This document vaguely describes what happened to me and my paintings during my time spent at VCU.

Les résines alkydes sont les principaux liants des peintures et vernis modernes. Ces polymères sont obtenus par polycondensation de polyacides, polyols, acides gras et monoacides. L’engouement croissant pour le développement durable pousse à la transition de produits pétrosourcés vers des produits biosourcés, à coûts et performances similaires. Pour les alkydes qui utilisent déjà en partie des matières premières renouvelables (acides gras, polyols), le challenge consiste à substituer les composants pétrosourcés restants tels que les dérivés phtaliques et benzoïques. Après un état de l’art sur les alkydes, nous avons étudié les implications liées à la substitution de ces dérivés. Plusieurs résines alkydes biosourcées furent synthétisées et caractérisées par des mesures physico-chimiques (SEC, DSC, rhéomètre). Les peintures alkydes conventionnelles sèchent chimiquement par un mécanisme oxydatif qui requiert des sels de cobalt pour advenir en moins de 6 h. A cause de leur toxicité, ces sels sont sous pression par REACH. Nous avons proposé un mécanisme alternatif de réticulation non-oxydatif basé sur la réaction entre les groupes 2-oxo-1,3-dioxolane (ODO) et les amines primaires. La réaction modèle entre le carbonate de glycérol et l’éthylenediamine nous a permis de comprendre la viabilité de ce mécanisme de réticulation. La création de groupes ODO a d’abord été étudiée sur des huiles végétales afin de déterminer les conditions optimales et confirmer les possibles réactions d’oligomérisation. Des alkydes portant ces groupes ODO ont pu être synthétisées et caractérisées, puis converties en résines alkydes uréthanisées sans isocyanate par réaction avec des diamines. / Alkyd resins are the major binders used in surface coatings today. They are obtained by polycondensation of polybasic acids, polyols, fatty acids and monobasic acids. The raising sustainability awareness is pressuring for the transition from petrobased to biobased products with equivalent costs and performances. While conventional alkyd resins have high content in renewable raw materials such as fatty acids and polyols, replacement of petrobased raw materials such as phthalate and benzoic derivatives remained a challenge. After reviewing the current state-of-the-art regarding conventional alkyd resins, we focused on understanding the specific issues related to the synthesis of biobased alkyd resins. Several biobased alkyd resins were synthesized and characterized using techniques such as SEC, DSC and rheometer. Conventional alkyd paints chemically dry through an oxidative mechanism, which requires cobalt salts to occur in less than 6 h. These salts are under the scope of REACH because of their toxicity. As a possible alternative, we proposed a non-oxidative crosslinking mechanism based on the reaction of 2-oxo-1,3-dioxolane (ODO) groups and primary amines. This crosslinking mechanism was first studied with the model reaction between glycerol carbonate and ethylenediamine. The functionalization of ODO groups on vegetable oils was then studied as model molecule of alkyd resins, enabling the determination of optimal reaction conditions and that oligomerization occurs as a side reaction. Alkyd resins bearing ODO groups were then synthesized and characterized, then converted into non-isocyanate urethanized alkyd resins by reaction with diamines.

Copper (Cu) is a heavy metal that is essential for life but toxic at high concentrations. This toxic effect is used on boats to prevent biofouling on boat hulls by painting the hulls with antifouling paint that contain high levels of Cu. The Cu is slowly diffused out in the water and accumulated by animals higher up in the food chain. In order to test the effects of marinas on Cu bioaccumulation in invertebrates, I sampled molluscs at seven marinas and seven shore sites on the Swedish west coast. Two molluscs with different feeding behaviours, one grazer, the periwinkle (Littorina littorea) and one filter feeder, the blue mussel (Mytilus edulis) were used as study organisms. Both species were sampled at each location within 50 m from each other. Body Cu concentration of both species was measured with a Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrometer (FAAS). Cu concentration of periwinkle soft body tissue was generally higher than in mussel soft body tissue. In addition, periwinkle tissue Cu concentration reacted strongly positively to the presence of marinas, whereas mussel tissue Cu concentrations did not. This shows that contamination from marinas affects the grazing periwinkle but not the filter feeding blue mussel. Thus, for biomonitoring purposes, grazers may be more suited as indicator organisms.

