The kinetic effects in an inductively coupled plasma (ICP) due to thermal motion of particles modified by self-consistent magnetic fields are studied by using a particle-in-cell (PIC) simulation. In the low pressure, low frequency regime, electron mean free paths are large relative to device size and the trajectories are strongly curved by the induced radio frequency (RF) magnetic field. This causes problems for linear theories, which ignore the influence of the magnetic field on the particles, and are therefore unable to recover effects accumulated along each nonlinear path.<p>The tools to perform high-performance parallel PIC simulations of inductively coupled plasmas were developed to allow rapid scanning of a broad range of the input parameters, such as wave amplitude, frequency, and plasma temperature. Different behavioural regimes are identified by observing the resultant variations in the skin depth, surface impedance, and ponderomotive force (PMF). At low electron-neutral collision rates, these are shown to include the local collisionless regime, the anomalous skin effect regime, and the nonlinear regime.<p>The local collisionless regime occurs at high driving frequencies and is characterized by plasma behaviour independent of both the driving frequency and amplitude: a short skin depth, low energy absorption, and strong PMF. The anomalous skin effect regime occurs at low frequencies and low amplitudes: the plasma varies with driving frequency, but not driving amplitude, the skin depth increases with frequency, the plasma is much more absorptive in the anomalous regime than in the local regime, and the PMF increases with frequency. The nonlinear regime occurs at low frequencies and high amplitudes: the plasma varies with driving amplitude, but not frequency, the skin depth decreases with amplitude, there is low energy absorption, and the PMF increases with wave amplitude.<p>The simulation runs in four modes: linear collisionless, linear collisional, nonlinear collisionless, and nonlinear collisional. The linear modes, in which the particles ignore the magnetic field, are used to validate the results against theory, while the nonlinear modes are used to test actual plasma behaviour. In linear collisionless mode, the plasma was found to exhibit only the local collisionless and anomalous skin effect regimes, as expected by theories. In nonlinear collisionless mode, the plasma exhibits the nonlinear regime in addition to the regimes found in linear mode. Finally, the nonlinear regime disappears in nonlinear collisionless mode because the curved paths caused by the magnetic field are disrupted by collisions.<p>Finally, the regime boundaries are investigated as a function of temperature. Since the plasma properties vary continuously, a boundary exists where two regimes share the same characteristics. From linear theories, it is known that the division between the local collisionless and anomalous skin effect regimes moves to higher frequencies as the plasma temperature is increased. When nonlinear fields are present, this still occurs, but in conjunction with the boundary between the local collisionless and nonlinear regimes moving to higher wave amplitudes. Temperature also effects the boundary between the anomalous skin effect and nonlinear regimes, causing the minimum frequency of the anomalous skin effect regime to be reduced at low wave amplitudes.

Laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry¡]LA- ICP-MS¡^has been applied to the determination of V¡ACr¡ACu¡AZn¡ACd¡ATl and Pb in soil and sediment samples. The powder were pressed into a pellet for LA-ICP-MS analysis,Triron X-100 was used as the modifier to enhance the ion signals.The influences of instrument operating conditions ¡]laser ablation and ICP-MS¡^and pellet preparation on the ion signals were reported. For Cr determination, the ICP-MS was operated under the DRC mode which alleviated the mass overlap interference significantly. Standard addition method and isotope dilution method were used for the quantitation work. The powder sample was spiked with suitable amount of element standard and/or enriched isotope, well mixed, dried, well mixed and then pressed into a pellet for LA-ICP-MS analysis.This method has been applied to the determination of V¡ACr¡ACu¡AZn¡ACd¡ATl and Pb in NIST SRM 2709 San Joaquin soil reference materials and NIST SRM 2711 Montana soil reference materials. The analysis results were agreed with the certified values. The precision between sample replicates was better than 10% with LA-ICP-MS method. Detection limits estimated from standard addition curves were about 260-620,3-5,0.3-1 and 9-20 ng g-1 for Cr¡ACu¡AZn¡ACd¡ATl and Pb, respectively, in different samples.

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Title from PDF of title page (University of Missouri--Columbia, viewed on Mar. 15, 2010). The entire thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file; a non-technical public abstract appears in the public.pdf file. Dissertation advisor: Dr. J. David Robertson. Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

published_or_final_version / Chemistry / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / Chemistry / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

M. Tech. Chemistry. / Methods developed for the analysis of used oil can play a vital role in monitoring the condition of engines and may help to improve overall equipment effectiveness. Quantification of trace elements in used lubricating oil forms a vital part in monitoring engine conditions and impact on the environment. The main objective of this work is to investigate methods used for the accurate determination of trace elements in lubricating oils. In this study, inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) was used for the determination of trace elements (Ag, Ba, Cu, Mn and Ni) in lubricating oils.

published_or_final_version / Chemistry / Master / Master of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / Chemistry / Master / Master of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / Chemistry / Master / Master of Philosophy