Approved for public release, distribution is unlimited / Present-day high power microwave devices suffer from a lack of reliable, reproducible cathodes for generating the requisite GW-level electron beam in a vacuum. Standard explosive emission cathode pulse durations have been limited to 10's or 100's of ns due to the expansion of cathode-generated plasma and the ensuing impedance collapse that debilitates microwave output. Traditional thermionic cathodes do not suffer from this drawback of plasma generation, but have not yet been able to provide the required emission current densities explosive emission cathodes are capable of. It is expected that if the plasma could be made cooler and less dense, explosive emission would be more stable. Cesium iodide (CsI) has been found to slow the impedance collapse in many explosive emission cathodes. Herein we will experimentally examine diode impedance collapse, gas production, and cathode conditioning in an effort to perform an evaluation of explosive cathode performance in a typical thermionic electron gun environment. These results will then be used to help demarcate the parameter space over which these CsI-coated carbon fiber cathodes are viable candidates for the electron beam source in next-generation high power microwave devices. / Lieutenant, United States Navy

Ce travail porte sur la compréhension du phénomène d'instabilité qui se produit dans le procédé d'hydroconversion des résidus sous vide (RSV). Au delà de 60% de conversion du RSV, l'instabilité se manifeste par un dépôt solide d'hydrocarbures lourds dans les unités industrielles de conversion des résidus, ce qui empêche d'atteindre un niveau de conversion du RSV plus élevé. L'objectif de cette thèse consiste à mieux comprendre l'influence du catalyseur utilisé dans le procédé d'hydroconversion sur l'apparition du phénomène d'instabilité. Des catalyseurs dopés au fluor et sodium ont été préparés par ajout de dopants à la surface d'un catalyseur NiMo/Al2O3 de référence. Après leur caractérisation, les catalyseurs ont été testés sur charge réelle RSV en réacteur autoclave. Les tests catalytiques ont été réalisés à haute température dans les conditions industrielles (430°C) et à plus basse température (390°C), afin de favoriser les réactions catalytiques par rapport aux réactions thermiques. Les tests catalytiques réalisés à 390 et 430°C montrent une teneur en sédiments deux fois moins importante avec le catalyseur F-NiMo, ce qui est expliqué par une amélioration de la conversion des asphaltènes. Celle-ci est expliquée par l'amélioration des réactions d'hydrogénation et de l'acidité, et par une meilleure résistance au cokage à 390°C. L'effet de la température sur la stabilité a également été étudié. Les résultats démontrent que la teneur en sédiments des effluents est deux fois supérieure pour les tests réalisés à 430°C par rapport aux tests réalisés à 390°C. Cet accroissement de l'instabilité est attribué à un caractère plus aromatique et condensé des molécules qui précipitent (asphaltènes), qui ont en conséquence une tendance accrue à s'agréger, et par la désalkylation des molécules qui stabilisent (résines). / This work focuses on the instability phenomena occurring during vacuum residue hydroconversion. At high level of residue conversion, carbonaceous sediments (sediments) are formed and have detrimental effects on the industrial units during the hydroprocessing operations. The aim of this work is investigate the influence of the catalyst used inhydroconversion process on the sediments formation. Modified catalysts have been prepared by sodium and fluorine deposition on a NiMo/Al2O3 reference catalyst. After having been characterized, the catalysts have been tested in a perfectly stirred batch reactor. Catalytic tests have been performed at high temperature (430°C) in industrial conditions and at lower temperature (390°C) in order to favor catalytic reactions rather thermic reactions. The catalytic tests at the two temperatures show that the amount of sediments is two times lower with F-NiMo catalyst. This is explained by the improvement of asphaltenes conversion due to an increase of catalyst acidity and hydrogenation reactions. At 390°C, coking with F-NiMo catalyst is reduced so that porous volume is higher. The temperature effect on effluents stability has also been studied. Results show that the amount of sediments is twice lower at 390°C for a same catalyst. The increase of instability at 430°C is attributed to more condensed and aromatic asphaltenes and resins dealkylation which increase selfaggregation tendency of asphaltenes.

