A pesquisa teve como objetivo integrar o método GPR (Ground Penetrating Radar) com a sísmica de refração, visando o mapeamento do N.A. e a estimativa do teor de umidade em uma área de estudos hidrogeológicos no campus da USP, assim como analisar a acurácia da medida dos dois métodos. Foram realizados ensaios geofísicos, granulométricos, de teor de umidade, do grau de saturação, do monitoramento do N.A. e acompanhamento dos índices pluviométricos em três períodos com variações sazonais no decorrer de um ano denominados período chuvoso (janeiro/2004); período intermediário (abril/2004) e período seco (setembro/2004). O mapeamento do N.A. com GPR foi feito com geometria multi-offset, com as antenas de freqüências centrais 50 MHz, 100 MHz e 200 MHz, sendo que as antenas de 100 MHz e 200 MHz foram as que caracterizaram o N.A., refletindo sua variação sazonal e mantendo a tendência prof. N.A. janeiro < prof. N.A. abril < prof. N.A. setembro. O emprego da sísmica de refração gerou maiores erros e ambigüidades na inversão dos dados. Neste estudo, a sísmica de refração não foi sensível às variações sazonais e, embora os resultados tenham se aproximado das observações diretas, não permitiram mapear a flutuação do N.A. entre os diferentes períodos. A estimativa do teor de umidade volumétrico pelo GPR foi obtida com duas metodologias diferentes que utilizaram a onda direta no solo. Foram empregadas antenas de 50 MHz, 100 MHz e 200 MHz nos diferentes períodos. Observou-se uma variação da umidade entre os períodos, sendo o teor de umidade de janeiro > abril > setembro. A antena de 200 MHz foi a que possibilitara uma melhor acurácia na estimativa do teor de umidade volumétrico. / The present study had as objective to integrate GPR (Ground Penetrating Radar) method to seismic refraction, focusing on water table mapping and on the estimate of water content in an area of hydrogeological studies at USP\'s campus, as well as analysing the measuring accuracy of both methods. Several assays were accomplished, such as geophysical, granulometric, of water content, saturation degree, water table monitoring assays and also accompaniment of pluviometric indexes in the study periods with seasonal variations, along a year, denominated rainy period (january/2004), intermediaty period (april/2004), and dry period (september/2004). Water table mapping by GPR was made with multi-offset geometry, with 50 MHz, 100 MHz and 200 MHz central frequency antennas, seeing that 100 MHz and 200 MHz antennas were those ones, which characterized the water table, reflecting its seasonal variation and maintaining the depth of the water tablejanuary < depthapril < depthseptember tendency. The use of seismic refraction generated larger mistakes and ambiguities in the data inversion. In this study, seismic refraction was not sensitive to seasonal variations and, although the results have approached to direct observations, they did not allow mapping the water table fluctuation among the different periods. The estimate of volumetric water content by GPR was obtained with two different methodologies that have used the direct ground wave. Fifty MHz, 100 MHz and 200 MHz antennas were used in the different periods. A moisture variation was observed among these periods, being the water content of January > April > September. Two hundred MHz antenna was the one that had facilitated a better accuracy in the estimate of moisture content.

