This thesis proposes a multifaceted production test and post-manufacture yield enhancement framework for RF systems. This framework uses low-cost test and post-manufacture calibration/tuning techniques. Since the test cost and the yield of the RF circuits/sub-system directly contribute to the manufacturing cost of RF systems, the proposed framework minimizes overall RF systems' manufacturing cost by taking two approaches. In the first approach, low-cost testing methodologies are proposed for RF amplifiers and integrated RF substrates with an embedded RF passive filter and interconnect. Techniques are developed to test RF circuits by the analysis of low-frequency signal of the order of few MHz and without using any external RF test-stimulus. Oscillation principles are used to enable testing of RF circuits without any external test-stimulus. In the second approach, to increase the yield of the RF circuits for parametric defects, RF circuits are tuned to compensate for a performance loss during production test using on-board or on-chip resources. This approach includes a diagnosis algorithm to identify faulty circuits within the system, and performs a compensation process that adjusts tunable components to enhance the performance of the RF circuits. In the proposed yield improvement methodologies, the external test stimulus is not required because the stimulus is generated by the RF circuit itself with the help of additional circuitry and faulty circuits are detected using low-cost test methods developed in this research. As a result, the proposed research enables low-cost testing and self-healing of RF systems.

Η απορρύπανση των υδάτων αποτελεί αναγκαία και καθιερωμένη από δεκαετίες πρακτική. Η απορρύπανση με τη μέθοδο της ρόφησης είναι μία από την πληθώρα των τεχνικών που εφαρμόζονται. Το περισσότερο διαδεδομένο ροφητικό υλικό είναι ο ενεργός άνθρακας, του οποίου όμως το υψηλό κόστος παραγωγής, οδήγησε την επιστημονική έρευνα στην αναζήτηση εναλλακτικών, υλικών χαμηλότερου κόστους. Για το σκοπό αυτό, το επιστημονικό ενδιαφέρον έχει στραφεί σε πολλά υλικά κυρίως οργανικής προέλευσης, αλλά και σε ανόργανα υλικά, όπως τα οξείδια των μετάλλων, τα οποία αφθονούν στη φύση. Στην παρουσα εργασία έγινε μελέτη της ροφητικής ικανότητας φυσικών οξειδίων, για τη ρόφηση αρωματικών οργανικών ενώσεων και βαρέων μετάλλων. Πιο συγκεκριμένα, μελετήθηκε ο μηχανισμός της ρόφησης του φαινανθρενίου, της 2-ναφθόλης και του υδραργύρου από οξείδια αργιλίου, τιτανίου, αργιλίου/πυριτίου και σιδήρου, με σκοπό την αξιολόγηση των υλικών αυτών ως ροφητικών υλικών και τη σύγκριση των αποτελεσμάτων με αυτά της ρόφησης των αντίστοιχων ρύπων από υλικά που παρασκευάζονται από την πυρόλυση πρώτης ύλης βιολογικής προέλευσης. Για τη μελέτη της κινητικής της ρόφησης του φαινανθρενίου και της 2-ναφθόλης πραγματοποιήθηκαν πειράματα σε θερμοκρασία περιβάλλοντος, σε θαλασσινό και γλυκό συνθετικό νερό, με διαφορετικές ποσότητες ροφητικού υλικού (χωρίς χημική επεξεργασία) και για διαφορετικό χρόνο επαφής. Από τα πειράματα αυτά μετρήθηκε η κινητική της ρόφησης καθώς και το ποσοστό απομάκρυνσης των ρύπων από το διάλυμα. Από τις μετρήσεις που έγιναν, προέκυψε ότι το ποσοστό απομάκρυνσης του φαινανθρενίου από το διάλυμα αυξάνεται αυξανομένης της ποσότητας του ροφητικού υλικού. Η σταθερά της ρόφησης Kd, κυμάνθηκε σε ένα εύρος τιμών από 1 έως 10 L/Kg, τιμές 2 έως 4 τάξεις μεγέθους μικρότερες από αυτές άλλων ροφητικών υλικών βιολογικής προέλευσης, ή προϊόντων πυρόλυσης. Τη μεγαλύτερη ικανότητα ρόφησης φαινανθρενίου επέδειξε η γ-αλούμινα με ειδική επιφάνεια 270 m2/g, με μέγιστη απομάκρυνση φαινανθρενίου το 55 % της αρχικής συγκέντρωσης έπειτα από 8 ημέρες, ενώ τη μικρότερη ικανότητα ρόφησης η γ-αλούμινα με ειδική επιφάνεια 120 m2/g, με μέγιστη απομάκρυνση το 14 % της αρχικής συγκέντρωσης, έπειτα από 10 ημέρες. Η τιτάνια, με ειδική επιφάνεια 120 m2/g, είχε ως αποτέλεσμα την απομάκρυνση του 52 % της αρχικής συγκέντρωσης φαινανθρενίου, σε 8 ημέρες. Από τα πειράματα ρόφησης της 2-ναφθόλης από την γ-αλούμινα, δεν προέκυψε μετρήσιμη ρόφηση. Η ρόφηση του υδραργύρου από την γ-αλούμινα (ειδική επιφάνεια 131 m2/g), και τα οξείδια σιδήρου μελετήθηκε με πειράματα