Adaptive modulation is widely employed to improve spectral e ciency. To date, square signal constellations have been used for adaptive modulation. In this disser- tation, triangular constellations are considered for this purpose. Triangle quadrature amplitude modulation (TQAM) for both power-of-two and non-power-of-two mod- ulation orders is examined. A technique for TQAM mapping is presented which is better than existing approaches. A new type of TQAM called semi-regular TQAM (S-TQAM) is introduced. Bit error rate expressions for TQAM are derived, and the detection complexity of S-TQAM is compared with that of regular TQAM (R-TQAM) and irregular TQAM (I-TQAM). The performance of S-TQAM over additive white Gaussian noise and Rayleigh fading channels is compared with that of R-TQAM and I-TQAM. The construction of ternary convolutional codes (TCCs) for ternary phase shift keying (TPSK) modulation is considered. Tables of non-recursive non-systematic TCCs with maximum free distance are given for rates 1=2, 1=3 and 1=4. The conver- sion from binary data to ternary symbols is investigated. The performance of TCCs with binary to ternary conversion using TPSK is compared with the best BCCs using binary phase shift keying (BPSK). / Graduate

Excess molar volumes have been determined for four ternary chlorobenzene + dibutyl ether + alkane mixtures at 25°C. Results of these measurements are used to test the applications and limitations of BAB, Redlich-Kister, Kohler and Hwang et al. cubic models. For the systems studied, Redlich- Kister, Kohler and Cubic models were found to provide reasonable predictions. Differences between experimental and predicted ΔV^ex_123 values were about ±0.020 cm^3mol^-1 or less at most ternary compositions. Solubilities are reported for anthracene in binary mixtures containing propanol and butanol with alkanes at 25°C. Results of these measurements are used to test the NIBS/Redlich-Kister expression. The three-parameter form of this expression is found to provide reasonable mathematical representation with deviations between experimental and back-calculated values being less than ±1%.

Masters of Science / Codes Related to and Derived from Hamming Graphs T.R Muthivhi M.Sc thesis, Department of Mathematics, University of Western Cape For integers n; k 1; and k n; the graph 􀀀k n has vertices the 2n vectors of Fn2 and adjacency de ned by two vectors being adjacent if they di er in k coordinate positions. In particular, 􀀀1 n is the classical n-cube, usually denoted by H1(n; 2): This study examines the codes (both binary and p-ary for p an odd prime) of the row span of adjacency and incidence matrices of these graphs. We rst examine codes of the adjacency matrices of the n-cube. These have been considered in [14]. We then consider codes generated by both incidence and adjacency matrices of the Hamming graphs H1(n; 3) [12]. We will also consider codes of the line graphs of the n-cube as in [13]. Further, the automorphism groups of the codes, designs and graphs will be examined, highlighting where there is an interplay. Where possible, suitable permutation decoding sets will be given.

