Neste trabalho, camadas de elevadas durezas e resistentes ao desgaste, constituídas de NbC, VC ou Fe-B, foram produzidas nos aços AISI H13 e D2, por meio de tratamentos termo-reativos em banhos de bórax, com adição de Fe-Nb, Fe-V, Fe-Ti e Al. As amostras foram caracterizadas por meio de microscopias ótica e eletrônica de varredura com EDS (espectroscopia de dispersão de energia), difração de raios-X, GDOS (“Glow discharge optical spectroscopy”), microdureza Vickers, e ensaios de adesividade e desgaste em micro-escala. Para os banhos contendo Fe-Nb/Al, foram obtidas camadas de NbC nos dois aços, com espessuras médias de 6,2 mícrons, quando produzida no aço AISI H13, e 15,6 mícrons para o aço AISI D2. No caso do banho com adição de Fe-V/Al, produziram-se camadas de VC, com espessuras médias de 5,8 e 14,2 mícrons, para os aços AISI H13 e D2, respectivamente. As durezas das camadas de NbC e VC situaram-se na faixa de 2338 a 2471HV. No caso dos banhos contendo Fe-Ti e Al ou apenas Al, foram produzidas camadas de boretos, principalmente FeB e Fe2B, com espessuras variando de 30 a 130 mícrons, e durezas médias na faixa de 1583 a 1742HV. Os ensaios de adesividade evidenciaram as excelentes aderências das camadas com os substratos. Todas as camadas apresentaram resistências ao desgaste muito superiores as dos substratos, destacando-se as camadas de NbC e VC. Os ensaios de desgaste em micro-escala foram realizados sob carga elevada e sem uso de abrasivo, simulando condições de desgaste adesivo-abrasivo, uma vez que inexistem dados a respeito desse comportamento. Com o decorrer do ensaio, o modo de desgaste passou de adesivo para abrasivo, o que foi registrado pela presença de sulcos paralelos e de superfícies polidas nas calotas de desgaste. / In the present work, hard and wear resistant layers, consisting of NbC, VC or Fe-B, were produced on AISI H13 and D2 steels, by thermo-reactive treatments in borax baths, added with Fe-Nb, Fe-V, Fe-Ti and Al. Samples were characterized by optical and scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Glow discharge optical spectroscopy (GDOS), Vickers microhardness, and adhesion and micro-scale wear tests. For the baths containing Fe-Nb/Al, the layers obtained on both steels consisted of NbC, with an average thickness of 6.2 micrometers, when formed on AISI H13 steel, and 15.6 micrometers for the AISI D2 steel. In the case of borax bath added with Fe-V/Al, the produced layers contained VC, which had average thicknesses of 5.8 and 14.2 micrometers, for the AISI H13 and D2 steels, respectively. The hardness of the NbC and VC layers varied from 2338 to 2471HV. In the case of the borax bath containing Fe-Ti and Al or only Al, boride layers were produced, mainly FeB and Fe2B, with depths ranging from 30 to 130 micrometers, and average hardnesses varying from 1583 to 1742HV. The obtained layers presented excellent adhesion to the substrates. All layers presented wear resistance superior to the substrates, mainly the NbC and VC layers. The micro-scale wear tests were performed under high applied loads and without addition of abrasive, thus simulating adhesive-abrasive wear conditions, as there is no existing data concerning this wear behavior. During the micro-scale wear test, the wear mode changed from adhesive wear to abrasive wear, which was verified by the presence of parallel grooves and smooth surfaces in the wear craters.

