The GARVEE Transportation Program started by the Idaho Transportation Department has improved parts of I-84 in Boise, Idaho. These desired improvements led to the widening of a bridge over the New York Canal (NYC) in 2009. To support the wider road, additional bridge columns were installed. The new bridge columns had a larger diameter than the existing columns and raised the number of columns from 28 to 60. Construction was completed just before the irrigation season began. During the first irrigation season it was observed that waves and oscillations were occurring within the canal immediately adjacent to the bridge structure. Throughout the irrigation season, it was observed that the intensity of the oscillations would vary. It was also observed that the wave oscillations propagated upstream and downstream from the bridge structure. Both longitudinal and transverse waves were observed. The waves appeared to originate in the section of the canal that was under the I-84 Bridge. A physical model was built in 2010 at Utah State University's (USU) Utah Water Research Laboratory (UWRL) in an attempt to simulate the oscillation phenomenon and to develop potential solutions to the problem. During the original modeling work, a thorough investigation to the causes of this phenomenon was not accomplished due to time constraints. The objective of the follow-up research presented in this thesis was to qualitatively determine the causes of the oscillations. Laboratory tests were performed using the original physical model used in the original 2010 testing.

Surface acoustic wave sensors have been a focus of active research for many years. Its ability to respond for surface perturbation is a basic principle for its sensing capability. Sensitivity to surface perturbation changes with every inter-digital transducer (IDT) design parameters, substrate selection, metallization choice and technique, delay line length and working environment. In this thesis, surface acoustic wave (SAW) sensors are designed and characterized to improve sensitivity and reduce loss. To quantify the improvements with a specific design configuration, the sensors are employed to measure temperature. Four SAW sensors design configurations, namely bi-directional, split electrode, single phase unidirectional transducer (SPUDT) and metal grating on delay line (shear transvers wave sensors) are designed and then fabricated in Nanotechnology Research and Education Center (NREC) facility using traditional MEMS fabrication processes Additionally, sensors are then coated with guiding layer SU8-2035 of 40 m using spin coating and SiO2 of 6 m using plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) process. Sensors are later diced and tested for every 5oC increment using network analyzer for temperature ranging from 30oC–0.5oC to 80oC–0.5oC. Data acquired from network analyzer is analyzed using plot of logarithmic magnitude, phase and frequency shift. Furthermore, to investigate the effect of metallization technique on the sensor performance, sensors are also fabricated on substrates that were metallized at a commercial MEMS foundry. All in-house and outside sputtered sensor configurations are compared to investigate quality of sputtered metal on wafer. One with better quality sputtered metal is chosen for further study. Later sensors coated with SU8 and SiO2 as guiding layer are compared to investigate effect of each waveguide on sensors and determine which waveguide offers better performance. The results showed that company sputtered sensors have higher sensitivity compared to in-house sputtered wafers. Furthermore after comparing SU8 and SiO2 coated sensors in the same instrumental and environmental condition, it was observed that SU8 coated di-directional and single phase unidirectional transducer (SPUDT) sensors showed best response.

The GARVEE Transportation Program started by the Idaho Transportation Department has improved parts of I-84 in Boise, Idaho. These desired improvements led to the widening of a bridge over the New York Canal (NYC) in 2009. To support the wider road, additional bridge columns were installed. The new bridge columns had a larger diameter than the existing columns and raised the number of columns from 28 to 60. Construction was completed just before the irrigation season began. During the first irrigation season it was observed that waves and oscillations were occurring within the canal immediately adjacent to the bridge structure. Throughout the irrigation season, it was observed that the intensity of the oscillations would vary. It was also observed that the wave oscillations propagated upstream and downstream from the bridge structure. Both longitudinal and transverse waves were observed. The waves appeared to originate in the section of the canal that was under the I-84 Bridge. A physical model was built in 2010 at Utah State University's (USU) Utah Water Research Laboratory (UWRL) in an attempt to simulate the oscillation phenomenon and to develop potential solutions to the problem. During the original modeling work, a thorough investigation to the causes of this phenomenon was not accomplished due to time constraints. The objective of the follow-up research presented in this thesis was to qualitatively determine the causes of the oscillations. Laboratory tests were performed using the original physical model used in the original 2010 testing.

The objective of this thesis was to relate and link the physiological responses of the cells to the electrical responses or output obtained from the TSM acoustic wave sensor. In particular, the device was applied to the study of immortalized murine hypothalamic neurons (mHypoE-38 and -46 cell models) under a variety of conditions and stimuli. Cellular studies which lead to the production of detectable neuronal responses include neuronal deposition, adhesion and proliferation, alteration in the extent of specific cell-surface interactions, actin filament and microtubule cytoskeletal disruptions, effects of cell depolarization, solution tonicity, inhibition of the Na+-K+ pump via ouabain, effects of neuronal synchronization and the effects ligand-receptor interaction (glucagon). In addition, the introduction of drugs, neurotrophic factors (forskolin and beterferon), toxicity agents (NaOH, EtOH) and TiO2 nanoparticles were similarly investigated. A preliminary study conducted with mouse embryonic stem cells showed that not all cell lines are suitable for investigation with the TSM sensor at the current stage of sensor development. It has been found that control studies conducted with water as the solvent and the bare sensor substrate is insufficient to model the behavior of the sensor in the absence of cells. When biological buffers are used in addition to protein coatings the sensor responses are altered in magnitude and direction. To analyze the full range of cellular changes observed on the TSM sensor, the full impedance spectrum is required. As such in this thesis, the series and parallel resonant frequencies, the motional resistance, the maximum phase of the impedance and the static capacitance (fs, fp, Rm, θmax and Co were used to characterize the cellular responses observed. In the presence of cells fs shifts are largely influenced by the damping of the TSM resonator. The formation of cell-surface interactions and hence the increase in coupling and acoustic energy dissipation can be modeled as an additional resistor in the BVD model. Further sensor and cellular changes can be obtained by negating the effects of damping from fs with the use of Rm and θmax.

