I den här rapporten undersöks hur en vävd textil kan fungera som ett hjälpmedel i analys av vätskor, såsom förorenat vatten eller blod från människor och djur. Det finns i dagsläget ett stort forskningsområde, kallat mikrofluidik, som behandlar förflyttning av vätska i kanaler på mikrometerstora ytor, där det här projektet till viss del kan hjälpa forskningen på området att komma framåt ytterligare ett steg.   Undersökningen har genomförts med hjälp av tester i laboratorium där en väv i polyeten, med kanaler i Coolmax® (polyester) för att transportera vätskan har använts. En mängd olika testomgångar med olika fokus, har genomförts: test i bitar med raka kanaler, test där wickingen avbrutits med hjälp av sax, test där wickingen har pausats på olika sätt för att sedan startas på nytt samt ett mindre antal tester där försök till styrning av vätskan. Syftet har varit att undersöka huruvida alla sex utvalda vätskor (metylenblått, mjölk, nötblod, olivolja, Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) och syntetisk urin) har en förmåga att wicka och om det finns skillnader mellan hur långt vätskorna förflyttar sig.   Wickingtesterna har genomförts i både horisontellt och vertikalt läge, detta för att se om och i så fall hur mycket det skiljer, gällande hur långt en vätska flödar i kanalen. Det som framkommit i projektet är att alla vätskorna hade en förmåga att wicka. Metylenblått förflyttade sig längst i horisontellt läge medan urin förflyttades längst i vertikalt läge. Nötblodet förflyttade sig kortast sträcka i både horisontellt och vertikalt läge. Det som däremot har varit svårt att fastställa är vad skillnaderna egentligen beror på. Baserat på matematiska formler för wicking har det konstaterats att vätskornas kontaktvinkel bör ha betydelse, men detta har dessvärre inte kunnat undersökas i det här projektet. / This thesis examines how a woven textile can act as an aid in the analysis of fluids, such as contaminated water or blood from humans and animals. There is currently a large research area, called microfluidics, which deals with the movement of fluid in channels on micrometer-sized surfaces, where this project can, to some extent, fill some gaps and open for further questions in other parts.   The study has been carried out by using laboratory tests where a polyethylene weave, with channels in Coolmax® (polyester) for transporting the liquid has been used. Several different test rounds with a little different focus have been carried out: test in straight pieces, tests where the wicking has been interrupted by scissors, tests where the wicking has been paused and then restarted, and a smaller number of tests where attempts to control and navigate the fluid has been tested. The purpose has been to investigate whether all six selected fluids (methylene blue, milk, blood from bovine, olive oil, poly (3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) and synthetic urine) have the ability of wicking and if there are differences between the fluids, and how far they reach.   The wicking tests have been carried out in both horizontal and vertical positions, to see if and if so, how much it differs, how far a fluid reaches. What emerged from the project is that all the liquids had the ability to wick. Methylene blue was the fluid that moved furthest in the horizontal position while urine moved furthest in the vertical position. The blood from bovine moved the shortest distance in both horizontal and vertical positions. What has, however, been difficult to determine is what the differences really depend on. Based on mathematical formulas for wicking, it has been found that the contact angle of the liquids should be important, but this have not been investigated in this project.

