Os resíduos de equipamentos elétricos e eletrônicos é um dos fluxos de resíduos que mais cresce no mundo. O aumento na produção destes equipamentos como resultado dos avanços tecnológicos e a sua rápida obsolescência promovem o aumento de geração deste tipo de resíduos. Portanto, este trabalho tem como objetivo estudar a recuperação de níquel presente no licor de lixiviação de placas de circuito impresso de telefones celulares obsoletos, através da aplicação de processos hidrometalúrgicos e eletrometalúrgico. Inicialmente, foram preparadas soluções sintéticas a partir da composição química do licor de lixiviação das frações magnética (MA) e não magnética (NMA) das placas de circuito impresso cominuídas. Os elementos presentes nas soluções são: ferro, zinco, níquel e alumínio. Posteriormente, foi realizada uma etapa de remoção do ferro, através de precipitação seletiva. A morfologia e a composição química do precipitado foram analisadas através de Microscopia Eletrônica de Varredura (MEV) e EDS, respectivamente. A composição química das soluções resultantes da precipitação foi determinada através da técnica de espectrofotometria de absorção atômica. Através do processo de precipitação conseguiu-se uma porcentagem de remoção de ferro na solução NMA de 99,6% e na solução MA de 99,9%, porém, observou-se também a coprecipitação de zinco, alumínio e níquel. Com as soluções resultantes desta etapa, foi realizada a purificação das soluções através de extração por solvente, utilizando Cyanex 272 como agente extratante. As variáveis estudadas nos ensaios de extração por solvente foram: pH, concentração do extratante, relação fase aquosa/orgânica (A/O) e temperatura. . Além disso, também foi determinado o número de contatos necessários para a extração de ferro, zinco e alumínio, obtendo assim, uma solução aquosa contendo unicamente níquel. Finalmente, foram realizados os ensaios de eletrodeposição para a obtenção de níquel metálico. Foi avaliado o efeito da temperatura sobre o filme depositado. A morfologia dos depósitos e a espessura da camada foram analisadas através do MEV, verificando que o aumento da temperatura influencia nas características do depósito obtido. / Electric and electronic waste (e-waste) is one of the fastest growing waste streams in the world. Continuous increasing production owing to the technological advances and the products consumption rise, all together with the rapid obsolescence of this scrap promotes the necessity of exchange and the increasing of generate waste. Therefore, the aim of this work is to study a recovering of nickel from leach liquor of cell phones printed circuit boards, through of hydrometallurgical and electrometallurgical process application. Firstly, was prepared synthetic solutions of both magnetic (MA) and nonmagnetic (NMA) fractions of printed circuit boards. The metal ions present in the synthetic solutions are: iron, zinc, nickel and aluminium. Afterwards was realized the iron removal stage, through both selective precipitation and solvent extraction process, in order to make a comparison of these techniques. The precipitates were analyzed across of scanning electron microscope (SEM), and the chemical composition of these solutions through atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS). With selective precipitation it was obtained 99,6% and 99,9% of iron removal with selective precipitation in NMA and MA solutions, respectively. Therefore, it was also observed co-precipitation of zinc, aluminium and nickel. With solutions after precipitation stage was carried out the solutions purification through solvent extraction using cyanex 272 as extractant. Solvent extraction test were studied different parameters, such as: equilibrium pH, extractant concentration, aqueous-organic (A/O) ratio and temperature. It was also determinates the stages number required for iron, zinc and aluminium extraction, to obtain nickel in aqueous solution uniquely. Finally, was carried out the electrodeposition test for obtain metallic nickel. Was analyzed the effect of temperature on the deposited layer. Surface Morphology and thickness of the deposits were evaluated by MEV, verifying that temperature increasing influences on deposited layer.

