O século 21 vem sendo caracterizado pela urbanização acelerada em países economicamente emergentes. O aumento das construções em áreas urbanas, quando mal planejado, ocasiona problemas estruturais e espaciais que afetam diretamente os cidadãos e seu entorno. Muitas pesquisas científicas propõem métodos para monitorar a qualidade dos materiais utilizados em obras de engenharia. As inspeções de qualidade mais aplicadas são feitas em materiais relacionados à estrutura, como o concreto. Todo o concreto utilizado em obra é obrigatoriamente submetido ao ensaio à compressão axial, que rompe os corpos-de-prova. Estes ensaios destrutivos não são realizados in loco e todo o material utilizado é descartado após análise. Neste sentido, o sensoriamento remoto pode ser utilizado no mapeamento e monitoramento de materiais de construção, permitindo investigar e identificar diversos componentes de forma não-destrutiva. Os materiais podem ser inspecionados diretamente no local da obra, de uma forma rápida, não-invasiva e de baixo custo, características imprescindíveis no processo contínuo da construção civil. Neste trabalho foi utilizado o equipamento espectrorradiômetro FieldSpec 3 para medir materiais cimentícios à base de cimento Portland (pasta de cimento, argamassa e concreto). Nas amostras de pasta de cimento e argamassa, analisou-se o comportamento espectral de quatro diferentes resistências mecânicas e nas amostras de concreto avaliou-se a diferença entre o comportamento espectral de concretos submetidos a carregamento precoce e concretos de referência. As curvas espectrais geradas pelo registro da radiação eletromagnética refletida e absorvida das amostras foram interpretadas com base na teoria de espectroscopia vibracional e eletrônica. Esta dissertação tem um caráter inovador e a técnica aplicada é extremamente promissora e praticável como um método alternativo. Na literatura não existem estudos que já fizeram esta investigação, nem trabalhos acadêmicos com o propósito de diferenciar resistências mecânicas a partir da análise e interpretação de assinaturas espectrais destes materiais. O objetivo deste trabalho é mostrar uma técnica auxiliar inédita para analisar corpos-de-prova sólidos, utilizando a espectroscopia no visível e infravermelho próximo. O resultado deste estudo constatou que as amostras de pasta e de argamassa apresentaram contraste espectral e detectou a presença e proporção de água nas amostras. Também identificaram-se diferenças entre o comportamento espectral dos concretos de referência e o dos pré-carregados, evidenciando-se a aplicabilidade desta ferramenta na identificação da microfissuração do concreto. Com auxílio da transformada de wavelet foi possível comprovar estatisticamente o contraste espectral e que a profundidade das feições de absorção da água é inversamente proporcional à resistência mecânica, para materiais cimentícios como a pasta e argamassa. A técnica apresentada foi considerada bastante promissora como ferramenta auxiliar na avaliação da qualidade de materiais cimentícios à base de cimento Portland. / The 21st century has been characterized by rapid urbanization in economically emerging countries. The increase of constructions in urban areas, when not planned correctly, causes structural and spatial problems that directly affect citizens and their surroundings. Many scientific researches propose methods to monitor the quality of materials used in engineering works. The quality inspections more applied are made in materials related to the structure, like concrete. All the concrete used in the side work must be submitted to axial compression test, which breakes the samples. These destructive tests are not done in loco and all the material used is discarded after analysis. This way, the remote sensing can be used for mapping and monitoring of construction materials, allowing to investigate and to identify many components in a non-destructive way. The materials can be inspected directly inside the side work, in a quick way, non-invasive and low cost, indispensable characteristics in the ongoing process of civil construction. In this work a piece of equipment FieldSpec 3 spectroradiometer was used to measure cement materials based on Portland cement (cement paste, mortar and concrete). In the cement paste and mortar samples was analyzed the spectral behavior of four different compressive strengths and in the concrete samples was analyzed the difference between the spectral behavior of concretes submitted to early loading and concretes of reference. The spectral curves produced by register of electromagnetic radiation reflected and absorbed of the samples were interpreted based on the theory vibrational and electronic spectroscopy. This dissertation is an innovation and the technique applied is extremely promising and feasible as an alternative method. In the literature there are no studies that have already done this research or academic papers with the purpose of differentiate compressive strengths from the analysis and interpretation of their spectral signatures. The objective of this work is to show an original technique to analyze solid samples using the spectroscopy in the visible and near infrared. The result of this study found that the samples of cement past and mortar showed spectral contrast and detected the presence and proportion of water in the samples. Besides it identified differences between the spectral behavior of early loading and concretes of reference, highlighting the applicability of this tool in the identification of the concrete microcracking. With the help of wavelet transform was possible to prove statistically the spectral contrast and that the depth of water absorption features is inversely proportional to the compressive strength, for cement materials such as paste and mortar. The technique presented was considered very promising as an assistant technique in quality appraisal of cement material based on Portland cement, may complement information obtained by conventional techniques.

