Year: 2016, 2016
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>The present thesis explores the cold flow properties of biodiesel and the effect of vegetable oil derived compounds on the crystallization path as well as the mechanisms at play at different stages and length scales. Model systems including triacylglycerol (TAG) oils and their derivatives, and a polymer were tested with biodiesel. The goal was to acquire the fundamental knowledge that… more
Year: 2016, 2016
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>This thesis explores the use of 1-butene cross metathesized palm oil (PMTAG) as a feedstock for preparation of polyols which can be used to prepare rigid and flexible polyurethane foams. PMTAG is advantageous over its precursor feedstock, palm oil, for synthesizing polyols, especially for the preparation of rigid foams, because of the reduction of dangling chain effects associated with… more
Year: 2016, 2016
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>Structure-property relationships are increasingly valued for the identification of specifically engineered materials with properties optimized for targeted application(s). In this work, linear and branched diesters for use in lubricant formulations are prepared from lipid-based oleochemicals and their structure-property relationships reported. It is shown that the branched diesters… more
Year: 2016, 2016
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>The appearance of a two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) in oxide interfaces between strontium titanate (STO) and other materials has become a major area of study. The behaviour of the 2DEG in STO is not well understood in part because the dielectric properties of STO are not well characterized. The differential susceptibility has a major impact on the electric fields within strontium… more
Year: 2015, 2015
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>Vegetable oils represent an ideal and renewable feedstock for the synthesis of a variety of functional materials. However, without financial incentive or unique applications motivating a switch, commercial products continue to be manufactured from petrochemical resources. Two different families of high value, functional materials synthesized from vegetable oils were studied. These… more
Year: 2015, 2015
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>Johri and Bhatt found singular behavior near the band edge in the density of states as well as in the inverse participation ratio of the Anderson model. These singularities mark a transition to an energy range dominated by resonant states. We study the interacting case using an ensemble of two-site Anderson-Hubbard systems. We find the ensemble-averaged density of states and generalized… more
Year: 2015, 2015
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>There is an increasing global need for grid scale electrical energy storage to handle the implementation of intermittent renewable energy sources. Adiabatic compressed air energy storage is an emerging technology with similar performance to pumped hydro except it has the issue of heat loss during the compression stage. Previously, it has been considered to use sensible heat storage… more
Year: 2014, 2014
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>The typical contrast mechanism employed in multimodal CARS microscopy involves the use of other nonlinear imaging modalities such as two-photon excitation fluorescence (TPEF) microscopy and second harmonic generation (SHG) microscopy to produce a molecule-specific pseudocolor image. In this work, I explore the use of unsupervised multivariate statistical analysis tools such as Principal… more
Year: 2014, 2014
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>Experiments have observed a two-dimensional electron gas at the interface of two insulating oxides: strontium titanate (SrTiO<sub>3</sub>) and lanthanum aluminate (LaAlO<sub>3</sub>). These interfaces exhibit metallic, superconducting, and magnetic behaviours, which are strongly affected by impurities. Motivated by experiments, we introduce a simple model in which… more
Year: 2014, 2014
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Name(s): Creator (cre): Kallikragas, Dimitrios Theofanis, Thesis advisor (ths): Svishchev, Igor M, Degree committee member (dgc): Atkinson, Bill, Degree committee member (dgc): Tremiane, Peter, Degree committee member (dgc): Chkrebtii, Anatoli, Degree granting institution (dgg): Trent University Abstract: <p>Supercritical water (SCW) is the intended heat transfer fluid and potential neutron moderator in the proposed GEN-IV Supercritical Water Cooled Reactor (SCWR). The oxidative environment poses challenges in choosing appropriate design materials, and the</p><p>behaviour of SCW within crevices of the passivation layer is needed for developing a corrosion control strategy to… more
Year: 2014, 2014
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Name(s): Creator (cre): Ugray, Lisa Madeleine, Thesis advisor (ths): Shiell, Ralph C, Degree committee member (dgc): Shiell, Ralph C, Degree committee member (dgc): Slepkov, Aaron, Degree committee member (dgc): Gaspari, Franco, Degree granting institution (dgg): Trent University Abstract: <p>This thesis is divided into two parts, each of which supports constructing and using a lithium magneto-optical trap for cold collision studies:</p><p>Part I</p><p>One outgoing channel of interest from cold collisions is the production of ion pairs. We describe an effective method for calculating bound-to-continuum cross-sections for charged binary systems by… more
Year: 2011, 2011
Member of: Trent University Graduate Thesis Collection
Abstract: <p>This thesis comprises two parts:Part I describes a method to improve the accuracy with which the polarization
state of light can be characterized by the rotating quarter-wave plate technique.
Through detailed analysis, verified by experiment, we determine the positions of the
optic axes of the retarder and linear polarizer, and the wave plate retardance, to
better than 1° for typical… more