. This thesis proposes a relational conception of authenticity that can help prevent the often destructive excess of egoism while also offsetting the undesirable deficiency of heteronomy, concertedly moving agents towards socially responsible living. It demonstrates how authenticity necessarily has ethical dimensions when rooted in existentialist and dialogical frameworks. It also defines egoism as a form of self-deception rooted in flawed logic that cannot be considered “authentic” by relational standards. Relational authenticity recognizes the interpersonal relationships and social engagements that imbue meaning into agents’ lives, fostering a balance between personal ambitions and social obligations, and enabling more consistently moral lifestyles.

Deliberative democrats have argued that democracy requires citizens to seek consensus, using a familiar style of principle-based moral argument. However, critics like Iris Young object that deliberative democracy’s favoured model of reasoning is inadequate for resolving deep value conflicts. She and others have suggested that the aim of improving understanding across political differences could be achieved if our conception of legitimate democratic discourse were broadened to include a significant role for narrative. The question is whether such a revision would amount to abandoning the deliberative democratic goal of seeking reasonable resolutions of value conflict. This thesis argues that a narrative approach to deliberative democracy can realize its commitment to reasoned justification, while preserving the significance of differing perspectives and promoting mutual understanding. The narrative-contextualist approach is developed and illustrated with reference to public debate over issues such as cultural accommodation and historical justice.

My thesis argues that a shift has taken place in white supremacist rhetoric post September 11, 2001. I focus on the pre-9/11 rhetoric of Jared Taylor, the post 9/11 rhetoric of Patrick Buchanan, and identify the attacks of September 11th as a catalytic event in the history of white supremacist rhetoric. Through careful rhetorical analysis, I identify the 9/11 shift as a shift in placement vis-à-vis the political mainstream.