Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Properties'

The understanding of what properties the fibre should have in order to give the right end-product paper properties, along with the type of processing, is a subject for a lot of research and development. Today the ability to measure fibre properties on-line is widely used for pulps. It is often necessary to measure many properties and variables in a process. The data collected is therefore almost always multivariate. It is very hard to analyse process data due to a lot of noises. Correlations between fibre and paper properties are hard to find, but this does not mean that correlations do not exist. Fibre properties, measured by the pulp analyser PulpEye, were investigated and correlations to paper properties were studied. The work was divided into three different studies. Study 1 was an investigation of historical process data, in study 2 pulp samples from the production was analysed and study 3 was a refiner setting trial, were different refiner segments, flows through refiners and intensities were studied. Both the group-plots and MVDA’s based on the historical process data in study 1, showed that the Scott Bond was increased with increased amount of kinks and curl for the unbleached pine pulp (softwood pulp). Coarseness measurements, made in the study of historical data, indicated that the coarseness was varying in such a large extent that it was believable that it had effects in the papermaking process. Another interesting fibre property, investigated in the refiner setting trial, was crill. The amount of crill is said to have strong correlation to paper strength. The analysis showed that the incoming pulp had different amount of crill and that the amount of crill after the refiners also was varying for the different samples. The development of crill at different kappa numbers and for pulps refined with different segments and refiner strategies should be further investigated. In this work it has been difficult to find correlations between fibre properties and paper properties in the refiner setting trial. This could have been due to small variations of the different parameters. This work showed that the normal production can be handled very well and variations are rather small. It can be seen though, that problems do appear when parameters are deviating from the normal case. An efficient way to work is to do measurements when the incoming pulp parameters are deviating. It should also be more investigated how the most common deviating pulp parameters should be handled in the refining process and at the board machine. The communication between the pulp production and the board machines is recommended to be further developed, especially when the pulp production have disturbances that can be affecting the refining and further the board production.

Ce manuscrit présente des récentes extensions au modèle PFVD, basé sur l'hétérogénéité de la dynamique des polymères vitreux à l'échelle de quelques nanomètres et résolu par simulation en 3D, afin de fournir une description physique unifiée des propriétés mécaniques et dynamiques des polymères vitreux soumis à déformation plastique. Trois sujets principaux sont traités : La plastification. Sous déformation, les polymères atteignent le seuil de plasticité (yield) à quelques pourcents de déformation et quelques dizaines de MPa. Nous proposons que l'énergie élastique absorbée à l'échelle des hétérogénéités dynamiques accélère la dynamique locale. On observe contraintes ultimes de quelques dizaines de MPa à quelques pourcents de déformation et que la plastification est due à un nombre relativement petit d'événements locaux. Il a été observé que la dynamique devient plus rapide et homogène dans le régime plastique et que la mobilité moyenne atteint une valeur stationnaire, linéaire avec le taux de déformation. Nous proposons que la contrainte locale stimule la diffusion de monomères des domaines lents à ceux rapides (mécanisme de facilitation) et accélère dynamique locale. Ceci permets d'observer l'homogénéisation de la dynamique, avec des caractéristiques proches de l'expérience. L'écrouissage, dans les polymères enchevêtrés ou réticulés. A grande déformation, la contrainte augmente avec une pente caractéristique d'ordre 10 – 100 MPa au-dessous de la transition vitreuse. De manière analogue à une théorie récente, nous proposons que la déformation locale oriente les monomères dans la direction d'étirage et ralentie la dynamique, suite à l'intensification des interactions locales. Les modules d'écrouissage mesurés, les effets de la réticulation et du taux de déformation sont comparables aux données expérimentales. En outre, on trouve que l'écrouissage a un effet stabilisateur sur les phénomènes de localisation et sur les bandes de cisaillement
This manuscript presents recent extensions to the PFVD model, based on the heterogeneity of theh dynamics of glassy polymers at the scale of a few nanometers et solved by 3D numerical simulation, which aim at providing a unified physical description of the mechanical and dynamical properties of glassy polymers during plastic deformation. Three main topics are treated: Plasticization. Under applied deformation, polymers undergo yield at strains of a few percent and stresses of some 10 MPa.We propose that the elastic energy stored at the scale of dynamical heterogeneities accelerates local dynamics. We observe yield stresses of a few 10 MPa are obtained at a few percent of deformation and that plastification is due to a relatively small amount of local yields. It has been observed that dynamics becomes faster and more homogeneous close to yield and that the average mobility attains a stationary value, linear with the strain rate. We propose that stress-induced acceleration of the dynamics enhances the diffusion of monomers from slow domains to fast ones (facilitation mechanism), accelerating local dynamics. This allows for obtaining the homogeneisation of the dynamics, with the same features observed during experiments. Strain-hardening, in highly entangled and cross-linked polymers. At large strain, stress increases with increasing strain, with a characteristic slope (hardening modulus) of order 10 – 100 MPa well below the glass transition. Analogously to a recent theory, we propose that local deformation orients monomers in the drawing direction and slows dows the dynamics, as a consequence of the intensification of local interactions. The hardening moduli mesured, the effect of reticulation and of strain rate are comparable with experimental data. In addition, strain-hardening is found to have a stabilizing effect over strain localization and shear banding

This thesis concerns the relation between the fundamental properties and the powers they confer. The views considered are introduced in terms of their acceptance or rejection of the quiddistic thesis. Essentially the quiddistic thesis claims that properties confer the powers they do neither necessarily nor sufficiently. Quidditism is the view that accepts the quiddistic thesis. The other two views to be considered, the pure powers view and the grounded view reject the quiddistic thesis. The pure powers view supports its denial of the quiddistic thesis with the claim that properties consist in conferring the powers they do; the possession of a property just is the possession of a power. The grounded view, the positive view of this thesis, rejects the idea that properties are constituted by conferring the causal powers they do. Rather on the grounded view, it is the natures of the fundamental properties that metaphysically explain why they confer the powers they do.

Multi walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) grown in highly ordered porous alumina templates were incorporated into a resistive gas sensor design and were evaluated for their sensitivities. The material characteristics and electrical properties of the nanotubes were analyzed. A study was undertaken to elucidate the effect of UV light on desorption characteristics and the dependence of sensitivity on (i) thickness of amorphous carbon layers and (ii) flow rates of analyte gases. These sensors were highly responsive to both oxidizing and reducing gases with steady state sensitivities of 5% and 10% for 100ppm of NH3 and NO2 respectively, at room temperature. As part of a comparative study, thick films of MWCNTs grown on Si/SiO2 substrates were integrated into various nano-composite based sensors and were evaluated for their response. Steady state sensitivities as high as 10% and 11% were achieved for 100ppm of NH3 and NO2 respectively, at room temperature. MWCNTs were characterized for their electrical properties by I–V measurements at room temperatures. A typical I-V curve with an ohmic behavior was observed for a device with high work function metals (example: Au, Pt); Schottky behavior was observed for devices with metal contacts having low work functions (example: Al, Cu).

