The highly competitive nature of the transportation industry has produced significant demand for increased equipment efficiency. This has been manifested in attempts to increase carrying capacity whilst lowering running costs. While these factors remain at the forefront of trailer design, the dependence on steel as the primary material has limited the extent to which these goals are realised. The advantages associated with the use of fibre composite materials in automotive applications have been well documented, demonstrating that the substitution of steel with fibre composite materials greatly increases the scope for tare mass reduction. However, to fully utilise the advantages produced through the use of fibre composites, it is necessary to formulate a design philosophy that incorporates the selection of materials and the definition of acceptable performance of both the material and the trailer. This dissertation addresses this broad subject. Within this greater context, this study addresses the incorporation of fibre composite materials into semi-trailers, with the significant issues being divided into two areas: - The development of a design philosophy, intended specifically to address the application of fibre composites to semi-trailers. - The design, analysis and experimental validation of a new type of fibre composite trailer chassis, utilising the aforementioned design philosophy. This PhD project is a foundational study on the suitability of fibre composite materials in the heavy transportation industry, primarily focusing on a practical assessment of the potential for tare mass reduction. The work presented in this dissertation is seen to provide a basis for fibre composite trailer design, in addition to a foundation upon which further investigation into this field can be made. The major outcomes of this project include, amongst others: - The definition of significant load cases and trailer classifications · The development of a design philosophy suited specifically to FRP semi-trailers - The establishment of selection criteria which identifies appropriate FRP materials for use in this application - The development of a new type of FRP chassis for a flatbed semi-trailer - Validation of the design philosophy through experimental testing - Affirmation of the potential of FRPs in application to flatbed semi-trailers

D'un point de vue rationnel, la question fondamentale dans l'étude des espaces de configurations dans une variété est la suivante : « Le type d'homotopie rationnel de l'espace des configurations de k points d'une variété simplement connexe dépend-t-il uniquement du type d'homotopie rationnel de cette variété ? » Dans cet ouvrage, nous nous intéressons aux variétés compactes, simplement connexes et sans bord. Dans ce cadre précis, nous étudions le lien entre les invariants d'homotopie rationnelle de l'espace des configurations de 2 points dans une variété, et le modèle minimal de Sullivan de cette variété. Le point clef de ce travail est la construction explicite d'une algèbre de Sullivan minimale qui s'injecte dans le modèle minimal de Sullivan de l'espace des configurations de deux points d'une variété. Nous en déduisons deux résultats essentiels concernant l'algèbre de Lie d'homotopie rationnelle de cet espace. D'une part, nous identifions une relation de cette algèbre de Lie, induite par l'action du groupe des permutations de deux éléments sur l'espace des configurations de deux points. D'autre part, nous prouvons que si la variété est coformelle et de catégorie rationnelle supérieure à 3, alors cette algèbre de Lie est complètement déterminée par le modèle minimal de la variété.

Experimental observation of the 1D Kerr-Type cavity soliton Temporal cavity solitons constitute a remarkable family of light pulses. They don’t spread nor suffer losses and circulate indefinitely, round-trips after round-trips, along the closed path of a nonlinear cavity. To maintain their shape and power, they simply draw some energy from a continuous-wave external beam. Being robust attracting states, they can be easily written by an external pulse and naturally provide reshaping and wavelength conversion functionalities. We experimentally demonstrated the generation of such solitons. We were able to provide precise temporal and spectral characterization along with long-term observation. We also wrote the solitons in pairs and in data streams, showing that our fiber cavity could potentially be used as an all- optical buffer capable of storing 45,000 bits at 25G bits/s. These results have been recently published in Nature Photonics High repetition-rate pulse train generation through dissipative modulation instability in a passive fiber resonator In the early 90’s, a cavity configuration which allows for the generation of stable pulse trains through dis- sipative modulational instability was proposed. The experimental implementation of the so-called MI laser was demonstrated a few years later. Although the ideal parameters for the generation of a pulse train with a repetition rate in the THz range are easily deduced from the theory, no realization in that frequency range has been reported due to practical issues. Thanks to the tuning of the overall cavity dispersion based on the use of special fibers, we recently demonstrated the generation of a 1.6 THz repetition-rate optical pulse-train. Theoretical and experimental study of nonlinear symmetry breaking induced by the order dispersion in a passive fiber resonator In the regime of dissipative modulational instability, the repetition-rates of the generated pulse train can be tuned by changing the group-velocity dispersion (GVD) of the fiber. To reach the THz range, one has to drastically reduced the total GVD in the cavity. In that case, the next order of dispersion has to be included in the theoretical model describing the evolution of the intracavity field (here the mean field model). The third-order dispersion induces a drift of the pattern and an asymmetry in the spectrum. Both these effects can be precisely calculated by a multi-scale model describing the field evolution above threshold. This theoretical work has been confirmed by experimental measurements of the spectral asymmetry.

