Vertically aligned multi walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) arrays fabricated by xylene pyrolysis in anodized aluminum oxide (AAO) templates without the use of a catalyst, were integrated into a resistive sensor design. The steady state sensitivities as high as 5% and 10% for 100 ppm of NH3 and NO2 respectively at a flow rate of 750 sccm were observed. A study was undertaken to elucidate (i) the dependence of sensitivity on the thickness of amorphous carbon layers, (ii) the effect of UV light on gas desorption characteristics and (iii) the dependence of room temperature sensitivity on different NH3 and NO2 flow rates. An equivalent circuit model was developed to understand the operation and propose design changes for increased sensitivity. Multi Walled Carbon NanoTubes (MWCNTs) – Polymer composite based hybrid sensors were fabricated and integrated into a resistive sensor design for gas sensing applications. Thin films of MWCNTs were grown onto Si/SiO2 substrates via xylene pyrolysis using chemical vapor deposition technique. Polymers like PEDOT:PSS and Polyaniline (PANI) mixed with various solvents like DMSO, DMF, 2-Propanol and Ethylene Glycol were used to synthesize the composite films. These sensors exhibited excellent response and selectivity at room temperature when exposed to low concentrations (100ppm) of gases like NH3 and NO2. Effect of various solvents on the sensor response imparting selectivity to CNT – Polymer nanocomposites was investigated extensively. Sensitivities as high as 28% was observed for a MWCNT – PEDOT:PSS composite sensor when exposed to 100ppm of NH3 and -29.8% sensitivity for a MWCNT-PANI composite sensor to 100ppm of NO2. A novel nanostructured electrode design for Li based batteries and electrochemical capacitor applications was developed and tested. High density and highly aligned metal oxide nanowire arrays were fabricated via template assisted electrochemical deposition. Nickel and Molybdenum nanowires fabricated via cathodic deposition process were converted into respective oxides via thermal treatments and were evaluated as electrodes for batteries and capacitor applications via Cyclic Voltammetery (CV). Several chemical baths were formulated for the deposition of pristine molybdenum nanowires. Superior electrochemical performance of metal (Ni and Mo) oxide nanowires was observed in comparison to the previously reported nano-particle based electrodes.

Free-flowing water currents such as tides and unregulated water courses could contribute to world electricity production given the emergence of robust technical solutions for extracting the energy. At Uppsala University, a concept for converting the energy in water currents to electricity using a vertical axis turbine with fixed blade-pitch and a direct-drive permanent magnet generator is studied. Technological equipment for extracting energy from water currents can be studied at desktop to some extent, but physical realizations, first in a laboratory setting, and later in a natural aquatic setting, are necessary. For this reason, a laboratory generator has been constructed and evaluated, and an experimental setup comprising turbine, generator and control system has been constructed. The turbine and generator are to be deployed in the Dalälven River in Söderfors, and operated from an on-land control station. The author has worked with constructing and evaluating the low-speed laboratory generator, participated in the design and construction of the Söderfors generator, and designed and constructed the control system for Söderfors. The generator design incorporates a low rotational speed, permanent magnets, and many poles, in order to adapt the generator to the nature of water currents. Simulations and experimental data for the laboratory prototype have been compared and show that the simulation tool used is adequate for design studies of this type of generator. The generator has also been shown to be able to operate with the intended turbine design and range of water velocities. The control system to be used in Söderfors has been tested in a laboratory environment. Simulations of the control system show that it should be able to operate the turbine and generator at the desired rotational speeds in water velocities up to about 1.8 m/s. Simulations of the system have also shown that maximizing system power output may not correspond with maximizing turbine power.

