Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Holey fibres'

Photonic crystal fibres (PCFs) are special fibres with air holes which run along the whole fibre length. These holes not only determine the fibres' unique properties, but also provide a new degree of freedom for fibre modications. In this thesis, we focus on hole control in PCFs from two perspectives: during their fabrication and after they have been made. We found for the first time that the direct information of viscosity was not necessary for description of the fibre drawing process. This conclusion matched our experimental results without recourse to any adjustable fitting parameters. By post-processing of PCFs, which modifies the cladding and core structure and shape, we have achieved a series of novel devices for both linear and nonlinear applications. We have demonstrated fibre devices with cores resembling Young's double slits that have good performance in terms of compatibility and intensity enhancement for a specific application in fibre optic spectrometers. The bulk of this thesis reports on higher-order modes and their nonlinear applications. We achieved all-fibre, low loss and broadband mode converters in highly nonlinear PCFs (HNPCFs) which converted the fundamental mode (LP01) to a higher-order mode (LP02), which can then be converted back if necessary. This higher-order mode has been used for supercontinuum (SC) generation and four wave mixing (FWM) at wavelengths unobtainable for the fundamental mode. This is achieved by utilising the profound dispersion properties of the higher-order mode. We also demonstrated another kind of mode conversion: from the fundamental mode to a Bessel-like beam or its Fourier transform version, an annular beam. Three different methods were implemented experimentally to achieve this non-diffractive, self-healing beam.

This dissertation reports the development of two new categories of optical fibers. These are the Random Hole Optical Fiber (RHOF) and the Crucible Technique Hybrid Fiber (CTF). The RHOF is a new class of microstructure fiber which possesses air holes which vary in diameter and location along the length of the fiber. Unlike all prior microstructure fibers, these RHOF do not have continuous air holes which extend throughout the fiber. The CTF is a method for incorporating glasses with vastly differing thermal properties into a single optical fiber. Each of these two classes of fiber brings a new set of optical characteristics into being. The RHOF exhibit many of the same guidance properties as the previously researched microstructure fibers, such as reduced mode counts in a large area core. CTF fibers show great promise for integrating core materials with extremely high levels of nonlinearity or gain. The initial goal of this work was to combine the two techniques to form a fiber with exceedingly high efficiency of nonlinear interactions. Numerous methods have been endeavored in the attempt to achieve the fabrication of the RHOF. Some of the methods include the use of sol-gel glass, microbubbles, various silica powders, and silica powders with the incorporation of gas producing agents. Through careful balancing of the competing forces of surface tension and internal pressure it has been possible to produce an optical fiber which guides light successfully. The optical loss of these fibers depends strongly on the geometrical arrangement of the air holes. Fibers with a higher number of smaller holes possess a markedly lower attenuation. RHOF also possess, to at least some degree the reduced mode number which has been extensively reported in the past for ordered hole fibers. Remarkably, the RHOF are also inherently pressure sensitive. When force is applied to an RHOF either isotropically, or on an axis perpendicular to the length of the fiber, a wavelength dependent loss is observed. This loss does not come with a corresponding response to temperature, rendering the RHOF highly anomalous in the area of fiber optic sensing techniques. Furthermore an ordered hole fiber was also tested to determine that this was not merely a hitherto undisclosed property of all microstructure fibers. Crucible technique fibers have also been fabricated by constructing an extremely thick walled silica tube, which is sealed at the bottom. A piece of the glass that is desired for the core (such as Lead Indium Phosphate) is inserted into the hole which is in the center of the tube. The preform is then drawn on an fiber draw tower, resulting in a fiber with a core consisting of a material which has a coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) or a melting temperature (Tm) which is not commonly compatible with those of silica.<br>Ph. D.

Random hole optical fibers (RHOF) offer advantages over other types of microstructured optical fibers (MOFs). They are inexpensive and easy-to-make when compared to the high cost of ordered hole MOFs. They also have unique characteristics since they contain open and closed holes. The open holes contain ambient air under normal conditions and the closed holes contain residual gases from the fabrication process at certain pressure. The objective of this research work was to investigate the radiation resistance of Random Hole Optical Fibers (RHOF) for possible use as both sensing element and data transmission medium in nuclear reactor instrumentation and control applications. This work is motivated by the demand for efficient, cost effective, and safe operation of nuclear power plants, which accounts for more than 14% of the worldâ s electricity production. This work has studied the effect of gamma irradiation on RHOF fibers by comparing their performance to that of standard solid telecommunication fibers and commercially available specialty solid fiber designed to be radiations hardened fiber. The fibers were evaluated at different absorbed dose levels: 12 mGy(Si), 350 mGy(Si), and 7200 Gy(Si) by measuring their radiation induced absorption (RIA) on-line. In the low dose test, the maximum RIA measured in untreated RHOF was approximately 8 dB while the RIA in the untreated MMF fibers reached a maximum at about 28 dB. In the high dose test, the maximum RIA measured in untreated RHOF was 36 dB while RIA in the methanol washed RHOF was only 9 dB. RHOF also demonstrated superior radiation damage recovery time over all of the other fibers tested. Based on the experimental evaluations, it was deduced that RHOFs used in this work are resistant to gamma radiation. and recover from radiation damage at a faster rate compared to other fibers tested. The radiation induced absorption (RIA) at the 1550 nm window in the RHOF fibers could be attributed to the OH absorption band tail. However, the existence of other mechanisms responsible for RIA is also postulated. Some of these mechanisms include bulk and surface defects which are related to the fabrication process and the influence of the gases confined within the RHOF microstructure. Gamma radiation resistance of RHOFs can be attributed to the lack of dopants and also possibly the inherent OH and nitrogen content. The behavior of thermally annealed RHOF and their fast recovery is in favor of this hypothesis.<br>Master of Science

This thesis describes the development of novel microstructured optical fibres (MOFs), namely holey optical fibres (HFs), based on a commercial highly nonlinear non-silica glass: By taking the advantages of the zero dispersion of the HFs at 1 μm and 1.55 μm, the SC studies are carried out using these HFs (WW HFs and SEST HFs). Both of the fibre SC studies combined experimental and numerical results, and the simulations and experiments were in qualitative agreement. We observed a spectrum spanning over 1000nm by using just ~98 pJ energy pulses in a 60cm piece of the WW HF. This demonstrated the advantage of SG-HFs in terms of compact devices and low power requirements.