Conventional liquid lubricants are faced with limitations under extreme cyclic operating conditions, such as in applications that require lubrication when changing from atmospheric pressure to ultrahigh vacuum and ambient air to dry nitrogen (e.g., satellite components), and room to elevated (>500°C) temperatures (e.g., aerospace bearings). Alternatively, solid lubricant coatings can be used in conditions where synthetic liquid lubricants and greases are not applicable; however, individual solid lubricant phases usually perform best only for a limited range of operating conditions. Therefore, solid lubricants that can adequately perform over a wider range of environmental conditions are needed, especially during thermal cycling with temperatures exceeding 500°C. One potential material class investigated in this dissertation is lubricious oxides, because unlike other solid lubricant coatings they are typically thermodynamically stable in air and at elevated temperatures. While past studies have been focused on binary metal oxide coatings, such as ZnO, there have been very few ternary oxide and no reported quaternary oxide investigations. The premise behind the addition of the third and fourth refractory metals Ti and Zr is to increase the number of hard and wear resistant phases while maintaining solid lubrication with ZnO. Therefore, the major focus of this dissertation is to investigate the processing-structure-tribological property relations of composite ZnO, TiO2 and ZrO2 phases that form ternary (ZnTi)xOy and quaternary (ZnTiZr)xOy nanocrystalline coatings. The coatings were processed by atomic layer deposition (ALD) using a selective variation of ALD parameters. The growth structure and chemical composition of as-deposited and ex situ annealed ternary and quaternary oxide coatings were studied by combined x-ray diffraction/focused ion beam microscopy/cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy, and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy/Auger electron spectroscopy, respectively. It was determined that the structure varied from purely nanocrystalline (ternary oxides) to composite amorphous/nanocrystalline (quaternary oxides) depending on ALD parameters and annealing temperatures. In particular, the ZnTiO3 ilmenite phase with (104) textured nanocolumnar grains, exhibiting high stacking fault/partial dislocation densities >1012/cm2, was responsible for the excellent tribological behavior. Steady-state sliding friction coefficients down to 0.12 in humid air and 0.2 in dry nitrogen were measured along with sliding and fretting wear factors in the range of 10-6 to 10-7 mm3/N·m, even after ex situ annealing to 550°C. Additionally, the quaternary oxide phase Zn(Ti,Zr)O3 in solid solution exhibited a low fretting wear rate of 1x10-6 mm3/N·m. In contrast, certain phases, such as Zn2TiO4 cubic spinel, that form at annealing temperatures >550°C were responsible for high friction and wear. Mechanistic studies using the above techniques revealed low friction and wear-reducing surfaces and subsurfaces were due to different velocity accommodation modes (VAM). In the case of the ternary system, sliding-induced plastic deformation was possible when ZnTiO3 (104) stacking faults, bordered by partial dislocations, serve as a pathway for the dislocations to glide parallel to the sliding direction and hence achieve low friction and wear via an intrafilm shear VAM. It was evident that the individual nanocolumnar ZnTiO3 grains were plastically sheared as opposed to being fractured during wear. Conversely for the quaternary system, an interfacial sliding VAM between the counterface and a mechanically mixed layer (tribofilm) composed of the refined coating and counterface material, that also served as a source for the formation of cylindrical rolls, was responsible for wear reduction. Therefore, these lubricious oxides are a potential candidate for solid lubrication at high temperatures (up to 550 °C) and in space environments.

In introduction this graduation theses discource about phase diagrams and thein fission. Next part is about concrete phase diagrams NaF – KF, NaF – LiF, KF – LiF. Their determination trough use of cooling surves and their specification trough use of numerical method. Conclusion contains proposal of method for concrete phase diagram of NaF – KF – LiF.

The main challenge of water splitting technology is to develop stable, visible responsive photocatalysts that satisfy the thermodynamic requirements to achieve water redox reactions. This study investigates development of the semiconductors containing metals with s2d10 electronic configuration such as Sn2+ or Bi3+ which shifts the valence band position negatively. Efficient water splitting can, however, be only achieved by understanding the fundamental semiconductor properties of underlying processes. This work elucidates the semiconductor properties through two approaches: the first is to synthesize the materials of various stoichiometry in various forms (powders, thin film etc.) and the second is to perform a combined experimental-theoretical studies to determine the optoelectronic properties of the synthesized materials. The study includes the synthesis and characterization of a series of Bi3+ based semiconductors (Bi2Ti2O7, Bi12TiO20, and Bi4Ti3O12) to resolve inconsistencies in their optoelectronic properties. The crystal parameters and stoichiometry were confirmed by the Rietveld refinement and XRD measurements. These compounds showed a UV responsive absorption, high dielectric constants, and low electron and hole effective masses in one crystallographic reflecting their good charge separation and carrier diffusion properties. The approach showed to be accurate in determining the optoelectronic properties due to good agreement between experimental and theoretical values. The second study investigated the synthesis of SnNb2O6 and using flux assisted method which afforded control over the surface. Increasing the flux to reactant molar ratio resulted in a 2D platelets with anisotropic growth along bc plane as confirmed by XRD and SEM. The photocatalytic activity increased while increasing the flux to reactant ratio exceeding solid state synthesis. This method minimized the oxidation of the surface and formation of grain boundaries and enabled the synthesis of the compound at lower temperature. Next, the optoelectronic properties of α-SnWO4 structure were studied though a combination of experimental and theoretical approach. α-SnWO4 thin films were deposited by RF-sputtering. An interesting low band gap of ~ 1.95 eV was experimentally for direct band gap and 1.7 eV for indirect band gap, high dielectric constants and low electron effective masses in one crystallographic direction were obtained, exhibiting good charge separation and charge carrier transport of the charge carriers. The PEC performance was limited by the oxidation of Sn2+ in the material under applied potential. Finally, pyrochlore SnSb2O6 structure was synthesized utilizing soft hydrothermal method. The crystal structure was studied by Rietveld refinement and the position of Sn2+ was specified. The material showed interesting absorption edge around 700 which is promising for overall water splitting application.