Content: Animal skins, a byproduct of the meat industry is the basic raw materials for the tanning industry. Just after flaying, animal skins have to preserve protecting it from microbiological destruction. Globally, sodium chloride is mostly used as popular preserving agents for the animal skins. It preserves the skin by its dehydrating ability. Nevertheless, sodium chloride is cost-effective, available, and easy to apply but the method suffers greatly in terms of environmental context. To reduce the pollution load, especially chloride in soaking operation several works have been carried out to preserve animal skins with various agents. This study is intended to preserve the goat skin with Sphagneticola trilobata leaf paste without sodium chloride for reducing the chloride in the soaking liquor. The plant has antimicrobial activity, widely distributed tropical and subtropical regions. The anticipated preservation method was assessed monitoring different parameters e.g., shrinkage temperature, hair slip, putrefaction, odour, moisture content, extractable nitrogen, and bacterial count on fresh (raw), 1st, 4th, 7th, 14th, 21st and 28th day in comparison to the conventional wet salting method. The physical properties of the processed leathers e.g., tensile strength, percentage of elongation, and ball burst of the crust leathers were fulfilled the required values. The chemical parameters like chloride, total dissolved solids (TDS), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), and chemical oxygen demand (COD) of soaking liquor were investigated. The proposed preservation method was reduced pollution loads: chloride, TDS, BOD, and COD in soaking operation by 98.04%, 92.9%, 90.2% and 85.5%, respectively. The scanning electron microscope (SEM) photographs of both the present and conventional preservation methods processed crust leathers revealed similar texture and quality to each other. The anticipated preservation method could be a sustainable option to preserve goat skin, which could reduce the pollution loads during leather processing. Take-Away: 1. Sphagneticola trilobata leaf paste preserved goat skin up to 28 days 2. Reduction of chloride and TDS were 98.04% and 92.9% in soaking liquor 3. Lessening of BOD and COD were 90.2% and 85.5% in soaking liquor

This thesis deals with the teoretical description of the solder during reflow soldering the solder paste and describing the defects arising during this process. Practical part of the thesis describes the testing of two solder pastes with different silver content before and after the accelerated temperature cycle.

This work is a research on the topic of reactive nanoparticles and their agitation into the solder paste, which it also describes. It describes in detail the properties of each solder alloys. It explains the creation of intermetallic layers in the soldering process and examines their structure. It also focuses on the evaluation and methodology of testing the properties of solder pastes. In the practical part, individual tests are performed with PF606 and PF610 solder paste.

The Soil Water Retention Curve (SWRC) of different soils has been researched thoroughly by multiple Geotechnical Engineers. The interpretation of the SWRC for a specific soil leads to the identification of certain properties of the soil. The SWRC typically involves a plot of suction measurements (on a logarithmic scale) against the volumetric water content or degree of saturation of the soil. This project aims to determine a manner in which concrete properties (such as durability, porosity, shrinkage, strength and stiffness) can be estimated through suction measurements. The Dew Point PotentiaMeter (WP4C) apparatus was used to measure the suctions of different concrete mixtures, as well as to derive the water retention curve of concrete. A cement paste study was first conducted to determine whether this apparatus is able to deliver representative results, which it is. It was discovered that the water retention curve of concrete is similar to a bimodal SWRC identified by Geotechnical Engineers. Thereafter, a mortar study was completed to determine if the water retention curves can be used to estimate different concrete properties. Three different porosity tests were investigated during this research study, namely the X-ray test, the Mercury Intrusion Porosimetry (MIP) test and a simple test method described in the durability index testing procedure manual assembled by University of Cape Town, University of the Witwatersrand and CoMSIRU. It was concluded that the MIP test and the simple test method described in the durability index testing procedure manual gave the most comparable results with regards to literature. The shrinkage of the concrete mixture was investigated to determine a relationship between the suctions and the shrinkage of the concrete. Different strength tests of all the concrete mixtures were also investigated, namely the flexural test, the compressive test, the splitting cylinder test and the E-value test (stiffness). It was concluded that there was a definite trend between the suction measurements and the specific concrete properties tested. The water retention curve has the potential to describe various properties of different concrete mixtures. / Dissertation (MEng (Structural Engineering))--University of Pretoria, 2020. / Civil Engineering / MEng (Structural Engineering) / Unrestricted