Ces travaux de thèse consistent à élaborer des nanocomposites Polyaniline/hexaferrite pour l’absorption des micro-ondes. L’idée principale est la mise en œuvre de matériaux composites à base de polymères conducteurs intrinsèques telle la Polyaniline que nous avons dopée avec différents types d’acides (HCl, CSA, NSA et TSA…) et l’hexaferrite de baryum de type magnétoplombite (M) stœchiométrique ou substitué. Au niveau de l’hexaferrite de baryum, la substitution du Fe3+ s’est faite par les ions Al3+, Bi3+, Cr3+ et Mn3+.L’hexaferrite de baryum et les hexaferrites substitués par les différents ions cités ci-dessus ont été synthétisés par voie hydrothermale dynamique en faisant varier divers paramètres au cours de la synthèse (pH, température, temps, rapport [OH-]/[NO3-]…).L’élaboration des composites Polyaniline/hexaferrite (pur ou substitués) a été effectuée par polymérisation oxydative en utilisant plusieurs techniques de synthèse : la polymérisation chimique en solution (en tenant compte de la nature de l’acide utilisé) avec ou sans agitation (Aqueous-Based Polymerization with or without stirring) et la polymérisation oxydative par voie solide (Solid-Based Polymerization). L’optimisation de ces différentes techniques de synthèse après caractérisations physicochimiques (DRX, FTIR, ATG, MEB, EDX), diélectriques (ε’, ε’’, σdc) et magnétiques (Mr, Ms, Hc, Tc, µ’, µ’’) des échantillons, a montré que la polymérisation par voie solide se trouve la méthode la plus facile, économique et respectueuse de l’environnement. Elle est aussi adaptée à la production du composite Pani/BaFe12O19 avec de bonnes propriétés structurales, physiques et magnétiques. L’étude de la substitution du Fe3+ dans le BaFe12O19 par Al3+, Bi3+, Cr3+ et Mn3+ a montré une forte dépendance des propriétés structurales et magnétiques avec la distribution de ces ions dans la maille cristalline hexagonale. En effet, les ions Al3+, Cr3+ et Mn3+ ont une tendance à occuper les sites tétraédriques, alors que le Bi3+ occupe les sites octaédriques. Une augmentation de Hc associée à la taille des cristallites a été observée pour les particules substituées avec l'Al et le Cr alors qu’une modification de l'anisotropie magnetocristalline (fort terme d'ordre supérieur) a été mise en évidence pour les substitutions Bi et Mn, dû à leur grand rayon ionique. L’incorporation des hexaferrites substitués dans la Polyaniline pour obtenir des composites Pani/BaMeFe11O19, où Me = Al, Bi, Cr et Mn, révèle une variation des propriétés électromagnétiques dans la gamme de fréquences allant de 1 à 18 GHz. En effet, ces variations sont dues à la formation de dipôles entre l’ion de substitution et les cations O2- dans le ferrite qui sont responsables de la résonance ferromagnétique, de l'anisotropie magnétocristalline et des interactions avec la matrice polymérique. Le composite Pani/BaFe12O19 présente des absorptions dans la bande X qui se déplacent vers la bande Ku avec la substitution du fer confirmant
This thesis deals with the formulation of Polyaniline/hexaferrite nanocomposite for absorbing electromagnetic waves. The main idea is the process of composite materials based on polymers intrinsic conductors such as polyaniline that we doped with different types of acids (HCl, CSA, NSA, and ... TSA) and barium hexaferrite with magnetoplumbite structure with or without substitution according to desired stoichiometries. In the barium hexaferrite, the substitution of Fe 3+ is made by Al3+, Bi3+, Cr3+ and Mn3+ ions.The barium hexaferrite and its substitutions by different ions mentioned above were synthesized dynamic hydrothermal method by varying various parameters during the synthesis (pH, temperature, time, ratio [OH-]/[NO3-] ...).The elaboration of polyaniline/hexaferrite composite (pure or substituted) was carried out by oxidative polymerization using various synthesis techniques: Aqueous-Based Polymerisation with or without agitation (taking into account the nature of the acid used) (ABP) and Solid-Based Polymerization (SBP). The optimization of these various synthesis techniques after physicochemical (XRD, FTIR, TGA, SEM, EDX), dielectric (ε ', ε' ', σdc) and magnetic (Mr, Ms, Hc, Tc, µ', µ'') characterizations of the samples showed that the solid route is the easiest method, economical and environmentally friendly. It is also suitable for the production of composite Pani/BaFe12O19 with good structural, physical and magnetic properties.The study of the substitution of Fe 3+ in the BaFe12O19 by Al3+, Bi3+, Cr3+ and Mn3+ showed a strong dependence of the structural and magnetic properties with the distribution of these ions in the hexagonal crystal lattice. In fact, Al3+, Cr3+ and Mn3+ ions tend to occupy the tetrahedral sites, while the Bi3+ favoured the octahedral sites. An increase in Hc associated with the small crystallite size observed for particles substituted with Al and Cr and the enhancement magnetocristalline anisotropy (strong higher order term) for Bi and Mn due to their high ionic radius.The incorporation of the substituted hexaferrite in the polyaniline to obtain Pani/BaMeFe11O19 composite, where Me = Al, Bi, Cr and Mn, reveals a variation in electromagnetic properties in the frequency range from 1 to 18 GHz. In fact, these variations are due to the formation of dipoles between the substituting ion and surrounding O2- cations in the ferrite which are responsible for the ferromagnetic resonance, the magnetocrystalline anisotropy and the exchange interaction with the polymer. The composite Pani/BaFe12O19 shows absorption bands at the X-band that shift to the Ku-band with the substitution of iron, confirming the potential of these materials for microwave applications