The motion of ocean waves can be captured and converted into usable electricity. This indicates that wave power has the potential to supply electricity to grids like wind or solar power. A point absorbing wave energy converter (WEC) system has been developed for power production at Uppsala University. This system contains a semi-submerged buoy on the water surface driving a linear synchronous generator placed on the seabed. The concept is to connect many small units together, to form a wave farm for large-scale electricity generation. A lot of effort has gone into researching how to enhance the power absorption from each WEC unit. These improvements are normally done separately for the buoy, the generator or the electrical system, due to the fact that modelling the dynamic behavior of the entire WEC system is complicated and time consuming. Therefore, a quick, yet simple, assessment tool is needed.  This thesis focuses on studying the use of the equivalent circuit as a WEC system modelling tool. Based on the force analysis, the physical elements in an actual WEC system can be converted into electrical components. The interactions between the regular waves, the buoy, and the Power Take-off mechanism can be simulated together in one circuit network. WEC performance indicators like the velocity, the force, and the power can be simulated directly from the circuit model. Furthermore, the annual absorbed electric energy can be estimated if the wave data statistics are known. The linear and non-linear equivalent circuit models developed in this thesis have been validated with full scale offshore experimental results. Comparisons indicate that the simplest linear circuit can predict the absorbed power reasonably well, while it is not so accurate in estimating the peak force in the connection line. The non-linear circuit model generates better estimations in both cases. To encourage researchers from different backgrounds to adapt and apply the circuit model, an instruction on how to establish a non-linear equivalent circuit model is supplied, as well as on how to apply the model to accelerate the decision making process when planning a WEC system.

