The thesis deals with preparation of graphene nanostructures and their applications in the measurement of transport properties of graphene. The contacts for measurement of resistance are fabricated by electron beam lithography on graphene exfoliated flakes, CVD graphene layers and grains. Graphene is also shaped using the same method. Resistivity of the layer, concentration and mobility of charge carriers are determined by different approaches. Hysteresis appearing in dependence of resistivity on the gate voltage is discussed as well. A significant part of the work is dedicated to monitoring the response of graphene resistance to relative humidity changes and potential use of graphene as a sensor of relative humidity.

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In this thesis, the basics of electromagnetic theory for wave-energy conversion are reviewed, some of the characteristics of the ocean wave are investigated, some of the power take-off (PTO) systems are introduced, and details about linear permanent magnetic machines, in particular, are discussed.  The thesis aims to model the novel linear transverse flux machine designed by Anders Hagnestål and to build hysteresis current controller for power factor correc- tion. Although this machine is expected to have high performance in terms of efficiency, it also exhibits a strong mutual interaction between the three phases of the machine. Thus, simplification of the actual model of the machine is im- posed to mitigate the complexity of the machine and facilitate the Simulink model. Four cases of the double band hysteresis control are studied. The cur- rents seem to be responding properly to the control scheme; however, software and hardware programming of a microprocessor would be preferable to ensurethe applicability of the control strategy in a real environment. / I detta examensarbete undersöks elektromagnetisk teori och havsvågors egenskaper. Några energiomvandlingssystem introduceras och permanentmagnetiserade maskiner diskuteras i detalj. Syftet med avhandlingen är att modelleraen ny linjär transversalflödesmaskin som är designad av Anders Hagnestål och att bygga en hysteresbaserad strömkontroll för denna. Även om maskinen förväntas prestera bra, uppvisar den också en stark ömsesidig magnetisk interaktion mellan de tre faserna. För att kunna hantera detta problem och därmed kunna genomföra simuleringar införs en förenklad elektromagnetisk modell av maskinen. En strömkontroller har implementerats i Simulink, där fyra fall av dubbelbandshystereskontroll studerats. Resultaten från simuleringarna visar att strömkontrollern fungerar. Nästa steg i projektet är att utföra mjukvaru och hårdvaruprogrammering av en mikrokontroller för att testa systemet i enverklig miljö.

[pt] Muitas suspensões de partículas se comportam como materiais tixotrópicos e estão presente em muitos processos industriais, incluindo aplicações de revestimentos de filmes finos. Especificamente, operações de extrusão de fluidos tixotrópicos estão envolvidos na produção de eletrodos de baterias. Na maioria dos casos, o escoamento de suspensões de partículas é descrito por modelos independentes no tempo, que assumem que a viscosidade como uma função somente da taxa local de deformação local. No entanto, a viscosidade dos fluidos tixotrópicos é associada com a evolução do seu nível de microestruturação que não muda instantaneamente com a tensão (ou taxa de deformação). No caso da imposição de uma tensão constante (ou taxa de cisalhamento), a microstrutura evolui até alcançar um estado de equilíbrio, porém este processo leva tempo. Mesmo em escoamentos em regime permanente, o líquido escoa através de regiões onde tem mudanças significativas nos níveis de tensão, sendo assim o escoamento transiente de um ponto de vista Lagrangiano. Então, assumir que a viscosidade, em todo ponto do escoamento, é à viscosidade em regime permanente pode gerar uma descrição errada do escoamento. A magnitude relativa do tempo de resposta do líquido e do seu tempo de residência torna-se num parâmetro importante, especialmente em escoamentos em pequena escala com tempos de residência muito curtos. O escoamento de um líquido tixotrópico através de um microcapilar com constrição e no processo de revestimento por extrusão foram analisados aqui, usando dois modelos reológicos: um modelo independente no tempo (TIM) e um modelo tixotrópico que leva em conta a resposta transiente do líquido. O conjunto de equações não lineares foi resolvido utilizando o método de Galerkin/SUPG de elementos finitos. Os