στους 25 °C, σε pH 5 και με χρόνο εξισορρόπησης τις 24 h. Από τα πειράματα προέκυψε ισόθερμη καμπύλη και έγινε προσπάθεια προσαρμογής της σε μοντέλα ρόφησης. Παρατηρήθηκε αύξηση του ποσοστού απομάκρυνσης του υδραργύρου, με αύξηση της μάζας της γ-αλούμινας. Το μέγιστο ποσοστό απομάκρυνσης, ήταν το 93 % της αρχικής συγκέντρωσης και επιτεύχθηκε με μάζα γ-αλούμινας ίση και μεγαλύτερη από 1 g. Για τιμή Ce=15 mg/L, μετρήθηκε qe=0,91 mg/g, τιμή 1 έως 2 τάξεις μεγέθους μικρότερη από αυτές άλλων ροφητικών υλικών βιολογικής προέλευσης ή προϊόντων πυρόλυσης. Τα οξείδια σιδήρου, παρότι είχαν ειδική επιφάνεια 55 m²/g, δεν παρουσίασαν μετρήσιμη ροφητική ικανότητα για κανέναν από τους ρύπους, που μελετήθηκαν στην παρούσα εργασία. Συνοψίζοντας μπορούμε να πούμε ότι τα ανόργανα υλικά που μελετήθηκαν στην παρούσα εργασία, παρόλο που παρουσιάζουν μεγάλες τιμές ειδικής επιφάνειας, δεν μπορούν να χαρακτηρισθούν ως αξιόλογα ροφητικά υλικά, τόσο για τη ρόφηση των οργανικών ρύπων φαινανθρένιο και 2-ναφθόλη, όσο και για τη ρόφηση του υδραργύρου. / Water treatment is a necessary and standard practice since decades. Adsorption technology in water treatment is one of many techniques being used. Activated carbon is the most widely applied adsorbent in water treatment, however its high production cost has led scientific research to investigate alternative low cost sorbent materials. This need has developed scientific interest towards novel materials most of them derived from biomass, but also inorganic oxides that are abundant in nature. The present study focuses on the investigation of the capacity of natural oxides to adsorb aromatic organic compounds and heavy metals. Specifically, sorption of phenanthrene, 2-naphthol and mercury onto aluminum, titanium, silicon and ferric oxides was examined, for the evaluation of these materials as sorbents, compared to pyrolized biomaterials. For the study of sorption of phenanthrene and 2-naphthol, batch experiments were conducted at room temperature, using artificial seawater and fresh water, different mass of sorbent material at different contact time. Sorption kinetics and the pollutant removal percentages were determined. The proportion of phenanthrene removal increased with the increase of the mass of the sorbent material. Sorption distribution coefficient Kd ranged between 1 and 10 L/Kg. These values are 2 to 4 orders of magnitude lower than the respective values shown for biomaterials and for pyrolysis products, respectively. Maximum sorption capacity of phenanthrene (55 % proportion removal) was shown by γ-alumina, with a specific surface area equal to 270 m2/g, after 8 days. Minimum sorption capacity (14 % proportion removal) was shown by γ-alumina, with a specific surface area equal to 120 m2/g, after 10 days. Titania, with a specific surface area equal to 120 m2/g, adsorbed a proportion of 52 % of the initial concentration of phenanthrene, after 8 days. Sorption experiments of 2-naphthol from γ-alumina, did not show a measurable sorption. Sorption of mercury from γ-alumina and ferric oxides was studied, conducting batch experiments at 25 °C, pH 5, 24 h contact time. The experiments resulted to an isotherm curve that was evaluated using different sorption isotherm models. An increase of the proportion of mercury removal, with the increase of the mass of γ-alumina was observed. Maximum proportion of mercury removal (93% of the initial concentration) was observed with the addition of γ-alumina of 1 g or more. At Ce=15 mg/L, qe=0,91 mg/g was measured. This value is 1 to 2 orders of magnitude lower, than the respective values shown for biomaterials and for pyrolysis products, respectively. Even though ferric oxides’ specific surface area was estimated at 55 m²/g, they did not show a measurable sorption capacity for any of the pollutants tested in the present study. Even though the materials examined in the present study, were of large specific surface area, their sorptive properties shown, are not competitive with the respective properties of biomaterials. Thus, they cannot be considered as promising sorbents for the removal of phenanthrene, 2-naphthol, or mercury from water.