<p>Turbulent mixing layers have been researched for many years. Currently, research is focused on studying compressible mixing layers because of their widespread applications in high-speed flight systems. While the effect of compressibility on the shear layer growth rate is well established, there is a lack of consensus over its effect on the turbulent stresses and hence warrants additional research in this area. Computational studies on compressible shear layers could provide a deep cognizance of the dynamics of fluid structures present in these flow fields which in turn would be viable for understanding the effects of compressibility on such flows. However, performing a Direct Numerical Simulation (DNS) of a highly compressible shear layer with experimental flow conditions is extremely expensive, especially when resolving the boundary layers that lead into the mixing section. The attractive alternative is to use Large Eddy Simulation (LES), as it possesses the potential to resolve the flow physics at a reasonable computational cost. Therefore the current work deals with developing a methodology to perform LES of a compressible mixing layer with experimental flow conditions, with resolving the boundary layers that lead into the mixing section through a wall model. The wall model approach, as opposed to a wall resolved simulation, greatly reduces the computational cost associated with the boundary layer regions, especially when using an explicit time-stepping scheme. An in house LES solver which has been used previously for performing simulations of jets, has been chosen for this purpose. The solver is first verified and validated for mixing layer flows by performing simulations of laminar and incompressible turbulent mixing layer flows and comparing the results with the literature. Following this, LES of a compressible mixing layer at a convective Mach number of 0.53 is performed. The inflow profiles for the LES are taken from a precursor RANS solution based on the k-ε and RSM turbulence models. The results of the LES present good agreement with the reference experiment for the upstream boundary layer properties, the mean velocity profile of the shear layer and the shear layer growth rate. The turbulent stresses, however, have been found to be underpredicted. The anisotropy of the normal Reynolds stresses have been found to be in good agreement with the literature. Based on the present results, suggestions for future work are also discussed.</p>

The first part of the thesis includes examining inorganic/organic hybird layered solids, also termed “clay mimics.” Transmission and scanning electron microscopy techniques were used to characterize particles before and after intercalation of pyridine based groups. The particle sizes, shape, and surface morphology were studied for a control and five intercalated species, and evidence for change in particle size and shape was found. The second part of the thesis involves a study in the area of inorganic-organic perovskite networks. Variations in the nature of the cationic organic portion as well as the divalent metal halides have been used to try to better predict the type of network formed. In the work reported here, metal halide and ortho-substituted anilines are combined to relate metal halide network dimensionalities to the steric demands of the ortho- substituents on aniline species. The study involved divalent d10 metal halides, and the halides used were: chloride, iodide, and bromide. The anilines used had varied substituents ortho- to the ammonium group, in order to encompass a wide range of substituents. The goal of the study was to determine if the nature of the ortho-substituent caused consistent effects on the resulting crystal structure. Crystals were grown using slow evaporation techniques and viable crystals were characterized using single crystal X-ray diffraction.

The velocity fields of high Reynolds number, turbulent, wall boundary layers in non-equilibrium pressure gradients are experimentally investigated. Experiments in two wall configurations were performed; one with a hydrodynamically smooth test wall composed of flat aluminum panels, and the other with a rough surface consisting of 2 mm tall, staggered, circular cylindrical elements. A representative set of pressure gradient distributions were generated on the research wall by a systematically rotated NACA 0012 airfoil placed in a wind tunnel section to determine the functional dependence of the boundary layer formation on pressure gradient. Particle image velocimetry (PIV) was the primary measurement technique used to determine time-resolved features of the velocity flow field. newline{}newline{} It is shown that regardless of wall condition and Reynolds number, the non-equilibrium turbulent boundary layers exhibit increasingly non-local behavior with streamwise development. This is apparent as a lag to the pressure gradient distribution observed in the streamwise developing integrated boundary layer parameters. These ``history effects" are also prevalent in mean velocity profiles which are exhibited as a cross-over of the favorable and adverse pressure gradient profiles in the logarithmic layer. Similar cross-over points are observed in the Reynolds shear and normal stresses, particularly at the streamwise station downstream of the pressure gradient switch. The primary effect of the rough wall is to increase the magnitude of flow scales, and, while they exhibit the same qualitative history effects as the smooth wall, the rough wall flows show an earlier relaxation to equilibrium. Despite inherent uncertainties of indirect skin friction methods for the rough wall, the effective sandgrain roughness parameter k_s does not show a functional dependency to pressure gradient history. An evaluation of the wall-similarity hypothesis solely based on boundary layer thickness to roughness parameter ratios delta/k_s is insufficient and additional parameters such as pressure gradient histories, local roughness Reynolds numbers, and bias uncertainties due to instrument spatial resolution must be considered. / Doctor of Philosophy / In the interface between a surface and a moving fluid is the boundary layer where high shear and viscous stresses cause the bulk velocity to decrease to zero. When turbulent, this region of fluid is characterized by random, chaotic, and fluctuating motions of varying sizes. Parameters such as pressure gradients and geometric irregularities of the surface, referred to as roughness, can increase fluctuating pressures and velocities within the boundary layer and cause unwanted noise, vibration, and increased drag. Although many studies have evaluated boundary layers with either roughness or pressure gradient independently, most surfaces in practical application are susceptible to the compounding influences of both of these parameters. Thus, it is necessary to expand the current knowledge database to include complex flow fields necessary to improve data driven modeling and vehicle design.newline{}newline{} This study focuses on experimental observations of the turbulent velocity field developing in both a rough and smooth wall boundary layer that is induced to a family of bi-directional pressure gradients generated by the pressure field of a rotating airfoil inside in a wind tunnel. Through statistical observations of the velocity field it was found that the varying pressure gradients caused the flow to develop non-local dependencies such that the response of the downstream boundary layer was dependent on the upstream flow history. The principal effect of roughness was to increase the magnitude of turbulent scales, but to show the same qualitative response to the pressure gradient history as seen in a smooth wall flow. However, direct comparison of rough and smooth wall turbulence statistics by means of the ``wall-similarity hypothesis" requires careful consideration of multiple parameters including these flow histories, scales prescribed by roughness parameters, and bias errors from experiment under-resolution of the velocity field.