resultados mostram que o uso de um modelo simples TIM para descrever materiais tixotrópicos, como suspensões de partículas, pode levar a erros muito significativos na predição do comportamento de escoamento. Além disso, os modelos independentes no tempo não têm a capacidade de predizer certos fenômenos de escoamento, como a histerese, que pode gerar escoamentos instáveis. Essas imprecisões indicam a necessidade de usar um modelo mais completo que considere a resposta transiente do líquido. / [en] Many particle suspensions behave as thixotropic-viscous materials and they are present in different industrial processes, including coating applications. Specifically, the production of battery electrodes involves slot coating of a thixotropic liquid. In most cases, the flow of slurries and other particle suspensions is described by using a time-independent model that assumes the viscosity to be solely a function of the local deformation rate. However, the viscosity of thixotropic fluids is associated to the evolution of its microstructuring level, which does not change instantaneously with the shear stress (or deformation rate). In the case of imposing constant shear stress (or shear rate), the microstructure evolves until reaching an equilibrium state; but this process takes time. Even in a steady-state flow, the liquid flows through regions where there are significant changes in the levels of shear stress and the flow is transient in a Lagrangian point of view. Therefore, assuming that the viscosity at each point of the flow is the steady-state viscosity described by a time-independent model may lead to an inaccurate flow description. The relative magnitude of the characteristic response time of the liquid and the residence time of the flow becomes an important parameter. This is particularly relevant in small scale flows with very small residence time. Flows of a thixotropic-viscous liquid through a constricted microcapillary and in a slot coating process were analyzed here using two rheological models: a time-independent model (TIM) and a thixotropic model that takes into account the liquid time-dependent response. The resulting set of fully coupled, non-linear equations was solved by the Galerkin and SUPG Finite Element Method. The results show that the use of a TIM to describe thixotropic viscous materials, such as some particle suspensions, can lead to very large errors on the predicted flow behavior. Furthermore, time-independent models are not able to predict complex flow phenomena, like hysteresis, which could lead to unstable flows. These inaccuracies highlight the need for a more complete model that takes into account time-dependency of the flowing liquid in a certain range of flow parameters.

Analytical models of wood-frame shear walls and diaphragms for use in monotonic, quasi-static (cyclic), and dynamic analyses are developed in this thesis. A new analytical model is developed to accurately represent connections between sheathing panels and wood framing members (sheathing-to-framing connections) in structural analysis computer programs. This new model represents sheathing–to–framing connections using an oriented pair of nonlinear springs. Unlike previous models, the new analytical model for sheathing-to-framing connections is suitable for both monotonic, cyclic, or dynamic analyses. Moreover, the new model does not need to be scaled or adjusted. The new analytical model may be implemented in a general purpose finite element program, such as ABAQUS, or in a specialized structural analysis program, such as CASHEW. The analytical responses of several shear walls and diaphragms employing this new model are validated against measured data from experimental testing. A less complex analytical model of shear walls and diaphragms, QUICK, is developed for routine use and for dynamic analysis. QUICK utilizes an equivalent single degree of freedom system that has been determined using either calibrated parameters from experimental or analytical data, or estimated sheathing-to-framing connection data. Application of the new analytical models is illustrated in two applications. In the first application, the advantages of diaphragms using glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP) panels in conjunction with plywood panels as sheathing (hybrid diaphragms) are presented. In the second application, the response of shear walls with improperly driven (overdriven)nails is determined along with a method to estimate strength reduction due to both the depth and the percentage of total nails overdriven.