Dans cette thèse, nous démontrons des travaux sur la synthèse à faible coût des matériaux de cathode et l'anode pour les piles lithium-ion. Pour les cathodes, nous avons utilisé des précurseurs à faible coût pour préparer LiFePO4 et LiFe0.3Mn0.7PO4 en utilisant une méthode hydrothermale. Tout d'abord, des matériaux composites (LiFePO4/C) ont été synthétisés à partir d'un précurseur de Fe2O3 par une procédé hydrothermique pour faire LiFePO4(OH) dans une première étape suivie d'une calcination rapide pour le revêtement de carbone. Deuxièmement, LiFePO4 avec une bonne cristallinité et une grande pureté a été synthétisé en une seule étape, avec Fe2O3 par voie hydrothermale. Troisièmement, LiFe0.3Mn0.7PO4 a été préparé en utilisant Fe2O3 et MnO comme des précurseurs de bas coûts au sein d'une méthode hydrothermale synthétique. Pour les matériaux d'anode, nous avons nos efforts concentré sur un matériau d'anode à faible coût α-Fe2O3 avec deux types de synthèse hydrothermales, une a base de micro-ondes (MAH) l’autre plus conventionnelles (CH). La nouveauté de cette thèse est que pour la première fois le LiFePO4 a été préparé par une méthode hydrothermale en utilisant un précurseur Fe3+ (Fe2O3). Le Fe2O3 est un précurseur à faible coût et en combinant ses coûts avec les conditions de synthèse à basse température nous avons réalisé une réduction considérable des coûts de production pour le LiFePO4, menant ainsi à une meilleure commercialisation du LiFePO4 comme matériaux de cathode dans les piles lithium-ion. Par cette méthode de préparation, le LiFePO4/C procure une capacité de décharge et une stabilité de cycle accrue par rapport une synthétisation par la méthode à l'état solide pour les mêmes précurseurs Les résultats sont résumés dans deux articles qui ont été récemment soumis dans des revues scientifiques. / In this thesis, low cost syntheses of cathode and anode materials for lithium ion batteries will be presented. For cathode materials, low cost precursors were used to prepare LiFePO4 and LiFe0.3Mn0.7PO4 using low temperature hydrothermal method. Initially, a LiFePO4/C composite material was synthesized from a Fe2O3 precursor using a hydrothermal method to prepare LiFePO4(OH) in a first step followed by a fast calcination and carbon coating. Secondly, LiFePO4 with good crystallinity and high purity was synthesized, in one step, with nanometric sized Fe2O3 by a hydrothermal method. Thirdly, LiFe0.3Mn0.7PO4 was prepared using low cost Fe2O3 and MnO as precursors within a hydrothermal synthetic method. For anode materials, a low cost anode material α-Fe2O3 was prepared using two hydrothermal synthetic methods, microwave assisted (MAH) and conventional hydrothermal (CH). The novelty of the thesis is for the first time LiFePO4 has been prepared using a low cost Fe3+ precursor (Fe2O3) by a hydrothermal method. Low cost precursors and low temperature synthesis conditions will greatly reduce the synthetic cost of LiFePO4, leading to greater commercialization of LiFePO4 as a cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries. The as-prepared LiFePO4/C product provided enhanced discharge capacity and cycling stability compared to that synthesized using a solid state method with the same precursors. The results were summarized within two articles that were recently submitted to peer reviewed scientific journals.

La adsorció sobre carbó actiu és un tractament habitual para a l'eliminació de metalls contaminants d'afluents aquosos. Amb la finalitat de reduir el cost dels tractament actuals s'està estudiant la utilització d'adsorbents de baix cost com a substituts dels sorbents convencionals que s'utilitzen usualment en els tractaments d'aigües. En aquesta tesi s'ha avaluat la possibilitat d'aprofitar diversos residus vegetals procedents de processos agrícoles o residus industrials, com a sorbents per a l'eliminació de metalls de solucions aquoses. En concret, el treball s'ha centrat en assolir dos grans objectius, primer de tot, conèixer la possibilitat d'utilitzar el pinyol d'oliva com a adsorbent de metalls divalents de solucions aquoses, com són el Cd(II), Cu(II), Ni(II) i Pb(II), i en segon lloc, avaluar la utilització de quatre residus vegetals (escorça de yohimbe, rapa de raïm, suro i pinyol d'oliva) per a l'extracció de Cr(VI) de solucions aquoses i utilitzar el residu vegetal més apropiat com a base per tal d'obtenir un nou sorbent, amb més bona morfologia per ser utilitzat en sistemes d'eliminació de Cr(VI) en continu. Les dades cinètiques d'adsorció es van tractar amb el model cinètic de pseudo-segon ordre, amb el que es van determinar la velocitat inicial d'adsorció dels metalls. Els models d'isotermes d'equilibri de Langmuir i Freundlich es van utilitzar per descriure els equilibris d'adsorció i calcular els paràmetres de les isotermes. En els assajos amb mescles binàries de metalls, els resultats es van tractar amb el model ampliat de Langmuir.En aquest treball s'ha determinat, primerament, que el pinyol d'oliva és un bon sorbent dels metalls divalents estudiats. S'ha determinat que l'adsorció dels metalls varia amb el pH de la solució i que la presència de sals en la solució provoca una davallada en l'adsorció. També