Au cours des six dernières décennies, la culture cellulaire est devenue une pratique courante. Elle est un outil majeur de la recherche biologique pour la compréhension du vivant, l'étude de maladies et la découverte de nouveaux médicaments. Elle représente un outil très répandu dans de nombreuses industries étant impliquées dans la production de produits alimentaires, cosmétiques et pharmaceutiques.Cependant, les cultures cellulaires en recherche et en industrie sont aujourd'hui confrontées à des limites et soulèvent des besoins à satisfaire. Elles sont toutes deux associées à des coûts élevés du fait des ressources nécessaires (cellules, réactifs, opérateurs qualifiés). Plus précisément, la culture en recherche est caractérisée par le faible débit des expériences, une variabilité importante et un risque de contamination due à la répétition d'opérations manuelles. De plus, les expériences de culture sont effectuées dans des conditions statiques et sur des modèles (cultures 2D, animaux...) relativement éloignés de la physiologie humaine. La culture cellulaire industrielle, quant à elle, a besoin de systèmes miniaturisés qui miment les procédés des bioréacteurs à grande échelle et qui offrent des possibilités de criblage plus élevés.Les systèmes de culture microfluidique représentent un outil prometteur pour résoudre ces problèmes et ces besoins. Le changement de comportement de la physique à petite échelle dans ces dispositifs permet de contrôler temporellement et spatialement le microenvironnement des cellules. Ce qui n'est pas possible avec des méthodes de culture classiques. Le degré d'automatisation et d'intégration permet une nette augmentation du nombre d'expériences par système et la réduction conséquente de la consommation de ressources. Ainsi, de nombreuses petites architectures 3D cellulaires cultivées dans des conditions dynamiques et à haut débit ont été réalisées et ont démontré leur capacité à recréer rapidement des environnements plus physiologiques. En ce qui concerne la culture industrielle, des cultures miniaturisées ont déjà montré leur capacité à reproduire les caractéristiques observées dans les macrobioreactors avec des possibilités de criblages élevées.Dans ce contexte, un bioréacteur microfluidique de paillasse, se conformant aux formats standards utilisés dans le laboratoire d'accueil, a été fabriqué avec succès au cours de cette thèse pour effectuer des cultures cellulaires en continu. Des solutions intégrées ont été mises au point pour fournir de façon continue les conditions adéquates pour la prolifération cellulaire (perfusion, régulation de température…). Des études ont également été menées afin d'automatiser la récolte des cellules avec pour but final de cultiver ces cellules sur du long terme dans le bioréacteur.Le système fabriqué garantit ainsi des conditions stériles pour les cultures sur un simple banc de laboratoire. En outre, ces cultures ont été réalisées de façon autonome sans utiliser un incubateur encombrant. Dans ces conditions, le bioréacteur permet de réaliser des cultures en continu de divers types cellulaires sur plusieurs jours: des cellules d'insectes ont été cultivées pendant 5 jours et des cellules de mammifère pendant 3 jours. En ce qui concerne les cultures de cellules de mammifère, une avancée majeure a été effectuée par rapport aux cultures réalisées dans les systèmes microfluidiques en utilisant comme support de culture des microporteurs (diam. : 175 µm).Bien que la culture de cellules sur microporteurs soit réalisée en routine dans l'industrie, aucun système de culture microfluidique autonome n'a encore intégré ce type de culture. Ce genre de miniaturisation est une avancée majeure pour des applications en bioprocédés où il devrait permettre de raccourcir et réduire les coûts associés au développement de bioproduits. / Over the past six decades, cell culture has become a common practice. It is a major tool in biological research for the understanding of life science, such as the study of disease and the discovery of new drugs. It plays an important role in many industries since it is involved in the production of many food, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical products.However, Research and the industry are now facing some limits and are expressing needs to be addressed. They are both associated with high costs due to a large consumption of resources (cells, reagents, qualified operators). More specifically, cell culture in research is characterized by low throughput of experiments, important variability and risk of contamination due to the recurrent manual operations performed by operators. Additionally, experiments are performed in static conditions and on models (2D cultures, animals…) which poorly resemble the human physiology. Industrial cell culture needs miniaturized systems that mimic the large scale bioreactors and offer higher screening possibilities.Microfluidic cell culture systems represent a promising tool to address the aforementioned issues and needs. The change of physical behaviors at the small-scale in microfluidic devices allow controlling temporally and spatially the cell microenvironment, unattainable with conventional cell culture methods. The level of automation and integration allows the substantial increase of the number of experience per system and considerable reduction of resource consumption. Thus, many small cellular 3D architectures grown under dynamic conditions and in high-throughput have been performed and have demonstrated their ability to quickly re-create more physiological environments. Regarding the industrial culture, miniaturized cultures have already shown their ability to reproduce the characteristics of the culture observed in macrobioreactors with higher screening capabilities.In this framework, a benchtop microfluidic bioreactor, complying with the standard microfluidic platform and format used in the host laboratory, has been successfully fabricated to perform continuous cell cultures. Integrated solutions were developed to provide continuously the adequate conditions for cell proliferation (perfusion, thermal regulation…). Integrated cell harvest was also performed with the final goal to achieve long-term cell culture in the bioreactor.The fabricated system proved to guarantee sterile conditions for cell cultures on a regular lab bench. Moreover, these cultures were achieved autonomously without requiring a cumbersome incubator. In these conditions, the bioreactor demonstrated the possibility to perform continuous cell cultures of various cell types during several days: insects cells were cultured during 5 days and mammalian cells during 3 days. Regarding the mammalian cell cultures performed, a breakthrough has been achieved compared to the cultures performed in microfluidic systems since microcarriers (diam.:175 µm) were used as growth support.Although microcarrier cell culture is routinely performed in the industry, no autonomous microfluidic culture system has addressed this type of culture yet. Such a miniaturization is a major step forward for bioprocess applications where the need to develop scale-down bioreactors that mimic large scale operation has been clearly identified to shorten and reduce the costs associated to bioproduct development.

Sneak path current is a significant remaining obstacle to the utilization of large crossbar arrays for non-volatile memories and other applications of memristors. A two-terminal selector device with an extremely large current-voltage nonlinearity and low leakage current could solve this problem. We present here a Ag/oxide-based threshold switching (TS) device with attractive features such as high current-voltage nonlinearity (~1010), steep turn-on slope (less than 1 mV/dec), low OFF-state leakage current (~10-14 A), fast turn ON/OFF speeds (<75/250 ns), and good endurance (>108 cycles). The feasibility of using this selector with a typical memristor has been demonstrated by physically integrating them into a multilayered 1S1R cell. Structural analysis of the nanoscale crosspoint device suggests that elongation of a Ag nanoparticle under voltage bias followed by spontaneous reformation of a more spherical shape after power off is responsible for the observed threshold switching of the device. Such mechanism has been quantitatively verified by the Ag nanoparticle dynamics simulation based on thermal diffusion assisted by bipolar electrode effect and interfacial energy minimization.