Det här examensarbetet om 15 högskolepoäng behandlar sågskyddstextilens bidrag till komfortnivån i sågskyddsplagg. Personlig skyddsutrustning kräver att materialet innehar specifika egenskaper vilka ofta står i konflikt med en god komfortnivå. För sågskyddsutrustning liksom flera andra typer av skyddsutrustning är det främst den termiska komforten som begränsas. Det kan få inverkar på både arbetsförmåga och hälsa för användaren, så att utrustningen inte bara höjer säkerheten utan samtidigt riskerar den. Variationen i mätbar termisk komfort har studerats genom att ett urval av varptrikåvaror avsedda att användas som sågskydd testats avseende komfortegenskaperna ångmotstånd, luftgenomsläpplighet och vätskeledningsförmåga. Resultatet har ställts mot konstruktionsvariablerna kvadratmetervikt och masktäthet med hjälp av linjär regression för att eventuella samband skulle framträda. Vidare har en enkätundersökning utförts med syfte att ge en bild av hur användaren av textil sågskyddsutrustning i form av sågskyddsbyxor uppfattar komforten eller bristen därav i ett sådant plagg. Resultatet av materialtesterna tyder på en stor variation vad gäller de testade egenskaperna. Störst var variationen i vätskeledningsförmåga och därefter ångmotstånd. Lägst var variationen i luftgenomsläpplighet. Genomgående var att inget material var bäst eller sämst i alla tester, utan materialen fick spridda placeringar räknat över de tre testmetoderna. Resultatet för de två foder som var med i testerna tyder på att val av foder kan få stor betydelse. Framförallt för vätskeledningsförmågan, där skillnaden mellan de två fodren var som störst. Resultatet av enkäten tillsammans med den genomförda litteraturundersökningen visar på att just termisk komfort är av största betydelse för användaren av textil sågskyddsutrustning. Det trots att även andra komfortbrister nämndes av de som svarade på enkäten. Genom att branschen anammar och arbetar vidare med resultatet av det här arbetet skulle lägsta nivån för termisk komfort hos sågskyddstextil kunna stiga. Dessutom skulle arbetet kunna bidra till en ökad medvetenhet hos branschen kring riskerna med för låg termisk komfort i skyddsutrustning. / Program: Textilingenjörsutbildningen

Solid-liquid contact angle is an important parameter in many particulate processes of the mineral, ceramic and chemical industries. In particular, modification of the contact angle through surface active agents plays a crucial role in froth flotation of minerals. In the case of flat solid surfaces, direct measurement of the contact angle is possible. However, such flat surfaces can not be obtained with finely divided solids typically encountered in flotation applications. Then, indirect methods based on powder beds as thin layers of powders deposited on glass plates or packed columns are used for the determination of apparent contact angles. This thesis presents an alternative novel method based on the capillaric dewatering of filter cakes for the measurement of the receding contact angle and correlates the contact angles measured as such with column wicking and micro-flotation test results of zircon and rutile mineral particles. The experimental procedure is simple and fast. The results have proven that the proposed method is reliable and give a good measure of the contact angle in the absence and presence of surface active non-wetting agents.

The effect of fabric structure and yarn-to-yarn liquid migration on the overall liquid transport behavior of fabrics is investigated in this research. Sorption of liquid from an unlimited reservoir as well as sorption of a limited quantity of liquid by fabrics representing different structural parameters is studied in detail. Sorption of a limited quantity of liquid is studied by performing drop spreading experiments on fabrics. The spreading and wicking of micron sized drops which are deposited on textile fabrics during ink jet printing is also studied. How the fabric structure related variables influence the spreading of ink drops and how exactly spreading influences printing quality is investigated in this research. Results showed that the wicking in fabrics is determined by the wicking rates of the yarns, thread spacing and more importantly by the rate at which liquid migrates from longitudinal to transverse threads and again from transverse threads back to longitudinal threads. Drop spreading rates were also determined by fabric structure. In general, compact and thinner fabrics showed highest drop spreading rates. Drop spreading rates are primarily affected by the manner and the rate at which liquid migrates from yarn to yarn. Analysis of the results of ink jet printing of pigment ink on textile fabrics showed that excessive drop spreading and higher line widths were observed where continuous and narrow capillaries prevail on the surface of yarns. Yarn surface characteristics are more important than fabric construction parameters.