In this thesis we consider the production of primordial black holes (PBH) in the context of single field inflation with the aim of describing a significant fraction of dark matter. In the models we consider, the inflaton is a string modulus and its potential is typical of type IIB fibre inflation. The potential presents a plateau at CMB scales and an extremely flat region on smaller scales. The background is analysed by solving the Friedmann's and the Klein-Gordon equations for the system. Perturbations are introduced through the usual Mukhanov-Sasaki equation for the gauge invariant curvature perturbations, whose solution allows us to find the primordial power spectrum which is then compared to observations. In the class of models considered there is an often occurring tension between the tilt of the scalar power spectrum and observations. We study this tension and propose mechanisms to minimise it. We modify the form of the fibre inflationary potential, modifying therefore the slope of the ultra slow-roll plateau. We find that a better agreement with the experimentally measured value of the spectral index can be reached. Therefore that tension between the value of the spectral index on CMB scale and the power spectrum enhancement on PBH scales can be explained as a consequence of the class of potential taken into account. This tension can be avoided in models that provide a different plateau form.

Often, fibre fractionation produce a higher value long-fibred reject stream and a lower value short-fibred accept stream simultaneously. Fractionation is only practical when a mill can make use of all obtained fractions. This study sought to demonstrate the potential of upgrading the reject fraction through multiple stages of fractionation while creating a new market for the remaining low value pulp for an efficient use of the raw materials. In this study, an NBSK pulp was fractionated on the basis of fibre length using a small industrial pressure screen Beloit MR-8 in multiple consecutive stages to isolate the lowvalue fines fraction from the feed pulp using the best combination of operating parameters. The best conditions to carry out fractionation were determined by conducting experiments to investigate the effect of varying volumetric reject ratio, Rv aperture velocity, Vs aperture diameter and rotor tip speed, Vt on reject thickening and passage ratio using several smooth-holed screen cylinders. This work shows that in general, increasing fines percentage in the accept and increasing fibre length in the reject were obtained by using the screen cylinder with 0.5 mm apertures, the highest Rv at 0.6 and the smallest Vs at 0.3 ms-¹. The strength properties of the unfractionated pulp were compared to the reject pulp produced from the multistage fractionation. The tensile strength of the final reject pulp (which is 95 wt-% of the feed pulp) was increased up to 40% through the removal of only a small amount of fines. The TEA, burst and tear indexes also improved. The Gurley air resistance was decreased up to 50%. The final accept fraction contains a significantly higher proportion of fines and it was analyzed by FPInnovations for its potential suitability as a raw material for a novel fibre based product, Nanocrystalline Cellulose (NCC).

In this thesis we will study a new interpretation of dark matter in terms of Primordial Black Holes (PBHs), i.e. black holes that are believed to form when large density perturbations, produced during the inflationary epoch, reenter the horizon and collapse because of their own gravitational force. Black holes produced in this way are referred to as "Primordial" since their production mechanism has a primordial origin during inflation. These large density fluctuations are produced if the inflationary potential possesses enough tuning freedom to feature a slow-roll plateau followed by a near inflection point that greatly enhances the power spectrum of scalar perturbations. We examine PBH formation during a radiation dominated (RD) epoch and during a matter dominated (MD) epoch driven by a gravitationally coupled scalar field (modulus) which decays before Big Bang Nucleosynthesis in order to preserve its successful predictions. We will require in both cases that the produced PBHs constitute 100% of dark matter today. In the MD case, we find that the mass of the scalar field affects the enhancement required in the curvature power spectrum: for large modulus masses, this enhancement turns out to be smaller than the one in the RD case, meaning that in the case of horizon reentry during moduli domination the potential requires less tuning to produce the same amount of PBHs. Therefore, we focus on PBH production during a MD epoch. We then introduce a model of string inflation called "Fibre Inflation", that works particularly well for our purposes since it naturally leads to a post-inflationary epoch of MD driven by an axion-like modulus. In this model the inflationary potential has enough tuning freedom to induce a period of ultra slow-roll that enhances the density perturbations at the required PBH scales: we employ this potential to obtain a numerical estimate of the scalar power spectrum and the other inflationary observables.

Conventional fibers are comprised of a solid glass core and solid glass cladding often protected by a thin polymer sheath. The finely tuned difference in refractive indices, for step index-fibers, is achieved by doping the core with germanium or elements with similar effects. Holey fibers (including photonic crystal fibers) comprise of a pure silica core, and a pure but porous silica cladding of air holes [1]. This provides a huge difference in the refractive indices on the cladding and core without doping. This translates into radiation resistant fibers with very low losses and very robust to high temperatures to mention a few [2]. Several successful attempts have been made for ordered holey optical fibers since the initial publication by Knight et al; random holey optical fibers, which can be just as effective, have yet to be fabricated [3]. Sol-gel processing of silicon alkoxides can be used to fabricate silica monoliths of tailored pore densities and sizes [4]; this makes the process attractive for random holey fiber preform manufacturing. Similar attempts have been made by Okazaki et al [5] to make conventional optical fibers. This paper chronicles efforts to make random holey fiber optical preforms from silica sol-gel monoliths, characterized for some structural properties. Silica monoliths can be made by hydrolysis and condensation of TEOS (tetraethylorthosilicate) or TMOS (tetramethylorthosilicate). These can be catalyzed in a single step or two-step process, aged and dried at ambient pressures and temperatures, as well as by supercritical fluid extraction of CO2. Mechanical strengthening techniques as described by Okazaki [5] have also been employed. The silica gel monoliths are characterized by helium pycnometry and scanning electron microscopy. Various shapes and densities of silica monoliths have been prepared and characterized. Some of these have also drawn into fibers to demonstrate their viability.<br>Master of Science