LFC is cementatious material integrated with mechanically entrained foam in the mortar slurry which can produce a variety of densities ranging from 400 to 1600 kg/m3. The application of LFC has been primarily as a filler material in civil engineering works. This research explores the potential of using LFC in building construction, as non-load-bearing partitions of lightweight load-bearing structural members. Experimental and analytical studies will be undertaken to develop quantification models to obtain thermal and mechanical properties of LFC at ambient and elevated temperatures. In order to develop thermal property model, LFC is treated as a porous material and the effects of radiant heat transfer within the pores are included. The thermal conductivity model results are in very good agreement with the experimental results obtained from the guarded hot plate tests and with inverse analysis of LFC slabs heated from one side. Extensive compression and bending tests at elevated temperatures were performed for LFC densities of 650 and 1000 kg/m3 to obtain the mechanical properties of unstressed LFC. The test results indicate that the porosity of LFC is mainly a function of density and changes little at different temperatures. The reduction in strength and stiffness of LFC at high temperatures can be predicted using the mechanical property models for normal weight concrete provided that the LFC is based on ordinary Portland cement. Although LFC mechanical properties are low in comparison to normal weight concrete, LFC may be used as partition or light load-bearing walls in a low rise residential construction. To confirm this, structural tests were performed on a composite walling system consisting of two outer skins of profiled thin-walled steel sheeting with LFC core under axial compression, for steel sheeting thicknesses of 0.4mm and 0.8mm correspondingly. Using these test results, analytical models are developed to calculate the maximum load-bearing capacity of the composite walling, taking into consideration the local buckling effect of the steel sheeting and profiled shape of the LFC core. The results of a preliminary feasibility study indicate that LFC can achieve very good thermal insulation performance for fire resistance. A single layer of 650 kg/m3 density LFC panel of about 21 mm would be able to attain 30 minutes of standard fire resistance rating, which is comparable to gypsum plasterboard. The results of a feasibility study on structural performance of a composite walling system indicates that the proposed panel system, using 100mm LFC core and 0.4mm steel sheeting, has sufficient load carrying capacity to be used in low-rise residential construction up to four-storeys.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering, 2007.
Includes bibliographical references.
Alumina, titania, ceria and manganese oxide were either coated onto or doped in cubic 7 mol% Y203-ZrO2 (7YZ) nanocrystals to form nanocomposites for methane combustion. These novel catalysts were very active and thermally stable. In particular, 25 wt% Mn203-coated 7YZ and 25 wt% Mn203-doped 7YZ showed remarkably low light-off temperatures of 3750C and 3580C, respectively. These catalysts were highly attractive as they were competitive with the much more expensive supported noble metal catalysts. Their catalytic activity could be attributed to the availability of active surface oxygen species, which facilitated the methane activation at low temperatures. Nanocrystalline 3 mol% and 8 mol% Y203-ZrO2 (3YZ and 8YZ) were successfully densified with an ultrafine grain size of < 90 nm by pressureless sintering at 11000C and 11500C, respectively. The low-temperature sinterability could be attributed to the well-defined nanocrystalline particles obtained via hydrothermal synthesis, and the effective elimination of secondary porosity through the dry compact processing. Submicron-sized 3 mol% Y203-ZrO2 ceramics with a grain size of - 150 nm was also obtained with commercial TOSOHC powders. Grain growth during densification of TOSOH© powders was successfully suppressed by presintering to 93% density under an argon atmosphere, followed by hot isostatic pressing at a temperature lower than the presintering temperature. The grain sizes of dense 3YZ and 8YZ ceramics were controlled between 100 nm and 5 glm. This allowed for the systematic study of 3YZ and 8YZ in indentation hardness, Young's modulus and fracture toughness as a function of grain size through micro-indentation and instrumented nano-indentation.
(cont.) The Hall-Petch effect was found to be extended to the nanocrystalline regime for 3YZ. 8YZ showed the Hall-Petch effect only in the micrometer and submicrometer regime. Maximum Hv values of 19 and 20 GPa were achieved for 3YZ and 8YZ, respectively. A continuous decrease in Young's modulus with decreasing grain size was observed in both 3YZ and 8YZ. This could be partially explained by the percolation theory. Transgranular fracture was observed in 3YZ as the grain size approached - 100 nm. This was in contrast with the dominant intergranular fracture mode observed in ceramics with fine grain sizes. Transgranular fracture was found in 8YZ over an even broader range of grain sizes (150 nm to 5.0 glm). A significant reduction in fracture toughness from 7.9 MPam-1/2 to 3.1 MPa-m1/2 was observed as the grain size was reduced from 1.1 im to 100 nm in 3YZ. Fracture toughness was much lower for 8YZ than for 3YZ, and showed little dependence on grain size. The stability of tetragonal phase at small grain sizes could account for the considerable reduction in the fracture toughness in 3YZ, and the transgranular fracture mode as grain size approached 100 nm.
by Jianyi Cui.
Ph.D.