Alternative energy research into hydrogen production via water electrolysis addresses environmental and sustainability concerns associated with fossil fuel use. Renewable-powered electrolyzers are foreseen to produce hydrogen if energy and cost requirements are achieved. Electrocatalysts reduce the energy requirements of operating electrolyzers by lowering the reaction kinetics at the electrodes. Platinum group metals (PGMs) tend to be utilized as electrocatalysts but are not readily available and are expensive. Ni1-xMox alloys, as low-cost and earth-abundant transition metal nanoparticles (NPs), are emerging as promising electrocatalyst candidates to replace expensive PGM catalysts in alkaline media. Pure-phase cubic and hexagonal Ni1-xMox alloy NPs with increasing Mo content (0–11.4%) were synthesized as electrocatalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). In general, an increase in HER activity was observed with increasing Mo content. The cubic alloys were found to exhibit significantly higher HER activity in comparison to the hexagonal alloys, attributed to the higher Mo content in the cubic alloys. However, the compositions with similar Mo content still favored the cubic phase for higher activity. To produce a current density of -10 mA/cm2, the cubic and hexagonal alloy NPs require over-potentials ranging from -62 to -177 mV and -162 to -242 mV, respectively. The cubic alloys exhibited over-potentials that rival commercial Pt-based electrocatalysts (-68 to -129 mV at -10 mA/cm2). The cubic Ni0.934Mo0.066 alloy NPs showed the highest alkaline HER activity of the electrocatalysts studied and therefore a patent application was submitted. Bulk Ni–Mo phases have been known as electrocatalysts for the HER for decades, while recently transition metal phosphides (TMPs) have emerged as stable and efficient PGM alternatives. Specifically, Ni2P has demonstrated good HER activity and improved stability for both alkaline and acidic media. However, Ni2P electrocatalysts are a compromise between earth-abundance, performance (lower than Ni–Mo and PGMs) and stability. For the first time Ni–Mo–P electrocatalysts were synthesized with varying atomic ratios of Mo as electrocatalysts for alkaline HER. Specific phases, compositions and morphologies were studied to understand the intrinsic properties of TMPs leading to high HER activity. The Ni1.87Mo0.13P and Ni10.83Mo1.17P5 NPs were shown to be stable for 10 h at –10 mA cm-2 with over-potentials of –96 and –82 mV in alkaline media, respectively. The Ni1.87Mo0.13P and Ni10.83Mo1.17P5 NPs exhibited an improved performance over the synthesized Ni2P sample (–126 mV at –10 mA cm-2), likely a result of the overall phosphorous content and hetero-structured morphologies. A strong correlation between phase dependence and the influence of Mo on HER activity needs to be further investigated. Furthermore, understanding the intrinsic properties of electrocatalysts leading to high water splitting performance and stability can apply electrocatalysts in other research applications, such as photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting, water remediation and sustainable chemical processing applications. Contributions to photocatalytic water remediation and electrochemical chlorinated generation to halogenate pyridone-based molecules are reported. Electrochemical techniques were developed and reported herein to aid in understanding electrochemical performance, chemical mechanisms and the stability of electrocatalysts at the electrode-electrolyte interfaces.

With the desire to improve passenger safety and fuel efficiency, Ultra High Strength Steels (UHSS) have been developed for use in the automotive industry. UHSS are high strength steels with high ductility and strength. DP 980 is one of these UHSS being applied in automobile manufacturing. DP 980 is difficult to join with Resistance Spot Welding (RSW) because of the high carbon content and alloying in this material. The weld becomes brittle when it solidifies during the welding process. With the desire and motivation of widely using UHSS, new welding processes are needed to be developed in order to effectively join DP 980. Friction Stir Spot Welding (FSSW) is a developing welding process aimed to replace RSW in the automotive industry because of its ability to join materials at a lower temperature. Currently the welding loads of the tools are higher than 2000 pounds, ranging from 3,000 to 5,000 pounds, which exceeds the limit of the welding robots in the automotive factories. It is proposed that the welding loads can be reduced by increasing the spindle speed of the FSSW tool. Other focuses in the research include increasing the life of the tool and developing acceptable welding parameters for High Speed FSSW. The experimental work done for this thesis provided support that weld strength can be obtained at levels above the acceptable standard for DP 980 material (greater than 2400 pound lap shear fracture load for 1.2 mm material) while keeping the vertical load on the welding machine spindle below 2000 lbs.

