We have designed a new type of plasma gun ion source for a Malmberg-Penning trap based on Metal Vapor Vacuum Arc (MeVVA) ion source designs. Our primary intent with this MeVVA-type source is to create a confinable beryllium-7 (7-Be) plasma. 7-Be is a peculiar isotope due to its varying radioactive decay half-life in different electro-chemical configurations. It is also found in an unexpected abundance at high altitudes of the Earth's atmosphere. It is possible ioniziation affects the radioactivity of the isotope, partly explaining this discrepancy with atmospheric models. The short half-life of 7-Be requires us to replace the sample inside the ion source on a regular basis. Our design makes it possible to easily remove the cathode of the ion source from an ultra-high vacuum trap and exchange 7-Be samples while only needing to repressurize a small chamber rather than the entire trap. This design has an added benefit of being capable of generating plasmas from a wide variety of metals by simply exchanging the source target in the removable cathode. Because of this wide compatibility, we will be able to use our trap for studying any number of different plasmas, including other radioactive types. Testing of the ion source design shows we are able to extract more than a sufficient number of ions at reasonable energies for confinement.

Vacuum insulation panels, VIPs, constitute a new insulation material, 6 to 8 times better than traditional insulation materials, which utilizes the positive influence vacuum has on the thermal properties of certain materials. A VIP is a composite with a flat core enclosed by an envelope preventing the core to fill with gas. The vacuum in the core is vital to reach thermal conductivities down to 0,0035 W/(m K), if the vacuum is lost the panel has reached the end of its service life time. Metal sheets would the preferred material to create an impermeable envelope but would creates a large thermal bridge at the edges of a panel when it folds over the edges of the panel. A serpentine edge has been proposed in order to deal with this large thermal bridge. This serpentine edge has been evaluated first as a numeric model in software and then by measuring on a prototype edge element in a hot and cold plate instrument. Measured temperatures were used to validate the numerical model. Results show that a serpentine edge can greatly reduce the thermal bridge if designed correctly. Another direction taken in the development of the VIP barrier is to use very thin metal layers, metallization layer or coating, incorporated into multi layered polymer composite film. This creates barrier films with very good barrier properties and only small thermal bridges. The modeling of gas flux through films with more than one coating has only just started. Existing models for flux through multi coated films all assume that flux is only taking place through defects in the coating layers, that all defects are of the same size and that all defects are positioned in square lattices. The model discussed herein use the same assumption of flux through pinholes only but it does take defect sizes and positions into account. Barrier film, from a regular vacuum insulation panel, with double coatings has been evaluated in light microscopy to characterize the defects in each of the coatings. The data found have been fed into the model and the results comply well with reported permeabilities of similar barrier films. / QC 20101125

Vacuum-Assisted Closure (VAC)-terapi är en omläggningsmetod som används alltmer på alla typer av sår. Behandlingen stimulerar sårläkningsprocessen genom ett negativt tryck som suger ut överflödig sårvätska och minskar infektionsrisken. Syftet med studien var att belysa för- och nackdelar med VAC-behandling på patienter med öppna bukar i samband med omvårdnadssituationer utifrån sjuksköterskors och undersköterskors uppfattning. En empirisk enkätstudie gjordes med kvalitativ ansats. Manifest innehållsanalys användes som metod för att analysera resultatet. I resultatet framkom det att den största fördelen med VAC-behandlingen var möjligheten att snabbt mobilisera patienten. Den nackdel som belystes mest var tidsperspektivet i samband med VAC-pumpen och läckage, då det visade sig ta tid för både personal och patient att åtgärda problem med dessa. Komplikationer minskar med tanke på att patienten mobiliseras snabbare men också för att risken för infektioner är liten. / Vacuum-assisted-closure (VAC) therapy is a method of dressing wounds that is used more frequently on all sorts of wounds. The treatment stimulates the healingprocess and by adding a negative pressure it will drain out superfluous fluid and reduce the risk of infection. The aim of this study was to illustrate advantages and disadvantages with the VAC-therapy treatment in nursing situations from a nurse or assistant nurse perspective. An empiric questionnaire study with a qualitative approach was done. To analyse the result manifest content analysis were used. In the result the substantial advantage with VAC-therapy that appeared was the possibility to quickly mobilize the patient. The most frequently illustrated disadvantage was the time perspective in relation to the VAC-pump and leakage, because these problems took time to adjust for both the staff and the patient. Complications reduce because of the fast mobilization of the patient but also for the low risk of infection.