es va determinar la competència en l'adsorció entre els metalls al realitzar assajos en mescles binàries.Amb els estudis d'extracció de Cr(VI) amb els quatre materials s'ha determinat que aquests vegetals poden adsorbir el Cr(VI) en solució, tot i que la rapa i la yohimbe són els materials que presenten unes capacitats d'adsorció més elevades. Les anàlisis amb espectroscòpia electrònica de Raig-X realitzats en la rapa de raïm i la yohimbe en contacte amb Cr(VI) varen demostrar la presència del metall en els dos estats d'oxidació, Cr(VI) i Cr(III), evidenciant la participació del mecanisme de reducció de Cr(VI) en l'adsorció del metall sobre els materials.Amb l'encapsulació de la rapa de raïm es va incrementar significativament la capacitat d'adsorció del metall respecta a la seva utilització en la forma original. Les dades experimentals es van tractar amb un model de difusió i es va determinar el coeficient de difusió en l'adsorció en el sorbent amb diferent percentatge de rapa en l'interior.Finalment s'han realitzat estudis preliminars d'adsorció de crom hexavalent en continu utilitzant columnes de petites dimensions farcides amb el sorbent format per boles de rapa encapsulada en alginat càlcic. En aquests assajos s'ha determinat l'efecte en l'adsorció de metall de diversos paràmetres d'operació, com la concentració inicial de metall, el cabal i l'alçada de llit. El model de transferència de matèria i difusió en columna emprat pel tractament de les dades experimentals va mostrar l'efecte de la concentració inicial i del cabal en els coeficients de difusió i transferència de matèria. El model BDST no va predir correctament el temps de servei en els diferents paràmetres d'operació experimentats a causa de la complexitat del procés d'adsorció. Amb aquests assajos preliminars s'han establert les bases de l'adsorció de Cr(VI) amb el nou sorbent en sistemes en continu amb la finalitat de realitzar estudis posteriors d'eliminació del metall en columnes de majors dimensions. / Adsorption with activated carbon is a usual treatment to remove metals from wastewater. In order to reduce the cost of the treatment, several studies have been carried out to evaluate the use of low cost sorbents as an alternative to conventional sorbents used in wastewater treatment. In this work, the use of different vegetable wastes from agricultural or industrial processes has been evaluated as sorbents for metal removal from aqueous solutions. The aim of this work was to study first, the usefulness of olive stones as a sorbent for divalent metals such as Cd(II), Cu(II), Ni(II) and Pb(II) from aqueous solutions and then the use of four vegetable wastes (yohimbe bark, grape stalks, cork and olive stones) for the removal of Cr(VI) from aqueous solutions. The vegetable waste powder was encapsulated in calcium alginate to obtain spherical gel beads that were used in continuous flow process for Cr(VI) removal.In all sorption experiments, kinetic data were modeled by the pseudo-second order kinetic equation and determine the constants sorption rates. Langmuir and Freundlich model isotherms were use to describe sorption equilibrium data and to obtain the isotherm parameters. In binary mixtures, the extended Langmuir isotherm model was used. The results showed that olive stones are a good sorbent for studied divalent metal. Metal uptake was pH dependent and the presence of salts in solution provokes a decrease in metal uptake. A clear competence between metals to be adsorbed on the waste was observed in metal binary mixtures. Although results obtained in Cr(VI) removal studies show that the four studied wastes can adsorb Cr(VI), grape stalks and yohimbe bark wastes showed the best chromium sorption capacity. X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy analysis on grape stalks and yohimbe chromium loaded samples put into evidence that both Cr(VI) and Cr(III) were sorbed on wastes surface indicating that Cr(VI) sorption process involves a redox reaction. The gel beads obtained when encapsulating grape stalks in calcium alginate showed a significant increase in Cr(VI) sorption capacity compared to the original grape stalks waste. A diffusion model was used to analyze the experimental data and to determine the diffusion coefficient for Cr(VI) sorption by beads containing different percentage of grape stalks encapsulated in calcium alginate. Finally, preliminary studies of Cr(VI) removal in continuous flow using the beads containing grape stalks powder gel in laboratory columns have been carried out. The effect of operating parameters such as feed metal concentration, flow rate and bed depth was studied. The mass transfer and diffusion model used to describe column data showed the effect of feed metal concentration and flow rate in both, diffusion and mass transfer coefficients, respectively. The bed depth service time model (BDST) failed in predicting the service time when changing operating parameters due to the complexity of the sorption process. With these preliminary column experiments we established the basis for Cr(VI) sorption by the proposed sorbent in continuous flow process for further development of the process to be used in higher scale columns.