Prediction as a tool in engineering has been used in taking right judgement in many of the professional activities. This being the fact, the role and significance of prediction in geotechnical practice needs no emphasis. Bulk of all man made structures are either made of soil or are resting on natural soil, involving large quantities of soil. Thus, it is often necessary for the geotechnical engineer to quickly characterize the soil and determine their engineering properties, so as to assess the suitability of the soil for any specific purpose. Obtaining these properties requires undisturbed samples, which involves time and money, and also elaborate laboratory procedures. Thus, it is desirable to find simpler and quicker methods of testing, using the data of which the engineering properties can be predicted satisfactorily especially so, for preliminary design purposes. Most often this can be achieved from simple tests known as inferential tests, and the engineering properties namely, compressibility, swell/collapse, hydraulic conductivity, strength and compaction characteristics can be obtained from empirical/semi-empirical correlations. The index tests namely the Atterberg limits form the most important inferential soil tests with very wide universal acceptance. These tests are relatively simple to perform and have provided a basis for explaining most engineering properties of soils in geotechnical practice. In this direction, this investigation has been carried out to correlate the engineering properties with the simple index properties and their indices, namely, the liquid limit, plastic limit, shrinkage limit, plasticity index and shrinkage index (liquid limit - shrinkage limit). Any good correlation in the prediction of engineering properties with the index properties will enhance the use of simple test for prediction purposes. This thesis is an attempt towards this direction. It is often necessary to identify the basic mechanisms controlling the engineering properties from a micro-mechanistic point of view and correlate with the index properties, thereby facilitating prediction of engineering properties better. Though attempts have been made in the past to predict the engineering properties of soils from the index properties/indic­es, they are not quite satisfactory. This thesis is an attempt to predict the engineering properties of fine-grained soils from the index properties taking into consideration the mechanisms controlling them. Since, the index properties are used for prediction of engineering properties, the existing methods of determining the same have been examined carefully and critically. It's satisfactory determination is found important because other indices namely plasticity index, Ip and shrinkage index, Is = (wL - ws), are determined based on it. Also the liquid limit is one of the important and widely used parameter in various existing correlations. In this direction, two new methods of determining the liquid limit have been developed, namely (i) absorption water content and liquid limit of soils and (ii) liquid limit from equilibrium water content under Ko-stress. In the absorption water content method, the water absorbed by an oven dried soil pat at equilibrium gives a good correlation with the liquid limit of soils. Here, the water holding capacity at equilibrium goes well with the mechanism of liquid limit, which is also the water holding capacity of a soil at a particular small but measurable shear strength. A good relationship is found to exit between the absorption water content, wA and the liquid limit, wL, and it is given as : WA = 0.92 wL (i) In the second method, namely, the liquid limit from equilibrium water content under K0-stress, which is the equilibrium water content under a Ko stress of 0.9 kPa is found to be equal to the liquid limit obtained from the cone penetration method of determining the liquid limit It is found that this method of determining the liquid limit overcomes the limitations of the conventional methods of determining the liquid limit, also easy to determine with a simple apparatus and has good repeatability. Determination of plastic limit of the soils by the rolling thread method often poses a problem especially when the soil is less plastic. Hence, to overcome this problem, a new method has been proposed to predict the plasticity index in terms of the flow index. The relationship between the plasticity index and the flow index by the cone penetration cup method is found to be better than by the percussion cup method. Since, the cone penetration method of the liquid limit determination is more popular than the percussion cup method, the flow index from the cone method is recommended to determine the plasticity index from the correlation as given below: (/p)c = 0.74 Ifc (ii) Thus, the plastic limit can be determined with the plasticity index, thereby dispensing with the determination of plastic limit by the thread method. The determination of consolidation characteristics form an important aspect in the design of foundations and other earth retaining structures. The determination of consolidation characteristics namely the compression index, the coefficient of consolidation and the coefficient of secondary compression is time consuming. So, researchers have resorted to correlating the compressibility behaviour with simple index properties. While attempts have been made in the past to correlate the compressibility behaviour with various index properties individually, all the important properties affecting the compressibility behaviour has not been considered together in any single study to examine which of the index property/properties of the soils correlates better with the compressibility behaviour, especially with the same set of test results. Number of existing correlations with the liquid limit alone as a primary index property correlating with the compression index have limitations in that they do not consider the plasticity characteristics of the soils fully. The index parameter, shrinkage index, Is has a better correlation with the compression index, Cc and also the coefficient of volume change, mv than plasticity index. Coefficient of consolidation, Cv has also shown to correlate well with shrinkage index than the plasticity index. Even the coefficient of secondary compression, Cαε has shown to have a better correlation with shrinkage index than the plasticity index. However, liquid limit has a poor correlation with all the compressibility characteristics. The correlation of Cc and Cv with shrinkage index, Is is as given below: Cc = 0.007 (Is + 18) (iii) Cv = 3x10-2 (Is)-3.54 (in m2/sec) Further, to reduce the testing time of conventional consolidation test in order to obtain the compressibility characteristics, a new method known as rapid method of consolidation has been proposed, which is very effective in enormously reducing the time of consolidation without sacrificing the accuracy of the end results. The time required in the rapid method of consolidation testing could be as low as 4 to 5 hours to complete the whole test as compared to 1 to 2 weeks as the case may be by the conventional consolidation test. Using any curve fitting procedure the degree of consolidation, U for any pressure increment can be found out. Thus, the effective pressure at that stage can be calculated and further the pressure incremented without further delay. This procedure is repeated for every pressure increment with a load increment ratio of unity till the desired pressure level is reached. Even for a highly compressible soil like BC soil with a liquid limit of 73.5 %, the consolidation test could be completed within 5 hours by the rapid method, without any sacrifice of the accuracy of the results as compared to 7 days by the conventional method to reach a pressure of 800 kPa. Hydraulic conductivity is one of the basic engineering properties of soils. Of late hydraulic conductivity of fine-grained soils has assumed greater importance in waste disposal facilities. From the present investigation it is found that hydraulic conductivity with water for each pair of soils having nearly the same liquid limit but different plasticity properties is found to be vastly different, but found to correlate well with shrinkage index. A method to predict the hydraulic conductivity of fine -grained soils as a function of void ratio is proposed with the use of shrinkage index as given below: k = C [ ] (in m/sec) (v) 1 + e C = 2.5 x 10-4 (/s)-5.89 and n = 4 (vi) It has also been brought out that as the dielectric constant of the pore fluid decreases; there is a drastic increase in the intrinsic permeability of soil. These changes are attributed to the significant reduction in the thickness of diffuse double layer, which in turn is mainly dependent on the dielectric constant of the pore fluid. The quantification of the change in the hydraulic conductivity with the change in the pore fluids of extreme dielectric constant, i.e., from water to carbon tetrachloride could be expressed in terms of the volume of water held in the diffuse double layer and the same has a good correlation with shrinkage index. With the advancement in the knowledge of the engineering behaviour of fine-grained soils, there is an increasing trend toward larger involvement of fine-grained soils in earth structures and foundations. Though extensive work has been done in the past to understand the swelling behaviour of expansive soils and the mechanisms involved therein, it is yet not satisfactory. From the literature it can be seen that lot of work has been done to correlate the swell potential with various physical properties. The simple means of identifying the swelling type of soils is by means of free swell tests with the ratio of free swell with carbon tetrachloride to the free swell of water. The same has found to correlate well with the percent swell/collapse of the ten soils used in the present investigation. However, it was found that shrinkage index has a better correlation with the swell/collapse behaviour of fine-grained soils, compared to the liquid limit or the plasticity index. In this study, it is also shown that neither the liquid limit nor the plasticity index can qualitatively describe the swell/collapse behaviour of fine-grained soils. This has been attributed primarily to two different mechanisms governing montmorillonitic and kaolinitic soils separately. Even swelling pressure has shown to have a good correlation with shrinkage index. It is found that the compression index of the samples consolidated from the swollen condition correlates well with the shrinkage index. Laboratory determination of the compaction characteristics are very much important for use in earth work constructions. It is found that only the plastic limit bears a good correlation with the compaction characteristics namely optimum moisture content and maximum dry unit weight. This conclusion is also supported by the data from the literature. The correlations are given as: OMC = 0.92 wp (in percent) (viii) and ydmax = 0.23 (93.3 - wp) (inkN/m3) (ix) Liquid limit, plasticity index and shrinkage index do not bear any correlation with the compaction characteristics. It is quite possible that, the plastic limit, which is the optimum water content of a saturated soil at which it behaves as a plastic material, and thus can be moulded to any shape, thereby the soil can be compacted or moulded to the densest possible state at that water content. Hence, possibly the good correlation. A simple method to predict the compaction curve is proposed based on the plastic limit of the soils. Of all the important engineering properties, both volume change (compressibility and swelling) and hydraulic conductivity have good correlation with the shrinkage index. However, the compaction characteristics correlate well with the plastic limit. Herein, an hypothesis is proposed to possibly explain why shrinkage index has shown to be a better parameter to correlate with most of the engineering properties with the exception of the compaction characteristics. The liquid limit is a parameter which takes part of the plasticity characteristics of a soil. Recently it has been well brought out that shrinkage limit is primarily a function of how the varying grain sizes are distributed in a soil. Thus, shrinkage limit takes care of the gradation of the soil fractions in it. Thus, by considering the shrinkage index, which is the difference of the liquid limit water content on one end and shrinkage limit water content on the other end, the primary physical properties of the soils namely the plasticity and the grain size distribution are considered. This possibly explains the good correlation of shrinkage index with the engineering properties of fine-grained soils. However, compaction being a moulding of the soils into a compact state, it has a good correlation with the plastic limit, which is the optimum water content of a saturated soil at which it behaves as a plastic material, and thus can be moulded to any shape, thereby the soil can be compacted or moulded to the densest possible state at that water content. Hence, the good correlation. As the present investigation gives the correlative equations to predict the engineering properties of fine-grained soils from the appropriate index properties, which are obtained from simple and quick laboratory tests, it is hoped that this will go a long way in being a handy tool for a practicing geotechnical engineer in the preliminary assessment of fine-grained soils and thereby take appropriate judgement in various aspects of geotechnical constructions with it.

