Thesis (MScEng (Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering))--University of Stellenbosch, 2005. / This study involved the modelling and verification of the Shielded Metal Arc Welding of mild steel with the focus on displacement and temperature distribution prediction of welded plates. The project was divided into three phases namely; the literature survey into finite element modelling of welding processes, the modelling of a welding process and verification of the modelling with experimental results. A working welding model was created using a commercial finite element software package with the capabilities to model welding processes. The welding model was systematically developed from a two-dimensional model into a threedimensional full physics process model. Experimental measured welding heat input parameters were applied in the model, temperature dependent material properties were applied and actual structural restraints from the experiments were modelled. Displacement and temperature distributions were measured on mild steel plates welded with the Shielded Metal Arc Welding process. The plate temperature was measured at various locations with K-type thermocouples spot welded onto the plates. Plate deformation was measured at various stages of the manufacturing process. Tendencies in plate displacement were investigated with a change in certain welding parameters. The finite element model was verified and good correlations were found, especially for the temperature distribution in the welded plates.

Thesis (MScEng)--Stellenbosch University, 2012. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This thesis gives a cost model for the manufacture of bipolar plates in South Africa. The methods for the manufacture considered are machining, using a micro-milling machine, and compression moulding. The focus of this thesis is on compression moulding. Details of the work done towards developing and validating the models are described, and then the cost models are discussed in detail. The results of the analysis done using the cost model is given with attention paid to the effect of changing design parameters, such as channel size and flow field area, and of the cost of production for both methods over various production volumes. The thesis concludes that compression moulding becomes the better option for production volumes greater than 324 bipolar plates, with a cost that eventually reaches close to R140 per plate for high enough production volumes (over 5000). The cost to produce 1000 plates using compression moulding is estimated at R294 per plate. An increase of the channel size gives a small reduction in the total cost, while the increase in cost with an increase in flow field area is large. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie tesis gee 'n koste-model vir die vervaardiging van bipolêre plate in Suid- Afrika. Die vervaardigingsmetodes wat oorweeg word, is masjinering deur 'n mikro-freesmasjien en persvorming. Die fokus van hierdie tesis is op persvorming. Die besonderhede van die ontwikkeling en validering van die modelle word beskryf, en daarna word die modelle in besonderhede beskryf. Die resultate van 'n analise wat met die koste-model gedoen is, word daarna gegee, met die oorweging van die verandering van ontwerp-parameters soos die vloeikanaalgrootte en vloeiveld-area, en van die koste van vervaardiging vir beide metodes vir verskeie produksievolumes. Die tesis kom tot die slotsom dat persvorming die voorkeurproses is vir produksievolumes groter as 324 bipolêre plate, met 'n koste wat tot naastenby R140 per plaat daal vir hoë produksievolumes (meer as 5000). Die koste om 1000 plate met persvorming te maak, word op R294 per plaat beraam. 'n Toename in kanaalgrootte gee 'n klein vermindering in die totale koste, terwyl die toename in koste groot is wanneer die vloeiveld-area toeneem.

A nickel alloy with high chrome and molybdenum content was found to form a highly resistive and passive oxide layer. The donor density and mobility of ions in the oxide layer has been determined as a function of the electrical potential when alkaline water layers are on the alloy surface in order to account for the relative inertness of the nickel alloy in corrosive environments.

An Analytical Strip Method (ASM) for the analysis of stiffened and non-stiffened antisymmetric laminated composite plates is derived by considering the bending-extension coupling effect for bending, free vibration and buckling. A system of three equations of equilibrium, governing the general response of arbitrarily laminated composite plates, is reduced to a single eighth order partial differential equation in terms of a displacement function. The displacement function is solved in a single series form to determine the displacement, fundamental frequency, and buckling load of antisymmetric cross-ply and angle-ply laminated composite plates. The solution is applicable to rectangular plates with two opposite edges simply supported, while the other edges are simply supported, clamped, free, beam supported, or any combinations of these boundary conditions. This method overcomes the limitations of other analytical methods (Navier’s and Lévy’s), and provides an alternative to numerical, semi-numerical, and approximate methods of analysis. Numerical examples of bending, free vibration, and buckling of antisymmetric laminated composite plates are presented in tabular and graphical form. Whenever possible, the results of the present study are compared with those published in the literature and/or ANSYS solutions. The comparison firmly establishes that this method could be used for the analysis of antisymmetric laminated composite plates. Future research needs are identified for the aspects that have not been reached by the present study and others.