Outdoor air pollution is a major contributor to adverse health effects of citizens, in particular those living in urban environments. Air quality monitoring networks are set up to measure air quality in different environments in compliance with national and European legislation. Generally, only a few fixed monitoring sites are located within a city and thus cannot represent air pollutant concentrations in urban areas accurately enough to allow for a detailed human exposure assessment. Other approaches to derive detailed urban air pollutant concentration estimates exist, such as dispersion models and land-use regression (LUR) models. Low-cost portable air quality monitors are also emerging, which have the potential to add value to existing monitoring networks by providing measurements at greater spatial resolution and also to provide individual-level exposure assessment. The aim of this thesis is to demonstrate how measurements and modelling in combination allow detailed investigations of the variability of air pollutants in space and time in urban area, and in turn improve on the current exposure assessment methods. Three types of low-cost portable monitors measuring NO2, O3 (Aeroqual monitors) and PM2.5 (microPEM monitor) were evaluated against their respective reference instruments. The Aeroqual O3 monitor showed very good correlation (r2 > 0.9) with the respective reference instruments, but biases in the slope and intercept coefficients indicated that calibration of Aeroqual O3 monitor was needed. The Aeroqual NO2 monitor was subject to cross-sensitivity from O3, which, as demonstrated, can be effectively corrected by making O3 and NO2 measurements in tandem. Correlation between the microPEM monitor and its reference instrument was poor (r2 < 0.1) when PM2.5 concentrations were low (< 10 μg m-3), but significantly improved (r2 > 0.69) during periods with elevated PM2.5 concentrations. Relative humidity was not found to affect the raw results of PM2.5 measurements in a consistent manner. All three types of monitors cannot be used as equivalent or indicative methods instead of reference methods in studies that require quantification of absolute pollutant concentrations. However, the generally good correlations with reference instruments reassure their application in studies of relative trends of air pollution. Concentrations of PM2.5, ultrafine particles (UFP) and black carbon (BC) were quantified using portable monitors through a combination of mobile and static measurements in the city of Edinburgh, UK. The spatial variability of UFP and BC was large, of similar magnitude and about 3 times higher than the spatial variability of PM2.5. Elevated concentrations of UFP and BC were observed along streets with high traffic volumes whereas PM2.5 showed less variation between streets and a footpath without road traffic. Both BC and UFP significantly correlated with traffic counts, while no significant correlation between PM2.5 and traffic counts was observed. The relationships between UFP, NO2 and inorganic components of PM2.5 were further investigated through long-term measurements at roadside, urban background and rural sites. UFP moderately correlated with NOx (NO2 + NO) and showed varying relationships with NOx depending on the particle size distribution. Principal component analysis and air-mass back trajectory analysis revealed that PM2.5 concentrations were dominated by long-range transport of secondary inorganic aerosols, whereas UFP were mainly related to varying local emissions and meteorological conditions. These findings imply the need for different policies for managing human exposure to these different particle components: control of much BC and UFP appears to be manageable at local scale by restricting traffic emissions; however, abatement of PM2.5 requires a more strategic approach, in cooperation with other regions and countries on emissions control to curb long-range transport of PM2.5 precursors. A dispersion model (ADMS-Urban) was used to simulate high resolution NO2 and O3 concentrations in Edinburgh. The effects of different emission and meteorological input datasets on the resulting modelled NO2 concentrations were investigated. The modelled NO2 and O3 concentrations using the optimal model setup were validated against reference instrument and diffusion tube measurements. Temporal variability of NO2 was predicted well at locations that were not heavily influenced by local effects, such as road junctions and bus stops. Temporal variability of O3 was predicted better than for NO2. Long-term spatial variability of NO2 was found to correlate well with diffusion tube measurements, while modelled spatial variability of O3 in ADMS-Urban compared poorly with diffusion tube measurements. However, it was found that the O3 diffusion tube measurements may be subject to some unidentified biases affecting their accuracy. Land-use regression (LUR) models are widely used to estimate exposure to air pollution in urban areas. An appropriately sized and designed monitoring network is an important component for the development of a robust LUR model. Concentrations of NO2 were simulated by ADMS-Urban at ‘virtual’ monitoring sites in 54 different network designs of varying numbers and types of site, using a 25 km2 area including much of the Edinburgh city area. Separate LUR models were developed for each network. These LUR models were then used to estimate ambient NO2 concentrations at all residential addresses, which were evaluated against the ADMS-Urban modelled concentration at these addresses. The improvement in predictive capability of the LUR models was insignificant above ~30 monitoring sites, although more sites tended to yield more precise LUR models. Monitoring networks containing sites located within highly populated areas better estimated NO2 concentrations across all residential locations. LUR models constructed from networks containing more roadside sites better characterised the high end of residential NO2 concentrations but had increased errors when considering the whole range of concentrations. No particular composition of monitoring network resulted in good estimation simultaneously across all residential NO2 concentration and of the highest NO2 levels implying a lack of spatial contrast in LUR-modelled pollution surface compared with the dispersion model. Finally, the results from the measurement and modelling studies presented in thesis are synthesised in the context of current exposure assessment studies. Low-cost air-quality monitors currently do not possess and are unlikely in the near future to provide the robustness and accuracy to replace the existing routine monitoring network. Development of the low-cost air-quality should be aiming at upgrading them as the indicative method as defined in the data quality objective in the EU directive. The monitoring sites used to build LUR models should capture well the population distribution in the study area as opposed to capturing the greatest pollution contrast. The traditional methods of evaluating LUR models are also ineffective in characterising the models’ capability at estimating pollutant concentration at residential address. Given that the dispersion models are also subject to the availability and uncertainties in the input data, future air quality model development should endeavour to incorporate both dispersion and land-use regression models, where the uncertainty in the input data can be reduced by using LUR models built on actual measurements, and the limitation in the statistical modelling can be replaced by adopting the deterministic approach used in the dispersion model.