Cette thèse est consacrée à l’étude du potentiel des cristaux biaxes dans le but de réaliser un laser de puissance. Les cristaux biaxes possèdent deux axes optiques ce qui donnent lieu à un effet appelé "réfraction (ou diffraction) conique". Cet effet, connu depuis 1832, est intensé- ment étudié depuis une décennie. Les progrès en croissance et découpe cristalline permettent d’obtenir des échantillons de longueurs et de qualités optiques suffisantes pour observer ce phénomène. L’utilisation de cet effet en cavité laser ayant déjà été réalisée [79, 78], l’objectif de cette thèse fut dans un premier temps de confirmer ces résultats. Ainsi, un système utilisant des cristaux de KGd(WO4)2 (KGW) dopés au Néodyme a été préalablement testé. Ces premiers résultats furent décevants. La stabilité, la qualité de faisceau ainsi que l’efficacité étaient plus que mé- diocres. L’efficacité maximale fut d’environ 40 % contre 74 % dans la publication [77]. Par ailleurs, le faisceau de sortie présentait un profil elliptique indiquant la présence d’une lentille thermique avec un fort astigmatisme. Ainsi, cette orientation, qui devrait être proche d’une direction athermale (ne présentant pas d’astigmatisme d’origine thermique) selon Biswal [10], ne l’est pas dans une cavité laser pour ce cristal. De plus ce laser est très peu stable et difficile à aligner. Les fluctuations importantes de l’efficacité de celui-ci ont abouti à une interrogation quant à la dépendance des propriétés optiques aux alentours de l’axe optique. Ainsi, dans les premiers chapitres de cette thèse, figurent une étude détaillée des principales propriétés optiques d’absorption et d’émission. Les ré- sultats de cette étude montrent que ces propriétés varient non seulement suivant la polarisation mais également suivant l’orientation aux alentours de l’axe optique. Etant donné que l’état de polarisation autour de l’axe optique varie avec l’orientation, les dépendances en orientation et polarisation sont liées. [...] Enfin, un montage innovant a été testé afin d’utiliser la réfraction conique. La puissance de sortie ainsi que l’efficacité de ce montage étaient très faibles, environ 800 mW en sortie pour 4 W de puissance de pompe. / This thesis is devoted to the study on the potential of biaxial crystals in order to increase laser output power. Biaxial crystals have two optic axes and an effect called conical refraction (or diffraction) can occur. This effect is known since 1832, and intensively studied since the last decade. Thanks to the progress of crystal growth and crystal cutting, it is possible to have long samples of good optical quality in order to ob serve the conical refraction. This effect has already been used in a laser cavity [79, 78]. The aim of this thesis was to confirm the results previously obtained. Thus, Neodymium-doped KGd(WO4)2 (KGW) crystals, cut along the optic axis, have been tested. These first results were disappointing. Stability, beam quality and efficiency were very low. The maximum efficiency achieved was arount 40% compared to the 74% claimed in publication [77]. Thus, this orientation which should be an athermal direction using the calculation of Biswal [10] shows astigmatism when there is a temperature gradient. Furthermore, this laser being difficult to align with strong intensity fluctuations, rise interrogations about the optical property variations around the optic axis. Thus, in the first Chapters of this thesis a study of those properties around the optic axis is given. It shows a strong variation of the optical properties depending on the polarization and orientation around the optic axis. The study of the refraction along the optic axis helps to understand this complex dependency with the orientation. In a second time, holmium-doped KY(WO4)2 (KYW) crystals have been tested for laser emission at 2 µm. The choice of this ion has been done on several criteria. The first one is that the ISL laboratory is used to work with this wavelength and has a lot of equipment. The second one is that Holmium ions have a small "quantum defect" (pump wavelength 1960 nm and lasing wavelength 2074 nm). This low "quantum defect" limits the dispersion between the pump and lasing wavelengths. This decreases the separation between the optic axes of both wavelengths. Thus, when the pump is aligned for conical refraction the lasing wavelength is also aligned along the optic axis. Thanks to a better setup (with new mechanical parts) the polarization and orientation dependencies of the laser efficiency have been investigated. Up to 3 W of output power with a slope efficiency of 70% has been reached near the optic axis. The doping concentration of the Holmium-doped KY(WO4)2 (KYW) being more appropriated for high power laser, no thermal lens effect has been observed. Furthermore, the first conical refraction laser with a quasi-three-level system has been realized. An efficiency of 50% has been achieved with such a conical refraction laser. Finally, a new innovative setup is proposed using the External Conical Refraction. An output power of 800 mW for 4 W of incident pump power has been reached.

No description available.

This study sets out to evaluate the use of geophysical methods for delineating buried stream channels, which can act as zones of preferential flow within a less hydraulically conductive aquifer. This information is important for gaining an understanding of flow dynamics of alluvial systems. The most reliable method of delineating the dimensions of aquifers is by drilling, which is an expensive proposition and is best preceded by a preliminary geophysical study to help define target zones for a drilling program. The study area is located adjacent to the Coerney River in the Sundays River Valley. Geologically it consists of approximately 5 metres of alluvial fines, covering 3 metres of coarse cobbles and boulders, all underlain by alternating siltstone and sandstone beds of indeterminate thickness. Throughout the area the water is very shallow at approximately 2 metres depth and the groundwater tends to be very saline. An air photo study revealed an old oxbow channel that had been covered over by subsequent agricultural land use. The geophysical methods available for the study were portable seismic refraction, electrical resistivity and electromagnetics. Preliminary field tests clearly showed that seismics did not produce valid results. The methods of electrical resistivity and electromagnetics produced good data and were subjected to further assessment. A grid was surveyed over the study area and both geophysical methods were applied at regularly spaced stations. Soil samples were taken over the same survey grid and analyzed for electrical conductivity in a soils laboratory. The results were compared to the geophysical data in an attempt to quantify the relationship between geophysical response and soil salinity. The data from the electromagnetic survey showed areas of low electrical conductivity which was a possible indication of zones of preferential groundwater flow. A transect of boreholes was drilled over selected electrical conductivity lows and successfully intersected the buried stream channel. A comparison of the borehole logs with the layered earth models from the Vertical Electrical Soundings indicated that the electrical resistivity method was not responding to the features of the buried stream channel and the cobblestone layer. This proved the electromagnetic method to be more valuable for this particular study

The goal of this diplma thesis is to design a system for axial bearings parameter measurement. The system uses principles of 2D active optical triangulation. The system will have a capability of compensating error caused by refraction on preservative oil layer, which the bearings are covered in.