The proposed Thesis deals with the electrochemical behavior of sulfamethizole on carbon paste electrodes. Sulfamethizole is a sulfonamide antibiotic effective against a number of gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. In human medicine, the most frequent application is for the treatment of urinary tract. In veterinary medicine, it is used for the and preventive treatment of both aquatic and terrestic animals. Due to the wide utilization and low metabolization, it also presents an environmental burden. The development of quick and sensitive methods for the determination in both biological and pharmaceutical matrices is therefore important. This Thesis deals with the search of optimum conditions for differential pulse voltammetric determination of sulfamethizole in tablets Micturol sedante, used for the treatment of urinary tract. The method uses Britton-Robinson (B-R) buffer pH 7 and reaches detection limit 0,39 µmol·l-1 . Results of the method complied with the manufacturer's information and with the results of spectrophotometric determination. In the other part of the work, conditions for the determination of sulfamethizole determination in urine samples. Fonund conditions were: Lichrospher® RP-18, 100 (5 µm), 125×4 mm, (LichroCART) column, mobile phase B-R buffer pH 3 : methanol (7:3, v/v) and...

4 ABSTRACT Methods for the determination of five isomers of aminonitrophenol were developed, based on the technique of differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) and HPLC with amperometric detection. As the working electrodes, boron-doped diamond film electrode (BDDFE) and glassy carvon paste electrode (GCPE) were employed. Preliminary electrode testing was performed by cyclic voltammetry. The methods were aimed to the determination of all five aminonitrophenol isomers in hair dyes and to the determination of 2-amino-4- nitrophenol and 4-amino-2-nitrophenol in body fluids after solid phase extraction. From the voltammetric methods, the one using BDDFE for the cathodic determination in hair dyes exhibits sufficient selectivity. The performance of chromatographic methods was found suitable for the determination of aminonitrophenols in both observed matrices. The applicability of the developed methods was successfully confirmed by the determination of tested analyted in real samples of hair dyes and spiked samples of urine. Preceding measurements are described, dealing with the determination of other oxidizable compounds, containing phenolic or aniline moieties on BDDFE. The obtained results confirm that in some cases, BDDFE shows more resistance to fouling than other carbon-based electrodes, but in most cases, the...

Concrete structures have the largest surface area of all human made structures. Large surface area makes concrete capable to absorb CO2 from environment during its lifetime. It is estimated that concrete during its lifetime can absorb about 15-20% of CO2 which had produced in cement production. In Sweden the CO2 uptake by concrete construction is estimated to 300 000 tons annually. This study aims to investigate the influences of fly ash and ground granulated blast furnace slag on carbonation. Accelerated carbonation with 65% relative humidity and 10% CO2 concentration was utilized to simulate the carbonation in cement pastes and cement mortars. Series of experiments have accomplished by collaborating with RISE and university of Borås. In this study cement pastes crushed into three fractions in order to evaluate the impact of particle size and influence of blended cement in CO2 uptake. Lastly, carbonation depth of mortars after 14 days accelerated carbonation were analyzed. Experimental results show that the increasing CO2 uptake induced by adding mineral admixture such fly ash in cement pastes. In this study cement paste with 30% fly ash replacement and fraction lower than 2 mm exhibit the highest CO2 uptake compared to other cement paste in this study. Moreover, carbonation depth of cement mortar was also increased three times more in mortar with 30% fly ash compared with mortar with 100% Portland cement. Therefore, incorporation of mineral admixture in cement pastes can improve the CO2 uptake and moreover, CO2 uptake can be more efficient if more surface area be involved with CO2 by crushing cement paste into lower 2 mm. / Betongkonstruktioner har den största ytan av alla människor gjorda strukturer. Stor yta gör att betong kan absorbera CO2 från luften under betongens hela livstid. Det uppskattas att betong under sin livstid kan absorbera cirka 15–20 % av CO2 som hade producerats i cementproduktionen. I Sverige uppskattas CO2-upptaget till 300 000 ton per år. Denna studie syftar till att undersöka den optimala kombinationen som kan påverka karbonatisering. Accelererad karbonatisering med 65% relativ luftfuktighet och 10% CO2-koncentration utfördes för att kunna simulera upptaget av koldioxid i cementpastor och cementbruk. En rad experiment har genomförts tillsammans med RISE och Högskolan i Borås. I denna studie krossades cementpastor i tre olika fraktioner för att utvärdera effekten av kornstorlek och påverkan av cementpastasinnehål i upptaget av CO2. Slutligen analyserades karboneringsdjupen för cementbruk efter 14 dagar accelererad karbonatisering. De experimentella resultaten från accelererad karbonatisering visar att med ökad halt av flygaska kan CO2-upptaget ökas. Cementpastan med 30 % flygaska och fraktionen lägre än två mm uppvisar det högsta CO2-upptaget jämfört med andra cementpastor med grövre fraktioner i denna studie. Dessutom ökade karbonatiseringsdjupet i cementbruk med 30% flygaska cirka tre gånger mer jämfört med cementbruk med 100% Portlandcement. Utifrån dessa resultat kan det konstateras att inblandning av tillsattmaterial i cementpasta kan förbättra CO2-upptaget och dessutom kan CO2-upptaget sker effektivare om mer kontaktytor blir involverade med CO2 genom att krossa cementpastan i fraktionen 0–2 mm.