Prediction as a tool in engineering has been used in taking right judgement in many of the professional activities. This being the fact, the role and significance of prediction in geotechnical practice needs no emphasis. Bulk of all man made structures are either made of soil or are resting on natural soil, involving large quantities of soil. Thus, it is often necessary for the geotechnical engineer to quickly characterize the soil and determine their engineering properties, so as to assess the suitability of the soil for any specific purpose. Obtaining these properties requires undisturbed samples, which involves time and money, and also elaborate laboratory procedures. Thus, it is desirable to find simpler and quicker methods of testing, using the data of which the engineering properties can be predicted satisfactorily especially so, for preliminary design purposes. Most often this can be achieved from simple tests known as inferential tests, and the engineering properties namely, compressibility, swell/collapse, hydraulic conductivity, strength and compaction characteristics can be obtained from empirical/semi-empirical correlations. The index tests namely the Atterberg limits form the most important inferential soil tests with very wide universal acceptance. These tests are relatively simple to perform and have provided a basis for explaining most engineering properties of soils in geotechnical practice. In this direction, this investigation has been carried out to correlate the engineering properties with the simple index properties and their indices, namely, the liquid limit, plastic limit, shrinkage limit, plasticity index and shrinkage index (liquid limit - shrinkage limit). Any good correlation in the prediction of engineering properties with the index properties will enhance the use of simple test for prediction purposes. This thesis is an attempt towards this direction. It is often necessary to identify the basic mechanisms controlling the engineering properties from a micro-mechanistic point of view and correlate with the index properties, thereby facilitating prediction of engineering properties better. Though attempts have been made in the past to predict the engineering properties of soils from the index properties/indic­es, they are not quite satisfactory. This thesis is an attempt to predict the engineering properties of fine-grained soils from the index properties taking into consideration the mechanisms controlling them. Since, the index properties are used for prediction of engineering properties, the existing methods of determining the same have been examined carefully and critically. It's satisfactory determination is found important because other indices namely plasticity index, Ip and shrinkage index, Is = (wL - ws), are determined based on it. Also the liquid limit is one of the important and widely used parameter in various existing correlations. In this direction, two new methods of determining the liquid limit have been developed, namely (i) absorption water content and liquid limit of soils and (ii) liquid limit from equilibrium water content under Ko-stress. In the absorption water content method, the water absorbed by an oven dried soil pat at equilibrium gives a good correlation with the liquid limit of soils. Here, the water holding capacity at equilibrium goes well with the mechanism of liquid limit, which is also the water holding capacity of a soil at a particular small but measurable shear strength. A good relationship is found to exit between the absorption water content, wA and the liquid limit, wL, and it is given as : WA = 0.92 wL (i) In the second method, namely, the liquid limit from equilibrium water content under K0-stress, which is the equilibrium water content under a Ko stress of 0.9 kPa is found to be equal to the liquid limit obtained from the cone penetration method of determining the liquid limit It is found that this method of determining the liquid limit overcomes the limitations of the conventional methods of determining the liquid limit, also easy to determine with a simple apparatus and has good repeatability. Determination of plastic limit of the soils by the rolling thread method often poses a problem especially when the soil is less plastic. Hence, to overcome this problem, a new method has been proposed to predict the plasticity index in terms of the flow index. The relationship between the plasticity index and the flow index by the cone penetration cup method is found to be better than by the percussion cup method. Since, the cone penetration method of the liquid limit determination is more popular than the percussion cup method, the flow index from the cone method is recommended to determine the plasticity index from the correlation as given below: (/p)c = 0.74 Ifc (ii) Thus, the plastic limit can be determined with the plasticity index, thereby dispensing with the determination of plastic limit by the thread method. The determination of consolidation characteristics form an important aspect in the design of foundations and other earth retaining structures. The determination of consolidation characteristics namely the compression index, the coefficient of consolidation and the coefficient of secondary compression is time consuming. So, researchers have resorted to correlating the compressibility behaviour with simple index properties. While attempts have been made in the past to correlate the compressibility behaviour with various index properties individually, all the important properties affecting the compressibility behaviour has not been considered together in any single study to examine which of the index property/properties of the soils correlates better with the compressibility behaviour, especially with the same set of test results. Number of existing correlations with the liquid limit alone as a primary index property correlating with the compression index have limitations in that they do not consider the plasticity characteristics of the soils fully. The index parameter, shrinkage index, Is has a better correlation with the compression index, Cc and also the coefficient of volume change, mv than plasticity index. Coefficient of consolidation, Cv has also shown to correlate well with shrinkage index than the plasticity index. Even the coefficient of secondary compression, Cαε has shown to have a better correlation with shrinkage index than the plasticity index. However, liquid limit has a poor correlation with all the compressibility characteristics. The correlation of Cc and Cv with shrinkage index, Is is as given below: Cc = 0.007 (Is + 18) (iii) Cv = 3x10-2 (Is)-3.54 (in m2/sec) Further, to reduce the testing time of conventional consolidation test in order to obtain the compressibility characteristics, a new method known as rapid method of consolidation has been proposed, which is very effective in enormously reducing the time of consolidation without sacrificing the accuracy of the end results. The time required in the rapid method of consolidation testing could be as low as 4 to 5 hours to complete the whole test as compared to 1 to 2 weeks as the case may be by the conventional consolidation test. Using any curve fitting procedure the degree of consolidation, U for any pressure increment can be found out. Thus, the effective pressure at that stage can be calculated and further the pressure incremented without further delay. This procedure is repeated for every pressure increment with a load increment ratio of unity till the desired pressure level is reached. Even for a highly compressible soil like BC soil with a liquid limit of 73.5 %, the consolidation test could be completed within 5 hours by the rapid method, without any sacrifice of the accuracy of the results as compared to 7 days by the conventional method to reach a pressure of 800 kPa. Hydraulic conductivity is one of the basic engineering properties of soils. Of late hydraulic conductivity of fine-grained soils has assumed greater importance in waste disposal facilities. From the present investigation it is found that hydraulic conductivity with water for each pair of soils having nearly the same liquid limit but different plasticity properties is found to be vastly different, but found to correlate well with shrinkage index. A method to predict the hydraulic conductivity of fine -grained soils as a function of void ratio is proposed with the use of shrinkage index as given below: k = C [ ] (in m/sec) (v) 1 + e C = 2.5 x 10-4 (/s)-5.89 and n = 4 (vi) It has also been brought out that as the dielectric constant of the pore fluid decreases; there is a drastic increase in the intrinsic permeability of soil. These changes are attributed to the significant reduction in the thickness of diffuse double layer, which in turn is mainly dependent on the dielectric constant of the pore fluid. The quantification of the change in the hydraulic conductivity with the change in the pore fluids of extreme dielectric constant, i.e., from water to carbon tetrachloride could be expressed in terms of the volume of water held in the diffuse double layer and the same has a good correlation with shrinkage index. With the advancement in the knowledge of the engineering behaviour of fine-grained soils, there is an increasing trend toward larger involvement of fine-grained soils in earth structures and foundations. Though extensive work has been done in the past to understand the swelling behaviour of expansive soils and the mechanisms involved therein, it is yet not satisfactory. From the literature it can be seen that lot of work has been done to correlate the swell potential with various physical properties. The simple means of identifying the swelling type of soils is by means of free swell tests with the ratio of free swell with carbon tetrachloride to the free swell of water. The same has found to correlate well with the percent swell/collapse of the ten soils used in the present investigation. However, it was found that shrinkage index has a better correlation with the swell/collapse behaviour of fine-grained soils, compared to the liquid limit or the plasticity index. In this study, it is also shown that neither the liquid limit nor the plasticity index can qualitatively describe the swell/collapse behaviour of fine-grained soils. This has been attributed primarily to two different mechanisms governing montmorillonitic and kaolinitic soils separately. Even swelling pressure has shown to have a good correlation with shrinkage index. It is found that the compression index of the samples consolidated from the swollen condition correlates well with the shrinkage index. Laboratory determination of the compaction characteristics are very much important for use in earth work constructions. It is found that only the plastic limit bears a good correlation with the compaction characteristics namely optimum moisture content and maximum dry unit weight. This conclusion is also supported by the data from the literature. The correlations are given as: OMC = 0.92 wp (in percent) (viii) and ydmax = 0.23 (93.3 - wp) (inkN/m3) (ix) Liquid limit, plasticity index and shrinkage index do not bear any correlation with the compaction characteristics. It is quite possible that, the plastic limit, which is the optimum water content of a saturated soil at which it behaves as a plastic material, and thus can be moulded to any shape, thereby the soil can be compacted or moulded to the densest possible state at that water content. Hence, possibly the good correlation. A simple method to predict the compaction curve is proposed based on the plastic limit of the soils. Of all the important engineering properties, both volume change (compressibility and swelling) and hydraulic conductivity have good correlation with the shrinkage index. However, the compaction characteristics correlate well with the plastic limit. Herein, an hypothesis is proposed to possibly explain why shrinkage index has shown to be a better parameter to correlate with most of the engineering properties with the exception of the compaction characteristics. The liquid limit is a parameter which takes part of the plasticity characteristics of a soil. Recently it has been well brought out that shrinkage limit is primarily a function of how the varying grain sizes are distributed in a soil. Thus, shrinkage limit takes care of the gradation of the soil fractions in it. Thus, by considering the shrinkage index, which is the difference of the liquid limit water content on one end and shrinkage limit water content on the other end, the primary physical properties of the soils namely the plasticity and the grain size distribution are considered. This possibly explains the good correlation of shrinkage index with the engineering properties of fine-grained soils. However, compaction being a moulding of the soils into a compact state, it has a good correlation with the plastic limit, which is the optimum water content of a saturated soil at which it behaves as a plastic material, and thus can be moulded to any shape, thereby the soil can be compacted or moulded to the densest possible state at that water content. Hence, the good correlation. As the present investigation gives the correlative equations to predict the engineering properties of fine-grained soils from the appropriate index properties, which are obtained from simple and quick laboratory tests, it is hoped that this will go a long way in being a handy tool for a practicing geotechnical engineer in the preliminary assessment of fine-grained soils and thereby take appropriate judgement in various aspects of geotechnical constructions with it.