Optical fibre sensors are employed in the measurements of a number of different physical properties or for event detection in safety and security systems. In those environments which suffer from electromagnetic disturbance, in harsh environments where electronics cannot survive and in applications in favour of distributed detection, fibre-optic sensors have found natural areas of use. In some cases they have replaced conventional electronic sensors due to better performance and long-term reliability, but in others they have had less success mainly due to the higher costs which are often involved in fibre-optic sensor systems. Intensity modulated fibre-optic sensors normally require only low-cost monitoring systems principally based on light emitting diodes and photodiodes. The sensor principle itself is very elemental when based on coupling between fibres, and coupling based intensity modulated sensors have been utilised over a long period of time, mainly within displacement and vibration sensing. For distributed sensing based on intensity modulation, optical time domain reflectometer (OTDR) systems with customised sensor cables have been used in the detection of heat, water leakage and hydrocarbon fluid spills. In this thesis, new concepts for intensity modulated fibre-optic sensors based on coupling between fibres are presented, analysed, simulated and experimentally verified. From a low-cost and standard component perspective, alternative designs are proposed and analysed using modulation function simulations and measurements, in order to find an improved performance. Further, the development and installation of a temperature sensor system for industrial process monitoring is presented, involving aspects with regards to design, calibration, multiplexing and fibre network installation. The OTDR is applied as an efficient technique for multiplexing several coupling based sensors, and sensor network installation with blown fibre in microducts is proposed as a flexible and cost-efficient alternative to traditional cabling. As a solution to alignment issues in coupling based sensors, a new displacement sensor configuration based on a fibre to a multicore fibre coupling and an image sensor readout system is proposed. With this concept a high-performance sensor setup with relaxed alignment demands and a large measurement range is realised. The sensor system performance is analysed theoretically with complete system simulations, and an experimental setup is made based on standard fibre and image acquisition components. Simulations of possible error contributions show that the experimental performance limitation is mainly related to differences between the modelled and the real coupled power distribution. An improved power model is suggested and evaluated experimentally, showing that the experimental performance can be improved down towards the theoretical limit of 1 μm. The potential of using filled side-hole fibres and polarisation analysis for point and distributed detection of temperature limits is investigated as a complement to existing fibre-optic heat detection systems. The behaviour and change in birefringence at the liquid/solid phase transition temperature for the filler substance is shown and experimentally determined for side-hole fibres filled with water solutions and a metal alloy, and the results are supported by simulations. A point sensor for on/off temperature detection based on this principle is suggested. Further the principles of distributed detection by measurements of the change in beat length are demonstrated using polarisation OTDR (POTDR) techniques. It is shown that high-resolution techniques are required for the fibres studied, and side-hole fibres designed with lower birefringence are suggested for future studies in relation to the distributed application.<br>Fiberoptiska sensorer används för mätning av ett antal olika fysikaliska parametrar eller för händelsedetektering i larm- och säkerhetssystem. I miljöer med elektromagnetiska störningar, i andra besvärliga miljöer där elektronik inte fungerar samt i tillämpningar där distribuerade sensorer är att föredra, har fiberoptiska lösningar funnit naturliga applikationer. I vissa fall har de ersatt konventionella elektroniska sensorer på grund av bättre prestanda och tillförlitlighet, medan de i andra sammanhang har haft mindre framgång huvudsakligen på grund av den i många fall högre kostnaden för fiberoptiska sensorsystem. Intensitetsmodulerade fiberoptiska sensorer kräver normalt endast billiga utläsningssystem huvudsakligen baserade på lysdioder och fotodioder. Principen för sådana sensorer baserade på koppling mellan fibrer är mycket enkel, och denna typ av sensorer har haft tillämpningar under en lång tid, främst inom mätning av positionsförändring och vibrationer. För distribuerade intensitetsmodulerade sensorer har system baserade på optisk tidsdomän-reflektometer (OTDR) och skräddarsydda sensorkablar funnit tillämpningar i detektion av värme/brand, vattenläckage och kolvätebaserade vätskor. I denna avhandling presenteras, simuleras, testas och utvärderas praktiskt några nya koncept för kopplingsbaserade intensitetsmodulerade fiberoptiska sensorer. Från ett lågkostnads- och standardkomponentperspektiv föreslås och analyseras alternativa lösningar för förbättrad prestanda. Utveckling och installation av en temperatursensor för en industriell tillämpning, innehållande aspekter på sensormultiplexering och nätverksbyggande, behandlas. OTDR-teknik används som en effektiv metod för multiplexering av flera kopplingsbaserade sensorer, och installation av sensornätverk genom användning av blåsfiberteknik och mikrodukter föreslås som ett flexibelt och kostnadseffektivt alternativ till traditionell kabelinstallation. Som en lösning på förekommande upplinjeringsproblem för kopplingsbaserade sensorer, föreslås en ny sensorkonfiguration baserad på koppling mellan en fiber och en multikärnefiber/fiberarray och med ett bildsensorsystem för detektering. Med detta koncept kan ett högpresterande, upplinjeringsfritt sensorsystem med ett stort mätområde åstadkommas. Sensorsystemets prestanda har analyserats teoretiskt med kompletta systemsimuleringar, och en experimentell uppställning baserad på standardfiber och en kamera av standardtyp har gjorts. Simuleringar av möjliga felbidrag visar att systemets experimentella prestanda främst begränsas av skillnader mellan den modellerade och den verkliga optiska effektfördelningen. En förbättrad modell för effektfördelningen föreslås och utvärderas experimentellt. Det visas att prestanda är möjlig att förbättra ner mot den teoretiska gräns på 1 μm som erhållits vid systemsimuleringar. Möjligheterna att använda fyllda hålfibrer och polarisationskänslig mätning för detektering av temperaturgränser studeras i syfte att komplettera befintliga fiberoptiska värmedetektorsystem. Förändringen i fiberns dubbelbrytning vid övergångstemperaturen mellan vätske- och fast fas för ämnet i hålen visas och bestäms experimentellt för hålfibrer fyllda med vattenlösningar respektive en metallegering, och resultaten understöds också av simuleringar. En punktsensor för temperaturdetektering baserad på denna princip föreslås. Vidare visas principerna för distribuerad detektering genom registrering av förändringen i dubbelbrytning med polarisations-OTDR (POTDR). Det visas att OTDR-teknik med hög spatial upplösning behövs för övervakning av de studerade fibrerna, och hålfibrer utformade med lägre dubbelbrytning föreslås för framtida studier av tillämpningen.

