Graduation date: 1992

The development of a Doppler Global Veocimetry (DGV) system is described. An argon ion laser has been modified to suit the requirements of DGV. An etalon with high precision tilting control has been mounted in the laser cavity. The backward mirror of the laser cavity has been mounted on a piezotranslator for controlling the laser cavity length. Two iodine cells have been designed and manufactured: one with a bead of iodine in the cell volume, the other with a limited amount of iodine. The iodine absorption line of both cells has been calibrated with good repeatibility. The laser has been stabilized in frequency, so that operations during a measurement session in the lab are simplified. The capabilities of DGV measurements have been tested in two jets, at low and at high speeds. Velocity fluctuations of the jet could be followed, in spite of the highly noisy signals. The first steps towards three velocity component measurements with a single camera in a difficult environment such as the geometry of a turbomchinery cascade have been made. Imaging two views of a target on the same camera sensor is discussed, along with the spatial and luminosity calibration required.

Situées entre l'infrarouge et les micro-ondes, les ondes dites "terahertz" (THz) ont les propriétés de passer aussi bien à travers la peau et les vêtements que les papiers, le bois, le carton ou encore le plastique. Autant d'atouts qui permettent d'envisager de multiples applications dans les secteurs de l'imagerie médicale, de la spectroscopie, de la sécurité et de l'environnement. D'où l'intérêt que suscitent les lasers à cascade quantique terahertz, une récente famille de lasers semi-conducteurs qui émettent à des fréquences de l'ordre du terahertz. Pourtant, s'ils sont aujourd'hui les seules sources compactes fonctionnant dans cette gamme de fréquences, ils présentent deux inconvénients : Premièrement, ils ne fonctionnent qu'à des températures cryogéniques. En vue d'une augmentation future de la température maximale de fonctionnement (Tmax), nous avons développé une étude comparative en fonction de la fré- quence d'émission, ce qui a permis de déterminer les mécanismes principaux limitant la Tmax (courant parasite ainsi que l'émission de phonons optiques lon- gitudinaux activés thermiquement). Deuxièmement, afin d'obtenir les meilleures Tmax, l'utilisation d'un guide métal- métal est nécessaire. Néanmoins, dans un tel guide, l'émission obtenue est fortement divergente, ce qui s'avère rédhibitoire pour une utilisation généralisée. Pour résoudre ce point, nous avons intégrés des cristaux photoniques bidimensionnels définis uniquement par la géométrie du métal supérieur, ce qui a permis l'obtention d'une émission directive par la surface, spectralement mono-mode, tout en maintenant des températures de fonctionnement assez élevées.

This thesis focuses on addressing some important aspects of the life cycle of interstellar clouds through observational submillimeter and millimeter-wave studies of star formation and molecular cloud environments and the development of instrumentation to enable these studies.We examine the influence of star formation on parent molecular clouds through a case study of protostellar sources in the Mon OB1 northern cloud complex. An energetics analysis of these star forming regions and associated molecular outflows was carried out, suggesting that the cloud complex maintains its overall integrity, except along outflow axes and that the coupling between outflow kinetic energy and cloud turbulent energy is weak, < ~0.5%. In order to study the larger picture of cloud formation and disruption, this work was expanded to explore the molecular environment at cloud boundaries. To this end, acloud edge survey was undertaken consisting of multi-transition strip scan observations of CO and 13CO toward molecular clouds with a broad range of stellar and star forming characteristics. Our work supports the interpretation that cloud formation is taking place along the southeastern edge of Heiles Cloud 2, and the results will be used as a framework for guiding the analysis of other surveyed cloud edges.Achieving observational capabilities enabling effective studies of life cycles of the ISM is becoming possible through a new generation of heterodyne spectroscopic instruments. Here, we report on characterization measurements of a prototype mixer unit for the 64-pixel SuperCam array, an instrument commissioned to mapover 500 square degrees of the Galactic Plane with very high resolution at 345 GHz. These measurements were crucial to verifying the overall array design and anticipating its performance. Spectroscopic capabilities at THz (< 300 microns) frequencies permits access to a host of diagnostic tools (e.g., high-J CO, CI, NII, & CII) uniquely suited to probe crucial properties of the ISM. The development of heterodynetechnology at these frequencies is largely limited by availability of compact, powerful sources of local oscillator power. We explore the use of waveguide spatial filters in conjunction with Quantum Cascade Lasers, a promising power source at frequenciesabove ~ 2 THz.

