Well-known dielectric image guide reach in millimeter-wave interesting results. Compared to a conventional types of lines and waveguides is characterised by low-through loss for frequencies approaching 100 GHz. This work is detail focused to basic characteristics and especially type of perforate highpermitivity substrate for obtain implemented waveguide to dielectric board (SIIG). The work also contains couple suggestions for various transitions from a commonly used lines and waveguides. Simulation results using finite element method is achieved attenuation values below 2 dB, which corresponds to a 2 cm length and include a waveguide itself with a pair of transitions. Finally, this work also designed the production method and SIIG applicatoin in practicle.

The thesis discusses an unconventional technology of wire-cut electro discharge machining. In the beginning there is a description of the basic principle, the fundamentals of electro discharge machining and its technological application. Further chapters characterise the wire-cut electro discharge machining, the wire electrodes used, the main parts of the machine, the cutting conditions and the advantages of this technology. The practical part is focused on the possibilities of the camera system during the production on a wire cutting machine and the comparison of nowaday´s machines in the manufacture of precise cutting tools in the middle-sized tool-room.

The dissertation thesis submitted deals with the study of dielectric properties of epoxy nanocomposites containing nanoparticles of inorganic oxides. These nanocomposites may have a promising technologic application for electric insulations in view of their higher resistance against partial discharges; yet information about their behavior in the course of ageing is not available. If at least a partial mass replacement of the currently used epoxy insulation with nanocomposite-based insulations is due to occur, the knowledge of the changes of their dielectric properties in the course of their operation will become indispensable. Within the framework of this dissertation, ensembles of samples of epoxy resins without fillers and with Al2O3, WO3, TiO2 and SiO2 fillers in the form of nanopowders, in concentrations up to 12 wt %, have been prepared. These ensembles have been measured prior to ageing and exposed to long-time (up to 5000 hours) ageing at increased temperatures 200, 250 and 300 °C and in a few cases also at 330 and 360 °C. Samples were measured in the course of ageing roughly in a logarithmic time series after 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, 500, 1000, 2000 and 5000 hours. The measured quantities included complex permittivity , internal resistivity i and loss factor tan at temperatures ranging from -153 °C to +167 °C and in the frequency range 10-2 – 106 Hz. Changes in nanocomposites have been investigated using not just dielectric spectroscopy measurements, but other methods, too, namely Fourier-transformed infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The experiments have proved that materials with different fillers respond to the same concentrations of various fillers in different ways. The addition of nanoparticles, without the addition of microparticles, at a relatively low concentration (max 12 wt %), was not sufficient for reaching fundamental changes in dielectric spectrum; only smaller changes of dielectric strength and shifts of relaxations and in relaxation maps have occurred. Out of more pronounced changes, increase of concentration of the SiO2 filler in the epoxy matrix brings about a decrease of electrical conductivity in the resulting nanocomposite. The TiO2 filler had a different impact. Different TiO2 concentrations make their marked appearance in the region between the relaxation and relaxation. The TiO2-filled nanocomposites do not exhibit the unambiguous dependence of electrical conductivity on nanofiller concentration. It can be concluded that the mere addition of nanoparticles, without the addition of established microparticles, does not change the dielectric spectrum substantially. Generally, a serious problem was the production of the nanocomposite with a uniform distribution of nanoparticles. The preparation of such a nanocomposite was not trivial and, in industrial applications, this issue will require a specific focus, so as to avoid the formation of undesirable aggregates. Within the framework of this research, a methodology for the production of an epoxy nanocomposite has been developed with as high as possible uniformity of nanoparticle distribution.

At the beginning, this master thesis briefly describes the principle of semiconductors. It states their types, methods of operation, fields of use, and it interprets the manner of semiconductor devices’ passivation. Then it introduces silicones, their properties and usage. Later on, this thesis summerize air humidity theory and materiál moisturing including mathematical interpretation. Next chapter is devoted to basics of dielectric materials’ behavior. And finally, the last part of this thesis estimates charakteristics of passivation materiál, Dow Corning HIPEC Q1-9205 silicone rubber.