A radioatividade natural presente em solos, rochas e materiais de construção, devida ao 40K e às séries radioativas do 232Th e 238U é a principal contribuição à exposição externa aos seres humanos. Neste trabalho, determinou-se as concentrações de atividade de 226Ra (da série do 238U), 232Th e 40K presentes em 50 amostras de tintas látex de cor branca comercializadas no Brasil, especificamente, 15 do tipo econômico, 15 do tipo standard, 20 do tipo premium e em uma amostra de dióxido de titânio. As amostras foram seladas e armazenadas por um período mínimo de 30 dias para se alcançar o equilíbrio radioativo secular nas séries do 238U e do 232Th e medidas pela técnica analítica de espectrometria gama de alta resolução. As concentrações de atividade foram calculadas utilizando-se as médias ponderadas pelas incertezas do 214Pb e 214Bi para o 226Ra e médias ponderadas pelas incertezas do 228Ac, 212Pb e 212Bi para o 232Th. A concentração de atividade do 40K foi determinada pela sua transição única de 1460,8 keV. Fatores de autoatenuação gama foram calculados e utilizados para correção da concentração de atividade das amostras com densidade maior que 1,0 g.cm-3. Os índices radiológicos equivalente em rádio (Raeq), índice de concentração de atividade (Iγ), índice de risco à exposição gama interna (Hin), o índice de risco à exposição gama externa (Hex) e a taxa de dose (D) e dose efetiva anual (Def) foram calculados a partir das concentrações de atividade do 226Ra, 232Th e 40K. As concentrações de atividade de 226Ra das tintas variaram entre valores abaixo da atividade mínima detectável e 38,7 Bq.kg-1, as de 232Th variaram entre valores abaixo da atividade mínima detectável e 101,2 Bq.kg-1 e as de 40K variaram entre valores abaixo da atividade mínima detectável e 256 Bq.kg-1. O Raeq variou entre 1,41 Bq.kg-1 e 203 Bq.kg-1, o Iγ variou entre 0,0047 e 0,720, o Hin variou entre 0,0076 e 0,653 e o Hex variou entre 0,0038 e 0,549. A taxa de dose variou de 0,170 nGy.h-1 a 21,3 nGy.h-1 e a dose efetiva anual variou entre 0,83 μSv.a-1 e 104,2 μSv.a-1. Estes resultados mostram que as concentrações de atividades das tintas utilizadas neste estudo estão abaixo dos limites recomendados por Hassan et al. para Raeq (370 Bq.kg-1), pela Comissão Européia para o Iγ (limite de 2 para materiais superficiais) e pela Organização para Cooperação Econômica e Desenvolvimento para Hin e para Hex (ambos com limite de 1), para todas as 50 amostras estudadas, mostrando assim a segurança destas tintas com relação a proteção radiológica. / Natural radioactivity in soils, rocks and construction materials, due to 40K and the natural series of 232Th and 238U, is the main contribution to external exposure in mankind. In this work, activity concentrations of 226Ra (238U serie), 232Th and 40K were determined for 50 white latex wall paints samples, commercialized in Brazil, namely 15 Economic quality samples, 15 Standard quality samples and 20 Premium quality samples and for a single titanium dioxide sample. The samples were tightly sealed and stored for a minimum period of 30 days, to reach the radioactive secular equilibrium from 238U and 232Th series, then measured by high resolution gamma ray spectrometry. The activity concentration was determined using the weighted average concentrations of 214Pb and 214Bi for 226Ra and 228Ac, 212Pb and 212Bi for 232Th. The 40K activity concentration was determined by its single transition of 1460.8 keV. Self attenuation correction factors of the samples whose densities are higher than 1.0 g.cm-3, were determined and used to make the necessary corrections. The radiological indices radium equivalent activity (Raeq), activity concentration index (Iγ), internal exposure risk index (Hin) and external exposure risk index (Hex) and also the absorbed dose rate (D) and annual effective dose (Def) were calculated from the activity concentrations of 226Ra, 232Th and 40K. The activity concentration values for 226Ra ranged from under the minimum detectable activity to 38.7 Bq.kg-1, for 232Th from under the minimum detectable activity to 101.2 Bq.kg-1 and for 40K from under the minimum detectable activity to 256 Bq.kg-1. Raeq ranged from 1.41 Bq.kg-1 to 203 Bq.kg-1, Iγ ranged from 0.0047 to 0.720, Hin from 0.0076 to 0.653 and Hex from 0.0038 to 0.549. The absorbed dose rate ranged from 0.170 nGy.h-1 and 21.3 nGy.h-1 and the annual effective dose ranged from 0.83 μSv and 104.2 μSv. The results show that the activity concentrations of the wall paints studied in this work are below the recommended limits by Hassan et al. for Raeq (370 Bq.kg-1), by European Commission for Iγ (limit of 2 for superficial materials) and by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development for Hin and Hex (both with limit of 1), for all the 50 samples, assuring the safety of these wall paints with respect to radiological protection.