O avanço da tecnologia de aparelhos eletro-eletrônicos favorece a troca constante dos equipamentos. O freqüente descarte de aparelhos obsoletos se torna um problema de sustentabilidade e também um problema ambiental devido ao seu acúmulo em aterros. A solução para minimizar estes impactos é a reciclagem de seus componentes. Por esta razão, o principal objetivo deste trabalho é estudar o processamento das placas de circuito impresso de telefones celulares através de operações unitárias de Tratamento de Minérios e hidrometalurgia a fim de se recuperar o cobre contido nas placas. Para isso, inicialmente, placas de circuito impresso foram processadas em moinho de martelos, a fim de liberar os materiais, em seguida foi feita a separação magnética do material cominuído. Com a fração não magnética foi feita a separação eletrostática e o material foi separado em: fração condutora, mista e não condutora, com cada fração foi feita a classificação granulométrica e, posteriormente, realizaram-se ensaios de caracterização como pirólise, digestão em água régia e análise química de espectroscopia de emissão óptica por indução de plasma. Os processos hidrometalúrgico aplicados para a recuperação de cobre nas placas de circuito impresso de aparelhos celulares obsoletos envolvem etapas lixiviação com ácido sulfúrico na ausência e na presença de peróxido de hidrogênio. Os resultados da caracterização mostraram que as placas de circuito impresso de celulares após a moagem possuem 24% de cerâmicas; 12,7% de polímeros e 63,3% de metais. Além disso, após a classificação granulométrica e a separação eletrostática os materiais não se concentraram em nenhuma fração especifica, portanto o processamento mecânico visando a recuperação de metais deve contemplar a moagem e a separação magnética. / The technology advancement of electro-electronics devices favors the constant equipment exchange. The frequent disposal of obsolete equipment becomes a sustainability problem and also an environmental problem due to their accumulation in landfills. One possible solution to minimize these impacts is the recycling of their components. For this reason the aim goal of this study is processing of printed circuit boards of mobile phones utilizing unit operation of ore treatment and hydrometallurgy to recover the copper contained in the printed. Therefore, initially printed circuit boards were processed on a hammer mill to release the materials, then it was made magnetic separation of comminuted material. With the non-magnetic fraction was made electrostatic separation in which the material was separated into: conductive, mixed and non-conductive fraction, with each fraction was made grain sized classification and then assays were performed analysis of characterize as pyrolysis, digestion in aqua regia and chemical analysis of inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy. Hydrometallurgical processes applied to the cooper recovery in printed circuit boards of obsolete mobile phones, involve steps leaching with sulfuric acid in the absence and presence of hydrogen peroxide. The characterization results showed that the printed circuit boards of mobile phones after grinding have ceramics 24%, polymers 12.7% and metals 63.3%. Moreover, after grain sized classification and electrostatic separation the materials didn\'t concentrate in no specific fraction, therefore the mechanical processing in order to recover metals should include grinding and magnetic separation.

Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia cause cognitive disabilities in the afflicted person. As a result, the person with dementia often requires assistance from a primary caregiver. However, while the caregiver is away from the home they are unaware of the person's status and may not be able to find out without returning to the home due to dementia's effects on cognition. In this thesis work, a system of embedded devices is presented which tracks a solitary dementia patient in the home in real-time. The system is composed of three main hardware components. Multiple passive and active sensors are strategically placed to monitor the patient. A number of custom battery-powered embedded systems read the sensors and wirelessly transmit the sensor's values. A central computational node collects the wireless transmissions and analyzes the data. Two algorithms were developed that detect the patient's eating activities and location throughout the home from the sensor data. A web-based user interface was designed that allows a primary caregiver to remotely view the patient's status while away from the home. Numerous trials are performed which test the system's ability to monitor the patient's eating activities and location. The positive results of the trials show that the proposed system is able to detect eating patterns as defined by rules and localize in real-time the patient in the home, accurate to a single quadrant of a room. The proposed embedded system is highly affordable and has two novel features, namely eating detection and patient localization accurate to a single quadrant of any room in the home. Both features use sensors installed in the home and do not require the patient to wear any sensors on their person. The state-of-the-art products currently available are able to localize only to a single room without the patient wearing sensors.