In extreme weather conditions and activity levels of human subjects evaporation of sweat is critical for maintaining the sensorial and thermal comfort. Fabrics, from which clothes worn next to the skin are made, play an important role in facilitating the transfer of body liquid perspiration away from the skin to the environment through the mechanisms of capillary flow and evaporation. This work is a theoretical and experimental investigation of water flow characteristics of plain knitted fabrics with relevance to their structure geometry and constituent fibre chemistry. Plain knitted fabrics were produced by systematically varying different production parameters including fibre type, fibre orientation, yarn folding, yarn twist, yarn linear density, and blend ratio. Cotton and polyester fibres were used. Some commercial fabrics were included in the study. The gravimetric absorbency test system (GATS) was adapted for testing the water areal flow and uptake rates through the fabrics. Yarns taken from the produced fabrics were also tested for horizontal linear flow of liquid water. A theoretical model to predict the capillary flow of liquid water through yarns was proposed. The model is based on the representation of the inter-fibre pores in terms of the hydraulic radius theory. It is established that the plain knitted fabric configuration as interlocking of loops plays an important role in facilitating the capillary flow of liquid water through the fabric. The yarn contact at the crossover points of the knitted loop enables a connected path for liquid flow which increases at higher contact pressure at the crossover points. If the contact pressure increases beyond a certain limit it starts to negatively affect the flow because the higher pressure reduces yarn porosity. When the number of yarns in contact with the liquid source per unit area of the fabric plane increases the capillary flow increases. Fabric compactness, which is controlled by yarn diameter and stitch length, is an important fabric parameter that determines these effects the fabric configuration have on the capillary flow. The experiments and the micro-structural analysis revealed that inter-fibre pores within the plain knitted fabric transfer the capillary driven liquid water through the structure at a faster rate. These pores hold the higher percentage of the fabric total air volume. It was also established that both fibre chemical nature and yarn fine structure geometry have critical effects on the apparent contact angle which is a critical factor controling capillary flow of liquid water. The smooth yarn surface made of filament polyester fibre gave a low apparent contact angle in contrast with the constituent filament which showed a high real contact angle. On the contrary, due to the more disorderly fibre arrangement on the yarn surface, yarns made of the staple polyester fibre showed a similar high contact angle to the constituent fibre. The experimental results of capillary flow of liquid water through yarns showed a strong correlation with the estimated results based on the theoretical model derived from the Kozeny-Carman equation. The model provides theoretical basis for understanding the effects of the geometric and material parameters on the capillary flow through the yarn. The model predicts that as the total fibre perimeter within the yarn cross section increases, or yarn porosity decreases, the velocity decreases, however, the eventual distance the water travels through the yarn increases.

"Brownfields" are real estate property with subsurface or surface contamination. The redevelopment of Brownfields is required to clean, improve and protect the environment. Piles foundations are often used in Brownfields to support structures. Regulators are concerned about the environmental safety of pile foundations in Brownfields sites. Piling in Brownfields may lead to transport of contaminants from the contaminated region to the underground aquifers. The purpose of this investigation is to determine the potential for contaminant transport due to pile foundation in Brownfields. This investigation is an extension of previous research conducted at the University of New Orleans and ascertains the potential for contaminant transport from concrete piles of different shape, depth of penetration and method of installation. The results of large scale model tests and Finite Element studies are presented. The investigation indicates the possibility of contamination only in selected cases of piles.

Woven textile fabrics were designed and constructed from hydrophilic and hydrophobic spun yarns to give planar substrates containing amphiphilic microchannels with defined orientations and locations. Polypropylene fibers were spun to give hydrophobic yarns, and the hydrophilic yarns were spun from a poly(ethylene terephthalate) copolyester. Water wicking rates into the fabrics were measured by video microscopy and longitudinal wicking tests from single drops and from reservoirs. Intra-yarn microchannels in the hydrophilic polyester yarns were shown to selectively transport aqueous fluids, with the flow path governed by the placement of the hydrophilic yarns in the fabric. Simultaneous wicking of an aqueous and hydrocarbon fluid into the hydrophilic and hydrophobic microchannels of an amphiphilic fabric was successfully demonstrated. The high degree of interfacial contact and micron-scale diffusion lengths of such co-flowing immiscible fluid streams inside amphiphilic fabrics suggest potential applications as highly scalable and affordable microcontactors for industrial liquid-liquid extractions. The efficiency of liquid-liquid extractions carried out with the amphiphilic fabrics was evaluated. Solvent extraction efficiencies were shown to reach up to ~98%.