ABSTRACT The purpose of the study is to evaluate the housing process of Witzenberg Local Municipality and determine the involvement of the community and their perception regarding the whole process. The researcher is using a qualitative method to obtain the views, perspectives and feelings of the participants. For the purpose of the study is data collection limited to the sample population of people on the waiting list and those already in possession of low-cost house of the seven townships in the Witzenberg Local Municipality to. The researcher made use of questionnaires and interviews to collect data to make a profound finding and recommendation. In Witzenberg, 41% of households earn less than R30000 per annum (Witzenberg Local Municipality 2012: Online) which indicate that the Witzenberg Local Municipality has a high need for subsidized housing. The waiting list for low-cost housing in the Witzenberg Local Municipality currently stands at 6278 of which 1478 are a blocked housing project and a backlog of 4800 houses. The inhabitants of the Municipality received low-cost housing 8 years ago (Witzenberg Local Municipality 2012: Online). Witzenberg Local Municipality does has a housing problem, which stems from finance, affordability, insufficient land to erect housing projects, overcrowding, and quality of housing, staff shortage, unemployment, uncontrolled farm evictions and community involvement (Witzenberg Local Municipality 2007a:Online). Low-cost housing is in demand to address the challenges. Farm evictions, influx into the Witzenberg Local Municipality and forming of informal dwellings and increasing of squatter camps hold a serious threat to build sustainable, quality low-cost housing in the Witzenberg Local Municipality and with limit staff is in-flux control very hard to manage. Although the homeowners of the Witzenberg Local Municipality are happy to have received houses, they expressed much concern about the poor construction work, overall quality of the materials used as well as the housing process adopted by the Witzenberg Local Municipality. / Public Administration / M. Admin.

The thesis analyses manufacturing process of wooden handles as a component part of bench chisels. The introductory part summarizes basic theoretical knowledge regarding production process, production preparation, production management and cycle, as well as layout of the workplace. The main part focuses on analysis of wooden handle production with the use of in-dustrial engineering methodology. Analysis of material flow, workplace arrangement, methodics 5S, low-cost automation, pull system, Kanban and utilization of waste were carried out in order to find improvement possibilities in the wooden handles production. Solutions for better production efficiency and increase of production capacity are proposed from the findings of this thesis.

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico / In this work were developed low cost bars of sorptive extraction, using commercial adhesive based on polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) for the preconcentration and determination of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene (BTEX) in effluent from the University Hospital of Santa Maria (HUSM). It was applied multivariate fractional factorial design (26-2) to investigate the significance of the independent variables for the sorptive extraction of BTEX. The best conditions in aqueous solution and in hospital effluent were: 25 °C and 15 min of adsorption, 35 °C and 30 min of desorption, pH 9. Thus, in aqueous solution it was obtained recovery rates of BTEX between 72.2 74.0%, with RSD between 5.4 and 6.4%, while, for hospital effluent spiked with the analytes, the recovery rates ranged around 72.0 74.8% with RSD between 4.68 and 5.62%. The concentrations of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene found in the effluent of HUSM were, respectively: 1.2 μg L-1 (RSD 4.6%), 10.4 μg L-1 (RSD 2.1%), 1.7 μg L-1 (RSD 4.4%), 15.8 μg L-1 (RSD 3.5%). The use of bars of sorptive extraction of PDMS have been eliminated the morose stage of vacuum filtration of the effluent and allowed the determination of volatile compounds as BTEX by HPLC-FLD, which to the best of our knowledge, there are not reported in the literature yet. As remediation methodology was applied oxidative processes, heterogeneous photocatalysis and direct photolysis, it was used a stirred tank reactor with thermostatic jacket. Ultraviolet radiation (UV) was generated by mercury vapor lamp medium pressure, 125 W and 401 W m-2. Polymer bars were prepared with polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) or polyurethane (PU) and TiO2 supported in order to evaluate the degradation of BTEX in aqueous solution and in effluent hospital by heterogeneous photocatalysis. The polymer bars were tested in the absence of UV radiation and the results showed that the analytes do not adsorb themselves in a irreversible way, in both kinds of polymer bars, which could mask the photodegradation. The overall efficiency of the system with TiO2 immobilized, for samples of effluent, is higher than with TiO2 in suspension (and for direct photolysis). To the aqueous solution, fully transparent, the direct photolysis showed better efficiency in the degradation of BTEX. The best conditions for the factorial design (33-1) to the complete degradation of BTEX in aqueous solution were: 20 °C, pH 5 and photolysis (irradiation without TiO2 polymer bars). For hospital effluent in wastewater spiked with the analytes the best conditions were: 20 °C, pH 9 and the use