Doctor of Philosophy

dissertationThe study of haptic interfaces focuses on the use of the sense of touch in human-machine interaction. This document presents a detailed investigation of lateral skin stretch at the fingertip as a means of direction communication. Such tactile communication has applications in a variety of situations where traditional audio and visual channels are inconvenient, unsafe, or already saturated. Examples include handheld consumer electronics, where tactile communication would allow a user to control a device without having to look at it, or in-car navigation systems, where the audio and visual directions provided by existing GPS devices can distract the driver's attention away from the road. Lateral skin stretch, the displacement of the skin of the fingerpad in a plane tangent to the fingerpad, is a highly effective means of communicating directional information. Users are able to correctly identify the direction of skin stretch stimuli with skin displacements as small as 0.1 mm at rates as slow as 2 mm/s. Such stimuli can be rendered by a small, portable device suitable for integration into handheld devices. The design of the device-finger interface affects the ability of the user to perceive the stimuli accurately. A properly designed conical aperture effectively constrains the motion of the finger and provides an interface that is practical for use in handheld devices. When a handheld device renders directional tactile cues on the fingerpad, the user must often mentally rotate those cues from the reference frame of the finger to the world-centered reference frame where those cues are to be applied. Such mental rotation incurs a cognitive cost, requiring additional time to mentally process the stimuli. The magnitude of these cognitive costs is a function of the angle of rotation, and of the specific orientations of the arm, wrist and finger. Even with the difficulties imposed by required mental rotations, lateral skin stretch is a promising means of communicating information using the sense of touch with potential to substantially improve certain types of human-machine interaction

Substitutional and Interstitial Diffusion in alpha2-Ti3Al(O)

The reaction between Al2O3 and alpha2-Ti3Al was studied with a series of Al2O3/alpha2-Ti3Al multiphase diffusion couples annealed at 900, 1000 and 1100 C. The diffusion-paths were found to strongly depend on alpha2- Ti3Al(O) composition. For alloys with low oxygen concentrations the reaction involved the reduction of Al2O3, the formation of a gamma-TiAl reaction-layer and diffusion of Al and O into the alpha2-Ti3Al substrate. Measured concentration profiles across the interaction-zone showed "up-hill" diffusion of O in alpha2-Ti3Al(O) indicating a significant thermodynamic interaction between O and Al, Ti or both. Diffusion coefficients for the interstitial O in alpha2-Ti3Al(O) were determined independently from the interdiffusion of Ti and Al on the substitutional lattice. Diffusion coefficients are reported for alpha2-Ti3Al(O) as well as gamma-TiAl. Interpretation of the results were aided with the subsequent measurement of the activities of Al, Ti and O in alpha 2-Ti3Al(O) by Knudsen effusion-cell mass spectrometry

Effects of CO2 cover gas and yttrium additions on the oxidation of AlMg alloys

AlMg alloys are known to suffer from problematic oxidation that can result in significant dross formation and loss of Mg from the melt. Historically, beryllium has been used to minimize the oxidation as it forms a protective BeO layer at the oxide-metal interface that inhibits further oxidation of the Mg. Alternative protection agents to beryllium are desired due to its strong negative health impacts. The purpose of this paper is to summarize findings in respect to the effectiveness of CO2 cover gas and yttrium additions as alternatives to beryllium; by examining the rate and product of oxidation using thermogravimetric analysis, electron microscopy and EDS. It was found that additions of as little as 5% CO2 to air atmosphere can reduce the oxidation of a 5% Mg alloy to nearly the same extent as beryllium additions, while the addition of 100 ppm of yttrium was found to have a limited impact on the oxidation.acceptedVersio

Comparison of FEV6 and FVC for detection of airway obstruction in a community hospital pulmonary function laboratory