Shape memory alloys (SMAs) can recover large strains (e.g., up to 8%) by undergoing a temperature-induced phase transformation. This strain recovery can occur against large forces, resulting in their use as actuators. The SMA elements in such actuators integrate both sensory and actuation functions. This is possible because SMAs can inherently sense a change in temperature and actuate by undergoing a shape change, associated with the temperature-induced phase transformation. The objective of this work is to develop an SMA based cryogenic thermal conduction switch for operation between dewars of liquid methane and liquid oxygen in a common bulk head arrangement for NASA. The design of the thermal conduction switch is based on a biased, two-way SMA actuator and utilizes a commercially available NiTi alloy as the SMA element to demonstrate the feasibility of this concept. This work describes the design from concept to implementation, addressing methodologies and issues encountered, including: a finite element based thermal analysis, various thermo-mechanical processes carried out on the NiTi SMA elements, and fabrication and testing of a prototype switch. Furthermore, recommendations for improvements and extension to NASA's requirements are presented. Such a switch has potential application in variable thermal sinks to other cryogenic tanks for liquefaction, densification, and zero boil-off systems for advanced spaceport applications. The SMA thermal conduction switch offers the following advantages over the currently used gas gap and liquid gap thermal switches in the cryogenic range: (i) integrates both sensor and actuator elements thereby reducing the overall complexity, (ii) exhibits superior thermal isolation in the open state, and (iii) possesses high heat transfer ratios between the open and closed states. This work was supported by a grant from NASA Kennedy Space Center (NAG10-323) with William U. Notardonato as Technical Officer.

In this dissertation physical phenomena relevant to (i) an interface formed between two fluids and a solid phase (wetting line) and (ii) an interface between three fluids (triple contact line) were investigated. In the former case, the wetting line (WL) phenomena which encompass the wetting line energy (WLE) or pinning, the wetting line velocity (WLV), and the contact angle hysteresis, were studied using a micropump based on electrowetting on dielectric (EWOD). In the latter case, the interfacial phenomena such as the air film lubrication effect and the liquid free surface deformation were taken into account to explain the dual equilibrium states of water droplets on liquid free surfaces. EWOD was implemented to devise a pumping method for a continuous flow in a microchannel. An active micropump with a simple layout and no moving parts is designed and fabricated which has on demand flow on/off capability. The micropump is based on droplet/meniscus pressure gradient generated by EWOD. By altering the contact angle between liquid and solid using an electric field a pressure gradient was induced and a small droplet was pumped into the channel via a uniform flow rate. A surface tension based propellant method was introduced as a low power consumption actuation method in microfluidic devices. For an initial droplet volume of 0.3µL and a power of 12nW a constant flow rate of 0.02µL/sec was demonstrated. Sample loading on-demand could be achieved by regulating an electric potential. Unexpectedly, the flow rate of the pump was found to be constant in spite of the changes in the droplet’s radius, which directly affects the pump’s driving pressure. iv The WL phenomena were studied in details to unravel the physical concept behind the micropump constant flow rate during the operation. An interesting observation was that the shrinking input droplet changes its shape in two modes in time sequence: (i) in the first mode its contact angle decreases while its wetting area remains constant due to the pinning, (ii) in the second mode the droplet’s WL starts to move while its contact angle changes as a function of its velocity. Contact angles were measured for the droplet advancing and receding WLs at different velocities to capture a full picture of contact angle behavior due to pinning and WLV effects. These results are also relevant to the meniscus inside the channel. The changes on the contact angle caused by the presence of EWOD at the bottom of the channel were studied in detail. The EWOD based micropump was used as a platform to study the contribution of the pinning and WLV effects on its constant flow rate. The effects of the WLE on the static contact angle and the WLV on the dynamic contact angle in the pump operation were investigated. Also the effect of EWOD voltage on the magnitude and uniformity of the micropump flow rate was studied. Dynamic contact angles (as a function of pinning and WLV) were used to accurately calculate the pressure gradient between the droplet and the meniscus and estimate the flow rate. It was shown that neglecting either of these effects not only results in a considerable gap between the predicted and the measured flow rates but also in an unphysical instability in the flow rate analysis. However, when the WLE and WLV effects were fully taken into account, an excellent agreement between the predicted and the measured flow rates was obtained. v For the study of the TCL between three fluids, aqueous droplets were formed at oil-air interface and two stable configurations of (i) non-coalescent droplet and (ii) cap/bead droplet were observed. General solutions for energy and force analysis were obtained and were shown to be in good agreement with the experimental observations. Further the energy barrier obtained for transition from configuration (i) to (ii), was correlated to the droplet release height and the probability of non-coalescent droplet formation. Droplets formed on the solid surfaces and on the free surface of immiscible liquids have various applications in droplet-based microfluidic devices. This research provides an insight into their formation and manipulation.