A process has been developed to make the dielectric layer for organic thin-film transistors (OTFTs) in a roll-to-roll vacuum web coater environment. This dielectric layer combined with an organic semiconductor layer and metal layer deposited in vacuum allows a solvent-free process to make organic/inorganic multilayer structures for thin-film electronic devices on a flexible substrate at, potentially, high speed. The polymeric gate dielectric layers were fabricated by flash evaporation of acrylic monomers onto a polymer film with pre-patterned metal gates followed by radiation curing by electron beam, ultra-violent light (UV) or plasma. With a non-polar dielectric surface, charge carrier mobility (μ) of 1 cm²-V^-1s^-1; on/off curren ratio of 10⁸, sub-threshold swing (SS) of 0.3 V/decade and saturated output curve were routinely achieved in dinaphtho-[2,3-b:2'3'-f]thieno[3,2-b]thiophene (DNTT) transistors with dielectric layer of tripropylene glycol diacrylate (TPGDA) of ~400 nm. Apart from the TPGDA, monomer formulas including 1,6-Hexanediol diacrylate (HDDA) as well as several commercial acrylic resins have been used to make the dielectric layer. The highest areal capacitance of 41nF-cm^-2 was achieved with a pin-hole free film of less than 100 nm made of an acrylate mixture resin. A non-polar dielectric surface treatment layer has been developed based on flash evaporation of lauryl acrylate and HDDA mixture. The transistors with the buffer layer showed constant performance and a mobility fivefold greater than those of untreated samples. The effect of humidity, oxygen, and light during switching cycles of both pentacene and DNTT transistors were studied. Water and oxygen/illumination had a distinct effect on both pentacene and DNTT transistors. Oxygen leads to acceptor-like charge traps under illumination, which shifted the turn-on voltage (V_to) to more positive values. In contrast, water in transistors gave rise to donor-like charge traps, which shifted the V_to and the threshold voltage (V_T) more negatively. The DNTT devices showed good stability in dry air without encapsulation, while pentacene transistors degraded with either repeating measurement or long term storage. A DNTT transistor with a PS-coated TPGDA dielectric layer showed stable drain current (I_d) of ~105A under bias stress of the gate voltage (em>V_g) of -20V and the drain voltage (em>V_d) of -20V for at least 144 hours. The V_to shift after the stress was less than 5 V and was recoverable when the device was kept in dry air for a few days. Possible reasons for the V_to shift have been discussed.

Le travail de thèse effectué a porté sur l'applicabilité et la compréhension d’un système catalytique bifonctionnel acide et hydro/déshydrogénante sur l'hydroconversion et l’hydrotraitement d'un Résidu Sous Vide. En amont de ce travail, il est rappelé qu'au-delà de 400 °C (régime thermique), la forte conversion du RSV conduit à des phénomènes indésirables de précipitation et d’instabilité, liés à l'augmentation de la polarité des asphaltènes. L’objectif de la thèse était donc de favoriser les réactions de craquage et d’hydrogénolyse à plus faible température (370 °C), grâce à la fonction acide du catalyseur, et d’étudier la nature des structures asphalteniques résultantes. Des catalyseurs modèles, de formulation NiMo, supportés sur des aluminosilicates préparés par greffage de silicium à la surface d'une alumine, ont été utilisés. Ces catalyseurs développent une acidité faible, apportée par le support. Cette acidité a été quantifiée et caractérisée sur les aluminosilicates synthétisés, comme sur le catalyseur fini. La phase hydrogénante, ainsi que la texture des solides, ont aussi été caractérisées en détail. Des catalyseurs, dont les trois paramètres précités ont pu être modifiés indépendamment, ont ainsi été obtenus.Les performances catalytiques ont ensuite été évaluées en hydroconversion d’un RSV Safaniya, en réacteur batch. Les résultats révèlent un impact limité de l’acidité sur les grandeurs globales du test. Les modifications successives des phases hydrogénantes, et l’apport de macroporosité, n’ont pas permis d’améliorer cet impact par la suite. L’analyse détaillée conduite sur les asphaltènes après conversion a mis en relief des modifications de structures moléculaires nettes. Celles-ci ont pu être illustrées via une méthode de reconstitution moléculaire. L'introduction d’acidité a ainsi favorisé les réactions de craquage des chaines aliphatiques ou naphténique des asphaltènes, sans pour autant augmenter l'aromaticité de la molécule. / The aim of this work was to study and investigated bifunctional sulfided and acidic catalyst for the hydroconversion and the hydrotraitment of a Vacuum Residue. Upstream works have already demonstrate that high level of residue conversion, at high temperatures ( > 400 °C), leads to create carbonaceous sediments (sediments), link to asphaltenes polarity and aromaticity. Thus, our objective was to promote hydrocracking reactions at lower temperatures (370 °C), by enhancing acidity of conventional sulfided catalysts. Structures of consequent asphaltenes, modified by acidity, were also studied. Model NiMo catalysts were obtained