In general, the stability of suspension can be studied using two methods. <i>One</i> is to directly measure the forces between two interacting surfaces in media. <i>The other</i> is to study the interfacial surface free energies of the particles in suspension. Direct surface force measurements were conducted between silica surfaces in octadecyltrimetylammonium chloride (C₁₈TACl) solutions using an Atomic Force Microscope (AFM). The results showed that the hydrophobic force existed in both air-saturated and degassed C₁₈TACl solutions. The attraction decreased with NaCl addition, and was the strongest at the point of charge neutralization (p.c.n.) of silica substrate. The force measurement results obtained in C_nTACl solutions showed that the attractions decayed exponentially and became the maximum at the p.c.n.'s. The decay lengths (<i>D</i>) increased with surfactant chain length. The measured forces were fitted to a charged-patch model of Miklavic <i>et al</i>. (1994) with rather large patch sizes. It was also found that the decay length decreased linearly with the effective concentration of the CH2/CH3 groups raised to the power of -1/2. This finding is in line with the model of Eriksson <i>et al</i>. (1989). It suggested that the long-range attractions are hydrophobic forces originating from the changes in water structure across a hydrophobic surface-solution interface. For the TiO₂/water/TiO₂ system, the Hamaker constant was found to be 4±1×10^-20 J. The force curves obtained in the TiO₂/C_nTACl system showed a repulsion-attraction-repulsion transition with increasing surfactant concentration. The long-range attraction observed between TiO₂ surfaces in C_nTACl solutions reached maximum at the p.c.n., and the decay length increased with chain length. In present work, the thin-layer wicking technique was used to determine the surface free energy (γ_s) and its components of talc samples. The results showed that the basal surfaces of talc are weakly basic while the edge surfaces are acidic. The effect of chemicals on the surface free energies of talc was systemically studied. The results showed that CMC (carboxymethyl cellulose sodium salt) and EO/PO (ethylene oxide/propylene oxide) co-polymers made talc surface hydrophilic by increasing the surface free energies, especially γ^LW and γ^-. SOPA (sodium polyacrylate) increased greatly the zeta-potentials instead of the surface free energies. / Ph. D.

Nowadays the use of chemical gel injection for humid masonry provides many benefits. If we consider the financial aspects of this kind of remediation of humid masonry, we can say that this method is least expensive and time-consuming. In comparison with other remediation methods major interventions into the structure is not required, which could result in deterioration of the structural analysis of the works and the consequent need of special machinery, which subsequently increases spent effort and resources. There is also need for additional screens easily applied to walls breached by rising damp and this need is also required for research in dealing with this issue. Only a standard regulation dealing with remediation of wet masonry using chemical injection is directive WTA 4-4-04 / D – Injection of masonry against capillary moisture. From this point of view there is a clear need for further development in this area.

<div>Thermal desalination of high salinity water resources is crucial for increasing freshwater supply, but efficiency enhancements are badly needed. Nanomaterial enhancements and novel condensation regimes offer enormous potential for improving promising technologies like membrane distillation (MD). In this work, we first examined nanofluids for MD, including the role of nanoscale physics, and model system-level energy efficiency enhancements. Our model included the dominant micro-mixing from Brownian motion in fine particle nanofluids (copper oxide) and the unusually high axial conduction from phonon resonance through Van der Waals interaction in carbon nanotube nanofluids. Carbon nanotubes resulted in a consistent, wide range of improvements; while copper oxide particles showcased diminishing returns after a concentration of 0.7%, where Brownian motion effects reduced. However, the enhancements at higher concentrations from liquid layering around nanoparticles were impractical in MD, since the related high surfactant levels compromised the membrane hydrophobicity and promoted fouling. Dilute solutions of metallic nanofluids can be actively integrated to enhance the performance of MD, whereas stronger nanofluid solutions should be limited to heat exchangers that supply thermal energy to MD systems. We then investigated slippery liquid infused porous surfaces (SLIPS) for enhanced condensation rates in MD. Dropwise condensation heat transfer was modelled considering the effects of the departing, minimum droplet radii and the interfacial thermal resistances. Effective droplet shedding from these surfaces led to an experimental thermal efficiency of 95%. Alternatively, porous condensers with superior wicking properties and conductive heat transfer offered a robust solution to high salinity desalination. We modelled the onset of flooding in porous condensers using Darcy’s law for porous media, including the effects of the condenser permeability and determined the optimal condenser thickness at varying system length scales. The increased active area of condensation resulted in a significant enhancement (96.5%) in permeate production and 31.7% improvement in experimental thermal efficiency. However, porous condensers were only compatible with flat plate module designs limiting their practicality.</div>