The evolutionary history of mammals, when including extinct taxa, is mainly reconstructed using tooth morphology and employs terminology based on non-monotreme mammals. Although adult monotremes are edentulous, juvenile platypuses have teeth that can be compared with extinct monotremes, but terminology can be a barrier to efficient comparison to non-monotreme mammals. Deciduous teeth and thickened epithelial plates of the extant platypus, Ornithorhynchus anatinus, are sparsely figured in the literature. New imagery of those teeth and plates from high-resolution x-ray computed tomography and scanning electron microscopy contribute to the understanding of mammal evolution and the unique morphology of platypus teeth. The teeth of the juveniles are highly variable, but early-forming features (major cusps and transverse valleys) are stable enough for comparison. Transverse lophs on monotreme teeth contain complexity not reflected in cusps alone, unlike therian mammals. These differences reinforce the need for caution when applying dental terminology that originally was produced for therian mammals. New imagery highlights potential phylogenetically informative morphology in the pulp cavity and roots. As the roots of the juvenile teeth degenerate, the epithelium below the teeth thickens into epithelial plates. Structures in the epithelial plates are broadly similar to those found in the keratin plates. New images of the epithelial plates offer insight into a series of tubes concentrated under the juvenile teeth. The tubes are a continuous conduit to the plate surface and may serve a sensory function or result from the ever-growing nature of the epithelial plate. / text

Aujourd'hui, les plates-formes hétérogènes et partagées que sont les grilles de calcul sont omniprésentes. De plus, le besoin d'exécuter des applications parallèles complexes est croissant. Cette thèse vise à ordonnancer des applications représentées par des graphes de tâches modelables (dont le nombre de processeurs est fixé par l'ordonnanceur) sur des grilles de calcul en exploitant le maximum de parallélisme, utilisant efficacement les ressources, gérant l'hétérogénéité et le partage des ressources. Nous avons pour cela opté pour des heuristiques pragmatiques car, bien qu'elles n'offrent pas de garantie de performance, elles peuvent néanmoins conduire à de bonnes performances moyennes tout en construisant des ordonnancements en des temps relativement courts. La plupart des heuristiques existantes n'ordonnancent les applications parallèles mixtes qu'en milieu homogène et utilisent parfois inefficacement les ressources. Nous avons donc tout d'abord étudié différentes heuristiques dans le cas de plates-formes homogènes et proposé des améliorations visant à améliorer le compromis entre réduction du temps de complétion et efficacité. Nous avons ensuite introduit la gestion de l'hétérogénéité dans l'heuristique proposée et comparé ses performances à celles d'un algorithme garanti. Enfin, nous avons tenu compte du caractère partagé des grilles en gérant la concurrence entre applications. L'approche retenue consiste à limiter la quantité de ressources que chaque application peut utiliser pour construire son ordonnancement. Nous avons également proposé plusieurs stratégies de détermination de cette contrainte de ressources. / Today, computing grids, that are shared and heterogeneous platforms, are ubiquitous. Furthermore, the need to execute complex parallel applications is growing. The aim of this thesis is to schedule applications modeled by moldable task graphs (the number of processors allocated to each task is fixed by the scheduler) onto computing grids to exploit maximum parallelism, use efficiently the resources and manage the sharing of resources. We chose to design pragmatic heuristics because, although they do not guarantee performance, they can lead to good average performance while computing schedules in relatively short times. Almost all existing heuristics only schedule mixed parallel applications onto homogeneous platforms and they sometimes use inefficiently the resources. Thus, we first studied different scheduling heuristics in the case of homogeneous platforms and propose improvements to have a good compromise between the completion time and the efficiency. We then introduced management of heterogeneity in the proposed heuristic and compared its performances with those of a guaranteed algorithm. Finally, we have taken into account the fact that grids are shared by managing competition between applications. Our approach is to limit the amount of resources that each application can use to build its schedule. We also proposed different strategies to determine that resource constraint.