Cadmium sulfide (CdS) thin films are very attractive materials due to their tunable optical properties and potential applications in not only photovoltaic devices but also in electronics, bio-labeling and fluorescence imaging. Recently, there is a great interest in flexible photovoltaic devices due to their unique properties such as very low weight, mechanical durability and large area applications. Organic semiconductors and their heterojunctions with inorganic materials are the most promising candidates for flexible photovoltaic applications. Preparation of CdS and Polypyrrole (PPy) semiconducting thin films on flexible polyethyleneterephtalate (PET) substrates and investigation of their morphological, structural, optical and electrical properties are the main scopes of this thesis. In the first part of the study, CdS thin films were deposited on PET via electrodeposition method. Taking the advantages of electrodeposition methods, CdS thin films with good optical and electrical properties were produced. CdS thin films were also deposited on soda-lime glass substrates in order to observe substrate effect. Scanning electron microscopy equipped with energy dispersive X-ray (SEM-EDX), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and UV-vis spectrometry have been used to determine the structural and optical properties of the films deposited at various temperatures and for different deposition time intervals. For all samples, molecularly homogenous CdS films have been observed with atomic percent ratios of the Cd to S very close to 1:1. Thin films showed (002) hexagonal crystal structure around 26 (2) with average grain size 7.0 nm. CdS films have high transmittance for the wavelength greater than 500nm. Band gap energies of the films, which range between 2.74 and 2.68 eV, decreased with increasing both deposition temperature and time. For further characterization, photoelectrochemical performances and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) of both as deposited and CuCl2 treated CdS thin films have been investigated. Later, following to the deposition of individual CdS thin films, polypyrrole thin films were produced and then heterojunctions of polypyrrole with CdS were examined. It has been observed that cadmium sulfide enhanced the photoelectrochemical properties of the polypyrrole film. Influence of the polypyrrole thin film deposition time on the photoelectrochemical properties has been also investigated in this study. Frequency dependent measurements revealed that type of charge carrier changes as a function of polypyrrole deposition time.

