Antenas cornetas para o satélite CosmoGal

Trabalho Final de Mestrado para obtenção do grau de Mestre em Engenharia Electrónica e Telecomunicações

Corrugated horn antenna for a CosmoGal satellite with reduced dimensions

This paper presents the design methodology for the creation of corrugated horn antennas for the CosmoGal satellite. The mission will collect the radiation of the cosmic microwave background, by a radiometer in three different radio astronomy frequency bands (10.6-10.7GHz; 15.35-15.4GHz; 23.6-24GHz). It is discussed the design of several types of horns, simulated with the CST software. The best result points to a choked Gaussian corrugated horn antenna, with directivity of 23 dBi, side lobes 35 dB below and cross polarization better than -45 dB. Plus, with the advantage of having a small dimension, with a total length of only 7.43λ © 2014 IEEE.

Slot coupled sqaure microstrip antenna for compact dual-frequency operation

A novel dual frequency design of a square microstrip antenna coaxially fed along the diagonal with a chip capacitor mounted at the bottom of the stub is introduced. This design provides enhanced area reduction and good cross-polarization levels. The antenna design can be used as a compact antenna system where limited size is a major requirement. The details of the antenna design and experimental results are presented

Planar L-strip FED Broadband Microstrip Antenna

A broadband rectangular tnicrostrip antenna utilizing an electromagnetically coupled L-strip feed is presented. Experimental study shows a 2:1 VSWR bandwidth of a 10% and excellent cross-polarization performance with a radiation coverage almost as same as that of the rectangular microstrip antenna fed by conventional methods. The variation of bandwidth for different feed parameters is also studied. The proposed antenna is suitable for broadband communications

Enhanced Bandwidth Microstrip Patch Antennas Loaded with High Permittivity Dielectric Resonators

A novel technique fitr the bat dividth enhancement of conventional rectangular microstrip antenna is proposed in this paper. When a high permittivity dielectric resonator of suitable resonant frequency was loaded over the patch. the % bandwidth of the antenna was increased by more than five tunes without much affecting its gain and radiation performance. A much more improved bandwidth was obtained when the dielectric resonator was placed on the feedline. Experimental study shows a 2:1 VSWR bandwidth of more than 10% and excellent cross polarization performance with increased pass band and radiation coverage abnost the same as that of rectangular microstrip antenna

Modifications of secondary reflector antenna patterns due to shaped beams from flanged primary horn feeds

With the advent of satellite communication and radio astronomy, the need for large and efficient reflector antennas had triggered a widespread investigation in reflector feed design techniques. Major improvements sought are reduction in spill-over, cross polarization losses and the enhancement of aperture efficiency. The search for such a feed culminated in the corrugated horn. The main idea behind the present work is to use the H-plane sectoral horns fitted with,corrugated flanges as feeds of a paraboloid and see how the secondary pattern of the reflector antenna varies with different parameters of the feed. An offset paraboloid is used as the secondary reflector in order to avoid the adverse effect of aperture ‘blocking by the feed horn structure on the secondary radiation pattern. The measurements were repeated for three different H-plane sectoral horns with the same set of corrugated flanges at various X-band frequencies. The following parameters of the whole system are studied: (a) Beam shaping. (b) Gain. (c) Variation of VSWR and (d) Cross polarization

Chipless RFID Tag Using Multiple Microstrip Open Stub Resonators

A novel compact RFID tag employing open stubs in a microstrip transmission line is proposed. The prototype of the tag is fabricated on a substrate of dielectric constant 4.4 and loss tangent 0.0018. The tag consists of microstrip open stub resonators and cross polarized transmitting and receiving disc monopole antennas. A prototype of 8 bit data encoded tag is demonstrated in this communication. Method for enhancing the performance of the RFID tag is also proposed. Magnitude or group delay response can be used to decode the tag informations

Composition and stability of organic matter fractions in soils under different land use regimes