Networks and the relationships embedded in them are critical determinants of how people communicate, form beliefs, and behave. E-commerce platforms such as Amazon and eBay have made actions of "strangers" more observable to others. More recently, social media websites such as Facebook and Google Plus have created networks of "friends", and the actions of these friends have become more visible than ever before to consumers. This dissertation develops an analytical model to examine how social learning occurs in different types of networks. Specifically, I examine the pure-strategy perfect Bayesian equilibrium of observational learning in a friend-network vs. a stranger-network. In this model, each individual makes an adopt-or-reject decision about a product after receiving a private signal regarding the underlying quality of the product and observing past actions of other individuals in the network. Grounded on the homophily theory in sociology, the degree of network heterogeneity defines the key difference between a friend-network and a stranger-network. I show a threshold effect of network size regarding which network carries more valuable information: when the network size is small, a friend-network carries more valuable information than a stranger-network does. But when the network size gets larger, a stranger-network dominates a friend-network. This suggests two competing effects of network homogeneity on social learning: individual preference effects and social conforming effects. I also test key implications from theoretical results using experiments to demonstrate internal validity and enhance insights on social learning in networks. I found that experimental results are in line with predictions from the theoretical model.

An accurate determination of muscle force is desired in many applications in different fields such as ergonomics, sports medicine, prosthetics, human-robot interaction and medical rehabilitation. Since individual muscle forces cannot be directly measured, force estimation using recorded electromyographic (EMG) signals has been extensively studied. This usually involves interpretation and analysis of the recorded EMG to estimate the underlying neuromuscular activity which is related to the force produced by the muscle. Although invasive needle electrode EMG recordings have provided substantial information about neuromuscular activity at the motor unit (MU) level, there is a risk of discomfort, injury and infection. Thus, non-invasive methods are preferred and surface EMG (SEMG) recording is widely used. However, physiological and non-physiological factors, including phase cancelation, tissue filtering, cross-talk from other muscles and non-optimal electrode placement, affect the accuracy of SEMG-based force estimation. In addition, the relative movement of the muscle bulk and the innervation zone (IZ) with respect to the electrode attached to the skin are two major challenges to overcome in force estimation during dynamic contractions. The objective of this work is to improve the accuracy of SEMG-based force estimation under static conditions, and devise methods that can be applied to force estimation under dynamic conditions. To achieve this objective, a novel calibration technique is proposed, which corrects for variations in the SEMG with changing joint angle. In addition, a modeling technique, namely parallel cascade identification (PCI) that can deal with non-linearities and dynamics in the SEMG-force relationship is applied to the force estimation problem. Finally, a novel integrated sensor that senses both SEMG and surface muscle pressure (SMP) is developed and the two signal modalities are used as input to a force prediction model. The experimental results show significant improvement in force prediction using data calibrated with the proposed calibration method, compared to using non-calibrated data. Joint angle dependency and the sensitivity to the location of the sensor in the SEMG-force relationship is reduced with calibration. The SEMG-force estimation error, averaged over all subjects, is reduced by 44\% for PCI modeling compared to another modeling technique (fast orthogonal search) applied to the same dataset. Significantly improved force estimation results are also achieved for dynamic contractions when joint angle based calibration and PCI are combined. Using SMP in addition to SEMG leads to significantly better force estimation compared to using only SEMG signals. The proposed methods have the potential to be combined and used to obtain better force estimation in more complicated dynamic contractions and for applications such as improved control of remote robotic systems or powered prosthetic limbs. / Thesis (Ph.D, Electrical & Computer Engineering) -- Queen's University, 2013-08-20 20:46:56.897

A problem that has become apparently growing in the deployment of renewable energy systems is the power grids inability to accept the forecasted growth in renewable energy generation integration. To support forecasted growth in renewable generation integration, it is now recognised that Energy Storage Technologies (EST) must be utilised. Recent advances in Hydrogen Energy Storage Technologies (HEST) have unlocked their potential for use with constrained renewable generation. HEST combines Hydrogen production, storage and end use technologies with renewable generation in either a directly connected configuration, or indirectly via existing power networks. A levelised cost (LC) model has been developed within this thesis to identify the financial competitiveness of the different HEST application scenarios when used with grid constrained renewable energy. Five HEST scenarios have been investigated to demonstrate the most financially competitive configuration and the benefit that the by-product oxygen from renewable electrolysis can have on financial competitiveness. Furthermore, to address the lack in commercial software tools available to size an energy system incorporating HEST with limited data, a deterministic modelling approach has been developed to enable the initial automatic sizing of a hybrid renewable hydrogen energy system (HRHES) for a specified consumer demand. Within this approach, a worst-case scenario from the financial competitiveness analysis has been used to demonstrate that initial sizing of a HRHES can be achieved with only two input data, namely – the available renewable resource and the load profile. The effect of the electrolyser thermal transients at start-up on the overall quantity of hydrogen produced (and accordingly the energy stored), when operated in conjunction with an intermittent renewable generation source, has also been modelled. Finally, a mass-transfer simulation model has been developed to investigate the suitability of constrained renewable generation in creating hydrogen for a hydrogen refuelling station.