Global plastic pollution of the natural environment is extremely detrimental as it is causing deaths of animal species. More than 80 % of marine litter is made up by plastics and 70 % of those are made up by disposable items. For this reason, the European Parliament has agreed to abolish the top ten single-use plastic items found in the marine environment from the EU market from 2021. Therefore, the fossil-based disposables will need to be substituted by disposables made from renewable materials. It is thus important to investigate the environmental impact of these alternatives through their life cycle in order to support sustainable consumption and production. In this study, environmental impact of disposable plates made from two different renewable materials (paper and leaf) were analysed by means of life cycle assessment (LCA). The aim of the study was to examine the environmental performance of the two plates in the impact category global warming potential (GWP); and reveal the processes with the largest contributions to the overall GWP of each plate. The leaf plate was produced in India and the paper plate in the Nordics, however, both plates were used and disposed of in Uppsala, Sweden. The results showed that the leaf plate has a higher GWP due to its long-distance transport and electricity use derived from fossil fuels. Scenario analysis has proved that its GWP can be reduced when sea transport route is chosen instead of flying and production is increased. When it comes to the paper plate life cycle, the processing stage was identified to contribute the most to the total GWP. It could be further improved by applying a biodegradable layer for its coating. To keep the good performance in GWP the plate should be incinerated with energy recovery. The disposal of the plates has a substantial positive influence on their total carbon footprint as both plates substitute use of fossil fuels. However, the credits allocated for the different waste management options are specific to Uppsala and thus the results of this study should be applied only under similar conditions.

O objetivo principal deste trabalho é apresentar uma associação dos cálculos elástico e plástico, para análise de lajes-cogumelo. Foram considerados painéis retangulares, com carregamento uniformemente distribuído. O cálculo elástico é utilizado como pré-dimensionamento, fornecendo a razão entre os momentos de vão e permitindo a fixação dos momentos de plastificação negativos. O cálculo plástico é feito através da Teoria das Charneiras Plásticas, que é utilizada na obtenção dos momentos de plastificação, com os quais é feito o dimensionamento. Também se apresentam dois exemplos completos, para comparar os resultados do cálculo elástico com aqueles relativos ao procedimento ora proposto. O cálculo elástico foi feito através do Processo dos Pórticos Equivalentes. Não houve diferença significativa entre os resultados obtidos com os dois processos, para os exemplos considerados. Novas pesquisas são sugeridas para aprimorar o procedimento proposto. / The main aim of this work is to present an association of elastic plate theory and plastic analysis, to beamless slabs (flat slabs and flat plates) analysis. Rectangular panels uniformly loaded were considered. Elastic plate theory is used to predimensioning, determining the relation between positive bending moments and permiting to fix the ultimate negative moments of resistance. Plastic analysis is made by Yield Line Theory, that is used to obtain ultimate moments of resistance, which are used in dimensioning. Two complete examples are also presented, to compare results of elastic plate theory with those relative to proposed proceeding. Elastic calculus is made by Equivalent Frame Method. There was not significant difference between results obtained with the two processes in the considered examples. New researches are suggested in order to perfect proposed proceeding.