This thesis concerns the development and the study of Iron-based water oxidation catalysts (WOCs) and how to immobilize them onto the hydrophobic surface of a carbon paste electrode. In the introductory chapter a general background of the field of water splitting and this thesis is given. In the second chapter, experimental performance is described from synthesis to measurements of a complete complex-doped electrode. The third chapter deals with the results and the discussion of the performed experiments. In chapter four, a descriptive conclusion of the obtained data is held. / Det här arbetet berör studien och utvecklingen utav järnbaserade katalysatorer, speciellt framtagna för för delning utav vatten. Utöver detta undersöks även om dessa katalysatorer (WOCs) kan immobiliseras på den hydrofoba ytan hos elektroder gjorda på kol-pasta. I det inledande kapitlet ges en generell bakgrund till området som berör delning utav vatten. I det andra kapitlet presenteras det experimentella utförandet utav synteser samt elektrokemiska mätningar som berörts under arbetets gång i jakten på en komplexdopad elektrod. I det tredje kapitlet diskuteras resultaten från mätningarna samt möjliga framtidsutsikter. I det fjärde kapitlet presenteras slutsatserna utav studien.

Cemented paste backfill (CPB) is a novel technology developed in the past few decades to better manage mining wastes (such as tailings) in environmentally friendly way. It has received prominent interest in the mining industry around the world. In this technology, up to 60% of the total amount of tailings is reused and converted into cemented construction material that can be used for secondary support in underground mine openings (stopes) and to maximize the recovery of ore from pillars. CPB is an engineered mixture of tailings, water, and hydraulic binder (such as cement), that is mixed in the paste plant and delivered into the mine stopes either by gravity or pumping. During and after placing it into the mine stopes, the performance of CPB mainly depends on the role of the hydraulic binder, which increases the mechanical strength of the mixture through the process of cement hydration. Similar to other fine-grained soils undergoing cementations, CPB’s behavior is affected by several conditions or factors, such as cement hydration progress (curing time), chemistry of pore water, mixing and curing temperature, and filling strategy. Also, it has been found that fresh CPB placed in the mine stopes can be susceptible to many geotechnical issues, such as liquefaction under ground shaking conditions. Liquefaction-induced failure of CPB structure may cause injuries and fatalities, as well as significant environmental and economic damages. Many researches studied the effect of the aforementioned conditions on the static mechanical behavior of CPB. Other researches have evaluated the liquefaction behavior of natural soils and tailings (without cement) during cyclic loadings using shaking table test technique. Only few studies investigated the CPB liquefaction during dynamic loading events using the triaxial tests. Yet, there are currently no studies that addressed the liquefaction behavior of CPB under the previous conditions by using the shaking table technique. In this Ph.D. study, a series of shaking table tests were conducted on fresh CPB samples (75 cm × 75 cm ×70 cm), which were mixed and poured into a flexible laminar shear box (that was designed and build for the purpose of this research). Some of these shaking table tests were performed at different maturity ages of 2.5 hrs, 4.0 hrs, and 10.0 hrs, to investigate the effect of cement hydration progress on the liquefaction potential of CPB. Another set of tests were conducted to assess the effect of the chemistry (sulphate content) of the pore-water on the cyclic response of fresh CPB by exposing cyclic loads on couple of CPB models that contain different concertation of sulphate ions of 0.0 ppm and 5000 ppm. Moreover, as part of this study, series of shaking table test was conducted on CPB samples that were prepared and cured at different temperatures of 20oC and 35oC, to evaluate the effect of temperature of the cyclic behavior of CPB. Furthermore, the effect of filling strategy on the cyclic behavior of fresh CPB was assessed by conducting set of shaking tables tests on CPB models that were prepared at different filling strategies of continuous filling, and sequential or discontinuous (layered) filling. The results obtained show that CPB has different cyclic behavior and performance under these different conditions. It is observed that the progress of cement hydration (longer curing time) enhances the liquefaction resistance of CPB, while the presence of sulphate ions diminishes it. It is also found that CPB mixed and cured in low temperature is more prone to liquefaction than those prepared at higher temperatures. Moreover, the obtained results show that adopting the discontinuous (layered) filling strategy will improve the liquefaction resistance of CPB. The finding presented in this thesis will contribute to efficient, cost effective and safer design of CPB structures in the mine areas, and will help in minimizing the risks of liquefaction-induced failure of CPB structures.