La problématique de ce travail consiste à s’interroger sur la définition de la peinture de guerre et sur son devenir après la guerre, sur l’histoire de la peinture de guerre en Iran, sur l’interprétation de la guerre par les artistes, sur les éventuelles commandes. Comment cette peinture a-t-elle commencé en Iran ? Quel est le point de vue des peintres iraniens sur la guerre et sur les peintures de guerre ? Ont-ils critiqué la guerre dans leurs peintures ? Y a-t-il des foyers pour la création de ce type d'œuvres en Iran qui ont commandé aux peintres et si oui à quel but ? Ce travail comporte quatre parties, sans compter l’introduction et la conclusion. La première partie est un regard sociologique sur la révolution islamique et sur la guerre Iran-Irak. Les raisons pour las quelles cette guerre est devenue un phénomène social, ainsi que les raisons par lesquelles les artistes iraniens ont employés cette guerre dans leurs œuvres. Ayant un regard sur la peinture contemporaine de l’Iran, l’axe principal de cette présente thèse est la présentation des onze peintres connus comme les peintres de la guerre, et l’analyse 112 œuvres représentant la guerre et ses significations. Enfin, la troisième partie concerne l’analyser les peintures par l’aspect esthétique et sociologique. / The definition of war painting and its future after the war, the history of war painting in Iran, the interpretation of the war by the artists are considered the complications of this work. How did war painting start in Iran ? What is the point of view of Iranian painters on the war and war painting? Have they criticized the war in their paintings ? When it comes to creation of such works in Iran, who ordered the painters and if so to what purpose? Are these works exhibited in museums, galleries, foreign countries or elsewhere yet ? This work consists of three parts, besides introduction and conclusion. The first part is a sociological perspective on the war in Iran. The main focus of the present thesis is the presentation of painters known as the war / Sacred Defense painters, and analysis of their work by the war and its meanings. In this section, we presented eleven painters and analyzed 112 paintings, from which some works are from four women painters. Finally, we presented the artistic centers producing the art of sacred defense. And we studied the topics in the works, the symbols used, and the styles discussed. we studied the sociological works representing the sacred defense and its support for artists with the social and political movements, the influence of the painting of the sacred defense and social issues, sacred defense painting "art for art" or "art for the people", etc.