O presente estudo objetivou comparar biomecanicamente, por meio do ensaio de compressão excêntrica, a resistência dos implantes Clamp and Rod Internal Fixation (CRIF) 5,0 mm versus placa de reconstrução 3,5 mm na fixação de fratura distais de fêmur de cão. Tais implantes foram subdividos em dois grupos, denominados grupo CRIF (GC) e grupo placa (GC). Foram utilizados 22 fêmures de 10 cadáveres de cão entre 2 e 7 anos de idade e peso corporal entre 20 e 40 kg, que foram distribuídos aleatoriamente a serem testados ambos os implantes em cada um dos membros dos pares. Para realização dos testes, foi simulado uma fratura distal nos corpos de prova, através de uma osteotomia de até 0,5 cm, realizada por meio de serra oscilatória, imediatamente proximal ao início da tróclea. Os implantes foram fixados segundo os padrões AOSIF, lateralmente ao fêmur, sendo utilizados três parafusos distais e cinco proximais ao foco de fratura. Foi utilizado o programa de computador PMI para calcular o ponto máximo de resistência antes da falha e avaliadas as variáveis força máxima, deformação máxima real, rigidez, força intermediária e deformação intermediária real. Não foram encontradas diferenças estatisticamente significativas entre os GC e GP quantos as variáveis avaliadas / This study aims to compare the biomechanical properties, through eccentric compression test, of the resistance of the 5.0 mm Clamp and Rod Internal Fixation Implants (CRIF) and 3.5 mm reconstruction plate in fixing dog femur distal fracture. Such implants were subdivided into two groups, called CRIF Group (CG) and plate group (CG). It was used 22 femurs from 11 dog cadavers with age between 2 and 7 years old and body weight between 20 and 40 kg, which was randomly assigned to test both implants in each member of the pair. A distal fracture in the specimens with a gap of 0.5 cm osteotomy, it was simulated to perform the test, performed by the oscillating saw, just proximal to the beginning of the trochlea. Bound the distance from the gap to the distal femur limit was equivalent to the distance between the femoral condyles. The implants were fixed by the standards AO / SIF, laterally to the femur, being used three distal screws and five proximal to the fracture site. The bone was placed longitudinally, and the femoral neck coupled to a concave surface simulating an acetabular device. PMI computer program was used to calculate the maximum point of resistance before failure and evaluated the variables maximum strength, real maximum deformation, stiffness, intermediate strength and real intermediate deformation. No statistically significant differences were found between the GC and GP as the variables evaluated

Lajes-cogumelo são sistemas estruturais que apresentam uma série de vantagens em relação aos sistemas convencionais. Por outro lado, com a retirada das vigas, podem surgir problemas como o deslocamento transversal das lajes, a instabilidade global do edifício e a punção da laje pelo pilar. Este trabalho concentra-se no estudo dos deslocamentos transversais das lajes-cogumelo, procurando-se fazer a comparação entre deslocamentos calculados por diferentes processos: o das vigas cruzadas, o de Rangan e o dos elementos finitos. São abordados conceitos básicos para o cálculo desses deslocamentos, o estado de fissuração a ser adotado na determinação da rigidez e os efeitos da fluência e da retração do concreto, que foram baseados no ACI 209R-92. São apresentados três exemplos de aplicação. Com base nos resultados obtidos, verifica-se que os valores dos deslocamentos calculados pelos diferentes processos dependem muito da rigidez considerada, uma vez que é grande a influência do estado de fissuração nos deslocamentos da laje. Nos dois primeiros exemplos, pode-se observar que a diferença de resultados entre o processo de Rangan (que adota um estado padrão de fissuração) e a análise por elementos finitos (considerando a fissuração) é muito variável; os resultados diferem de 1% a 200%. Os resultados obtidos com dois programas de elementos finitos (que consideram a fissuração de formas diferentes) não apresentam diferenças maiores que 14%. / Flat plates are structural systems that present some advantages when compared to slabs with beams. On the other hand, when beams are removed some problems can arise, such as slab deflections, global instability of the building and punching shear. This work deals with the flat plate deflections, comparing computed deflections using different procedures: crossing beam method, Rangan method and finite element method. Basic concepts for the calculation of these deflections, the cracking stage to be adopted in order to determine the stiffness and the effects of concrete creep and shrinkage using the ACI 209R-92 are presented. Three examples are developed. Based on the results, it is noticed that the computed deflections using different procedures depend on the esteemed stiffness, since the influence of cracking stage in the slab deflections is great. In the first two examples, the difference between the results calculated using the Rangan method (which adopts a standard cracking stage) and the finite element method (considering cracking) is very variable; the results differ within a range of 1% to 200%. The results calculated with two finite element program (which consider cracking by different ways) do not present differences greater than 14%.