Background: Abnormal thrombus formation and occlusion of a vessel is one of the main events of cardiovascular disease. A main component of the thrombus is the protein fibrin, which is formed by proteolytic cleavage of its precursor fibrinogen by the serine protease thrombin. The cleavage of fibrinogen to fibrin releases fibrinopeptides from the E-region of the molecule which leads to the exposure of peptide sequences termed knobs A and B. The knobs A and B on one fibrin molecule are able to spontaneously interact to binding pockets (termed holes a and holes b) via hydrogen bonds forming half staggered protofibrils. These protofibrils laterally aggregate and form fibrin fibers, providing the clot its strength and stability. Recent molecular dynamic simulations have predicted that there are additional interactions involving amino acids gGlu323 with BLys58, gLys356 with BAsp61, and gAsp297 with BHis67, that surround the binding pocket and provide additional strength and stability to the 'classical' knob-hole contact. In this project I have termed these residues 'extended D-E knob-hole binding sites.' Aim: The aim of this project was to probe the importance of these extended knob-hole interactions in the process of fibrin polymerisation, clot structure and clot mechanics, using recombinant fibrinogen variants with mutations that abolish these electrostatic interactions. Methods: Four recombinant human fibrinogen variants and WT proteins were produced. The following variants with single point mutations in the g-chain of extended knob-hole binding region were produced: gD297N, gE323Q and gK356Q. A triple variant, gDEK (gD297N/gE323Q/gK356Q) with mutations in all residues involved was also produced. Each variant was tested for integrity by circular dichroism and SDS-PAGE. Turbidity and atomic force microscopy were used to study polymerisation kinetics, laser scanning confocal microscopy and scanning electron microscopy were used to study clot structure. Light scattering methods were used to study intrafibrillar protein structure, and clot mechanics was studied using an in-house micro-rheometer. Results: Longitudinal protofibril growth was disrupted for all variants except gK356Q at early stages of polymerisation, but normalised at later time points. Vmax was reduced for all variants. gDEK and gE323Q produced denser clots, whereas gD297N and gK356Q were similar to WT. All variant clots had significantly thinner fibers compared to WT. All variants were slower to lyse, with the exception of gD297N. Clot visco-elastic analysis showed that γDEK was more readily deformable (loss tangent, tanδ), at low frequencies but single mutant variants were unchanged at all frequencies compared to WT. Conclusion: I produced pure and intact recombinant human fibrinogens with mutations at the extended knob-hole binding sites. These data provide clear evidence for the role of extended D-E interactions in supporting the classical knob-hole binding during fibrin formation. Furthermore, the extended D-E interactions were shown to alter clot structure and clot mechanics. Additional studies with these variants in the presence of cells and other vascular components may further elucidate the importance of extended knob-hole interactions in haemostasis and thrombosis.

This thesis presents a parametric study on the effects of how damage arrestment devices application interacts with a fastener in a composite sandwich panel. The primary objective of the damage arrestment device was to prevent the failure of the composite face sheet, such as crack propagation, around the hole/fastener joint. The damage arrestment devices are made of composite strips that are inserted under the face sheet to increase the overall structural strength of the panel and to prevent the propagation of failure along the hole. This was supposed to be a quicker and stronger alternative to potted inserts for composite sandwich panels for designer. The manufacturing curing cycle of the composite sandwich specimens has been carried out by using a Tetrahedron Composite Air Press. The press has been used to fabricate composite sandwich panels by applying constant pressure and variable heat to create panels with dimensions of 5” x 2” x .552”. The panels were stacked using a polyurethane foam, Last-A-Foam FR-6710 with two layers of a carbon-fiber/epoxy weave, LTM45, on both sides of the foam. The specimens were loaded under a compressive strain of 0.5 mm/min. The damage arrestment devices’ thickness was varied and tested under both monotonic and fatigue loading. The experimental results indicate that as the thickness of the device increased the overall strength of the part increased at a parabolic curve with it topping at a thickness of 0.065” and a strength increase of 109%. Under fatigue loading, a control group test case and damage arrestment device configuration case was tested. The experimental results indicate that both cases have similar fatigue trends but shows that the damage arrestment specimens are stronger due to the increase of structural strength. The experimental results were compared with numerical results or Finite Element Model. The results showed that numerical results can capture the linear or elastic portion of the experimental results having identical Elastic Modulus values. The models do differ in the maximum displacement of the specimen and the failure mode around the hole of the composite sandwich panel. The discrepancy in displacement and the failure mode was attributed to inaccurate loading on the hole of the composite sandwich panel and non-linear modeling of the solution. The correlation between the FEM and the experimental data was good enough in predicting the trends of the composite sandwich panels.

Carbon Fiber / Epoxy Laminates are increasingly being used in the primary structure of aircraft. To make effective use these materials, it is necessary to consider the ability of a laminate to resist damage, as well as material strength and stiffness. A possible means for improving damage tolerance is the use of non-traditional composite laminates, in which the longitudinal 0 plies are replaced with 5 or 10 plies. The main objectives of this collaborative Georgia Tech / Boeing research was the characterization of these non-traditional laminates, and the determination of appropriate lamina-level analytical techniques that are capable of predicting the changes caused by the use of slightly off-axis longitudinal plies. A quasi-isotropic [45/90/-45/theta/45/90/-45/-theta]s and hard [45/theta/-45/theta/90/45]s lay-up, where theta =0,5 or 10, were tested in open hole tension, filled hole tension, open hole compression, single shear bearing, and unnotched tension. These coupon level tests illustrated the effects of lay-up, notch constraint, and load type on traditional and non-traditional laminates. Die penetrant enhanced in-situ radiography was performed to determine the extent of damage suppression. The use of non-traditional laminates was found to reduce longitudinal ply cracking and delamination, with significant effect on the stress distribution around the notch. The use of non-traditional laminates also resulted in a 15%-20% improvement in bearing strength of the traditional laminates. Several predictive techniques were implemented to evaluate their ability to predict the effect of slight changes in ply orientations. A progressive damage model was written to compare Tsai-Wu, Hashin, and Maximum Stress unnotched strength criterion. Additionally, several semi-empirical failure theories for notched strength prediction were compared with linear and bi-linear cohesive zone models to determine applicability to non-traditional laminates.

The deformation on cylindrical surfaces of holes in tensile loaded laminated composite specimens was measured using new moire interferometry techniques. These new techniques were developed and evaluated using a 7075-T6 aluminum control specimen. Grating replication techniques were developed for replicating high quality diffraction gratings onto the cylindrical surfaces of holes. Replicas of the cylindrical specimen gratings (undeformed and deformed) were fabricated onto circular steel sectors. Narrow angular regions of these sector gratings were directly evaluated in a moire interferometer. This moire interferometry approach eliminated potential sources of error associated with other moire interferometry approaches. Two composite tensile specimens, fabricated from IM7/5250-4 pre-preg with ply layups of [0₄/90₄]_3s and [+30₂/-30₂/90₄]_3s, were examined using the newly developed moire interferometry techniques. Circumferential and thickness direction displacement fringe patterns (each 3 degrees wide) were assembled into 90 degrees wide mosaics around the hole periphery for both composite specimens. Distributions of strain were calculated with high confidence on a sub-ply basis at select angular locations. Measured strain behavior was complex and displayed ply-by-ply trends. Large ply related variations in the circumferential strain were observed at certain angular locations around the periphery of the holes in both composites. Extremely large ply-by-ply variations of the shear strain were also documented in both composites. Peak values of shear strain approached 30 times the applied far-field axial strain. Post-loaded viscoelastic shearing strains were recorded that were associated with the regions of large load-induced shearing strains. Large ply-grouping related variations in the thickness direction strain were observed in the [+30₂/-30₂/90₄]_3s specimen. An important large-scale trend was observed where the thickness direction strain tended to be more tensile near the outside faces of the laminate than near the mid-ply region. The measured strains were compared with the three-dimensional analysis technique known as Spline Variational Elastic Laminate Technology (SVELT), resulting in a very close match and corroborating the usefulness of SVELT.<br>Ph. D.