of irradiation with PDMS/TiO2 bars. At 120 min of irradiation it happens the degradation of 100% for all analytes, but the reduction of Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) was around 25% in hospital effluent. Using a stirred tank reactor, with benzene as a model compound, in toxicity tests with the bioindicator Artemia salina, the reduced of LC50 was 65% compared with the LC50 of the effluent without treatment. / Neste trabalho foram desenvolvidas barras de extração sortiva, de baixo custo, utilizando-se adesivo comercial à base de polidimetilsiloxano (PDMS), para pré-concentração e determinação de benzeno, tolueno, etilbenzeno e xileno (BTEX) no efluente do Hospital Universitário de Santa Maria (HUSM). Para investigar as variáveis independentes significativas na extração sortiva de BTEX aplicou-se planejamento fatorial fracionado (26-2). As melhores condições obtidas, em solução aquosa e em efluente hospitalar foram: 25 °C e 15 minutos de adsorção; 35 °C e 30 minutos de dessorção; pH 9. Desta forma, obtiveram-se taxas de recuperação de BTEX em solução aquosa entre 72,2 74,0% com desvio padrão relativo (RSD) entre 5,5 6,5%. Já para o efluente hospitalar fortificado com os analitos, as taxas de recuperação variaram em torno de 71,9 74,8% (RSD 4,7 5,6%). As concentrações de benzeno, tolueno, etilbenzeno e xileno encontradas no efluente do HUSM foram, respectivamente: 1,2 μg L-1 (RSD 4,6%); 10,4 μg L-1 (RSD 2,1%); 1,8 μg L-1 (RSD 4,4%); 15,9 μg L-1 (RSD 3,5%). O emprego de barras suspensas de PDMS dispensa a etapa morosa de filtração à vácuo do efluente e permitiu que compostos voláteis como BTEX pudessem ser determinados diretamente por HPLC-FLD, o que, no melhor de nosso conhecimento, não tem ainda registro na literatura. Como metodologia de remediação aplicou-se processos oxidativos, fotocatálise heterogênea e fotólise direta, empregando-se reator tanque agitado com jaqueta termostática. A radiação ultravioleta (UV) foi gerada por lâmpada de vapor de mercúrio de pressão média, 125 W e 401 W m-2. Barras poliméricas, com polidimetilsiloxano (PDMS) ou poliuretano (PU), e TiO2 suportado foram preparadas a fim de avaliar a degradação de BTEX em solução aquosa e em efluente hospitalar por meio de fotocatálise heterogênea. As barras poliméricas foram testadas na ausência de radiação UV e os resultados demonstraram que os analitos não são adsorvidos de maneira irreversível, em ambos os tipos de barras poliméricas, o que poderia mascarar a fotodegradação. A eficiência global do sistema com TiO2 imobilizado, para amostras de efluente, é maior que com TiO2 em suspensão (e, maior ainda que na fotólise simples). Para a solução aquosa, totalmente transparente, a fotólise direta apresentou maior eficiência na degradação de BTEX. As melhores condições, do planejamento fatorial (33-1), para a degradação completa de BTEX em solução aquosa foram: 20 °C, pH 5 e fotólise direta (irradiação sem barras poliméricas com TiO2). Em efluente hospitalar fortificado com os analitos as melhores condições foram: 20 °C, pH 9 e irradiação com uso de barras de PDMS/TiO2. Em 120 min de irradiação ocorre a degradação de 100%, para todos os analitos, porém a redução da DQO ficou em torno de 25%, em efluente hospitalar. Utilizando o reator tanque agitado e tendo benzeno como composto modelo, nos testes de toxicidade com o bioindicador Artemia salina, a redução da LC50 foi de 65% comparada com a LC50 do efluente sem tratamento.

Les travaux présentés dans ce manuscrit traite de l'intégration monolithiqued'une unité d'isolement galvanique optique à l'intérieur de la structure d'un transistor depuissance vertical à ffet de champ 600V. L'unité d'isolement galvanique optique est unphotodétecteur qui est responsable du transfert du signal de commande de parti une unitéde commande externe à le transistor de puissance. L'énergie nécessaire pour commuter ledispositif de puissance est fournie au moyen d'un TIA, suivie d'une commande de grille.Le mémoire de thèse se structure en quatre chapitres équivalents: Introduction et motivation:l'isolement glavanic intégrée pour les dispositifs de puissance, photodiodes intégréscompatibles (JVP) pour les interrupteurs de puissance: Modélisation et conception, IPDfabrication et la caractérisation, et les conclusions et les travaux futurs. Les résultats de cestravaux de recherche sont intéressants pour un large spectre d'applications, spécialementpour les fonctions d'alimentation entièrement intégrés avec et coût de fabrication réduitet des solutions fiables, de haut niveau galvaniques isolement qui sont compacts et rentable. / The work presented in this PhD manuscript deals with the monolithic integrationof an optical galvanic isolation unit within the vertical FET structure of a 600Vpower transistor. The optical galvanic isolation unit is a photodetector that is responsiblefor transferring the gating information signal from an external control unit to the powerswitch. The necessary energy to switch the power device is provided by means of a TIAfollowed by a gate driver. This document has four chapters: introduction and motivation:Integrated glavanic isolation for power devices, Compatible integrated phootdiodes (IPDs)for power switches: Modeling and design, IPD fabrication and characterization, and conclusionsand future work. The results of this research work are interesting for a wide rangeof applications specially as the power electronic community strives for a fully integratedpower function with lower implementation costs and reliable, high level galvanic isolationsolutions that are compact and cost effective.