We generalize the results of Leger and Luks and other researchers about generalized derivations to the cases of ternary Lie algebras and n-BiHom Lie algebras. We investigate the derivations algebras of ternary Lie algebras induced from Lie algebras, we explore the subalgebra of quasi-derivations and give their properties. Moreover, we give a classification of the derivations algebras for low dimensional ternary Lie algebras. For the class of n-BiHom Lie algebras, we study the algebras of generalized derivations and prove that the algebra of quasi-derivations can be embedded in the derivation algebra of a larger n-BiHom Lie algebra.

CdTe an II-VI semiconductor has been a leading thin film photovoltaic material due to its near ideal bandgap and high absorption coefficient [1]. The typical thin film CdTe solar cells have been of the superstrate configuration with CdS (Eg-2.42eV) as the n-type heterojunction partner. Due to the relatively narrow bandgap of CdS, a wider bandgap n-type window layer has recently emerged as a promising substitute: alloys of MgyZn1-yO have been successfully used as the emitter or window layer. The benefits in the usage of MgyZn1-yO (MZO) are its tunable bandgap and wide optical spectrum on optoelectronic devices. Due to an increasing bandgap of the window layer, the carrier collection can be improved in the short wavelength range (<500 nm). In addition alloys of CdSexTe1-x (CST) have also been used in the absorber layer (i.e., CST/CdTe) for the fabrication of CdTe devices to improve the carrier collection and lifetime [2]. The lower bandgap of the CST alloy can lead to higher short-circuit current (JSC), but it can also result in lower open circuit voltage (VOC). Another critical aspect of the CdTe solar cell is the use of copper as a p-type dopant, which is typically incorporated in the cell during the fabrication of the back contact. The most challenging issue related to further advancing the CdTe solar cell efficiency is the relatively low level of p-type doping, which limits the VOC. Efforts to dope CdTe with group V dopants are yet to produce the desired results. ZnO has been used as an effective high resistivity transparent. When CdTe is deposited directly on sputtered ZnO, VOC of typically 500-600 mV is produced. Band alignment measurements indicate that a negative conduction band offset with CdS exists; alloying with MgO to produce MgyZn1-yO with a composition of y = 0.15 can produce a flat conduction band alignment with CdS. This material has an additional benefit for improving the energy bandgap of the MZO for better UV light transmission in the short wavelengths. By changing the magnesium content from y = 0 to 0.30 allowed researchers to make the tunable conduction band offset from a “cliff” to a “spike,” with both increased open-circuit voltage and fill factor as increasing magnesium compositions [3] — the bandgap gains as expected with increased magnesium composition. The large compositions (y > 0.30) of MgyZn1-yO cause the enormous spike result in S-kink in the IV measurement so that the FF decreases. Besides, due to the instability of MZO material, the fabrication process has to proceed carefully. The properties of CST films and cells were investigated as a function of Se composition (x), substrate temperature (TSUB), and ambient used during the CSS deposition. The higher ratio of Se in CST alloy causes the smaller grain structures and lower bandgap, which profoundly detrimental to the device performance (VOC). However, the CST can be deposited in various substrate temperatures and different inert ambient gas to improve the grain structure by utilizing the especial Close Space Sublimation (CSS) deposition system. Therefore, despite the fact that the CST (25% Se) has the optical bandgap (1.37eV), the improvement of grain structure can slightly increase the doping concentration and decrease the grain boundary (GBs) due to increased alloys grain size 3X larger, which is contributed to improving the VOC [4]. The study of higher ratio Se of CST alloy is significant to achieve the high efficiency polycrystalline CST/CdTe photovoltaic devices. The effect of Cu doping back contact in CdSexTe1-x (CST)/CdTe solar cells with varying amounts of Se (x) has been investigated. The Cu-based back contact was annealed at different thermal temperatures in order to vary the amount of Cu in-diffusion. Net p-type doping was found to increase as the back-contact annealing temperature increased. All cells exhibited a decrease in VOC with increased annealing temperature (i.e., higher Cu concertation), presumably due to a degradation of the lifetime with increased amounts of Cu [5]. However, cells with the highest Se composition appeared to exhibit a higher degree of tolerance to the amount of Cu – i.e., they exhibited a smaller loss in VOC with the increased amount of Cu. Extrinsic p-type doping of CdSeTe can be fabricated using two different experimental processes. Firstly, by using group I elements such as, Cu to substitute Cd, which is promising during the back contact process. Secondly, using group V (P, As, Sb) elements to substitute Te, and this is suitable for Cd-rich of intrinsic CdTe. Intrinsic CST alloy has lower hole density concentration as higher Se composition with limitation of the VOC. Thus, in order to increase the p-type net doping up to 1016 cm-3 the extrinsic P or As doping have been widely investigated recently. The research studies show the CST/CdTe devices lead to improve VOC up to 850 mV with higher hole density in higher Se compositions of As doped CST alloys. Nevertheless, the group V doped CdTe still cause the formation of compensating defects limits the upper boundary of dupability on the CdTe thin film solar cells. Even if a high hole density concentration is achieved for intrinsically-doped p-type CST/CdTe, it is believed the poor carrier lifetime in the CdTe side would still limit the VOC.