The aim of this thesis is to quantify the impact of atmospheric turbulence on optical signal used in free space optic communication systems. The first part is associated with atmosphere as transmission medium. Following part deals with interferometry and components of interferometers. Various methods of analysis of trasmission environment for optical beam are introduced theoretically and experimentally. Mathematical apparatus based on Kolmogorov’s cascade theory, Rytov’s variance was used to find value of structural parameter of refraction as a main measure of turbulence intensity. Experimentally obtained data were subjected to statistical analysis. The visualization of interference pattern fluctuations under turbulent conditions is shown in the last section. Interferometric method was realized with Michelson interferometer.

Le transit de Vénus devant le Soleil est un événement rare et l’occasion unique pourétudier la réfraction de la lumière du Soleil à travers l’atmosphère, afin de déterminer les propriétésatmosphériques de la planète et en particulier la structure thermique de la haute atmosphère.L'objectif de cette thèse a été la modélisation de cette réfraction lors du passage devant le Soleilqui a eu lieu les 5-6 juin 2012, modèle dont les résultats ont pu être comparés aux données de lamission Venus Express.La première partie est consacrée à l’analyse des images des satellites qui a permis lacréation de courbes de lumière en fonction de la latitude de l’auréole qui serviront de référencepour les modèles. L’étude de l’atmosphère a d’abord été réalisée par une approche isotherme(théorie de Baum et Code,1953). Le modèle a ensuite été affiné en simulant trois couchesisothermes concentriques établies grâce à l’analyse préalable des données SPICAV/SOIR deVenus Express. Pour finir, le dernier modèle développé pour l’étude de l’auréole est un modèlemulticouche concentrique à très haute résolution verticale. Ce modèle a permis d’obtenir un profilvertical de densité en fonction de la latitude, ainsi que l’altitude du tau = 1 (le long de la ligne devisée) induite par les aérosols. Ces données ont ensuite été ensuite utilisées pour générer descartes 2D de température en fonction de la latitude et de l’altitude, que nous comparons auxdonnées d’occultation solaire de la mission Venus Express. Cette étude a également permis dedéterminer de façon indépendante l’échelle de hauteur des aérosols et leur chromaticité dansl’atmosphère de Vénus.Dans un second temps, l’étude de la courbe du transit de 2004 a été menée conjointementavec le Dr. Andréa Chiavassa afin de mettre en évidence l’impact de la granulation stellaire sur lescourbes de transit exoplanétaires. / The transit of Venus across the Sun is a rare and unique opportunity to study therefraction of sunlight through the atmosphere, called the "aureola", and determine the atmosphericproperties of the planet and in particular the thermal structure of the upper atmosphere. Theobjective of this thesis was the modeling of this refraction effect at terminator during the passageacross the Sun which took place on June, 5-6 2012, and a comparison with data obtained in thesame region during the Venus Express mission.The first part is devoted to the analysis of data from an Earth-orbiting solar observatory thatallowed the creation of individual aureola light curves according to latitude, that were used as amodeling reference. The study of the refracting atmosphere was first carried out by an isothermalapproach (Baum and Code (1953) theory). The model was then refined by simulating threeconcentric layers based on prior analysis of Venus Express/SPICAV-SOIR vertical density profiledata obtained simultaneously on June 6, 2012. Finally, the complete model developed for thisstudy is a concentric layered model with sub-kilometer vertical resolution. This model has allowedus to retrieve from individual aureole lightcurves a density vertical profile function of the latitudeand the tau = 1 altitude of slanted opacity along the line of sight, induced by mesospheric aerosols.These data were subsequently used to generate temperature maps in 2D function of latitude andaltitude, we compare the solar occultation data from the Venus Express mission (SOIR). This studyalso determined independently the scale height of aerosols and the chromaticity in the atmosphereof Venus.A separate, additional study on 2004 Venus transit data was conducted jointly with Dr.Andrea Chiavassa to highlight the impact of the stellar granulation on exoplanetary transit curves inextrasolar systems