by grafting silica on the surface of alumina carriers. Characterization on carriers and sulfided catalysts reveal the improvement of a weak acidity. Hydrogenating phase and textures properties have also been characterized in this work. In the end, we have obtained catalysts with same texture, same hydrogenating power, but also different level of acidity strength. Catalytic performances were evaluated in batch reactor, for the hydroconversion reaction of a Safaniya Vacuum Residue. Results reveal no changes in hydroconversion or hydrotraitment reactions parameters with acidity. No improvement was observed by enhancing the hydrogenating power or by adding macroporosity on textures with acidic sulfided catalysts. Nonetheless, combinated asphaltenes analysis and molecular reconstructions methods have shown that acidity can modify asphaltènes structures and properties. Acidity enhances cracking reactions of aliphatic chains and naphthenic units, without improving the aromaticity of the molecules.

Esta dissertação realiza uma análise comparativa de sobretensões transitórias que ocorrem durante o chaveamento de disjuntores a vácuo. Estas sobretensões podem ocasionar a falha da isolação dos equipamentos conectados aos disjuntores, conforme vários relatos da literatura. Esse fenômeno está associado às características intrínsecas dos disjuntores a vácuo, na formação do arco elétrico em seu interior e de sua interrupção, na sua capacidade de recuperação da rigidez dielétrica, na sua capacidade de interromper correntes de alta frequência, além de características do circuito protegido. Devido à natureza complexa e aleatória das sobretensões transitórias, observou-se a necessidade do desenvolvimento de ferramentas para reprodução dos fenômenos associados às características operacionais dos disjuntores a vácuo. Esse trabalho busca preencher tal lacuna, desenvolvendo um modelo que contempla o comportamento do disjuntor a vácuo tanto para a manobra de abertura quanto para de fechamento, de modo a colaborar com o entendimento dos fenômenos e no cálculo das sobretensões no domínio do tempo. O algoritmo desenvolvido foi implementado no programa Alternative Transient Program (ATP) por meio da linguagem Models. A partir da preparação desse modelo e da escolha de um experimento de referência, foi possível analisar o comportamento do modelo proposto do disjuntor e dos modelos dos principais componentes elétricos dos programas de cálculo de transitórios elétricos, como transformadores e cabos, cujos méritos e deficiências são discutidos ao longo do trabalho. A pesquisa foi orientada em buscar resultados que pudessem ser mais representativos para validação do modelo de disjuntor ao se alterar os modelos dos demais componentes elétricos do circuito, sendo o ajuste dos parâmetros dos disjuntores a vácuo realizados de forma a obter os resultados mais próximos da referência. Por fim, foram simuladas condições onde os fenômenos de sobretensão se agravam e soluções que podem ser incorporadas ao circuito para redução das sobretensões e das frequências dos transitórios. / The current dissertation project performs a comparative analysis of the transient overvoltages generated during the switching of vacuum circuit breakers. The overvoltage phenomenon for these cases can lead to the insulation failure of the equipment connected to the circuit-breakers, according to several reports in the literature. This phenomenon is associated to intrinsic characteristics of the vacuum circuit-breakers, as the formation of the electric arc in their interior and its interruption, their dielectric strength recovery, in their capacity to interrupt high frequency currents interruption, beyond characteristics from the circuit. Due to the complex and random nature of the transient overvoltage, the necessity of developing tools to reproduce such phenomenon associated to the operational features of the vacuum circuit-breaker arose. This dissertation seeks filling this gap, by developing a model that contemplates the vacuum circuitbreaker behavior for both opening and closing switching, in order to collaborate with the understanding of such phenomenon and in the calculations of overvoltages in the time domain. The developed algorithm was implemented in the software Alternative Transient Program (ATP) by means of the programming language Models. From the preparation of this model and from the choice of a reference experiment, it was possible to analyze the behavior of the proposed model and of the models from the main electrical components present in software to calculate electrical transients, e.g. transformers and cables, which merits and deficiencies are discussed along the dissertation. The research was oriented in searching for results that could be more representative to the validation of the circuit-breaker model when changing the models of the remaining electrical components of the circuit, being the parameters adjustment of the vacuum circuit-breakers performed in order to achieve the results closer to the reference. Finally, conditions to aggravate the transitory and the incorporation of solution to reduce the overvoltage and frequencies of the transients were also simulated.