Timber-concrete composite (TCC) structures are becoming more popular in several industrial applications as an efficient method for optimizing the structural performance and the cost of construction as well as lowering the emissions of carbon dioxide. TCC floors are more sustainable than pure concrete floors and more resistant to vibrations and excessive deflections than pure wooden floors. The effectiveness of a TCC floor is dependent on the connection between the materials. The stiffness and strength of the composite element increases by having a rigid connection. An example of a rigid connection is an adhesive-bonded connection, however obtaining a connection without slip is difficult considering there will always be certain amount of slippage in the connection. In this thesis adhesive connections are investigated with two different types of adhesive, one called Sikasil SG-500 and the other Sika PS. The application of the adhesives for the test specimen differ. Since Sika PS is a more fluid glue, a different approach was necessary than for the Sikasil SG-500. Five test specimen were tested of each adhesive by performing double shear push out tests and comparing the results to a numerical model, which was performed in ABAQUS. In the numerical model, the adhesive was created as a cohesive element. Furthermore the properties of the modeled adhesive was based on the experimental results for respective adhesive. The experimental results showed that both adhesives managed the estimated shear force in the serviceability limit state and the ultimate limit state and yet remained in the elastic region. Sikasil SG-500 turned out to be more flexible while Sika PS specimen resulted in higher shear strength. The short creep tests (30 minutes of a constant load) showed that the deformation increased more for Sika PS than for Sikasil SG-500. However both adhesives had large deformations after only 30 minutes. There was also a difference in the average longitudinal shear strength, where it resulted in 1.06 MPa for Sikasil SG-500 and 2.02 MPa for Sika PS. This study indicates that Sika PS is more preferable in TCC structures than Sikasil SG-500.

Magnetische Formgedächtnislegierungen (MSM-Legierungen) weisen im Vergleich zu anderen Festkörperwandlern und konventionellen elektromagnetischen Wandlerprinzipien unikale Kopplungseigenschaften auf. Dies motiviert ihre Anwendung in kompakten und schnellschaltenden Antrieben. Aufgrund der Kompliziertheit ihres Kopplungsverhaltens ist jedoch ein modellbasierter Entwurf unumgänglich. Die vorliegende Arbeit widmet sich der Beschreibung einer Unterklasse von MSM-Antrieben mit eisenbehafteten Magnetkreisen und engen Luftspalten durch eine Kombination von Messung und Modell. Ziel ist dabei die Beantwortung anwendungsrelevanter Fragestellungen im Antriebsentwurf. Die Grundlage dafür bildet die heuristische Definition eines auf verallgemeinerten Kirchhoffschen Netzwerken (Netzwerkmodellen) basierenden Ersatzmodells des MSM-Elements samt umgebendem Luftspalt. Die das Verhalten des Ersatzmodells beschreibenden magnetischen Größen werden durch ein neuartiges und im Rahmen der Arbeit entwickeltes Messverfahren ermittelt. Ein Prüfstand setzt dieses Messverfahren um und ermöglicht eine simultane magnetische und magnetomechanische Charakterisierung von MSM-Elementen unter Kraft- oder Wegvorgabe. Eine empirische Validierung der gemessenen Zusammenhänge, auch anhand thermodynamischer Gesichtspunkte, weist die Plausibilität der das Ersatzmodell beschreibenden Zusammenhänge nach. Diese Ergebnisse motivieren die Entwicklung eines Netzwerkmodells, das die hysteresebehaftete magnetomechanische Kopplung innerhalb des Ersatzmodells thermodynamisch korrekt berücksichtigt. Mithilfe des Modells gelingt es, das experimentell bestimmte integrale magnetomechanische Verhalten des MSM-Elements samt umgebendem Luftspalt in wesentlichen Aspekten vorherzusagen. / Magnetic shape memory (MSM) alloys are considered promising active materials for compact electromagnetic drives due to their strong magneto-mechanical coupling. However, the latter is associated with a strong nonlinearity and a distinct hysteresis making a model-based design indispensable. The present work describes the behavior of a subclass of MSM drives with iron-core and small air gaps by means of a combination of model and experiment. Heuristically, an equivalent lumped-element model considering the MSM element and the surrounding air gap is proposed. An associated novel magnetic measurement procedure determines the quantities describing the behavior of this equivalent model. A test setup implements the measurement procedure and allows for a simultaneous magnetic and magneto-mechanical characterization either under constant load or under constant displacement. An empiric validation, also with regard to thermodynamic aspects, indicates the plausibility of the collected data describing the simplified equivalent model. These results motivate the development of a novel lumped-element model considering the hysteretic magneto-mechanical coupling of the equivalent model in a thermodynamically consistent way. Its validation by means of various magneto-mechanical experiments shows that the model is able to predict the essential magnetic and magneto-mechanical behavior of the MSM element and the surrounding air gap with sufficient accuracy, making it appropriate for system design.