Steel cleanliness as a function of stirring practice during vacuum degassing treatment have been investigated in industrial studies at the steel plants of SSAB Special Steels in Oxelösund and Uddeholm AB in Hagfors. The cleanliness was examined with regards to the contents of sulphur, nitrogen and large inclusions (&gt;10µm). The stirring practice during the vacuum degassing treatment has been studied with respect to time, namely by shortening the vacuum degassing treatment time from 24 to 15 minutes. Furthermore, the effect of the stirring intensity was studied by measuring the open eye zone using camera recordings. The focus has been to study the effect of a shortened vacuum degassing time as well as a controlled stirring intensity on the steel cleanliness. Moreover, study the effect of subsequent induction stirring, after vacuum degassing, on the amount of inclusions. By taking steel and slag samples taken before and after the vacuum degassing treatment, the different stirring practices could be investigated. It should be noted that all heats reached the desired composition regardless of the treatment time and stirring practice. The results from the trials at SSAB Special Steels showed that the stirring practice during vacuum degassing have an effect on the total number of inclusions. The strong argon stirring during vacuum degassing with visible open eyes resulted in an average increase of 400% of the total amount of inclusions &gt;10µm. However, no difference between a vacuum degassing time of 24 or 15 minutes was seen with respect to the increased amount of inclusions, denitrogenization or desulphurization. During the subsequent induction stirring, which was softer with no open eyes, the effect of the stirring practice was unclear due to overlapping confidence intervals. An average decrease of 65% of the total amount of inclusions &gt;10 µm was seen for the heats  with non-overlapping confidence intervals. Based on these results it can be suggested that the use of a soft induction stirring after the vacuum degassing treatment as a possible process change to reach lower amounts of large inclusions. The stirring intensity during the vacuum degassing treatment was measured as the average ladle eye size during the trials at Uddeholm AB. This, due to that stronger stirring results in larger ladle eye zone. The results show that the amount of smaller inclusions (&lt;11.2 μm) decrease by up to 90% compared to the original amount, regardless of the stirring intensity. A stronger stirring showed tendency to increase the amount of large inclusion (&gt;22.4 μm). Moreover, the denitrogenization and desulphurization was not affected by the changed stirring intensity during vacuum degassing. It was also found that the average ladle eye size did not correlate to the logged average argon flow. / <p>QC 20150522</p>

QC 20101221

To enhance mechanical and/or electrical properties of composite materials used in additive manufacturing, nanoparticles are often time deposited to form nanocomposite layers. To customize the mechanical and/or electrical properties, the thickness of such nanocomposite layers must be precisely controlled. A thickness model of filter cakes created through a spray assisted vacuum filtration is presented in this paper, to enable the development of advanced thickness controllers. The mass transfer dynamics in the spray atomization and vacuum filtration are studied for the mass of solid particles and mass of water in differential areas, and then the thickness of a filter cake is derived. A two-loop nonlinear constrained optimization approach is used to identify the unknown parameters in the model. Experiments involving depositing carbon nanofibers in a sheet of paper are used to measure the ability of the model to mimic the filtration process.