Mémoire numérisé par la Direction des bibliothèques de l'Université de Montréal.

High-fidelity chemical kinetic models for low-temperature combustion processes require high-fidelity data from fundamental experiments conducted in idealized transient reactors, such as shock tubes and rapid compression machines (RCM). Non-intrusive laser absorption diagnostics, in particular quantum cascade lasers (QCL) in the mid-infrared wavelength region, provide a unique opportunity to obtain quantitative, time-resolved species concentration and temperature from these reactive systems. In this work, three novel laser absorption diagnostics in the mid-infrared wavelength region are presented for three different experimental applications. The first diagnostic was developed for measuring CO2 concentration using an external cavity QCL centered in the ν3 fundamental vibrational band of CO2. Absorption cross-sections were measured in a shock tube, at a fixed wavelength for the R(32) line centered at 2371.42 cm-1 (4.217 µm) over 700 – 2900 K and nominal pressures of 1, 5 and 10 bar. The diagnostic was used to measure rate coefficients for the reaction between carbon monoxide and hydroxyl radical over 700 – 1230 K and 1.2 – 9.8 bar using highly dilute mixtures. The second diagnostic was developed for measuring CO concentration using a pulsed QCL centered at 2046.28 cm-1 (4.887 µm) and an off-axis cavity implemented on the RCM. The duty cycle and pulse repetition rate of the laser were optimized for increased tuning range, high chirp rate and increased line-width to achieve effective laser-cavity coupling. A gain factor of 133 and time resolution of 10 μs were demonstrated. CO concentration-time profiles during the oxidation of highly dilute n-heptane/air mixtures were recorded and compared with chemical kinetic models. This represents the first application of a cavity-enhanced absorption diagnostic in an RCM. Finally, a calibration-free temperature diagnostic based on a pair of pulsed QCLs centered at 2196.66 cm-1 and 2046.28 cm-1 was implemented on the RCM. The down-chirp phenomenon resulted in large spectral tuning (∆v ~ 2.8 cm-1) within a single pulse of each laser at a high pulse repetition frequency (100 kHz). The diagnostic for was used to measure the temperature rise during first-stage ignition of n-pentane at nominal pressures of 10 and 15 bar for the first time.

Natural products are a rich source of lead compounds for treatment of cancer as well as other diseases. Researchers at the National Cancer Institute, as part of their continuing effort to discover anticancer agents from natural sources, created the 60 human tumor cell-line anticancer screen to test natural products for their potential against various types of cancer. Through this screening process a family of natural products called schweinfurthins was discovered to possess potent and differential activity. Of potentially great significance, the pattern of activity that the schweinfurthins displayed in the screen does not correlate with any currently used anticancer drug, indicating that the schweinfurthins likely act via a previously unknown mechanism or on a novel target. Our group has synthesized many of the natural schweinfurthins as well as numerous analogues in an effort to probe the pharmacophore and gain understanding of the key features that are important for potency as well as differential activity. During the course of these studies, it was discovered that the right-half of the molecule is most amenable for modifications. One potential modification to the schweinfurthins is to replace the resorcinol substructure seen in the right-half of the natural product with a heteroaromatic moiety such as a benzofuran or indole system. This change may produce analogues that are potentially more active, that contain motifs that are seen in many therapeutic drugs, and that have improved chemical stability relative to the natural products. With this goal in mind benzofuran and indole containing schweinfurthin analogues were synthesized. Once these compounds were prepared, it was found that such modifications were welltolerated, and in the case of the indole analogues activity in the 60 cell-line screen was equivalent to the corresponding natural product. In an effort to improve that activity, prenyl and geranyl side chains were added to the indole system, at both the C-2 and C-3 positions, to better match the structure of the natural schweinfurthins. In addition, analogues methylated selectively on the indole nitrogen or phenol were synthesized to improve stability. The impact of those modifications on the activity was tested, and potent compounds were found. The left-half of the schweinfurthins is prepared via a Lewis acid mediated cascade of a geranyl epoxide. The protecting group that is typically employed on the terminating phenol, a methoxymethyl ether or MOM group, is cleaved during the reaction. In the past preparation of an analogue that lacked a substituent at the C-5 position, it was found that the MOM cation released during the cyclization would participate in an electrophilic aromatic substitution reaction at the neighbouring position which resulted in the formation of a benzyl methyl ether. In order to probe the scope of this reaction and its potential utility in the synthesis of natural products, several geranyl epoxides with various "protecting groups" on the phenol were prepared and subjected to the cyclization conditions. These investigations have established that stabilization of the liberated cation determines the likelihood and regioselectivity of a tandem electrophilic aromatic substitution reaction.