Dissolving-grade pulps are commonly used for the production of cellulose derivatives and regenerated cellulose. To obtain products of high quality, these so-called "special" pulps must fulfill certain requirements, such as high cellulose content, low hemicellulose content, a uniform molecular weight distribution and high cellulose reactivity. Most, if not all, of the commercial dissolving pulps accomplish these demands to a certain extent. Nevertheless, achieving high cellulose accessibility as well as solvent and reagent reactivity is not an easy task due to the compact and complex structure presented by the cellulose. In the first part of this work, three commercial monocomponent endoglucanases were investigated with the purpose of enhancing the cellulose accessibility and reactivity of a hardwood dissolving pulp. A monocomponent endoglucanase with a cellulose-binding domain (CBD) was shown to significantly improve the cellulose reactivity. The positive effect of this enzyme on dissolving-grade pulps was also observed on paper-grade pulps. The main focus of the forest industry is the production of paper-grade pulps. Paper-grade pulps are mostly produced by the kraft process. In contrast, dissolving-grade pulps are produced by the sulfite and prehydrolysis kraft processes due to the high purity required for these pulps. The kraft process is known for being the most efficient process in terms of energy and chemical recovery, which makes the production costs of paper-grade pulps lower than those of sulfite dissolving-grade pulps. Besides, the production of dissolving pulps present, among others, higher capital and chemical costs than paper-grade pulps. Therefore, the viability of converting paper-grade pulps into dissolving pulps is brought into a question. However, this task is not simple because paper-grade pulps contain a lower cellulose content and a higher hemicellulose content than dissolving pulps. They also present lower cellulose reactivity and an inhomogeneous molecular weight distribution. As a consequence, the second part of this work focused on the study of the feasibility of converting kraft pulps into dissolving pulps. Several sequences of treatments of hardwoods and non-wood pulps were investigated. The best sequence for each suitable pulp was developed, and the parameters involved were optimized. After several attempts, it was demonstrated that pulps from birch, eucalypt and sisal fulfill the requirements of a commercial dissolving pulp for the viscose process after being subjected to a sequence of treatments that included two commercial enzymes, a xylanase and a monocomponent endoglucanase, and alkali extraction steps. / QC 20101201