A radioatividade natural presente em solos, rochas e materiais de construção, devida ao 40K e às séries radioativas do 232Th e 238U é a principal contribuição à exposição externa aos seres humanos. Neste trabalho, determinou-se as concentrações de atividade de 226Ra (da série do 238U), 232Th e 40K presentes em 50 amostras de tintas látex de cor branca comercializadas no Brasil, especificamente, 15 do tipo econômico, 15 do tipo standard, 20 do tipo premium e em uma amostra de dióxido de titânio. As amostras foram seladas e armazenadas por um período mínimo de 30 dias para se alcançar o equilíbrio radioativo secular nas séries do 238U e do 232Th e medidas pela técnica analítica de espectrometria gama de alta resolução. As concentrações de atividade foram calculadas utilizando-se as médias ponderadas pelas incertezas do 214Pb e 214Bi para o 226Ra e médias ponderadas pelas incertezas do 228Ac, 212Pb e 212Bi para o 232Th. A concentração de atividade do 40K foi determinada pela sua transição única de 1460,8 keV. Fatores de autoatenuação gama foram calculados e utilizados para correção da concentração de atividade das amostras com densidade maior que 1,0 g.cm-3. Os índices radiológicos equivalente em rádio (Raeq), índice de concentração de atividade (Iγ), índice de risco à exposição gama interna (Hin), o índice de risco à exposição gama externa (Hex) e a taxa de dose (D) e dose efetiva anual (Def) foram calculados a partir das concentrações de atividade do 226Ra, 232Th e 40K. As concentrações de atividade de 226Ra das tintas variaram entre valores abaixo da atividade mínima detectável e 38,7 Bq.kg-1, as de 232Th variaram entre valores abaixo da atividade mínima detectável e 101,2 Bq.kg-1 e as de 40K variaram entre valores abaixo da atividade mínima detectável e 256 Bq.kg-1. O Raeq variou entre 1,41 Bq.kg-1 e 203 Bq.kg-1, o Iγ variou entre 0,0047 e 0,720, o Hin variou entre 0,0076 e 0,653 e o Hex variou entre 0,0038 e 0,549. A taxa de dose variou de 0,170 nGy.h-1 a 21,3 nGy.h-1 e a dose efetiva anual variou entre 0,83 μSv.a-1 e 104,2 μSv.a-1. Estes resultados mostram que as concentrações de atividades das tintas utilizadas neste estudo estão abaixo dos limites recomendados por Hassan et al. para Raeq (370 Bq.kg-1), pela Comissão Européia para o Iγ (limite de 2 para materiais superficiais) e pela Organização para Cooperação Econômica e Desenvolvimento para Hin e para Hex (ambos com limite de 1), para todas as 50 amostras estudadas, mostrando assim a segurança destas tintas com relação a proteção radiológica. / Natural radioactivity in soils, rocks and construction materials, due to 40K and the natural series of 232Th and 238U, is the main contribution to external exposure in mankind. In this work, activity concentrations of 226Ra (238U serie), 232Th and 40K were determined for 50 white latex wall paints samples, commercialized in Brazil, namely 15 Economic quality samples, 15 Standard quality samples and 20 Premium quality samples and for a single titanium dioxide sample. The samples were tightly sealed and stored for a minimum period of 30 days, to reach the radioactive secular equilibrium from 238U and 232Th series, then measured by high resolution gamma ray spectrometry. The activity concentration was determined using the weighted average concentrations of 214Pb and 214Bi for 226Ra and 228Ac, 212Pb and 212Bi for 232Th. The 40K activity concentration was determined by its single transition of 1460.8 keV. Self attenuation correction factors of the samples whose densities are higher than 1.0 g.cm-3, were determined and used to make the necessary corrections. The radiological indices radium equivalent activity (Raeq), activity concentration index (Iγ), internal exposure risk index (Hin) and external exposure risk index (Hex) and also the absorbed dose rate (D) and annual effective dose (Def) were calculated from the activity concentrations of 226Ra, 232Th and 40K. The activity concentration values for 226Ra ranged from under the minimum detectable activity to 38.7 Bq.kg-1, for 232Th from under the minimum detectable activity to 101.2 Bq.kg-1 and for 40K from under the minimum detectable activity to 256 Bq.kg-1. Raeq ranged from 1.41 Bq.kg-1 to 203 Bq.kg-1, Iγ ranged from 0.0047 to 0.720, Hin from 0.0076 to 0.653 and Hex from 0.0038 to 0.549. The absorbed dose rate ranged from 0.170 nGy.h-1 and 21.3 nGy.h-1 and the annual effective dose ranged from 0.83 μSv and 104.2 μSv. The results show that the activity concentrations of the wall paints studied in this work are below the recommended limits by Hassan et al. for Raeq (370 Bq.kg-1), by European Commission for Iγ (limit of 2 for superficial materials) and by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development for Hin and Hex (both with limit of 1), for all the 50 samples, assuring the safety of these wall paints with respect to radiological protection.