L’analyse de la stabilité de formulations est primordiale dans de multiples secteurs industriels : pharmaceutique, cosmétique, agroalimentaire… Il existe donc de nombreuses techniques permettant de caractériser la stabilité de solutions colloïdales. Les méthodes les plus communément utilisées reposent sur l’analyse par diffraction de la lumière, comme le Turbiscan, développé par la société Formulaction, qui est un instrument de référence dans ce domaine. Cependant, de par leur principe de mesure, ces techniques ne sont pas suffisamment sensibles pour l’analyse d’échantillons fortement absorbants. Les autres méthodes existantes – l’analyse par ultrasons, par rayons X… - sont quant à elles complexes, requièrent la connaissance de propriétés difficilement accessibles, voire sont insensibles de par leur principe physique aux produits à base de noir de carbone, qui constituent la majeure partie du marché des produits dits noirs. Il existe donc un besoin concernant une méthode de mesure simple et non-intrusive qui permette d’étudier la stabilité de dispersions fortement absorbantes. Nous présentons dans ce manuscrit une nouvelle méthode de caractérisation, basée sur l’interaction entre les ondes électromagnétiques hyperfréquences et la dispersion fluidique à l’étude. Dans un premier temps, une modélisation des capteurs ainsi que de l’interaction entre ondes hyperfréquences et liquide est présentée, afin de comprendre les mécanismes de fonctionnement du système développé et d’en optimiser la sensibilité. Par la suite, nous avons corroboré les résultats de modélisation par des simulations hyperfréquences démontrant la sensibilité de la technique à une variation de permittivité effective du liquide, et par extension à une variation de fraction volumique. Forts de ces résultats, l’intégration du système de mesure complet comportant quatre capteurs a été réalisée puis le fonctionnement de la technique a été validé par mesures de solutions colloïdales modèles. Enfin, le système de mesure a été testé sur diverses dispersions plus complexes, permettant ainsi de valider la capacité de la technique hyperfréquence à caractériser la stabilité des solutions colloïdales, et par extension la stabilité de solutions colloïdales fortement absorbantes. / Stability analysis of formulations is essential in several industrial fields: pharmaceutical, cosmetics, agri-food… Therefore, many technics were developed to characterize the stability of colloidal suspensions. The most commonly used ones are based on light diffraction analysis, such as the Turbiscan developed by Formulaction, which is a reference instrument in the field. Nevertheless, because of the measurement principle, those techniques are not suitable for the analysis of highly absorbing samples. There are several other methods – acoustic measurements, X-rays diffraction spectrometry… - to analyse absorbing samples but they are complex, require a good knowledge of the sample properties or even are not sensitive to carbon based products, due to their physical principle, which constitute the larger part of the black products market. Therefore, there is a need for a new measurement method, simple and non-intrusive, that allows to study highly absorbing solutions stability. In this manuscript, we present a new characterization method, based on the interaction between microwaves and the fluidic dispersion under study. In a first time, a modelling of the sensors and the interactions between microwaves and the liquid will be presented, to understand the working of the developed system and to optimize it. Thereafter, we will corroborate the modelling results with microwave simulations, to demonstrate the sensitivity of the method to a variation of the effective permittivity of the liquid, and so to a variation of the volume fraction. Based on those results, the integration of the whole system, with the four sensors, will be realised and the functioning of the system will be validated by measuring reference colloidal suspensions. Finally, the measurement system will be tested on several complex suspensions, to validate the ability of the microwave method to characterise the stability of colloidal suspensions, and by extension of highly absorbing colloidal suspensions.