Low cost, light weight, recyclability, and high specific strength of natural fibres make them a good replacement for synthetic fibre such as glass in fibre reinforced plastics (FRP). Green and ecofriendly source of these fibres offer less reliance on oil sources. However, their moisture uptake ability, low thermal stability and quality variations are some disadvantages that restrict their use. Biodegradable polymers or biopolymers such as polylactic acid polymers (PLA) are polyesters of lactic acid, and originally made from renewable agricultural raw materials e.g. corn starch. Development of new composite products from the existing renewable resources has a strong potential to bring a new biodegradable composite material suitable for the automotive and packaging industry to replace non-renewable petroleum based plastics. These biodegradable composites could degrade completely in soil or by composting process and do not emit any toxic or harmful components. The purpose of this work is to investigate the effects of increasing natural fibre content, and also adding Biomax modifier on the mechanical properties of poly lactic acid. PLA was reinforced with two different kinds of sustainable natural fibres, cotton, and jute fibres respectively. Biomax strong 120 was used as modifier for PLA/natural fibre composites in order to improve the impact strength and toughness properties. Mixtures of different fibre mass proportions as reinforcement, and PLA as a base resin with modifier additive were compounded in a twin-screw extruder. The extruded materials were processed in a novel compression moulding system to produce test samples. Composites without any modifier content were also produced under the same conditions and used as reference materials. iv Addition of plant fibres to the PLA reduces the composites flexural strength, while improves the elastic modulus significantly, compared to neat PLA. PLA 3001D based composites containing 40% jute fibre exhibited the highest stiffness (5.9 GPa) amongst the composites. Investigation of the impact properties of the composites showed that increasing fibre mass proportion leads to an increase in the impact strength of the composites. The impact strength of the PLA/cotton composite is more promising than PLA/Jute composites. The most significant result is that addition of even 3% Biomax Strong 120 had a positive effect on the impact properties of the specimens. Analysis of the rheological properties of the composites demonstrates that the cotton fibre reinforced PLA has higher complex viscosity than Jute fibre reinforced PLA composites. The DSC results explain that the crystallization temperature increases with increasing the jute fibre content. Furthermore composite‟s microstructure was monitored using Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). A better adhesion between the cotton fibres and the PLA matrix than jute fibres and PLA was observed in the SEM images. / UOIT

A modern and straight forward summary of the necessary tools andconcepts needed to understand and work with gauge theory in a fibre bundle formalism. Due to the aim of being a quick but thorough introductionfull derivations are rarely included, but references to such are given wherethey have been omitted. General Relativity, although being a geometrical theory, in the sense that the gravitational force is described by the curvature of space-time, may not be derived from geometry like the other fundamental forces as in Yang-Mills theory. Thus, a possibility of unification lies in a geometrical derivation of gravity from gauge principles. By applying the presented formalism to the case of Gravity such a derivationis pursued along the lines of nonlinear realizations of the gauge group.

No description available.