A proteção de materiais com alto valor agregado contra as intempéries é de grande importância tecnológica e econômica. Atualmente, a principal defesa diante do desgaste natural destes materiais é o revestimento, seja inorgânico, orgânico ou metálico. Um revestimento pode atuar de diversas formas para proteger o material em questão, atuando como barreira física, metal de sacrifício ou proteção anódica. O desenvolvimento de revestimentos protetores de alta durabilidade e baixo custo é de suma importância para o crescimento da indústria e das cidades em todo o mundo. Diante disso, este trabalho estuda a degradação de quatro revestimentos orgânicos comerciais, de diferentes composições químicas e propriedades físicas, com o objetivo de interpretar os fenômenos que ocorrem durante os ensaios e investigar as falhas apresentadas ao longo do tempo. As análises foram realizadas com uma tinta epóxi branca, uma tinta poliuretânica branca, uma tinta alquídica branca e um verniz acrílico. Cada um dos revestimentos estudados possui um mecanismo diferente de formação do filme sobre o substrato escolhido, aço carbono, e, portanto, possui características individuais específicas. A degradação dos filmes orgânicos foi realizada com a exposição dos corpos de prova à radiação ultravioleta (UV), de forma natural e acelerada, a fim também de avaliar diferenças e o comportamento destes revestimentos As amostras em exposição natural permaneceram durante um ano em contato com radiações solares, umidade, chuva e variações de temperatura. Já as amostras em exposição acelerada foram ensaiadas em uma câmara de intempéries aceleradas de UV por até 2000 horas. A degradação dos filmes foi acompanhada durante todos os ensaios e analisada por diferentes técnicas de caracterização, tais como: DSC, FTIR, MEV, EDS, FRX, microscopia óptica, espectrofotometria de cor; ensaios mecânicos de impacto, flexibilidade, aderência, rugosidade, além de medições periódicas de espessura. Paralelamente, exposições prolongadas em câmara úmida e névoa salina foram realizadas como parâmetro de comparação. Os resultados demonstram que a tinta poliuretânica sofre menores variações de cor e brilho, após os ensaios de degradação e que o verniz acrílico é o mais afetado na maioria dos casos. A tinta alquídica sofreu alterações significativas em névoa salina, entretanto, teve melhoras em suas propriedades mecânicas após as exposições ao UV. Quanto à comparação entre o ensaio de degradação natural e o artificial, conclui-se que cada ensaio interfere de diferentes maneiras nas propriedades dos revestimentos. / The protection of materials with high added value against the weather has great technological and economic significance. Currently, the main defense against the natural wear of these materials is the coating, whether inorganic, organic or metallic. A coating can act in various ways to protect the material in question, acting as a physical barrier, sacrificial metal or anodic protection. The development of protective coatings of high durability and low cost is very important for the growth of industry and cities around the world. Therefore, in this work are studied the degradation of four organic coatings, with different chemical compositions and physical properties, in order to interpret the phenomena that occur during the tests and to investigate the failures presented over time. The analyses were performed with a white epoxy paint, a white polyurethane paint, a white alkyd paint and an acrylic lacquer. Each one of the studied coatings has a different mechanism of film formation on the chosen substrate, carbon steel, and therefore has specific individual characteristics. The degradation of the organic films was carried out by exposing the specimens to ultraviolet (UV) radiation, in a natural and accelerated way, in order to clarify their differences and establish comparisons. The samples in natural exposure remained for a year outside, in contact with solar radiation, humidity, rainfall and temperature variations The accelerated exposure samples were tested in a chamber of accelerated UV for up to 2000 hours. The films degradation were monitored during all the tests and analysed by different characterization techniques, such as: DSC, FTIR, SEM, EDS, FRX, optical microscopy, color spectrophotometry; mechanical impact tests, flexibility, adhesion, roughness, in addition to periodic thickness measurements. At the same time, prolonged exposures in humidity chamber and salt spray were performed as a parameter of comparison. The results demonstrate that the polyurethane paint undergoes smaller variations of its properties after the tests and that the acrylic varnish is the most affected in most cases. About the comparison between the natural and the artificial degradation test, it is concluded that each test interferes in different ways in the properties of the coatings.