Doutoramento em Engenharia Eletrotécnica<br>In this thesis a study of optical fiber amplifiers in the context of transparent and dynamic optical networks is performed. We propose and validate a simplified model to estimate the gain profile and amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) noise of broadband counterpumped Raman fiber amplifiers (RFAs). The proposed model requires very low computational resources and it is suitable to be used in network planning tools. Based on the proposed model, we also present an algorithm to design flat gain counter-pumped RFAs for the extended C-band with low computational requirements. We experimentally verify that the pump-reflecting RFA presents a higher transient response due to channels add/drop, when compared to the conventional counter-pumped RFA. This makes this amplifier configuration unsuitable for transparent and dynamic optical networks. To mitigate the transient response due to channel add/drop, a pumpcontrolled gain-locked system based on the monitorization of the reflected pump power is proposed and validated numerically and experimentally. Following this approach, an efficient low-cost RFA suitable for dynamic optical networks is proposed. The dependence of the dynamical response of erbium-doped fiber amplifiers (EDFAs) on the pump wavelength, pump power, and temperature due to spectral hole burning (SHB) and site dependent pumping (SDP) is experimentally investigated. A dependence of the dynamic response on the pump wavelength, for amplifiers pumped around 1480 nm, is shown. In order to explain this dependence, the impact of SDP on the performance of EDFAs pumped at wavelengths around 1480 nm is investigated, both experimentally and numerically. As a result, an improved model incorporating the SDP effect for twolevel EDFAs is derived and experimentally validated.<br>Nesta tese é feito um estudo sobre amplificadores de fibra ótica no contexto de redes óticas transparentes e dinâmicas. Propomos e validamos um modelo simplificado para estimar o perfil do ganho e do ruído de emissão espontânea amplificada (ASE), para amplificadores de Raman (RFAs) contra propagantes. O modelo proposto requer baixos recursos computacionais e é adequado para ser usado em ferramentas de planeamento da rede. Com base no modelo proposto, apresentamos também um algoritmo com requisitos computacionais baixos para desenhar RFAs contra propagantes com ganho constante para a banda C estendida. Verificamos experimentalmente que um RFA contra propagante com reflexo da potência da bomba devido à adição/remoção de canais apresenta uma resposta transiente mais elevada, quando comparado com um RFA contra propagante convencional. Isto torna esta configuração inadequada para redes óticas transparentes e dinâmicas. Para mitigar a resposta transitória devido à adição/remoção de canais, um sistema de controlo do ganho baseado na monitorização da potência da bomba refletida é proposto e validado numérica e experimentalmente. Seguindo esta abordagem, um RFA contra propagante eficiente e de baixo custo adequado para redes óticas dinâmicas é proposto. A dependência da resposta dinâmica dos amplificadores de fibra dopada com érbio (EDFAs) em função do comprimento de onda da bomba, da potência da bomba e da temperatura devido ao spectral hole burning (SHB) e site dependent pumping (SDP) é investigada experimentalmente. Nos resultados obtidos é mostrada a dependência da resposta dinâmica em função do comprimento de onda da bomba, para amplificadores bombeados em torno de 1480 nm. Para explicar esta dependência, o impacto do SDP no desempenho de EDFAs bombeados em comprimentos de onda em torno de 1480 nm é investigado, tanto experimental como numericamente. Como resultado, um modelo mais completo, incorporando o efeito SDP para EDFAs de dois níveis é derivado e validado experimentalmente.

Limitation of conventional machining equipment has become a growing concern over the past two decades due to the demands for greater machining accuracy in today’s manufacturing. The development of micro-machining has therefore attracted significant attention; it signifies the advancement of national economy as well as the level of accuracy manufacturing industry could achieve. While the connection between tool lifespan, cost of machining and throughput is well established, the factor of tool lifespan appears to have more significance since the miniaturization of tool could lead to further performance concerns such as its lack of strength and durability. On the other hand, raising feed rate and spindle rotation speed are the two common approaches for increasing manufacturing throughput. Such approaches tend to cause an increase in the thrust force subjecting the tool to greater stress, which is the main cause of tool wear and even tool failure. Through literature review and preliminary experiments, it was found that spot-drill is often done prior to micro-drilling since it prepares a pre-drill countersunk hole that helps the alignment of tool for subsequent micro-drilling. Although such pre-drill step does improve the micro-drilling operation, the fundamental issue of tool diameter difference still remains. Often the tool used for pre-drill has a bigger diameter than the one for micro-drilling although a significant difference is always something to be avoided. This is because the difference has to be picked up by the tool used for micro-drilling and is directly linked to the wear caused by increased thrust force. In this research the operation of micro-drilling is investigated via mathematical models. Such operation is further broken down into various steps and stages so more detailed description can be achieved. The findings are then further enhanced by simulation based on the 3D model of micro-drilling. Three materials were selected for this research: Al 6061T, Al/Cu metal alloy panel and Carbon fibre reinforced composites. Such a selection enables the study of individual characteristics of different materials and the variation in respective thrust forces. Finally, Conclusions present the summary of the main findings from micro-drilling process analysis based on research and investigation shown in earlier chapters. By combining actual measurements on micro-drilling and mathematic model this research hopefully would improve the understanding towards micro-drilling processes.

The project compares the technology of welding of CO2 laser and fiber laser in terms of engineering study, the welds will be made by same welding conditions on two materials (S235JRG2 a X5CrNi 18-10), by using different protective gases (Helium and Argon). In the terms of literal background research both the technologies and questions of laser welding are described. The geometry of welds is carried out in the experimental part. The final results of the experiment are concluded at the end of the diploma thesis.