SummaryThe National Lung Health Education Program recommends that primary care providers perform spirometry tests on cigarette smoking patients 45 years or older in order to detect airways obstruction and aid smoking cessation efforts [Ferguson GT, Enright Pl, Buist AS, et al. Office spirometry for lung health assessment in adults: a consensus statement from the national lung education program. Chest 2000; 117: 1146–61]. An abbreviated forced expiratory maneuver that requires exhalation for 6s (FEV6) has recently been proposed as a substitute for forced vital capacity (FVC) to facilitate performance of such spirometry. We set out to assess the accuracy of diagnosis of obstruction and abnormal pulmonary function using FEV6 in comparison to FVC in a community hospital population. One hundred pulmonary function tests performed at a community hospital were randomly selected and retrospectively analyzed. Sixty-three of the 100 tests had satisfactory 6-s expiration and were subject to further analysis. We compared the spirometric interpretation using Morris predictive equations for FEV1/FVC and Hankison predictive equations for FEV1/FVC and FEV1/FEV6. The Hankison set of equations is the only published reference formulas for prediction of FEV6. We found that versus our Morris gold standard, Hankison based FEV1/FVC interpretation was 100% sensitive and 67% specific for the diagnosis of obstruction and 100% sensitive and 65% specific for the diagnosis of any abnormality. The Hankison based FEV1/FEV6 interpretation was 97% sensitive and 47% specific for diagnosing obstruction and 100% sensitive and 50% specific for identifying any abnormality versus the Morris FVC based gold standard. In conclusion, in our hospital based pulmonary function laboratory, FEV6 based interpretation has excellent sensitivity for detection of spirometric abnormalities. However, its moderate specificity may hinder its utility as a screening test. Further testing is necessary to determine its reliability in different patient populations with less highly trained operators

Experimental study and thermodynamic modeling of the Al–Co–Cr–Ni system

A thermodynamic database for the Al–Co–Cr–Ni system is built via the Calphad method by extrapolating re-assessed ternary subsystems. A minimum number of quaternary parameters are included, which are optimized using experimental phase equilibrium data obtained by electron probe micro-analysis and x-ray diffraction analysis of NiCoCrAlY alloys spanning a wide compositional range, after annealing at 900 °C, 1100 °C and 1200 °C, and water quenching. These temperatures are relevant to oxidation and corrosion resistant MCrAlY coatings, where M corresponds to some combination of nickel and cobalt. Comparisons of calculated and measured phase compositions show excellent agreement for the β–γ equilibrium, and good agreement for three-phase β–γ–σ and β–γ–α equilibria. An extensive comparison with existing Ni-base databases (TCNI6, TTNI8, NIST) is presented in terms of phase compositions

EUROPEAN COST ACTION TU1204, People-friendly cities in a data rich world, Short-term Scientific Mission to Glasgow (STSM Glasgow)

Report of short term scientific mission to study the city of Glasgow for European COST Action 1204: People-friendly Cities in a Data-rich World led by Dick Gleeson former city planner Dublin City Council and hosted by Prof Brian Mark Evans at the Glasgow Urban Laboratory, Mackintosh School of Architecture, The Glasgow School of Art. The STSM examines the City of Glasgow, and how the City has forged a culture of collaborative urbanism among Glasgow’s stakeholders, in moving from a city of industrial decline and economic underperformance to one of the UKs success stories in terms of successful urban regeneration and the creation of viable new economic sectors. In exploring collaborative urbanism in Glasgow, the work reviews the work of the Glasgow Urban Laboratory and focuses on three specific events in Glasgow’s recent history; [1] Tenement regeneration in the late 60s early 70s following severe storm damage [2] European City of Culture in 1990 [3] The Glasgow Visioning initiative of recent years

Development of Metallic Filters for Hot Gas Cleanup in Pressurized Fluidized Bed Combustion Applications

Alternative alloys derived from the wide array of aerospace superalloys will be developed for hot gas filtration to improve on both ceramic filters and ''first-generation'' iron aluminide metallic filter materials. New high performance metallic filters should offer the benefits of non-brittle mechanical behavior at all temperatures, including ambient temperature, and improved resistance to thermal fatigue compared to ceramic filter elements, thus improving filter reliability. A new powder processing approach also will be established that results in lightweight metallic filters with high permeability and weldability for enhanced capability for filter system manufacturing