The objective of this thesis was to relate and link the physiological responses of the cells to the electrical responses or output obtained from the TSM acoustic wave sensor. In particular, the device was applied to the study of immortalized murine hypothalamic neurons (mHypoE-38 and -46 cell models) under a variety of conditions and stimuli. Cellular studies which lead to the production of detectable neuronal responses include neuronal deposition, adhesion and proliferation, alteration in the extent of specific cell-surface interactions, actin filament and microtubule cytoskeletal disruptions, effects of cell depolarization, solution tonicity, inhibition of the Na+-K+ pump via ouabain, effects of neuronal synchronization and the effects ligand-receptor interaction (glucagon). In addition, the introduction of drugs, neurotrophic factors (forskolin and beterferon), toxicity agents (NaOH, EtOH) and TiO2 nanoparticles were similarly investigated. A preliminary study conducted with mouse embryonic stem cells showed that not all cell lines are suitable for investigation with the TSM sensor at the current stage of sensor development. It has been found that control studies conducted with water as the solvent and the bare sensor substrate is insufficient to model the behavior of the sensor in the absence of cells. When biological buffers are used in addition to protein coatings the sensor responses are altered in magnitude and direction. To analyze the full range of cellular changes observed on the TSM sensor, the full impedance spectrum is required. As such in this thesis, the series and parallel resonant frequencies, the motional resistance, the maximum phase of the impedance and the static capacitance (fs, fp, Rm, θmax and Co were used to characterize the cellular responses observed. In the presence of cells fs shifts are largely influenced by the damping of the TSM resonator. The formation of cell-surface interactions and hence the increase in coupling and acoustic energy dissipation can be modeled as an additional resistor in the BVD model. Further sensor and cellular changes can be obtained by negating the effects of damping from fs with the use of Rm and θmax.

En sciences et dans l’industrie pour limiter le nombre de maquettes expérimentales dans les projets R&D afin de mieux comprendre et de bien interpréter les phénomènes ultrasonores complexes observés sur site, des simulations de contrôles ultrasonores sont effectuées. Ces simulations sont d’autant plus réalistes que la description des structures à contrôler est précise, en particulier au niveau des constantes d’élasticité et d’atténuation intrinsèque. Les objectifs de cette étude sont d’améliorer d’une part les connaissances sur l’influence des caractéristiques métallurgiques des matériaux anisotropes et hétérogènes sur la propagation ultrasonore et d’autre part les performances des codes de calcul (logiciel ATHENA d’EDF) qui nécessitent de disposer des données d’entrée pertinentes, notamment en ce qui concerne les constantes d’élasticité et l’atténuation ultrasonore. Cette étude est dédiée à la caractérisation des matériaux à gros grains, comme les aciers austéno-ferritiques moulés par centrifugation et les soudures en acier inoxydable austénitique ou en alliages à base nickel. Un système expérimental unique permettant de mesurer les constantes d’élasticité et l’atténuation en incidence oblique à été mis au point. Le point fort de ce dispositif est qu’il permet de travailler au-delà de l’angle critique longitudinal et donc de mesurer les propriétés d’atténuation des ondes transversales. Les constantes d’élasticité sont déduites des vitesses ultrasonores à partir d’un processus d’optimisation basé sur la résolution de problème inverse. Nous avons montré les potentialités d’algorithmes d’optimisation globaux tels que les algorithmes génétiques moins susceptibles de converger vers des minima locaux de la fonction à minimiser. Les résultats obtenus à partir des mesures expérimentales sont en accord avec la littérature. Des résultats de l’atténuation des ondes longitudinales et transversales par décomposition du faisceau en spectre d’ondes planes sont présentés. / In industry, to limit the number of experimental models in R&D projects, to better understand and to well interpret the complex ultrasonic phenomena observed du ring controls on site, simulations of ultrasonic controls are carried out. These simulations are all the more realistic as the description of structures to control is accurate, especially in terms of elastic constants, and intrinsic attenuation. The objectives of this study are firstly to improve knowledge about the influence of the metallurgical properties of anisotropie and heterogeneous materials on the ultrasonic propagation and secondly the performance of the computation codes (software ATHENA EDF) which need to have the relevant inputs, particularly as regards the elastic constants and ultrasonic attenuation. This study is dedicated to the characterization of coarse materials such as austenitic-ferritic steel centrifugally cast and the welding in steel austenitic stainless or in alloy nickel-based. A unique experimental system for measuring the elastic constants and attenuation at oblique incidence has been developed. The strong point of this device is that it can work beyond the longitudinal critical angle and thus to measure the attenuation properties of transversal waves. The elastic constants are deduced from ultrasonic speed from an optimization process based on the resolution of Inverse problems. We have shown the potential of global optimization algorithms such as genetic algorithms Jess likely to converge to local minima of the function to minimize. The results obtained from experimental measurements are in agreement with literature. Results of the attenuation of the longitudinal and transverse waves by beam decomposition into spectrum of plane waves are represented.