<p>The topic of this thesis is the development of devices for telecom applications based on poled optical fibers. The focus is on a specific function, optical switching/modulation.</p><p>Some of the most important results are summarized below. Optical switching at telecom wavelengths (1.55 μm) is demonstrated in an all-fiber switch based on a fiber with internal electrodes. The fiber is made electro-optically active with a thermal poling process in which a strong electric field is recorded in the glass at a temperature of 255 °C. After poling, the fiber is put in one arm of a Mach-Zehnder interferometer and by applying a voltage across the two electrodes the refractive index is modulated and the optical signal switched from one output port to the other. A switching voltage of 190 V at 1550 nm was achieved, which to the best of our knowledge is the lowest value reported. By carefully matching the lengths of the fibers in the two arms of the interferometer the optical bandwidth could be made as large as 20 nm. The extinction ratio, determined by the power ratio in the two arms, was 30 dB and the highest modulation frequency was 30 MHz. Poled fibers were packaged to increase the thermal and mechanical stability and to make handling easier. 40 Gb/s transmission test through the device showed no bit-error-rate performance degradation. Protection switching of a 10 Gb/s signal is also demonstrated.</p><p>The depletion region in a poled fiber was found to be wedge-shaped and very wide, 13 μm and completely overlapped with the core. In a time-resolved poling experiment the recorded electric field was measured. The sign of the field changed after ~20 min, when the depletion region passed through the core, which led to the conclusion that an electric field is present also outside of the depletion region.</p><p>A ring laser was constructed with an erbium doped fiber as the gain medium. A fiber modulator was placed inside the cavity and when a small RF signal, with a frequency matched to the cavity ground frequency, was applied to the modulator the laser was modelocked. The output pulse train contained pulses of sub ns duration and is the first demonstration of mode-locking using poled fibers.</p><p>A sampled grating with 16 channels spaced by 50 GHz was inserted into the cavity. The fiber modulator had optical bandwidth of 7 nm with center wavelength that depends on the applied voltage. By applying of 10 – 210 V to the modulator it was possible to tune the laser to 11 of the 16 channels for a total tuning range of over 4 nm.</p><p>A scheme to deposit 1 μm thin silver electrodes inside the holes of an optical fiber is demonstrated together with a new method of creating periodic electrodes by periodically ablating the silver film electrodes. The periodic electrodes are used to create a quasi-phase matched (QPM) nonlinearity in a fibers which is showed in a proof of principle experiment.</p>

Hawking radiation, despite its presence in theoretical physics for over thirty years, remains elusive and undetected. It also suffers, in its original context of gravitational black holes, from conceptual difficulties. Of particular note is the trans-Planckian problem, which is concerned with the apparent origin of the radiation in absurdly high frequencies. In order to gain better theoretical understanding and, it is hoped, experimental verification of Hawking radiation, much study is being devoted to systems which model the spacetime geometry of black holes, and which, by analogy, are also thought to emit Hawking radiation. These analogue systems typically exhibit dispersion, which regularizes the wave behaviour at the horizon but does not lend itself well to analytic treatment, thus rendering Hawking’s prediction less secure. A general analytic method for dealing with Hawking radiation in dispersive systems has proved difficult to find. This thesis presents new numerical and analytic results for Hawking emission spectra in dispersive systems. It examines two black-hole analogue systems: it begins by introducing the well-known acoustic model, presenting some original results in that context; then, through analogy with the acoustic model, goes on to develop the lesser-known fibre-optical model. The following original results are presented in the context of both of these models: • an analytic expression for the low-frequency temperature is found for a hyperbolic tangent background profile, valid in the entire parameter space; it is well-known that the spectrum is approximately thermal at low frequencies, but a universally valid expression for the corresponding temperature is an original development; • an analytic expression for the spectrum, valid over almost the entire frequency range, when the velocity profile parameters lie in the regime where the low-frequency temperature is given by the Hawking prediction; previous work has focused on the low-frequency thermal spectrum and the characterization of the deviations from thermality, rather than a single analytic expression; and • a new unexplored regime where no group-velocity horizon exists is examined; the Hawking spectra are found to be non-zero here, but also highly non-thermal, and are found, in the limit of small deviations, to vary with the square of the maximum deviation; the analytic expression for the case with a horizon is found to carry over to this new regime, with appropriate modifications. Furthermore, the thesis examines the results of a classical frequency-shifting experiment in the context of fibre-optical horizons. The theory of this process is presented for both a constant-velocity and a constantly-decelerating pulse, the latter case taking account of the Raman effect. The resulting spectra are at least qualititively explained, but there is a discrepancy between theory and experiment that has not yet been accounted for.

This thesis considers the problem of calculating and observing the mixing of modes of positive and negative frequency in inhomogeneous, dispersive media. Scattering of vacuum modes of the electromagnetic field at a moving interface in the refractive index of a dielectric medium is discussed. Kinematics arguments are used to demonstrate that this interface may, in a regime of linear dispersion, act as the analogue of the event horizon of a black hole to modes of the field. Furthermore, a study of the dispersion of the dielectric shows that five distinct configurations of modes of the inhomogeneous medium at the interface exist as a function of frequency. Thus it is shown that the interface is simultaneously a black- and white-hole horizon-like and horizonless emitter. The role, and importance, of negative-frequency modes of the field in mode conversion at the horizon is established and yields a calculation of the spontaneous photonic flux at the interface. An algorithm to calculate the scattering of vacuum modes at the interface is introduced. Spectra of the photonic flux in the moving and laboratory frame, for all modes and all realisable increase in the refractive index at the interface are computed. As a result of the various mode configurations, the spectra are highly structured in intervals with black-hole, white-hole and no horizon. The spectra are dominated by a negative-frequency mode, which is the partner in any Hawking-type emission. An experiment in which an incoming positive-frequency wave is populated with photons is assembled to observe the transfer of energy to outgoing waves of positive and negative frequency at the horizon. The effect of mode conversion at the interface is clearly shown to be a feature of horizon physics. This is a classical version of the quantum experiment that aims at validating the mechanism of Hawking radiation.