El texto completo de este trabajo no está disponible en el Repositorio Académico UPC por restricciones de la casa editorial donde ha sido publicado. / This study aimed to investigate the mechanical and durability properties of recycled aggre-gate concrete with a ternary binder system and optimized mix proportion. Two concretebatches were developed using a densified mix design approach (DMDA) to evaluate therequired mix proportions. Batch I have GGBS content varied at 0%, 10%, 20%, 30%, 40% and50% at constant w/b ratio of 0.45, while batch II concrete mix have varied water/binder ratios:0.3, 0.35, 0.4, 0.45 and 0.5 at constant GGBS replacement level of 30%. The fine aggregate(river sand) of the two batches was blended with fly ash at optimum loose packing density(FA + Sand) and superplasticizer (SP) was incorporated in the mix at a constant level of 1.4%.A control mix comprising of natural aggregate was also developed. The results obtainedshowcased the feasibility of producing structural concrete with recycled aggregates usingGGBS and fly ash. The mechanical and durability properties were best at 30% GGBS contentand 0.35 water/binder ratio. The DMDA for mix proportion adopted for RAC contributed sig-nificantly to improving its properties when compared to NAC, especially at the optimumobserved RAC mix with compressive strength of 52 MPa. Also, the mix demonstrated goodpermeability resistance in terms of chloride-ion ingress and capillary water absorption.

>Magister Scientiae - MSc / For integers n, k 2:: 1, and k ~ n, the graph r~has vertices the 2n vectors of lF2 and adjacency defined by two vectors being adjacent if they differ in k coordinate positions. In particular, r~is the classical n-cube, usually denoted by Hl (n, 2). This study examines the codes (both binary and p-ary for p an odd prime) of the row span of adjacency and incidence matrices of these graphs. We first examine codes of the adjacency matrices of the n-cube. These have been considered in [14]. We then consider codes generated by both incidence and adjacency matrices of the Hamming graphs Hl(n,3) [12]. We will also consider codes of the line graphs of the n-cube as in [13]. Further, the automorphism groups of the codes, designs and graphs will be examined, highlighting where there is an interplay. Where possible, suitable permutation decoding sets will be given.