Increasing demands for more reliability and functionalities in electronic devices have pushed the electronics industry to adopt newly developed materials and reduce interconnect sizes and spacing. These adaptations have led to concerns of reliability failures caused by conductive anodic filament formation (CAF). CAF is a conductive copper-containing salt that forms via an electrochemical process. It is initiated at the anode and grows along the epoxy/glass interface to the cathode, and once CAF reaches the cathode a short circuit will occur. The objective of this research is to evaluate and compare the effects of curing agents (DICY vs. phenolic-cured epoxy) and drilling methods (laser vs. mechanical drilling) on CAF formation using an insulation resistance test at 85 ºC, relative humidity of 85%, and a voltage gradient of 0.4V/µm. Time-to-failure for DICY-cured and phenolic-cured epoxy with laser drilled microvias and mechanically drilled vias were determined using the insulation resistance test. The failed coupons were cross-sectioned and examined using a Scanning Electron Microscope equipped with Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy to verify the existence of CAF. Weibull analysis was used to compare the reliability and identify the failure modes of the failed coupons. Test results show that DICY-cured epoxy is a better CAF resistant material than phenolic-cured epoxy. It is believed that the brittleness of phenolic-cured material might enhance the damage to the epoxy/glass fiber interface during drilling; and hence, facilitate subsequent CAF formation. The study also shows that laser drilled microvias are less prone to CAF formation than mechanically drilled vias, because there is less mechanical damage and lower glass fiber content. Finally, using Weibull analysis, it is determined that laser drilled microvias experienced infant-mortality failure, whereas mechanically drilled vias exhibited a wear-out type failure.

Abstract One of the features in Taiwan market is price competition. What makes it even worse are the outflow of investment, more demand on environmental protection, increase of labor cost, and the limit of national policy. These factors make business hardly earn profits. And therefore, how to gain reasonably with limited resources and survive in the competition are the difficulties we need to overcome in Taiwan. Printed Circuit Board played a key role in ¡§Taiwan Financial Miracle¡¨ for the past 10 years. However, the manufacturers now have no choice but to search for new niche to meet the change on the whole business environment. The headquarters staying in Taiwan have to face even more harsh conditions, which come from the demand of cost-down, the price competitions among the same industry. Therefore, it becomes essential to adjust Product Mixed in order to fit the insufficient Product Resources. My study puts focus on ¡§Most Constrained Station¡¨ from the Theory of Constraint. It helps PCB manufacturers, who suffers slim profit, find out the best Products Mixed in accordance of Throughput Contribution. Each product brings different profit and cost. Some may share common resources, and some may not, when they are put in the process line. Therefore, to continue forward in the age of slim-profit, the complex of Product Mixed and earnings becomes prominent. Studying Theory of Constraint, I aim to bring forth the best solution on processing contribution by means of figuring out the Throughput Chain in Most Constrained Station and analysis of application on Most Constrained Station. And then I will conclude with the best production strategy for the PCB manufacturer as the main thesis of the research.

In this thesis, we study the discontinuity structure electromagnetic effect of multilayer printed circuit board in three sections. In first section, we introduced a modeling approach which is based on transmission line theory , and simulated with a series of test boards ,such as regular and irregular power delivery system and multilayer with via structure, finally ,we confirmed that the modeling approach is an efficient simulation and agreed fairly well with 3D full-wave method. In second section, we demonstrated the return current is disrupted at the via or broken at the power / ground plane with slots , the impedance becomes extremely high at the resonance frequencies of the power / ground plane cavity and via could be a major cause of the simultaneous switching noise generation, signal quality problem, and edge radiated emission in multi-layer PCB. In final section, we provided a effective reduction mechanism to eliminate the noise or EMI, which has been achieved using island with shorting vias and combining with the modeling approach can simulate and estimate effectively.