Este trabalho apresenta um método de fabricação de micropontas de silício que já contém os contatos elétricos integrados à sua estrutura. O processo de fabricação das microestruturas é o foco desta pesquisa e nossa motivação futura é desenvolver dispositivos para emissão eletrônica por efeito de campo (Field Emission Devices - FED. O método em questão baseia-se: (i) no underetch anisotrópico, que ocorre em substratos de silício (100) quando orientados de maneira conveniente, em solução de KOH; (ii) na utilização de filme de oxinitreto de silício (SiOxNy), que visa o mascaramento no processo de corrosão durante a formação das micropontas e também, o suporte mecânico para as trilhas metálicas que formam o eletrodo de polarização. Tal material, obtido por Deposição Química a Vapor assistida por Plasma (Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapour Deposition - PECVD), apresenta baixo stress interno e tem a função de isolar eletricamente os eletrodos do substrato de Si. Esse filme de SiOxNy viabilizou a obtenção de trilhas autosustentadas, planas e lisas, com dimensões de até 6 milímetros. Através de técnicas convencionais de fotolitografia construímos contatos elétricos de cromo auto-alinhados sobre as micropontas. Metodologicamente definimos e caracterizamos, por meio de microscopia óptica, diferentes etapas da formação das micropontas, determinamos suas respectivas taxas de corrosão e consequentemente o tempo total de sua formação, em função das dimensões iniciais da máscara. As estruturas foram fabricadas na forma de matrizes com 50, 98, 112 e 113 micropontas. O espaçamento entre elas varia de 130 a 450 ?m. O diâmetro do ápice e a altura são de aproximadamente 1 e 54 ?m respectivamente. A principal vantagem deste método de fabricação é a eliminação da necessidade de utilização de microposicionadores externos e de acionamento manual, para a integração de contatos elétricos à estrutura. Finalmente, o êxito deste método deveu-se essencialmente às propriedades exclusivas do filme de SiOxNy. / This work presents a fabrication method of silicon microtips with integrated electrical contacts into the structure. Our motivation is the future development of field emission devices - FED, however our focus in this research is the microstructure fabrication process. This method is based on: (i) anisotropic under-etch method that occurs in the silicon substrate (100), when it is oriented in convenient crystallographic direction, using KOH solution; (ii) the employment of silicon oxinitride films (SiOxNy) which aims to mask the corrosion process during the formation of the microtips, and also to give mechanically support for the metallic tracks of their electrodes. Such material, which is obtained by Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapour Deposition - PECVD, exhibits internal low stress and was used to obtain electric insulation between the electrodes and the Si substrate. These SiOxNy films made possible the achievement of flat and smooth selfsustained tracks, whose dimensions can reach 6 millimeters. Through conventional photolitographic techniques, we built chromium self-aligned electrical contacts on those microtips. Methodologically, we define and characterize different stages of microtips formation, by means of optical microscopy, and we determine their respective etch rates. And consequently the entire formation time in function of the initial mask dimensions. Those structures had been manufactured in the shape of matrices with 50, 98, 112 and 113 microtips which distance between each other can vary from 130 to 450 ?m. Its diameter in the microtip apex and its height are about 1 and 54 ?m respectively. The main advantage of this fabrication method is the lack of the requirement of manual external micropositioners for the integration of electrical contacts to structure itself. Finally, this method succeeds due essentially to the SiOxNy exclusive film properties.