As many of the dairy powders manufactured have to travel long distances to reach their customers, both domestically and internationally, there is considerable interest among dairy powder manufacturers to maintain the quality of their products for relatively long storage periods. Dairy powders can have a long shelf life if packaged and stored properly. Vacuum packaging can be an attractive packaging strategy to maintain the quality of dairy powders and provide added value by improving the efficiency of using the storage space; because of the inherent compactness of these products. Vacuum packaged dry dairy ingredients may also have added ease of handling for end users. However, little is known about the impact of vacuum packaging on the physical properties of dry dairy ingredients. The main objective of this study was to determine the effect of vacuum packaging over 12 months storage on particle size, particle density, bulk density, tapped density, flowability, compressibility, color, moisture content, surface morphology, and solubility of six types of dairy powders. In addition, the effect of dairy ingredients type was also assessed. Commercial samples of nonfat dry milk powder, whole milk powder, buttermilk powder, milk protein Isolate, whey protein concentrate#80, and sweet whey powder were repackaged in duplicate using multi-wall foil side gusseted bags under varying degrees of vacuum (1, 0.7, 0.4 bar) and a control with no vacuum, then stored for 3, 6, and 12 months at 25°C and 60% relative humidity. Each powder was sampled and analyzed in duplicate for all the above listed quality attributes, upon receiving the powder and after 3, 6, and 12 months of storage. Moreover, the effect of vacuum packaging on storage space was evaluated comparing three different models; Model (1) represented a 25 kg bag of atmospheric packaged non fat dry milk with the actual dimensions of a commercial 25 kg bag of non fat dry milk. Model (2), a hypothetical model, represented a 25 kg bag of vacuum packaged non fat dry milk with a length and a width equal to those of model (1). Model (3), another hypothetical model, also represented a 25 kg bag of vacuum packaged non fat dry milk with a length equal to half of a pallet width and a width equal to one third of a pallet length, in order to achieve the highest pallet efficiency possible. The pallet used for all three models was considered to be a (48 × 40) pallet. The height of models 2 and 3 was allowed to reflect the bulk reduction effect of vacuum packaging and was determined based on the weight, density and the known dimensions of the bags. It is important to note that the density of models 2 and 3 was assumed to be equal to the density of a small bag of nonfat dry milk. The saved space per bag and pallet efficiency of vacuum packaging and atmospheric packaging were compared using the three models described above. Physical properties analyses of the dairy powders revealed statistically significant effect of vacuum pressure on only color values: L-, a-, and b but none of the other powder quality attributes examined. Powders packaged under vacuum showed a significantly higher mean of L- color value (p-value = 0.003 < 0.01), but significantly lower means of (a- and b-) color values (p-values = 0.005, and 0.001, respectively). This effect was more dramatic in high fat containing powder such as whole milk powder. In fact, vacuum packaged whole milk powders were significantly whiter, less red, and less yellow. It is likely that vacuum packaging has prevented color changes due to lipid oxidation in whole milk powder. Physical properties analyses of the dairy powders also revealed statistically significant increases in the particle density, particle size, bulk density, and tapped density due to the effect of storage time (all p-values = 0.000 < 0.01), statistically significant decreases in the angle of repose and compressibility due to the effect of storage time (p = 0.000 < 0.01) and (p = 0.004 < 0.01), respectively. The physical properties analyses also revealed a statistically significant effect of the powder type on particle density, particle size, bulk density, and tapped density, angle of repose, compressibility, and color values: L-, a-, and b- (all p-values = 0.000 < 0.01). In other words, particle density, particle size, bulk density, and tapped density of the powders increased over the storage time, while angle of repose (AOR) and compressibility decreased over the storage time. The powder type had a significant effect on particle density, particle size, bulk density, tapped density, AOR, compressibility, and color values: L-, a-, and b; however, it did not have any significant effect on solubility and moisture content. In addition, observations of the surface morphology of dairy powders were made using a scanning electron microscope. This evaluation demonstrated the differences in powder particle shape and surface morphology which are believed to be partially responsible for the significant differences observed in the physical properties, due to the effect of powder type. It was shown that vacuum packaging does increase the efficiency of using the storage space by removing the interstitial air and increasing the density of the powder. As described above, the height of model (2) and the length of model (3) both were expectedly shorter compared to those of model (1). Storage space calculations for non fat dry milk were performed based on comparing the volume of the 3 models and showed 15 % saving in storage space per bag and per pallet, due to vacuum packaging. The effect of space saving on the number of bags per pallet was evaluated using CAPE PACK v2.09 software and showed an increase from 45 bags/ pallet in model (1) to 50 bags/ pallet in model (2) and 54 bags/ pallet in model (3). Overall, this study demonstrates the impact of vacuum packaging on physical properties, solubility, and storage properties of dairy powders. The data suggest that the proposed vacuum packaging method may be beneficial to maintain the quality of the powders studied and it results in space savings per unit of dairy powder compared to conventional atmospheric packaging.

An LED-based solar simulator has been designed, constructed, and qualified under ASTM standards for use in the Cal Poly Space Environments Laboratory. The availability of this simulator will enhance the capability of undergraduate students to evaluate solar cell and thermal coating performance, and offers further research opportunities. The requirements of ASTM E927-19 for solar simulators intended for photovoltaic cell testing were used primarily, supplemented by information from ASTM E491-73 for solar simulators intended for spacecraft thermal vacuum testing. Three main criteria were identified as design goals - spectral match ratio, spatial non-uniformity, and temporal instability. An electrical design for an LED-based simulator to satisfy these criteria was developed and implemented, making use of existing lab equipment where possible to minimize cost. The resulting simulator meets the desired spatial non-uniformity and temporal instability requirements of ASTM E927-19, but falls short of the spectral match ratio needed. This is shown to be due to a calibration issue that is easily amended via software. The simulator is overall Class UCB under ASTM E927, and Class CCC under ASTM E491. The simulator was used to conduct the same laboratory procedure for solar cell I-V curve testing as performed by undergraduate students, showing excellent promise as a course enhancement.