Ce travail de thèse est consacré au développement de sources lasers femtosecondes à haute cadence, de forte puissancemoyenne (&gt;10 W) avec des énergies supérieures à 100 μJ. Ce type de sources est primordial pour le développementd’applications industrielles variées (micro-usinage athermique, chirurgie oculaire, …) ainsi qu’en recherchefondamentale pour l’étude de l’interaction laser matière.Après un chapitre d’introduction sur l’état de l’art des chaînes lasers de forte puissance moyenne à base de matériauxdopés ytterbium, la réalisation d’une chaîne laser de forte puissance moyenne compacte à base de fibre photoniquemicrostructurée à large aire modale sera présentée. Il sera notamment démontré les principales limitations en termed’énergie et de puissance moyenne. D’une part, le fort confinement de l’impulsion lumineuse dans le coeur de la fibrefavorise l’accumulation d’effets non-linéaires lors de l’amplification et détériore la qualité de l’impulsion. D’autrepart, en raison du diamètre de coeur important (&gt; 70 μm) choisit pour lutter contre l’effet précèdent, le guidage dumode fondamental TEM00 de ces fibres est très critique et devient sensible à la charge thermique interne à la fibre.Cette source laser a été utilisée dans le cas de deux applications bien spécifiques : le perçage de plaques d’acierépaisses pour une finalité de déminage (relatif au cadre du financement de cette thèse par la Direction Générale del’Armement) et à la génération d’harmoniques d’ordres élevées à très haute cadence (relatif au domaine d’expertisedu CELIA). Ces deux applications sont traitées au cours du troisième chapitre.A la vue des limitations observées et afin de disposer de chaînes lasers plus énergétiques et offrant des duréesd’impulsions encore plus courtes, une nouvelles architecture d’amplification a été proposée : le pompage fortebrillance de matériaux dopés Ytterbium. Ce concept présenté dans le dernier chapitre utilise le développement desources fibrées monomodes continues émettant à 976 nm. Cette architecture d’amplification a été utilisée afin deréaliser d’une part un oscillateur sub-70 fs et de forte puissance moyenne (&gt;2,3 W) à une cadence de 73 MHz etd’autre part : un amplificateur type « booster » à fort gain. Deux expériences qui ont été réalisées avec des cristauxd’Yb:CaF2. Ce matériaux présente en effet l’avantage d’avoir un très large spectre d’émission (&gt;60 nm) propice à lagénération et amplification d’impulsions femtosecondes mais aussi d’être « compatible » avec les chaînes de trèsforte puissance grâce à sa très bonne conductivité thermique<br>This work concerns the development of high repetition rate femtosecond lasers with high average power (&gt;10 W)and energies in excess of 100 μJ. Such lasers are paramount for the development of new industrial applications(athermal micro-drilling, eye surgery, ...) and for fundamental research on high repetition rate laser matter interactionstudies.After a brief introduction and the state of the art summary on high-average power femtosecond laser with ytterbiumdoped materials, a compact high-average power femtosecond laser with a large mode area microstructured rod typeamplifier will be presented. It will browse the main limitations in terms of energy and average power. Limitationsare mainly due to the strong confinement of the electric field propagating in the fibre core leading to non-linear effectsaccumulated during the amplification. On the other hand, for larger core diameter (&gt; 70 μm), the fundamental modeguiding (TEM00) is very weak and thus very sensitive to the internal thermal load of the fibre.This laser source has been used in two specific applications: athermal drilling of thick stainless steel plate for mineclearing(an application of interest for the Direction Générale de l’Armement) and High order Harmonics Generationat high repetition rate (related to CELIA activities). These two applications are presented in the third chapter.In order to stretch the limits and generate more energetic and a shorter pulse, a new amplification scheme has beenproposed, namely high brightness optical pumping of ytterbium doped materials. This concept presented in the lastchapter benefits from the development of high average power single-mode fibre lasers source emitting at 976 nm.This amplification scheme allowed us to realize a high average power Kerr-lens oscillator delivering pulses with apulse duration below than 70 fs and an average power of 2.3W at a repetition rate of 73 MHz. In a second phase, wealso developed a « booster » amplifier with a high single- pass-gain. These two results have been obtained by usingYb-doped CaF2 crystals. This material presents the advantage to have a very broad emission bandwidth (&gt; 60nm)suitable to generate and amplify femtosecond pulses and to be compatible with high average power laser due to hisvery good thermal conductivity

Etude experimentale (essais de fatigue, essais de traction, de compression) sur des eprouvettes entaillees ou non, trouees ou non de stratifies resine epoxyde/carbone. Analyse mathematique avec des calculs par elements finis

The effect of the distance between impact point and hole position and the angle of the hole with the vertical axis was studied. In order to understand this effect, flexural tests were also performed to evaluate the bending strength of CFRP. In terms of distance of the hole, a maximum reduction of 29.7% on the bending load for a distance of 0 mm was found. This reduction was 22.3% on the impact load. In terms of angle of the hole, a maximum load reduction of 15.6% on the bending strength was found and for the impact load this value was found to be 7% for 20º. The fatigue resistance was also studied. An average reduction of 68.5% on the fatigue resistance of GFRP was obtained for an impact energy of 12 J, in the presence of a hole.<br>O efeito da distância entre o ponto de impacto e posição de um furo e o ângulo do mesmo com o eixo vertical foi estudado. Para avaliar este efeito, foram também realizados ensaios de flexão. Em termos de distância do furo, uma redução máxima da resistência à flexão de 29,7% foi verificada para uma distância do furo de 0 mm. Esta redução foi de 22,3% no carregamento de impacto. Em termos de ângulo do furo, a redução máxima do carregamento foi de 15,6% para a flexão e em relação ao impacto este valor foi de 7%, para um ângulo de 20º. A resistência à fadiga foi também estudada. Foi verificada uma redução média de 68,5% na resistência à fadiga em compósitos de fibra de vidro para uma energia de impacto de 12 J, na presença de um furo.

A Research Report submitted to the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, University of the Witwatersrand, in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Engineering(Mechanical Engineering 30 January 2017<br>An extensive variety of experimental techniques exist to determining residual stresses, but few of these techniques is suitable, however, for finding the residual stresses that exist in orthotropic or anisotropic layered materials, such as carbon-fibre reinforced polymers (CFRP). Among these techniques, particularly among the relaxation techniques, the incremental hole-drilling technique (IHD) has shown to be a suitable technique to be developed for this purpose. This technique was standardized for the case of linear elastic isotropic materials, such as the metallic alloys in general. However, its reliable application to anisotropic and layered materials, such as CFRP materials, needs to be better studied. In particular, accurate calculation methods to determine the residual stresses in these materials based on the measured in-depth strain relaxation curves need to be developed. In this work, existing calculation methods and already proposed theoretical approaches to determine residual stresses in composite laminates by the incremental hole-drilling technique are reviewed. The selected residual stress calculation method is implemented using MATLAB. For these calculations, specific calibration coefficients have to be numerically determined by the finite element method, using the ANSYS software. The developed MATLAB scripts are then validated using an experimental procedure previously developed. This experimental procedure was performed using CFRP specimens, with the stacking sequence [0o, 90o]5s and, therefore, this composite laminate was selected as case study in this work. Some discrepancies between the calculated stresses using the MATLAB scripts and those imposed during the experimental calibration procedure are observed. The errors found could be explained considering the limitations inherent to the incremental hole-drilling technique and the theoretical approach followed. However, the obtained results showed that the incremental hole-drilling can be considered a promising technique for residual stress measurement in composite laminates.<br>MT2017