Este trabalho apresenta um método de fabricação de micropontas de silício que já contém os contatos elétricos integrados à sua estrutura. O processo de fabricação das microestruturas é o foco desta pesquisa e nossa motivação futura é desenvolver dispositivos para emissão eletrônica por efeito de campo (Field Emission Devices - FED. O método em questão baseia-se: (i) no underetch anisotrópico, que ocorre em substratos de silício (100) quando orientados de maneira conveniente, em solução de KOH; (ii) na utilização de filme de oxinitreto de silício (SiOxNy), que visa o mascaramento no processo de corrosão durante a formação das micropontas e também, o suporte mecânico para as trilhas metálicas que formam o eletrodo de polarização. Tal material, obtido por Deposição Química a Vapor assistida por Plasma (Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapour Deposition - PECVD), apresenta baixo stress interno e tem a função de isolar eletricamente os eletrodos do substrato de Si. Esse filme de SiOxNy viabilizou a obtenção de trilhas autosustentadas, planas e lisas, com dimensões de até 6 milímetros. Através de técnicas convencionais de fotolitografia construímos contatos elétricos de cromo auto-alinhados sobre as micropontas. Metodologicamente definimos e caracterizamos, por meio de microscopia óptica, diferentes etapas da formação das micropontas, determinamos suas respectivas taxas de corrosão e consequentemente o tempo total de sua formação, em função das dimensões iniciais da máscara. As estruturas foram fabricadas na forma de matrizes com 50, 98, 112 e 113 micropontas. O espaçamento entre elas varia de 130 a 450 ?m. O diâmetro do ápice e a altura são de aproximadamente 1 e 54 ?m respectivamente. A principal vantagem deste método de fabricação é a eliminação da necessidade de utilização de microposicionadores externos e de acionamento manual, para a integração de contatos elétricos à estrutura. Finalmente, o êxito deste método deveu-se essencialmente às propriedades exclusivas do filme de SiOxNy. / This work presents a fabrication method of silicon microtips with integrated electrical contacts into the structure. Our motivation is the future development of field emission devices - FED, however our focus in this research is the microstructure fabrication process. This method is based on: (i) anisotropic under-etch method that occurs in the silicon substrate (100), when it is oriented in convenient crystallographic direction, using KOH solution; (ii) the employment of silicon oxinitride films (SiOxNy) which aims to mask the corrosion process during the formation of the microtips, and also to give mechanically support for the metallic tracks of their electrodes. Such material, which is obtained by Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapour Deposition - PECVD, exhibits internal low stress and was used to obtain electric insulation between the electrodes and the Si substrate. These SiOxNy films made possible the achievement of flat and smooth selfsustained tracks, whose dimensions can reach 6 millimeters. Through conventional photolitographic techniques, we built chromium self-aligned electrical contacts on those microtips. Methodologically, we define and characterize different stages of microtips formation, by means of optical microscopy, and we determine their respective etch rates. And consequently the entire formation time in function of the initial mask dimensions. Those structures had been manufactured in the shape of matrices with 50, 98, 112 and 113 microtips which distance between each other can vary from 130 to 450 ?m. Its diameter in the microtip apex and its height are about 1 and 54 ?m respectively. The main advantage of this fabrication method is the lack of the requirement of manual external micropositioners for the integration of electrical contacts to structure itself. Finally, this method succeeds due essentially to the SiOxNy exclusive film properties.