The aerodynamic drag force acting on a circular cylinder clad with knitted wool and polyester textiles has been investigated in wind tunnel experiments in this study. Particle image velocimetry (PIV) was utilized to determine the flow field, both around the separation point and a wake profile in the close wake. The drag forces and the characteristic CD curves were determined over a range of Reynolds numbers expected to contain flow transition, for a number of knitted textiles having different surface roughness characteristics. The effects of knitting parameters and type of yarn on the flow field were investigated. The parameters of interest to be examined were critical Reynolds number, separation point, growth of the wake and wake profile. The wool and polyester textiles examined showed dissimilar effects on the flow field. Both were clearly adding surface roughness, and hence tripping transition to turbulence at a lower Reynolds number than for the smooth cylinder. The wool textile did however turn out be a more effective turbulence trigger than expected.

This thesis investigates some of the properties of R-modules. The material is presented in three chapters. Definitions and theorems which are assumed are stated in Chapter I. Proofs of these theorems may be found in Zariski and Samuel, Commutative Algebra, Vol. I, 1958. It is assumed that the reader is familiar with the basic properties of commutative rings and ideals in rings. Properties of R-modules are developed in Chapter II. The most important results presented in this chapter include existence theorems for R-modules and properties of submodules in R-modules. The third and final chapter presents an example which illustrates how a ring R, may be regarded as an R-module and speaks of the direct sum of ideals of a ring as a direct sum of submodules.

Superprocesses are measure valued diffusions that arise as high density limits of particle systems undergoing spatial motion and critical branching. The most closely studied superprocess is super Brownian motion where the underlying spatial motion is Brownian. In chapter 1 we describe the approximating particle systems, the nonstandard model for a superprocess and some known path properties of super Brownian motion. Super Brownian motion is effectively determined by its closed support. In chapter 2 we use the approximating particle systems to derive new path properties for the support process. We find the growth rate of the support for the process started at a point mass. We give a representation for the measure at a fixed time in terms of its support. We show that the support at a fixed time is nearly a totally disconnected set. Finally we calculate the Hausdorff dimension of the range of the process over random time sets. A superprocess can be characterised as the solution to a martingale problem and in chapter 3 we use this characterisation to study the properties of general superprocesses. We investigate when the real valued process given by the measure of a half space under a super symmetric stable process is a semimartingale. We give a description of the behaviour of a general superprocess and its support near extinction. Finally we consider the problem of recovering the spatial motion from a path of the superprocess.
Science, Faculty of
Mathematics, Department of
Graduate

In this thesis, we establish tight bounds on the maximum size of maximum hidden sets, minimum guard sets, and minimum partitions and covers of polygons, using link-visibility. These results unify and generalize the guard set results (and combinatorial method) of Chvatal and O'Rourke. Our method also provides tight bounds on independent and dominating sets in triangulation graphs, and almost-tight bounds on the size of hidden sets, guard sets, covers, and partitions of polygon exteriors. We also prove that, using link-visibility, the optimization problems of finding maximum hidden sets, minimum guard sets, or minimum covers are NP-hard.
Link-visibility is an extended notion of visibility arising from robotics and motion planning problems. Hidden sets are sets of points in a polygon such that no two points of the set are visible, and guard sets are sets such that each point of the polygon is visible to some point in the guard set. Both maximum hidden set sizes and minimum guard set sizes can be used as polygon shape complexity measures.

Stratosphere-troposphere exchange (STE) and its effects on the stratospheric and tropospheric chemical compositions have been studied for the past two decades, but details on how mass is transported between the stratosphere and the troposphere are not well established. The goal of this study is to better describe global properties of cross tropopause trajectories, and to understand the processes related to transport of mass between the troposphere and the stratosphere. This understanding led us to build the simplest model which captures the most important properties of STE. To do this, nine-day extra-tropical stratosphere-troposphere exchange trajectories covering a period of 10 years, calculated using the ERA-15 re-analysis data, are investigated. The present study shows that the fraction of trajectories that reside in the stratosphere or in the troposphere does not depend on the direction of the exchange (stratosphere-to-troposphere transport, STT, or troposphere-to-stratosphere transport, TST). Trajectories are found to reside longer in the troposphere than in the stratosphere which suggests that they are driven down by asymmetric two-way motion. A random walk model is used to see whether this asymmetric transport is a result of a diffusive process. The transport of trajectories along isentropic coordinates is found to be compatible with a Brownian motion with higher probabilities to go downward. Since stratosphere-troposphere exchange reflects a differential motion of air masses and the tropopause, the potential temperature at the tropopause directly above or below the air mass is also investigated. The tropopause steps distributions are not stationary and they show some dynamical behaviors like the deformation of the tropopause at exchange time. Dispersion of trajectories in the atmosphere was furthermore investigated using several methods. They gave rise to three different transport mechanisms: diffusion, sub-diffusion and super-diffusion transports.
Les échanges entre la stratosphère et la troposphère (STE) et leurs effets sur la composition chimique de la stratosphère et de la troposphère ont été étudiés intensivement, mais les détails sur la manière dont les masses d'air sont transportés entre la stratosphère et la troposphère ne sont pas bien établis. Le but de cette étude est de décrire les propriétés globales des trajectoires qui traversent la tropopause, et de mieux comprendre les processus liés au transport de la matière entre la troposphère et la stratosphère. Une fois ces détails établis, nous avons essayé de construire un modèle simple qui capture les propriétés les plus importantes des STE. Pour ce faire, des trajectoires d'échanges entre la stratosphère et la troposphère (STE), couvrant les extra-tropiques durant une période de 10 ans ont été calculées en utilisant les données d'ERA-15. Dans cette étude on montre que la fraction de trajectoires qui résident dans la stratosphère ou dans la troposphère ne dépend pas de la direction de l'échange (transport de la stratosphère à la troposphère, STT, ou de la troposphère à la stratosphère, TST). Les trajectoires résident plus longtemps dans la troposphère que dans la stratosphère. Ceci suggère que les trajectoires sont entraînées vers le bas par un flux asymétrique. Un modèle de marches aléatoires est utilisé pour voir si ce transport asymétrique est le résultat d'un processus de diffusion. Le transport de trajectoires à travers les surfaces de la température potentielle est compatible avec un mouvement Brownien avec une plus grande probabilité d'aller vers le bas. Puisque l'échange entre la stratosphère et la troposphère reflète un mouvement différentiel entre les masses d'air et la tropopause, la température potentielle à la tropopause directement au-dessus ou au-dessous de la masse d'air est également étudiée. Les distributions de pas de la tropopause ne sont pas statio