The development of high temperature heat exchangers will play a vital part in the success of High Temperature Nuclear Reactors (HTRs). Manufacturing such heat exchangers from metals is becoming increasingly difficult as the operating temperatures keep rising. Above 1000'C most metals loose their strength and have high creep rates, while certain ceramic materials (including graphite, in the absence of oxygen) are able to operate at these temperatures. A literature study was done in order to identify the major problems regarding the use of graphite for heat exchanger construction as well as to investigate to what extent graphite has been used for heat exchanger construction in the past. Following from the literature survey, it was decided to design and manufacture a Printed Circuit Heat Exchanger (PCHE) from isotropic graphite to gain experience regarding the use of graphite as a heat exchanger material. This heat exchanger was then tested in order to learn about the operation of a graphite heat exchanger and to determine its effectiveness. A model ofthe heat exchanger was also constructed in order to determine what the performance of such a heat exchanger should theoretically be. It was found that the single greatest hurdle standing in the way ofgraphite being used as a heat exchanger material is its high gas permeability. This causes mixing between the two fluid streams as well as leakages to the environment, which have a negative effect on the heat exchanger's heat transfer capability. The methods used to establish a seal between the consecutive plates of the PCHE are also affected by the permeability of the graphite. Coatings on the surface of the graphite might be able to reduce its permeability and can also inhibit the high temperature degradation of graphite in the presence of oxygen. Manufacturing very small flow channels for the PCHE is limited by the availability of small enough end mills. Alternative manufucturing techniques is needed to economically construct a graphite PCHE. It was also found that the heat transfer effectiveness of the heat exchanger is influenced negatively by heat losses to the environment through the outer surface ofthe heat exchanger. Effective insulation around the heat exchanger or a graphite material :vith higher heat conductivity perpendicular to the flow direction might solve this problem. This study concluded that if diffusion bonding techniques, effective coatings and a graphite material with increased heat conductivity perpendicular to the flow direction are used, manufacturing a printed circuit heat exchanger from graphite is feasible. / Thesis (M.Ing. (Nuclear Engineering))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2010

The development of high temperature heat exchangers will play a vital part in the success of High Temperature Nuclear Reactors (HTRs). Manufacturing such heat exchangers from metals is becoming increasingly difficult as the operating temperatures keep rising. Above 1000'C most metals loose their strength and have high creep rates, while certain ceramic materials (including graphite, in the absence of oxygen) are able to operate at these temperatures. A literature study was done in order to identify the major problems regarding the use of graphite for heat exchanger construction as well as to investigate to what extent graphite has been used for heat exchanger construction in the past. Following from the literature survey, it was decided to design and manufacture a Printed Circuit Heat Exchanger (PCHE) from isotropic graphite to gain experience regarding the use of graphite as a heat exchanger material. This heat exchanger was then tested in order to learn about the operation of a graphite heat exchanger and to determine its effectiveness. A model ofthe heat exchanger was also constructed in order to determine what the performance of such a heat exchanger should theoretically be. It was found that the single greatest hurdle standing in the way ofgraphite being used as a heat exchanger material is its high gas permeability. This causes mixing between the two fluid streams as well as leakages to the environment, which have a negative effect on the heat exchanger's heat transfer capability. The methods used to establish a seal between the consecutive plates of the PCHE are also affected by the permeability of the graphite. Coatings on the surface of the graphite might be able to reduce its permeability and can also inhibit the high temperature degradation of graphite in the presence of oxygen. Manufacturing very small flow channels for the PCHE is limited by the availability of small enough end mills. Alternative manufucturing techniques is needed to economically construct a graphite PCHE. It was also found that the heat transfer effectiveness of the heat exchanger is influenced negatively by heat losses to the environment through the outer surface ofthe heat exchanger. Effective insulation around the heat exchanger or a graphite material :vith higher heat conductivity perpendicular to the flow direction might solve this problem. This study concluded that if diffusion bonding techniques, effective coatings and a graphite material with increased heat conductivity perpendicular to the flow direction are used, manufacturing a printed circuit heat exchanger from graphite is feasible. / Thesis (M.Ing. (Nuclear Engineering))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2010