Thesis (PhD (Electrical Engineering))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2019 / This dissertation presents a concept for a compact, low-profile, integrated solar panel antenna for use on small satellites in low Earth orbit. To date, the integrated solar panel antenna design approach has primarily been, patch (transparent or non-transparent) and slot radiators. The design approach presented here is proposed as an alternative to existing designs. A prototype, comprising of an optically transparent rectangular dielectric resonator was constructed and can be mounted on top of a solar panel of a Cube Satellite. The ceramic glass, LASF35 is characterised by its excellent transmittance and was used to realise an antenna which does not compete with solar panels for surface area. Currently, no closed-form solution for the resonant frequency and Q-factor of a rectangular dielectric resonator antenna exists and as a first-order solution the dielectric waveguide model was used to derive the geometrical dimensions of the dielectric resonator antenna. The result obtained with the dielectric waveguide model is compared with several numerical methods such as the method of moments, finite integration technique, radar cross-section technique, characteristic mode analysis and finally with measurements. This verification approach was taken to give insight into the resonant modes and modal behaviour of the antenna. The interaction between antenna and a triple-junction gallium arsenide solar cell is presented demonstrating a loss in solar efficiency of 15.3%. A single rectangular dielectric resonator antenna mounted on a ground plane demonstrated a gain of 4.2 dBi and 5.7 dBi with and without the solar cell respectively. A dielectric resonator antenna array with a back-to-back Yagi-Uda topology is proposed, designed and evaluated. The main beam of this array can be steered can steer its beam ensuring a constant flux density at a satellite ground station. This isoflux gain profile is formed by the envelope of the steered beams which are controlled using a single digital phase shifter. The array achieved a beam-steering limit of ±66° with a measured maximum gain of 11.4 dBi. The outcome of this research is to realise a single component with dual functionality satisfying the cost, size and weight requirements of small satellites by optimally utilising the surface area of the solar panels.

The dielectric tensor of Ga2O3 in the monoclinic (β) phasewas determined by generalized spectroscopic ellipsometry in a wide spectral range from 0.5 eV to 8.5 eV as well as by density functional theory calculations combined with many-body perturbation theory including quasiparticle and excitonic effects. The dielectric tensors obtained by both methods are in excellent agreement with each other and the observed transitions in the dielectric function are assigned to the corresponding valence bands. It is shown that the off-diagonal element of the dielectric tensor reaches values up to |εxz| ≈ 0.30 and cannot be neglected. Even in the transparent spectral range where it is quite small (|εxz| < 0.02) it causes a rotation of the dielectric axes around the symmetry axis of up to 20◦.

The thesis &amp;quot;Anlre resolved dielectric response in carbon nanotubes&amp;quot; is dedicated to expounding the the anisotropy in the fundamental dielectric response of carbon nanotubes. While nanotubes are along their axis essentially planar graphene, the rolled up topology gives rise to entirely new features for perpendicular polarizations.

Deux séries d'échantillon à base de PVDF ont été élaborées avec différentes fractions de dioxyde de titane TiO2 en utilisant deux modes d'élaboration : dispersion des nanoparticules de TiO2 par voie fondue habituelle et génération des charges de TiO2 basée sur des réactions d'hydrolyse-condensations d'un alkoxyde de titane (le n-tétrabutoxyde de titane). Dans cette étude, quatre techniques ont été utilisées pour étudier les processus de relaxation dans les polymères semi-cristallins. Le microscope électronique à balayage (MEB) pour étudier la dispersion des nanoparticules de TiO2 dans la matrice PVDF. La calorimétrie différentielle à balayage (DSC) a été utilisée dans cette étude pour caractériser thermiquement les échantillons polymériques semi-cristallins. L'analyse thermo-gravimétrique (ATG) a été utilisée pour voir l'effet de nanoparticules sur les propriétés thermiques du PVDF. De plus, la technique de spectroscopie diélectrique a été utilisée dans la thèse pour étudier l'influence du processus d'élaboration sur la mobilité moléculaire trouvée dans ces systèmes. On a montré que le comportement de ces nanocomposites est proche de celui de PVDF pur. Les changements principaux observés sont le ralentissement de la dynamique de la relaxation alpha (associée à la température de transition vitreuse) et la relaxation alpha c (associée à la phase cristalline) en fonction de l'augmentation de fraction volumique TiO2. L'existence des charges piégées aux interfaces qui met en cause la présence de la polarisation interfaciale (IP) dans les différents nanocomposites a aussi été analysée. Les additions de TiO2 diminuent la mobilité des chaînes polymériques ce qui rend difficile l'orientation des dipôles électriques et augmente l'énergie d'activation de la relaxation de polarisation interfaciale / Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) films have been filled with different volume fraction of titanate dioxide TiO2 using two ways : dispersion in the melt or in-situ generation based on the hydrolysis-condensation reactions of titanium alkoxide inorganic precursor premixed with PVDF under molten conditions. In this study, four techniques were used to study the relaxation processes in the semi-crystalline polymers. The scanning electron microscope (SEM) was introduced in the field of polymer science to study the dispersion of TiO2 nanoparticules in the PVDF matrix. The differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) was used in this study to thermally characterize the semi-crystalline polymer samples. Thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) was used to see the effect of nanoparticles on the thermal properties of PVDF. In addition, the dielectric spectroscopy technique was used in the thesis to study the influence of the process on the molecular mobility found in these systems. It was shown that the behavior of PVDF as a matrix in these nanocomposite is close to that of pure PVDF. The main changes observed is the slowing down of the dynamics of the alpha a (associated to the glass transition temperature) and the alpha c (associated to the crystalline phase) relaxations as a function of the TiO2 volume fraction increase. The existence of charge carriers trapping at the interfaces related to the interfacial polarization (IP) in the different nanocomposites has also been analyzed. The additions of TiO2 decrease the mobility of the polymer chains which makes difficult the orientation of electric dipole moment ending in an increase of the energy of activation of IP relaxation