A set of graphs may acquire various desirable properties, if we apply suitable restrictions on the set. We investigate the following two questions: How far, exactly, must one restrict the structure of a graph to obtain a certain interesting property? What kind of tools are helpful to classify sets of graphs into those which satisfy a property and those that do not? Equipped with a containment relation, a graph class is a special example of a partially ordered set. We introduce the notion of a boundary ideal as a generalisation of a notion introduced by Alekseev in 2003, to provide a tool to indicate whether a partially ordered set satisfies a desirable property or not. This tool can give a complete characterisation of lower ideals defined by a finite forbidden set, into those that satisfy the given property and to those that do not. In the case of graphs, a lower ideal with respect to the induced subgraph relation is known as a hereditary graph class. We study three interrelated types of properties for hereditary graph classes: the existence of an efficient solution to an algorithmic graph problem, the boundedness of the graph parameter known as clique-width, and well-quasi-orderability by the induced subgraph relation. It was shown by Courcelle, Makowsky and Rotics in 2000 that, for a graph class, boundedness of clique-width immediately implies an efficient solution to a wide range of algorithmic problems. This serves as one of the motivations to study clique-width. As for well-quasiorderability, we conjecture that every hereditary graph class that is well-quasi-ordered by the induced subgraph relation also has bounded clique-width. We discover the first boundary classes for several algorithmic graph problems, including the Hamiltonian cycle problem. We also give polynomial-time algorithms for the dominating induced matching problem, for some restricted graph classes. After discussing the special importance of bipartite graphs in the study of clique-width, we describe a general framework for constructing bipartite graphs of large clique-width. As a consequence, we find a new minimal class of unbounded clique-width. We prove numerous positive and negative results regarding the well-quasi-orderability of classes of bipartite graphs. This completes a characterisation of the well-quasi-orderability of all classes of bipartite graphs defined by one forbidden induced bipartite subgraph. We also make considerable progress in characterising general graph classes defined by two forbidden induced subgraphs, reducing the task to a small finite number of open cases. Finally, we show that, in general, for hereditary graph classes defined by a forbidden set of bounded finite size, a similar reduction is not usually possible, but the number of boundary classes to determine well-quasi-orderability is nevertheless finite. Our results, together with the notion of boundary ideals, are also relevant for the study of other partially ordered sets in mathematics, such as permutations ordered by the pattern containment relation.

This thesis examines the immunological accessory functions of neonatal rodent microglia and in particular, their response to β-IFN. β-IFN is shown to inhibit gamma-interferon (γ-IFN)-mediated induction of surface MHC class II expression on the microglia. Although the exact mechanism by which β-IFN blocks class II expression is not resolved, β-IFN- mediated inhibition of antigen presentation by γ-IFN stimulated microglia to primed T cells demonstrates the functional relevance of the effect. The ability of microglia to interact with T cells and function as antigen presenting cells is examined further. Neonatal rat microglia are shown not to be fully 'professional', that is, not able to act as stimulator cells in a mixed lymphocyte reaction but they can activate primed T cells in an antigen recall assay in such a way to propagate an immune response; microglia provide sufficient costimulation to induce primed T cells to produce cytokines and resting microglia are shown to be able to respond to these signals by activating interferon-induced transcription factors. γ-IFN is identified as the active factor within the supernatant. In addition to studying microglial-T cell interactions, the effects of β-IFN on a comprehensive range of immunological accessory and cytotoxic effector functions of the rodent microglia have been studied and the interaction of β-IFN with γ-IFN considered. Microglial proliferation, FcR expression, ability to mount a respiratory burst and to secrete TNFα and nitric oxide have been examined. Both antagonistic and synergistic effects of these cytokines are described, which in addition to the effects on class II expression described, re-emphasises the complexity of immune interactions between immunocompetent cells, cytokines and potentially beneficial immunotherapeutic agents. In the light of these findings, a possible model of action for β-IFN in MS patients is discussed.

An artinian standard graded algebra has the weak Lefschetz property if the multiplication by a general linear form induces maps of maximal rank between consecutive degree components. It has the strong Lefschetz property if the multiplication by powers of a general linear form also induce maps of maximal rank between the appropriate degree components. These properties are mainly studied for the constraints they place, when present, on the Hilbert series of the algebra. While the majority of research on the Lefschetz properties has focused on characteristic zero, we primarily consider the presence of the properties in positive characteristic. We study the Lefschetz properties by considering the prime divisors of determinants of critical maps. First, we consider monomial complete intersections in a finite number of variables. We provide two complements to a result of Stanley. We next consider monomial almost complete intersections in three variables. We connect the characteristics in which the weak Lefschetz property fails with the prime divisors of the signed enumeration of lozenge tilings of a punctured hexagon. Last, we study how perturbations of a family of monomial algebras can change or preserve the presence of the Lefschetz properties. In particular, we introduce a new strategy for perturbations rooted in techniques from algebraic geometry.

This thesis argues that one can fruitfully think of Nelson Goodman's New Riddle of Induction as a reductio ad absurdum of a certain set of views of the relationship between similarities, on the one hand, and properties, concepts, or predicates, on the other. It argues that any view which takes similarities between particulars to be most fundamentally explained by those objects' sharing a property, satisfying a concept, or falling under a predicate leaves itself without the resources to provide a satisfying answer to a Goodmanian sceptic who proposes that inductive inferences using "grue" are equally as warranted as those using "green". I argue for an alternative view of similarity and inductive warrant which holds that the content of perceptual experience includes non-conceptual content the satisfaction conditions of which include that concept-independent similarities obtain. I argue further that it is only on the basis of that non-conceptual content that we are able satisfactorily to distinguish predicates like "grue" from those like "green." We must make such a distinction if we are to provide an acceptable account of inductive warrant. In the course of developing this view, I critique a range of mainstream, contemporary accounts of the relationship between similarities, concepts and properties, and of the role of perceptual experience in justifying empirical beliefs. Chapter 1 argues for a realist view of similarities between particulars which takes our concepts of properties to spring from our observations of those similarities. This view is contrasted with David Armstrong's universal realism, which is rejected. Chapter 2 argues that Goodman's approach to his New Riddle based on entrenchment fails, and argues that if and only if one embraces the view of similarity and concepts that I favor then the New Riddle can be reduced to traditional Humean concerns about induction. Chapters 3 through 5 discuss difficulties for Donald Davidson's approach to the New Riddle, his account of the justification of empirical belief, and his rejection of the very idea of a conceptual scheme, tracing each of these difficulties to Davidson's view that similarities must always be understood in terms of concepts under which particulars fall. Using John McDowell's Mind and World as an example, Chapter 6 argues that any account of perceptual justification of empirical belief according to which the content of perception is limited to conceptual content will fall into the New Riddle, while accounts which permit non-conceptual content can avoid this problem.