Friction stir spot welding (FSSW) is quickly becoming a method of interest for welding of high strength steel (HSS) and ultra high strength steel (UHSS). FSSW has been shown to produce high quality welds in these materials, without the drawbacks associated with fusion welding. Tool grade for polycrystalline cubic boron nitride (PCBN) tools has a significant impact on wear resistance, weld quality, and tool failure in FSSW of DP 980 steel sheet. More specifically, for a nominal composition of 90% CBN, the grain size has a significant impact on the wear resistance of the tool. A-type tools performed the best, of the three grades that were tested in this work, because the grain size of this grade was the finest, measuring from 3-6 microns. The effect of fine grain size was less adhesion of DP 980 on the tool surface over time, less abrasive wear, and better lap shear fracture loads of the welds that were produced, compared to the other grades. This is explained by less exposure of the binder phase to wear by both adhesion and abrasion during welding of DP 980. A-type tools were the most consistent in both the number of welds per tool, and the number of welds that reached acceptable lap shear fracture loads. B-type tools, with a bimodal grain size distribution (grain size of 4 – 40 microns) did a little bit better than C-type tools (grain size of 12-15 microns) in terms of wear, but neither of them were able to achieve consistent acceptable lap shear fracture load values after the first 200 welds. In fact only one out of five C-type tools was able to produce acceptable lap shear fracture loads after the first 100 welds.

The growing negative impacts of non-biodegradable plastics derived from non-renewable materials have created increasing interest throughout the world for new materials that are both biodegradable and renewable, that can be combined with or replace traditional plastics. Plant-based thermoplastic starch (TPS), a promising alternative material to traditional petroleum based resin, is both biodegradable and renewable and has great potential for use in plastic manufacturing processes. Two major obstacles that prevent more widespread use of TPS include; TPS base material, which is typically manufactured in a flake or powder, is incompatible with standard plastics production equipment that require pelletized resin, the second reason is that TPS is difficult to mix with standard plastic materials such as High Density Polyethylene (HDPE). BiologiQ of Blackfoot Idaho through a unique manufacturing process has created a new type of TPS called EcoStarch™ Resin (ESR) that overcomes these two obstacles the material can be both pelletized and combined with various standard base plastics such as HDPE. This study evaluated and characterized the processability materials properties of ESR and HDPE blends in the Extrusion Blow Molding (EBM) by measuring wall thickness, tensile strength, tensile elongation, modulus of elongation and formability compared to 100% HDPE bottles. As the ESR content increased the uniformity of the wall thickness increased. The tensile strength increased from ESR content of 30% to 50% while the elongation decreased. Bottles were successfully extrusion blow molded with ESR content of 50%.

This study is to investigate the problem of connectivity between nationally produced science and national needs. It is a collective case study of two academic departments within Saudi academia, the departments of petroleum engineering at Alpha and Beta Universities. The rationale for using these departments is that Saudi Arabia has an advanced petroleum industry, making petroleum engineering a good case for investigating the connectivity of nationally produced science with national needs. The main tool of the study was in-depth tape-recorded interviews. Twenty-two interviews were conducted, sixteen with current and retired faculty members at the petroleum engineering departments of Alpha and Beta and six with administrators at both universities. In addition, documents and observation were used as tools. The two departments differ in their levels of connectivity with national industry. One is increasingly connected with national industry, while the other is completely isolated from national industry. Historical and regulatory factors play a role in this difference. Four themes were generated from the data: institutional arrangements, positive attitude and self confidence, social construction of the university, and rentier mentality. The data gathered show that the issue of connectivity is beyond the will and abilities of individual scientists; it is a result of organizational efforts of the scientific institutions reinforced by the willingness of the productive sectors to change their behavior toward national scientists. / Ph. D.