<p>Soft actuators and sensors are currently used in many industrial applications due to their capability to produce an accurate response. Researchers have studied dielectric electroactive polymers (DEAPs) because these types of structures can be utilized as actuators and as sensors being able to convert electrical energy into mechanical and vice versa. However, production of this kind of structures is complex and in general involve several steps that are time consuming. Customization of these types of structures will be ideal to enhance the performance of the devices based on the specific application. 3D printing technologies have emerged as innovative manufacturing processes that could improve fabrication speed, accuracy, and consistency with low cost. This additive manufacturing technique allows for the possibility of increased device complexity with high versatility. </p> <p>This research studied the potential of 3D printing technologies to produce DEAPs, soft actuators, and flexible sensors. The study presents novel designs of these composite flexible structures, utilizing the most flexible conductive and nonconductive materials available for fused deposition modeling, achieving versatility and high performance in the produced devices. <a>Produced DEAP actuators showed an actuation and electric resistivity higher than other electroactive structures like shape memory alloys and ferroelectric polymers.</a> In addition, this research describes the electromechanical characterization of a flexible thermoplastic polyurethane, (TPU), produced by additive manufacturing, including measurement of the dielectric constant, percentage radial elongation, tensile proprieties, pre-strain effects on actuation, surface topography, and measured actuation under high voltage. DEAP actuators were produced with two different printing paths, concentric circles and lines, showed an area expansion of 4.73% and 5.71% respectively. These structures showed high resistance to electric fields having a voltage breakdown of 4.67 kV and 5.73 kV respectively. <a>Those results are similar to the resistant of the most used dielectric material “VHB 4910”. </a></p> <p>The produced soft pneumatic actuators were successfully 3D printed in one continuous process without support material. The structures were totally sealed without the use of any sealing material or post process. Computational simulations were made to predict the response of the designed structures under different conditions. These results were compared with experimental results finding that the theoretical model is able to predict the response of the printed actuators with an error of less than 7%. This error is satisfactorily small for modeling 3D printed structures and can be further minimized by characterization of the elastomeric material. Besides that, two different grippers were designed based on the opening and closing movements of single bellows actuators. The functionality of both designs was simulated and tested, finding that both designs are capable lifting a heavier rigid structure. </p> <p>Finally, this study presents a computational simulation of a 3D printed flexible sensor, capable of producing an output signal based on the deformation caused by external forces. Two different sensors were designed and tested, working based on a capacitance and resistance change produced by structural deformation. Computational analysis indicate the capacitance sensor should undergo change of capacitance from 3 to 8.5 pF when is exposed to 30 kPa; and the resistance sensor should experience an increase from 101.8 to 103 kΩ when is exposed to 30 kPa. </p>