Τα σύνθετα υλικά οργανικής μήτρας ενισχυμένα με ίνες γυαλιού είναι μια κατηγορία υλικών που έχει υψηλό τεχνολογικό ενδιαφέρον τις τελευταίες δεκαετίες με πληθώρα εφαρμογών στην αεροπορική και διαστημική βιομηχανία, στην αυτοκινητοβιομηχανία, στη formula 1, στα σπορ και γενικότερα όπου οι απαιτήσεις για υψηλή επίδοση των υλικών συνδυάζονται με την απαίτηση για χαμηλό βάρος. Στην κατεύθυνση αυτή έχει συντελέσει και το διαρκώς μειούμενο κόστος παραγωγής των υλικών αυτών μέσω της χρήσης καινοτόμων τεχνικών. Η συνεχής εξέλιξη των υλικών αυτών οδηγεί σε βελτιωμένα υλικά ενισχυτικής και μητρικής φάσης αλλά και εντελώς καινούρια υλικά και προσεγγίσεις όπως είναι ενισχυτικές φάσεις στη νανοκλίμακα (nanofibers, nanotubes). Η εισαγωγή τέτοιων υλικών στη μήτρα συνθέτων υλικών αλλάζει τις μηχανικές και φυσικές τους ιδιότητες με τρόπο πολλές φορές ολοκληρωτικό. Είναι προφανές ότι η τεκμηριωμένη γνώση και ανάπτυξη μεθόδων μη καταστροφικού ελέγχου της δομικής ακεραιότητας αλλά και η γνώση της μηχανικής συμπεριφοράς μέσω της διαδικασίας εξέλιξης της βλάβης σε μια κατηγορία υλικών με τόσο σημαντικές εφαρμογές είναι ζητούμενο από την ερευνητική κοινότητα παγκοσμίως. Προς αυτήν την κατεύθυνση είναι και η συμβολή της παρούσας διατριβής. Μη καταστροφικές μέθοδοι και δοκιμές εφαρμόζονται εδώ και πολλά χρόνια σε σύνθετα υλικά οργανικής μήτρας με επιτυχία παρά την εγγενή ανομοιογένεια και ανισοτροπία που παρουσιάζουν. Ωστόσο πάντα παραμένει ισχυρή η ζήτηση για μεθόδους που θα βοηθήσουν προς την κατεύθυνση της αύξησης της αξιόπιστης χρήσης των υλικών αυτών μέσω της διαρκούς αποτίμησης και γνώσης της φέρουσας ικανότητάς τους. Η συσσώρευση της βλάβης σε σύνθετα υλικά οργανικής μήτρας που υπόκεινται σε μηχανική φόρτιση είναι ένα ζήτημα που έχει διερευνηθεί εκτενώς μέχρι σήμερα. Ωστόσο, η εισαγωγή ενίσχυσης (carbon nanotubes, CNT) στη μήτρα αλλάζει τους μηχανισμούς δημιουργίας και εξέλιξής της. Επίσης προστίθεται η δυνατότητα της μέτρησης μιας ιδιότητας που εμφανίζεται ως αποτέλεσμα της εισαγωγής αυτής και η οποία είναι η ηλεκτρική αγωγιμότητα. Ο βασικός λοιπόν σκοπός της εργασίας αυτής είναι η μελέτη της χρήσης μη καταστροφικών ελέγχων κατά τη διάρκεια μηχανικών δοκιμών συσσώρευσης βλάβης στα υλικά αυτά, καθώς επίσης και η εισαγωγή της μέτρησης της ηλεκτρικής αντίστασης τους ως ικανής μεθόδου παρακολούθησης και ποσοτικοποίησης της βλάβης αυτής. Η διερεύνηση της επιβελτίωσης των μηχανικών ιδιοτήτων λόγω της εισαγωγής των CNT στα υλικά αυτά μέσω της σύγκρισης με τις ιδιότητες που έχουν χωρίς την προσθήκη αυτή. Αναλυτικότερα οι στόχοι που επιδιώξαμε να πετύχουμε στα πλαίσια της διατριβής είναι οι ακόλουθοι: • Μελέτη της διεθνούς βιβλιογραφίας στα συγκεκριμένα θέματα. • Εκτέλεση ειδικά επιλεγμένων μηχανικών δοκιμών σε σύνθετα υλικά Glass/vinylester και Glass/vinylester με CNT (κυκλικά πειράματα φόρτισης – αποφόρτισης – επαναφόρτισης). • Χρήση εξελιγμένων μη καταστροφικών μεθόδων όπως η χρήση δεδομένων ταχύτητας διάδοσης υπερηχητικών ελαστικών κυμάτων (UT) και η ακουστική εκπομπή (AE) για την παρακολούθηση της βλάβης κατά τη διάρκεια των μηχανικών δοκιμών. • Διερεύνηση καταγραφών ηλεκτρικής αντίστασης ως δείκτη βλάβης του υλικού. • Δοκιμές θραυστομηχανικής συμπεριφοράς για την εκτίμηση της βελτίωσης των επιδόσεων του υλικού παρουσία των CNT.<br>Multi wall carbon nanotubes were used as an additive in the matrix of glass / vinylester composites, in order to improve their damage tolerance and provide a means for their damage assessment at any stage of their loading history. The improvement of the damage tolerance is expected to stem from the incorporation of an additional interfacial area that activates energy dissipation mechanisms such as interfacial sliding, fibre pull out and bridging as well as crack bifurcation and arrest; all these mechanisms are active at the nanoscale. The life monitoring is performed via the electrical resistance changes in the conductive carbon nanotube network within the composite matrix; this network follows any deformation of the composite providing real time strain monitoring and, at the same time, pinpoints all loci of failure through the local breach of the conductive path that lead to a monotonic increase in the overall resistance. The experimental findings verify both the increased damage tolerance of the doped composites and the reliable damage assessment of the composite at all stages of its loading history. Other Non - Destructive Techniques were utilized in order to detect and quantify the accumulating damage. Inverse scattering theory and phase velocity data were used in order to determine the elastic constants of the stifness matrix of the anisotropic material. Fracture toughness and fatigue life behaviour were investigated for both the material systems.