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of a marbled coating applied on a triaxial woven structure. Although both of these techniques are traditionally used for many years, they are nowadays utilized in innovative ways, the marbling being applied on a large variety of surfaces such as wooden floors or ceramics and the triaxial weave being used as a hi-tech material for sports or in the automotive industry and having applications in diverse fields, from art to architecture. Their fusion, however, is a topic that has yet to be thoroughly explored, which makes for the motive of this thesis work, as an opening has been observed for the exploration of the expressive power of their combination. The experimental approach that has been taken towards this exploration will determine how the marbling effect may contribute to the visual expression of the structure. Multiple cycles of experiments have been conducted in an attempt to understand the behaviour of the chosen materials and their combination, the effect that various colour combinations have and the best possible pairings between the elements. The organic marbling combined with the geometric triaxial weave proved to generate the most powerful visual expression and the clearest result out of all the experiments. Thus five experimental textiles were developed in order to illustrate different aspects of this complex relationship, where the marbling would affect the visual expression of the structure by either enhancing or concealing the structural aspect and the contrast between the graphic element and the organic one would be a constant presence throughout the work. This work pushes the boundaries of conventional textile design and through the application of a textile thinking to unconventional materials a different type of expression is born. By mixing a limited amount of variables in multiple ways, a large range of visual effects may be achieved.

The artist discusses the influence, concept, and process behind creating a cohesive body of work and accompanying show, Submersion, for the completion of her Bachelor of Arts degree and undergraduate research for the Fine and Performing Art Scholars branch of East Tennessee State University's Honors College. The show is to be held May 1st through May 7th of 2014 with its reception on May 3rd in the Submarine Gallery located on ETSU campus. The artist explored themes of the unknown, subconscious, and memory, using water as a reoccurring symbol. The works include five large portraits and two small to medium underwater landscapes in oil paint completed between Fall of 2012 and Spring of 2014. Three large-scale charcoal drawings completed in the Spring of 2013 relate to this body of work as part of a further exploration of the concepts of interest, but will not be included in the Submarine Gallery show and were instead presented as part of the B.A. Senior show in the Fall of 2013. Influences on the artist's work come from artists Jeremy Miranda, Alyssa Monks, Bill Viola, Susanna Majuri, Andreas Franke, and the work and techniques of the Old Masters

Spatial augmented reality is a particular kind of augmented reality technique that uses projector to blend the real objects with virtual contents. Coincidentally, as a means of 3D shape measurement, structured light illumination makes use of projector as part of its system as well. It uses the projector to generate important clues to establish the correspondence between the 2D image coordinate system and the 3D world coordinate system. So it is appealing to build a system that can carry out the functionalities of both spatial augmented reality and structured light illumination. In this dissertation, we present all the hardware platforms we developed and their related applications in spatial augmented reality and structured light illumination. Firstly, it is a dual-projector structured light 3D scanning system that has two synchronized projectors operate simultaneously, consequently it outperforms the traditional structured light 3D scanning system which only include one projector in terms of the quality of 3D reconstructions. Secondly, we introduce a modified dual-projector structured light 3D scanning system aiming at detecting and solving the multi-path interference. Thirdly, we propose an augmented reality face paint system which detects human face in a scene and paints the face with any favorite colors by projection. Additionally, the system incorporates a second camera to realize the 3D space position tracking by exploiting the principle of structured light illumination. At last, a structured light 3D scanning system with its own built-in machine vision camera is presented as the future work. So far the standalone camera has been completed from the a bare CMOS sensor. With this customized camera, we can achieve high dynamic range imaging and better synchronization between the camera and projector. But the full-blown system that includes HDMI transmitter, structured light pattern generator and synchronization logic has yet to be done due to the lack of a well designed high speed PCB.