Esta tese apresenta uma análise estatística detalhada dos dados de experimentos com neutrinos solares mais recentes, com duas diferentes soluções para oscilações de neutrinos, ambas caracterizadas por um grande comprimento de oscilação. A primeira baseada no mecanismo de oscilação padrão, ou seja, induzida por massa, sendo esta estudada nos casos de duas e três gerações e dentro do regime de quase-vácuo. E a segunda, uma exótica, que usa como mecanismo de oscilação uma possível violação do princípio de equivalência, que foi analisada somente para o caso de duas gerações, sendo este discutido para transições entre neutrinos ativos, e entre neutrinos ativos e estéreis. Nossos resultados mostraram que ambas soluções são consistentes com os dados de neutrinos solares e, também, no caso específico do quase-vácuo, observamos que a hipótese de três gerações ficou desfavorecida. / This thesis presents a well detailed statistical analysis using the recent data from solar neutrino experiments. This analysis was done in the framework of two different solutions of neutrino oscillations, both characterized by a long oscillation wavelength. The first was based on the standard mass induced oscillation mechanism, here we worked in the scheme of two and three neutrino generations within the quasivacuum regime. The second was an exotic mechanism, where the neutrino oscillation is due to a possible breakdown of the equivalence principle, this alternative was analyzed only for two neutrino generations, in the cases for the conversion among active neutrino and active to sterile neutrino. Our results show a good agreement between the solar neutrino data and both solutions, also in the specific case of quasivacuum, we found that the hypothesis for the three neutrino generation is disfavored.

O manejo da fertirrigação com controle da concentração de íons na solução do solo, apresenta-se como uma alternativa técnica e economicamente viável, sendo necessário a sua calibração para que possa ser efetivamente recomendada. Diante do exposto, este trabalho foi desenvolvido com o objetivo determinar equações de calibração a fim de serem utilizadas no monitoramento da condutividade elétrica (CE) e da concentração de íons na solução do solo em dois tipos de solo, com ênfase principal, diferentes intensidades de vácuo, tempo de aplicação do vácuo após o evento da fertirrigação e tempo após a aplicação do vácuo para realização de coleta da solução do solo. O estudo constou de dois experimentos realizados em condições de ambiente protegido. O delineamento estatístico utilizado foi o inteiramente casualizado (DIC) e tipos de solos foram os mesmos para ambos os experimentos, o primeiro em esquema fatorial 2 x 4 x 4, totalizando 32 tratamentos, com três repetições. Os tratamentos foram compostos por: dois tipos de solo (Franco Arenoso - S1 e Franco Argiloso - S2), quatro intensidades de vácuos aplicadas aos extratores (V1 - 50, V2 - 60, V3 - 70, e V4 - 80 kPa), e quatro níveis de umidade em base peso (100, 72, 61 e 43% no solo S1 e 100, 79, 66 e 60% no solo S2); e o segundo num esquema fatorial 2 x 4 x 3, totalizando 24 tratamentos, com três repetições. Os tratamentos constaram-se de quatro soluções com concentração de 0, 30, 60 e 90% da solução padrão utilizada e três intensidades de vácuos (V1 - 60, V2 - 70, V3 80 kPa). Os resultados obtidos demonstraram que é possível, com auxilio de extratores e transdutores de pressão, monitorar o volume e a concentração iônica da solução extraída com ótima precisão, bem como a variação de tensão em tempo real. O tempo mínimo para o equilíbrio iônico, foi de 30 horas após o evento de fertirrigação para aplicação do vácuo em ambos os solos. O tempo necessário entre a aplicação do vácuo até o momento da coleta da solução, aumentou em função da redução de umidade, bem como com o incremento do vácuo aplicado, a menor faixa de tempo observada foi de 0,37 a 0,67 horas na combinação da máxima umidade em ambos os solos com a maior e a menor intensidade de vácuo, respectivamente. A redução da umidade proporcionou um aumento na concentração iônica e na condutividade elétrica. O incremento do vácuo não afetou a concentração iônica para ambos os solos, exceto para K+, Ca2+, Mg2+ e SO4 2-, que tiveram suas concentrações reduzidas no solo (S1) e o volume coletado aumentou. Os níveis crescentes de concentração aplicada proporcionaram um aumento na concentração iônica e na (CE) da solução obtida, exceto o pH, que foi reduzido no solo (S2), já o incremento do vácuo aplicado não proporcionou efeito significativo para nenhum parâmetro avaliado em ambos os solos no Experimento II. / The fertigation management with ion concentration control in the soil solution its an alternative technique and feasible economic, however its necessary to calibrate it to be effectively recommended. This work had the aim to determine calibrated equations to monitor the electrical conductivity (EC) and the solution ion concentration in soils of two different textures, with primary focus on different vacuum intensity, vacuum application time after the irrigation event and time after the vacuum application for collection of soil solution. The study consisted of two experiments under greenhouse condition. The statistic delineation utilized was the entirely randomized and the soil types were the same for both experiments; the first in the factorial scheme was 2 x 4 x 4, 32 treatments in the all, with three repetition. The treatments were composed of: two soil type ( loamsandy - S1 and loam-clayish- S2), four vacuum intensity applied to extractors (V1 - 50, V2 - 60, V3 - 70, and V4 - 80 kPa) and four levels of water content on weight base ( 100, 72, 61 e 43% in the soil S1 and 100, 79, 66 and 60% in the soil S2 ); the second in the factorial scheme was 2 x 4 x 3, 24 treatments in all, with three repetition. The treatments had four types of solution with concentration of the 0, 30, 60 e 90% in the utilized standard solution and three vacuum intensity (V1 - 60, V2 - 70, V3 80 kPa). The results showed that its possible, to monitor the volume and ionic concentration of extracted solution with high precision and also the tension variation in real time with the help of extractors and pressure to transductors. The minimum time for ionic equilibrium was the 30 hours after the fertigation event to apply the vacuum in both soils. The necessary time between vacuum applications until the moment of collection of solution, increased with the reduction of water content in soil, and also due to increment in the applied vacuum. The smaller time range observed was from the 0.37 to 0.67 hours under the combination of the maximum water content in both soils with the bigger and smaller vacuum intensity, respectively. The water content reduction resulted an increase in the ionic concentration and electrical conductivity. The vacuum increment did not affect ionic concentration in both soils, except for K+, Ca2+, Mg2+ and SO4 2-, which were reduced in the soil S1 and the collected volume increased. The increasing level of the applied concentration provided an increase in the ionic concentration and in the EC of the obtained solution, except for pH, that which reduced in the soil S2; the applied vacuum increment did not affect significantly evaluated parameters in both soils in the second experiment.

Composite materials have traditionally been used in high-end aerospace parts and low-end consumer parts. The reason for this separation in markets is the wide gap in technology between pre-preg materials processed in an autoclave and chop strand fiberglass blown into an open mold. Liquid composite molding has emerged as a bridge between inexpensive tooling and large, technical parts. Processes such as vacuum infusion have made it possible to utilize complex layups of reinforcement materials in an open mold style set-up, creating optimal conditions for composites to penetrate many new markets with rapid innovation. Flow simulation for liquid composite molding is often performed to assist in process optimization, and requires the permeability of the reinforcement to be characterized. For infusion under a flexible membrane, such as vacuum infusion, or for simulation of a part with non-uniform thickness, one must test the permeability at various levels of compaction. This process is time consuming and often relies on interpolation or extrapolation around a few experimental permeability measurements. To accelerate the process of permeability characterization, a small number of methodologies have been previously presented in the literature, in which the permeability may be tested at multiple fiber volume contents in a single test. Some of the methods even measure the permeability over a continuous range of thicknesses, thus requiring no later interpolation of permeability values. A novel method is presented here for the rapid measurement of permeability over a continuous range of fiber volume content, in a single unidirectional vacuum infusion flow experiment. The thickness gradient across the vacuum bag, as well as the fluid pressure at several locations in the mold, were concurrently measured to calculate the fabric compressibility. An analytical flow model, which accounts for the compressibility, is then used by iterating the fitting constant in a permeability model until the predicted flow front progression matches empirical measurement. The method is demonstrated here for two reinforcement materials: 1) a fiberglass unbalanced weave and 2) a carbon bi-ax non-crimped fabric. The standard deviation of calculated permeabilities across the multiple infusion experiments for each material and flow orientation ranged from 12.8% to 29.7%. Validation of these results was performed by comparing the resulting permeability with multiple non-continuous permeability measurement methods.