Increasing demands for more reliability and functionalities in electronic devices have pushed the electronics industry to adopt newly developed materials and reduce interconnect sizes and spacing. These adaptations have led to concerns of reliability failures caused by conductive anodic filament formation (CAF). CAF is a conductive copper-containing salt that forms via an electrochemical process. It is initiated at the anode and grows along the epoxy/glass interface to the cathode, and once CAF reaches the cathode a short circuit will occur. The objective of this research is to evaluate and compare the effects of curing agents (DICY vs. phenolic-cured epoxy) and drilling methods (laser vs. mechanical drilling) on CAF formation using an insulation resistance test at 85 ºC, relative humidity of 85%, and a voltage gradient of 0.4V/µm. Time-to-failure for DICY-cured and phenolic-cured epoxy with laser drilled microvias and mechanically drilled vias were determined using the insulation resistance test. The failed coupons were cross-sectioned and examined using a Scanning Electron Microscope equipped with Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy to verify the existence of CAF. Weibull analysis was used to compare the reliability and identify the failure modes of the failed coupons. Test results show that DICY-cured epoxy is a better CAF resistant material than phenolic-cured epoxy. It is believed that the brittleness of phenolic-cured material might enhance the damage to the epoxy/glass fiber interface during drilling; and hence, facilitate subsequent CAF formation. The study also shows that laser drilled microvias are less prone to CAF formation than mechanically drilled vias, because there is less mechanical damage and lower glass fiber content. Finally, using Weibull analysis, it is determined that laser drilled microvias experienced infant-mortality failure, whereas mechanically drilled vias exhibited a wear-out type failure.

O avanço da tecnologia de aparelhos eletro-eletrônicos favorece a troca constante dos equipamentos. O freqüente descarte de aparelhos obsoletos se torna um problema de sustentabilidade e também um problema ambiental devido ao seu acúmulo em aterros. A solução para minimizar estes impactos é a reciclagem de seus componentes. Por esta razão, o principal objetivo deste trabalho é estudar o processamento das placas de circuito impresso de telefones celulares através de operações unitárias de Tratamento de Minérios e hidrometalurgia a fim de se recuperar o cobre contido nas placas. Para isso, inicialmente, placas de circuito impresso foram processadas em moinho de martelos, a fim de liberar os materiais, em seguida foi feita a separação magnética do material cominuído. Com a fração não magnética foi feita a separação eletrostática e o material foi separado em: fração condutora, mista e não condutora, com cada fração foi feita a classificação granulométrica e, posteriormente, realizaram-se ensaios de caracterização como pirólise, digestão em água régia e análise química de espectroscopia de emissão óptica por indução de plasma. Os processos hidrometalúrgico aplicados para a recuperação de cobre nas placas de circuito impresso de aparelhos celulares obsoletos envolvem etapas lixiviação com ácido sulfúrico na ausência e na presença de peróxido de hidrogênio. Os resultados da caracterização mostraram que as placas de circuito impresso de celulares após a moagem possuem 24% de cerâmicas; 12,7% de polímeros e 63,3% de metais. Além disso, após a classificação granulométrica e a separação eletrostática os materiais não se concentraram em nenhuma fração especifica, portanto o processamento mecânico visando a recuperação de metais deve contemplar a moagem e a separação magnética. / The technology advancement of electro-electronics devices favors the constant equipment exchange. The frequent disposal of obsolete equipment becomes a sustainability problem and also an environmental problem due to their accumulation in landfills. One possible solution to minimize these impacts is the recycling of their components. For this reason the aim goal of this study is processing of printed circuit boards of mobile phones utilizing unit operation of ore treatment and hydrometallurgy to recover the copper contained in the printed. Therefore, initially printed circuit boards were processed on a hammer mill to release the materials, then it was made magnetic separation of comminuted material. With the non-magnetic fraction was made electrostatic separation in which the material was separated into: conductive, mixed and non-conductive fraction, with each fraction was made grain sized classification and then assays were performed analysis of characterize as pyrolysis, digestion in aqua regia and chemical analysis of inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy. Hydrometallurgical processes applied to the cooper recovery in printed circuit boards of obsolete mobile phones, involve steps leaching with sulfuric acid in the absence and presence of hydrogen peroxide. The characterization results showed that the printed circuit boards of mobile phones after grinding have ceramics 24%, polymers 12.7% and metals 63.3%. Moreover, after grain sized classification and electrostatic separation the materials didn\'t concentrate in no specific fraction, therefore the mechanical processing in order to recover metals should include grinding and magnetic separation.