<p>Syftet med den här avhandlingen var att undersöka mekaniska egenskaper hos olika arter av lövträd, och koppla egenskaperna till cell- och cellväggsstrukturen i materialet. Arterna som omfattades av undersökningen var Europeisk asp (<i>Populus tremula</i>), hybridasp (<i>Populus tremula x Populus tremuloides</i>) och ek (<i>Quercus robur</i>). Arterna inom familjen<i> Populus</i>, inklusive den snabbväxande hybridaspen, har på senare tid kommit att användas inom ett stort antal projekt inom genforskningen. Det har i sin tur ökat behovet av noggrannare bestämning av mekaniska egenskaper hos dessa arter. Ek har sedan tusentals år tillbaka varit ett populärt konstruktionsmaterial; något som har resulterat i ett stort antal arkeologiska ekfynd. Konservering av dessa inkluderar ofta dimensionsstabilisering med hjälp av polyetylen-glykol (PEG); en kemikalie som man vet påverkar de mekaniska egenskaperna. I vilken utstäckning detta sker är däremot inte helt klarlagt. Studien på euoropeisk asp och hybridasp inkluderade utveckling av en ny metod för provning av små juvenila prov i grönt tillstånd. Töjningsmätningar gjordes med hjälp av digital speckelfotografering (DSP). Axiell dragstyvhet och draghållfasthet var av speciellt intresse. Sämre mekaniska egenskaper hos hybridaspen korrelerade med medelvärden på densitet, som var lägre för hybriden än för den Europeiska aspen.</p><p> Ek undersöktes i svällt tillstånd, där svällningen inducerades med hjälp av PEG (molekylvikt 600). Axiell dragstyvhet och draghållfasthet samt radiell tryckstyvhet och ytspänning undersöktes. Töjningsmätningar i axiell riktning gjordes med hjälp av videoextensiometer, medan töjning i radiell riktning gjordes med hjälp av DSP. Övrig karakterisering av materialet inkluderade scanning electron microscopy (SEM), röntgenmikrotomografi och wide angle X-ray scattering (WAXS) för bestämning av mikrofibrillvinkel. Axiell dragstyvhet och draghållfasthet påverkades bara marginellt av PEG-behandlingen. WAXS-mätningarna visade att mikrofibrillvinkeln i materialet var mycket liten. Därigenom blir de mekaniska egenskaperna i axiell riktning till stor del beroende av mikrofibrillerna, vilket samtidigt minimerar den mjukningseffekt som PEG-impregneringen har på cellväggsmatrisen. De mekaniska egenskaperna i radiell kompression påverkades däremot starkt negativt av impregneringen. Detta antogs bero på den försvagande och uppmjukande effekt som PEG:en har på de radiellt orienterade märgstrålarna i veden.</p> / <p>The aim of this work was to investigate the mechanical properties of different hardwood species and relate the properties to the structure at the cellular and cell wall level. The species examined were European aspen (<i>Populus tremula</i>), hybrid aspen (<i>Populus tremula x Populus</i> <i>tremuloides</i>) and European oak (<i>Quercus robur</i>). The <i>Populus</i> species, including the fast-growing hybrid aspen, are used in a large number of projects using transgene technology, which also has raised the demand for a more extensive determination of mechanical properties of the species. Oak have been a popular construction material for thousands of years, esulting in a vast number of archaeological findings. Preservation of these often includes dimensional stabilization by polyethylene glycol (PEG), an impregnation agent which affects the mechanical properties. To which extent is not properly investigated, however. The study on European and hybrid aspen included development of a method for tensile testing of small, juvenile specimens in the green condition, where strain was measured using the digital speckle photography (DSP) technique. Mechanical performance of the species in terms of longitudinal tensile stiffness and strength were of special interest. Inferior mechanical properties of hybrid aspen corresponded well to mean values of density, which were lower for the hybrid aspen compared to European aspen.</p><p> Oak was examined in the swollen state, where swelling was induced by PEG with molecular weight 600. Longitudinal tensile stiffness and strength as well as radial stiffness and yield strength in compression were compared. Longitudinal and radial strain was measured using video extensiometry and DSP, respectively. Additional characterization of the material included imaging from scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray microtomography and determination of microfibril angle using wide angle X-ray scattering (WAXS). Tensile stiffness and strength in the axial direction were only slightly affected by PEG-impregnation. WAXS measurements showed that microfibril angles were close to zero which implicates that cell wall properties are strongly dependent on the microfibrils, and only marginally influenced by the plasticization effects from PEG on the lignin/hemicellulose matrix. In the radial direction, on the other hand, mechanical performance was strongly decreased by PEG-impregnation. This was believed to originate from softening of rays.</p>

La présente étude examine et compare le comportement des deux types de fibres PA66 et deux types de fibres PET à haute performance sous sollicitation en fatigue, menés jusqu'à la rupture, ainsi que la corrélation entre leurs (nano)structure et leur hétérogénéité structurale avec la durée de vie en fatigue. Plusieurs techniques ont été utilisées pour analyser les matériaux, tels que la microscopie électronique à balayage (MEB), la microanalyse EDS, la calorimétrie différentielle à balayage (DSC), la diffraction de rayons-X aux grands angles (WAXD) et la micro-spectroscopie Raman. Une analyse minutieuse des faciès de rupture en traction et en fatigue par microscopie électronique à balayage, ainsi qu'une étude de la durée de vie en fatigue ont été menées. Les résultats montrent que le processus de fatigue se produit quand l'amplitude de la charge est suffisamment grande, mais à condition que la charge minimale à chaque cycle reste inférieure à un certain seuil en contrainte. La morphologie des faciès de rupture en fatigue est différente de celles des faciès de rupture en traction ou en fluage, ce qui permet de distinguer facilement un processus de fatigue. Les fibres ont été analysées à l'état "brut de fabrication" et après rupture en fatigue afin d'observer les changements microstructuraux résultant de la sollicitation en fatigue. Les résultats seront comparés avec ceux obtenus pour des fibres sollicitées cycliquement dans des conditions où la fatigue a été annihilée. Le rôle de la microstructure des fibres déterminant la fatigue sera discuté dans ce travail et la possibilité d'améliorer leur résistance à la fatigue ou d'éliminer le processus de fatigue sera discutée.

No description available.