Ce travail de thèse a été réalisé dans le cadre d'un contrat avec l'ANR (ANR-09-VERS-013 « THID ») et porte sur le développement d'une nouvelle génération de tags Chipless à bas coûts fonctionnant dans le domaine THz, pour des applications d'identification et/ou authentification unitaire des articles commerciaux, des papiers d'identités, des personnes pour le contrôle d'accès... Les structures proposées, constituées d'un empilement périodique de couches diélectriques d'indices de réfraction différents, utilisent les propriétés particulières des cristaux photoniques 1D de présenter une réponse électromagnétique entrecoupée de bandes interdites photoniques (BIP). Toute perturbation de la périodicité de la structure engendre des pics dans les bandes interdites qui sont utilisés pour coder une information binaire. Cette structuration particulière des matériaux permet donc de manipuler précisément une signature électromagnétique. Pour des raisons liées à l'industrialisation (facilité de fabrication en masse) et aussi de coût, nous avons retenu des matériaux de base déjà couramment utilisés dans l'industrie papetière : le papier et le polyéthylène. Le choix de ces matériaux, qui doivent allier contraste d'indice élevé et faible absorption, représente une étape cruciale dans ce travail. Ainsi, à partir des résultats expérimentaux obtenus par spectroscopie THz dans le domaine temporel (THz-TDS) sur un grand nombre de matériaux, nous avons pu concevoir deux familles de tags sur la base de ces différents matériaux. Par ailleurs, nous avons développé deux méthodes de codage d'une information binaire, toutes deux basées sur l'absence ou la présence de pics dans une BIP, pics dont la position et le nombre dépendent bien évidemment des défauts de périodicité introduits. Pour des applications liées à l'identification, des capacités de codage de près de 20 bits ont été démontrées. Nous avons aussi montré que la richesse d'information contenue dans la réponse électromagnétique de ces Tags THz peut être utilisée pour les applications liées à l'authentification unitaire, en utilisant comme critère de discrimination le coefficient d'autocorrélation. Nous avons ainsi pu évaluer les performances d'un test d'authentification basé sur ce critère dans différents domaines d'analyse : temporel, fréquentiel et temps-fréquence. Nous avons montré qu'une étude du spectrogramme (combinant temps et fréquence) est ainsi bien plus pertinente qu'une étude dans les seuls domaines temporel ou fréquentiel. / This thesis work deals with the development of a new generation of low-cost Chipless tags operating in the THz frequency domain, it has been supported by the french national agency for research (ANR-09-VERS-013 « THID » ). It covers a wide area of applications such as the identification and/or unitary authentication of commercial items, identity papers, access control…To manufacture these tags, we proposed to use a periodic stack of dielectric material layers with different refractive index and whose thickness is of the order of the wavelength, commonly known as a one dimensional photonic crystal. The electromagnetic signature of such a structure exhibits photonic bandgaps (PBG), i.e. frequency windows in which light propagation is prohibited. We suggested modifying the periodicity of the crystal to create defect levels (peaks) for example in the 1st PBG to encode binary information. This particular structure allows to precisely tuned an electromagnetic signature. To ensure a mass and cost effective industrialization, we retained basic materials which are widely used in the pulp and paper industry: paper and polyethylene. The choice of these materials, which must combine high index contrast and low absorption, represents the first and a crucial step in this work. We characterize a wide range of materials using classical THz time domain spectroscopy (THz-TDS) and we propose two families of tags based on paper and polyethylene. Furthermore, we developed two methods to encode binary information, both based on the absence or presence of peaks in a PBG, peaks whose number and position depend on the introduced defects of periodicity. In a real identification test, a coding capacity of nearly 20-bit has been demonstrated. We also showed that the information contained in the electromagnetic response of these THz tags can be used for other applications related to the unitary authentication and by using the correlation coefficient as criterion for discrimination of the different signatures. Therefore, we evaluate the performance of an authentication test based on this criterion in various analysis domains: time, frequency and time-frequency. We showed that a study of the spectrogram (combining time and frequency representation) is much more relevant than a study in the only time or frequency domain.