Wavlet analysis and its advantages in determining time-varying characteristics are discussed. The Morlet wavelet is defined and procedures for choosing its parameters are described. The recovery of modulation characteristics using the Morlet wavelet is demonstrated. Hydrodynamic linear stability is reviewed and its application to steady and unsteady mixing layers is discussed. Modulation effects are demonstrated by using the magnitude and phase of the wavelet coefficients. The time-varying characteristics of the most unstable modes are determined using the real part of the wavelet coefficients. It is found that mean flow unsteadiness increases the amplitude and phase modulation of the mixing layers. Synchronized variations of the two most unstable modes, the fundamental and the subharmonic, are also observed in the region of subharmonic growth. In a second application of wavelet analysis, the phase lag of the wavelet coefficients is used to determine the phase relation between the fundamental and the subharmonic in acoustically forced mixing layers. The results show that selective forcing affects the time-variations of the phase relation. In a third application, the magnitude and phase of the wavelet coefficients are used to decompose propagating waves measured at a single location. / Master of Science

Recently, one of the major problems in various countries is the management of complicated organisations to cope with the increasingly competitive marketplace. This problem can be solved using Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems which can offer an integrated view of the whole business process within an organisation in real-time. However, those systems have complicated workflow, are costly to be analysed to manage the whole business process in those systems. Thus, Long Running Transaction (LRTs) models have been proposed as optimal solutions, which can be used to simplify the analysis of ERP systems workflow to manage the whole organiational process and ensure that completed transactions in a business process are not processed in any other process. Practically, LRTs models have various problems, such as the rollback and check-pointing activities. This led to the use of Communication Closed Layers (CCLs) for decomposing processes into layers to be analysed easily using sequential programs. Therefore, the purpose of this work is to develop an advanced approach to implement and analyse the workflow of an organisation in order to deal with failures in Long Running Transaction (LRTs) within Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems using Communication Closed Layers (CCLs). Furthermore, it aims to examine the possible enhancements for the available methodology for ERP systems based on studying the LRT suitability and applicability to model the ERP workflows and offer simple and elegant constructs for implementing those complex and expensive ERP workflow systems. The implemented model in this thesis offers a solution for two main challenges; incompatibilities that result from the application of transitional transaction processing concepts to the ERP context and the complexity of ERP workflow. The first challenge is addressed based on offering new semantics to allow modelling of concepts, such as rollbacks and check-points through various constraints, while the second is addressed through the use of the Communication Closed Layer (CCL) approach. The implemented computational reconfigurable model of an ERP workflow system in this work is able to simulate real ERP workflow systems and allows obtaining more understanding of the use of ERP system in enterprise environments. Moreover, a case study is introduced to evaluate the application of the implemented model using three scenarios. The conducted evaluation stage explores the effectiveness of executable ERP computational models and offers a simple methodology that can be used to build those systems using novel approaches. Based on comparing the current model with two previous models, it can be concluded that the new model outperforms previous models based on benefiting from their features and solving their limitations which make them inappropriate to be used in the context of ERP workflow models.

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