A global shift towards reducing carbon (CO2) emissions in the automotive industry while increasing fuel efficiency and range security has triggered the exploration of new processing routes and material alternatives for automotive components. To achieve such goals, manufacturing processes such as high vacuum high pressure die casting (HV-HPDC) have gained attention in recent years to fabricate cast Al alloys for structural automotive components. HV-HPDC allows for increased and more economical production as compared to other manufacturing methods due to the minimal steps involved in the process. Higher degrees of tolerance and precision can be upheld with HV-HPDC, ceasing the need for secondary operations to form the component into desired complex shapes. In this research, the effect of pre-solidified grains (PSG) and heightened metal residence time on the microstructure and mechanical properties were investigated in a new heat-treatable casting alloy, (Al-1.1wt%Fe-4.7wt%Zn-0.95wt%Mg)-0.07wt%Ti, also known as Nemalloy HE700 alloy, manufactured via HV-HPDC. Developed at McMaster University in conjunction with Nemak USA/CAN and CanmetMATERIALS, Nemalloy HE700 alloy is intended for structural automotive applications with its higher strength and increased light weighting capabilities. Nemalloy HE700 serves as a suitable candidate to replace existing Al-Si alloys such as Aural-5 (Al-8wt%Si-Mg-Mn), currently used in the market today. As-cast test plate castings adhering to two geometries: a 3-step plate geometry (nominal plate thicknesses of 3 mm, 2.5 mm, and 2.3 mm) and a singular plate (2.5 mm) with increasing shot delay intervals of 3 additional seconds to a total of 10 seconds from normal operating conditions (i.e., 1, 4, 7, and 10 seconds) were fabricated with the intention of increasing PSG content within the final cast components to study the underlying effects. Experimental efforts through metallography revealed that, much like traditional high pressure die cast (HPDC) components, PSG gravitated toward the centers of the castings in all operating conditions with heightened agglomerations and potential abnormal grain growth in higher delay samples. Moreover, distributions of PSG became more dispersed through the cross-sections as the delay time was increased. Size distributions of PSG adhered to a standard characteristic grain of 100 µm to sizes of 1000+ µm. Larger sizes of PSG grew substantially in equivalent circular diameter (ECD) and extent in higher delay interval samples. Affected area percentage as a result of an increase in PSG content uncovered higher degrees of porosity presenting themselves as shrinkage and gas porosities in the microstructure. A rise in gas porosity size and quantity was realized with higher delay intervals. Uniaxial mechanical testing of tensile specimens from both geometries indicated a directional relationship of PSG where samples were increasingly more brittle and demonstrated adverse mechanical properties when testing was performed parallel to the metal flow direction as opposed to when performed perpendicularly. Moreover, Nemalloy HE700 alloy exhibited a lower propensity of formation of PSG than Aural-5 in higher levels of shot delay times, primarily due to compositional and differing solidification behaviours of the two alloys. The research presented characterizes the nature of PSG formation in HV-HPDC Al alloys with increased metal residence time and the resultant adverse effects on performance. As efforts shift toward manufacturing structural Al components using HV-HPDC, a greater understanding of such effects will aid in alloy development, die mould design, and disseminate information on HV-HPDC to produce components of heightened quality. Additionally, the resultant findings aim to address gaps in current literature as automotive manufacturers transition from non-structural HPDC components to structural HV-HPDC products for commercial use. / Thesis / Master of Applied Science (MASc)

No / A comparison has been made between compaction, sintering, microstructural and mechanical properties of the 6061 aluminium alloy prepared via premixed elemental (EL) and prealloyed (PA) powders (as received and degassed) with and without additions of sintering aids and various solid and/or liquid lubricants. Both EL and PA powders were cold pressed at different pressures, ranging from 250 to 770 MPa, and sintered under vacuum in the range 580-640°C for 30-120 min. and then under pure nitrogen atmosphere for comparison. Vacuum degassing of the PA powder provided better compressibility and thus higher green densities than those for the as received PA or the premixed EL powder compacts pressed at compaction pressures ¿340 MPa. Near full sintered densities of ~98%TD were obtained for both EL and PA 6061 Al alloys. Degassed PA Al with 0·6 wt-% paraffin wax (PW) or with only 0·12 wt-%Pb addition as sintering aid and no lubricant, and premixed EL with only 0·12 wt-%Pb addition and no lubricant gave the best optimum properties. It became apparent that additions of some solid lubricants such as lithium stearate (LS) and acrawax to both the premixed EL and PA powders provided reasonable green densities, but had deleterious effect on sintered densities and microstructures, particularly under vacuum sintering. Heating data curves during the sintering cycle, revealed formation of both transient and persistent liquid phases for the EL and mainly supersolidus liquid phase sintering (SLPS) mechanism for the PA. Tensile properties of the degassed, vacuum or nitrogen sintered PA Al alloy in T6 condition were higher than those of the equivalent alloy prepared by EL mixing with the former giving a tensile strength of 330 MPa and 6-8% elongation to failure, which are similar to those of the commercial (wrought) 6061 Al alloys.