<p>This thesis contains two parts; Both of which are parts of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Engineering </p> </p> <p> Part A: Industrial Project</p> </p> <p> Part B: McMaster (On-Campus) Project </p> / <p> This document reports the results of a study of several parameters of a neutron radiographic system of the direct conversion type, and of their effects on certain image characteristics. These parameters are: thickness of the converter, backing material of the very thin converter layers, level of water in the beam tube, exposure time, and film type. The image characteristics are relative optical density, specific contrast, and unsharpness, the latter interpreted quantitatively through the edge-spread function. Theoretical treatments and empirical data are presented and compared. Emphasis is put on investigations of the perfonnance of thin (~2000 A) layers of gadolinium converter, and on the experimental analysis of the edge-spread function. </p> / Thesis / Master of Engineering (ME)

Neutron detection is important in several fields, especially detection of illicit nuclear material. Historically, 3He has been the basis for these technologies. Modern realities have necessitated the development of new technologies and the exploration of new materials to meet this need. One potential solution is known as capture-gating, which is a measurement approach that is good at differentiating between incident neutrons and gamma rays. The key issue is that materials used in current capture-gating devices can suffer from poor optical performance. This is due to the fact that the these detectors, whether composed of a heterogeneous or homogeneous mixture of materials, are made of dissimilar materials. In the homogeneous case, this frequently results in a cloudy material (e.g. lithium-gadolinium-borate crystals), while heterogeneous cases suffer from index mismatch (e.g. glass inside a plastic scintillator). The goal of this thesis is material development and processing toward an index-matched, gadolinium-based glass, heterogeneous capture-gated neutron detector. This involved identifying the refractive index range of known gadolinium glasses and the development of polystyrene (PS) and polyvinyl toluene (PVT) co-polymers with a range of refractive indices. Specifically 1:3, 1:1, and 3:1 PS:PVT ratios were manufactured and their refractive indices were compared to those of pure PS and PVT. Two methods for uniform glass dispersion were explored; the use of a rotisserie oven and the use of centrifugal planetary mixer. Ellipsometry, refractometry, and spectroscopic transmission were all performed to optically evaluate the manufactured polymers and polymer/glass composites. The ability to produce a PS/PVT copolymer with a refractive index in the range of known gadolinium glasses was demonstrated. In addition, the benefit of matching the refractive indices when producing a glass/polymer composite was explored and the effect of index mismatch was observed. The ability to predict the refractive index of a PS/PVT blend was demonstrated but can still be improved upon. While a novel index-matched gadolinium-based heterogeneous capture-gated neutron detector was not developed as part of this work, progress was made on all material aspects to further develop a detector meeting that description. More work still needs to be done in fine tuning the index match of the glass and polymer components, in determining the ideal method of glass dispersion, and in producing larger samples.

Purpose: Currently there are attempts to slow myopia progression by manipulating peripheral refractive error. This study proposed to establish the distribution of peripheral refractive errors in hyperopic, emmetropic and myopic children and to test the hypothesis that relative peripheral hyperopia is a risk factor in the onset and progression of myopia. Methods: Refraction was measured under non-cycloplegic conditions, at 0°, 10° (superior, inferior, temporal and nasal retina) and 30° (temporal and nasal retina), at distance and near. Central spherical equivalent refractive error (SER) was used to classify the eyes as myopic (≤ −0.75 D), emmetropic (−0.75 < SER < +0.75 D) or hyperopic (≥ +0.75 D). Relative peripheral refraction was calculated as the difference between the central (i.e. foveal) and peripheral refractive measurements. At baseline, measurements were taken from 554 children and in a subset of 300 of these same children at the follow-up visit. The time interval between initial and follow-up measurement was 9.71 ± 0.87 months. Results: Results were analysed on 528 participants (10.21 ±0.94 years old) at baseline and 286 longitudinally. At baseline, myopic children (n=61) had relative peripheral hyperopia at all eccentricities at distance and near, except at 10°-superior retina where relative peripheral myopia was observed at near. Hyperopic eyes displayed relative peripheral myopia at all eccentricities, at distance and near. The emmetropes showed a shift from relative peripheral myopia at distance to relative peripheral hyperopia at near at all eccentricities, except at 10°-superior retina, where the relative peripheral myopia was maintained at near. In the longitudinal data analysis, myopes who became more myopic did not show greater relative peripheral hyperopia at baseline compared with myopic sub-groups whose central refraction remained stable. Conclusions: The peripheral refractive profile differences between different refractive groups that are reported in other studies have been confirmed in this study. Relative peripheral hyperopia is not found to be a significant risk factor in the onset or progression of myopia in children.