This report addresses the parameter settings for a protective relay designed to safeguard a 15 kW wind turbine located in Rimbo, Norrtälje municipality, against unintentional islanding. This type of situation arises when distributed energy resources continue to supply local loads, even if the main grid has been unintentionally disconnected. The previous protection system experienced malfunctions and has been replaced with a new protective relay to ensure reliable protection. The new protective relay introduces two parameters (relay settings) associated with unintentional islanding protection function, namely RoCoF (rate of change of frequency) hysteresis, and delay, which were not defined in the previous protective relay. This report aims to determine suitable relay settings and verify that the relay operates as intended, taking into account both local and national requirements for connected generators. When these requirements did not specify or recommend a specific value, reference was made to practices in neighbouring countries, and consideration was given to the generator owner's benefit. Testing the relay with the chosen settings was crucial to ensure a correct understanding and accurate input of the settings. The testing was conducted in a laboratory environment with carefully defined signals of controlled frequency and voltage, while the relay's trip output was logged. The report includes information about the current settings along with a theoretical background to explain their functionality. It also presents test results and the provided information on parameter configurations. Additionally, recommended settings for RoCoF hysteresis and implementation delay are suggested, aiming to enhance protection against inadvertent operation. The results confirmed that the relay can be used in Rimbo, Norrtälje municipality, according to the parameters described in the report. / Denna rapport behandlar parameterinställningar för ett skyddsrelä som skyddar en 15 kW vindkraftsturbin i Rimbo, Norrtälje kommun, mot oavsiktlig ödrift. Denna typ av situation uppstår när distribuerade energiresurser försätter att mata lokala laster, även om stamnätet har kopplats bort oavsiktlig. Det tidigare skyddssystemet har blivit skadat och ersatt med ett nytt skyddsrelä för att säkerställa ett tillförlitligt skydd. Det nya skyddsreläet introducerar två parametrar (reläinställningar) relaterade till skyddsfunktionen mot oavsiktlig ödrift, nämligen RoCoF (frekvensderivata intervall) hysteres och fördröjning, som inte var definierade i det tidigare skyddsrelät. Denna rapport syftar till att fastställa lämpliga reläinställningar och verifiera att reläet fungerar enligt avsikt, med hänsyn till både lokala och nationella krav för anslutna generatorer. När dessa krav inte specificerade eller rekommenderade ett specifikt värde, refererades det till praxis i närliggande länder och hänsyn togs till generatorägarens fördel. Testning av reläet med de valda inställningarna var av central betydelse för att säkerställa en korrekt förståelse och korrekt inmatning av inställningarna. Testningen utfördes i en laborationsmiljö med noggrant definierade signaler av kontrollerad frekvens och spänning, samtidigt som reläets utlösningsutgång loggades.  Rapporten inkluderar information om de aktuella inställningarna tillsammans med en teoretisk bakgrund för att förklara deras funktion. Den presenterar också resultat från tester och den tillhandahållna informationen om parameterinställningar. Dessutom rekommenderas inställningar för RoCoF-hysteres och fördröjning för implementering, med målet att förbättra skyddet mot oavsiktlig ödrift. Resultaten konstaterade att reläet kan användas i Rimbo, Norrtälje kommun enligt de parametrar som beskrivs i rapporten.