Soil organic matter (SOM) vitally impacts all soil functions and plays a key role in the global carbon (C) cycle. More than 70% of the terrestric C stocks that participate in the active C cycle are stored in the soil. Therefore, quantitative knowledge of the rates of C incorporation into SOM fractions of different residence time is crucial to understand and predict the sequestration and stabilization of soil organic carbon (SOC). Consequently, there is a need of fractionation procedures that are capable of isolating functionally SOM fractions, i.e. fractions that are defined by their stability. The literature generally refers to three main mechanisms of SOM stabilization: protection of SOM from decomposition by (i) its structural composition, i.e. recalcitrance, (ii) spatial inaccessibility and/or (iii) interaction with soil minerals and metal ions. One of the difficulties in developing fractionation procedures for the isolation of functional SOM fractions is the marked heterogeneity of the soil environment with its various stabilization mechanisms – often several mechanisms operating simultaneously – in soils and soil horizons of different texture and mineralogy. The overall objective of the present thesis was to evaluate present fractionation techniques and to get a better understanding of the factors of SOM sequestration and stabilization. The first part of this study is attended to the structural composition of SOM. Using 13C cross-polarization magic-angle spinning (CPMAS) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, (i) the effect of land use on SOM composition was investigated and (ii) examined whether SOM composition contributes to the different stability of SOM in density and aggregate fractions. The second part of the present work deals with the mineral-associated SOM fraction. The aim was (iii) to evaluate the suitability of chemical fractionation procedures used in the literature for the isolation of stable SOM pools (stepwise hydrolysis, treatments using oxidizing agents like Na2S2O8, H2O2, and NaOCl as well as demineralization of the residue obtained by the NaOCl treatment using HF (NaOCl+HF)) by pool sizes, 13C and 14C data. Further, (iv) the isolated SOM fractions were compared to the inert organic matter (IOM) pool obtained for the investigated soils using the Rothamsted Carbon Model and isotope data in order to see whether the tested chemical fractionation methods produce SOM fractions capable to represent this pool. Besides chemical fractionation, (v) the suitability of thermal oxidation at different temperatures for obtaining stable SOC pools was evaluated. Finally, (vi) the short-term aggregate dynamics and the factors that impact macroaggregate formation and C stabilization were investigated by means of an incubation study using treatments with and without application of 15N labeled maize straw of different degradability (leaves and coarse roots). All treatments were conducted with and without the addition of fungicide. Two study sites with different soil properties and land managements were chosen for these investigations. The first one, located at Rotthalmünster, is a Stagnic Luvisol (silty loam) under different land use regimes. The Ah horizons of a spruce forest and continuous grassland and the Ap and E horizons of two plots with arable crops (continuous maize and wheat cropping) were examined. The soil of the second study site, located at Halle, is a Haplic Phaeozem (loamy sand) where the Ap horizons of two plots with arable crops (continuous maize and rye cropping) were investigated. Both study sites had a C3-/C4-vegetational change on the maize plot for the purpose of tracing the incorporation of the younger, maize-derived C into different SOM fractions and the calculation of apparent C turnover times of these. The Halle site is located near a train station and industrial areas, which caused a contamination with high amounts of fossil C. The investigation of aggregate and density fractions by 13C CPMAS NMR spectroscopy revealed that density fractionation isolated SOM fractions of different composition. The consumption of a considerable part (10–20%) of the easily available O-alkyl-C and the selective preservation of the more recalcitrant alkyl-C when passing from litter to the different particulate organic matter (POM) fractions suggest that density fractionation was able to isolate SOM fractions with different degrees of decomposition. The spectra of the aggregate fractions resembled those of the mineral-associated SOM fraction obtained by density fractionation and no considerable differences were observed between aggregate size classes. Comparison of plant litter, density and aggregate size fractions from soil under different land use showed that the type of land use markedly influenced the composition of SOM. While SOM of the acid forest soil was characterized by a large content (> 50%) of POM, which contained high amounts of spruce-litter derived alkyl-C, the organic matter in the biologically more active grassland and arable soils was dominated by mineral-associated SOM (> 95%). This SOM fraction comprised greater proportions of aryl- and carbonyl-C and is considered to contain a higher amount of microbially-derived organic substances. Land use can alter both, structure and stability of SOM fractions. All applied chemical treatments induced considerable SOC losses (> 70–95% of mineral-associated SOM) in the investigated soils. The proportion of residual C after chemical fractionation was largest in the arable Ap and E horizons and increased with decreasing C content in the initial SOC after stepwise hydrolysis as well as after the oxidative treatments with H2O2 and Na2S2O8. This can be expected for a functional stable pool of SOM, because it is assumed that the more easily available part of SOC is consumed first if C inputs decrease. All chemical treatments led to a preferential loss of the younger, maize-derived SOC, but this was most pronounced after the treatments with Na2S2O8 and H2O2. After all chemical fractionations, the mean 14C ages of SOC were higher than in the mineral-associated SOM fraction for both study sites and increased in the order: NaOCl < NaOCl+HF ≤ stepwise hydrolysis << H2O2 ≈ Na2S2O8. The results suggest that all treatments were capable of isolating a more stable SOM fraction, but the treatments with H2O2 and Na2S2O8 were the most efficient ones. However, none of the chemical fractionation methods was able to fit the IOM pool calculated using the Rothamsted Carbon Model and isotope data. In the evaluation of thermal oxidation for obtaining stable C fractions, SOC losses increased with temperature from 24–48% (200°C) to 100% (500°C). In the Halle maize Ap horizon, losses of the young, maize-derived C were considerably higher than losses of the older C3-derived C, leading to an increase in the apparent C turnover time from 220 years in mineral-associated SOC to 1158 years after thermal oxidation at 300°C. Most likely, the preferential loss of maize-derived C in the Halle soil was caused by the presence of the high amounts of fossil C mentioned above, which make up a relatively large thermally stable C3-C pool in this soil. This agrees with lower overall SOC losses for the Halle Ap horizon compared to the Rotthalmünster Ap horizon. In the Rotthalmünster soil only slightly more maize-derived than C3-derived SOC was removed by thermal oxidation. Apparent C turnover times increased slightly from 58 years in mineral-associated SOC to 77 years after thermal oxidation at 300°C in the Rotthalmünster Ap and from 151 to 247 years in the Rotthalmünster E horizon. This led to the conclusion that thermal oxidation of SOM was not capable of isolating SOM fractions of considerably higher stability. The incubation experiment showed that macroaggregates develop rapidly after the addition of easily available plant residues. Within the first four weeks of incubation, the maximum aggregation was reached in all treatments without addition of fungicide. The formation of water-stable macroaggregates was related to the size of the microbial biomass pool and its activity. Furthermore, fungi were found to be crucial for the development of soil macroaggregates as the formation of water-stable macroaggregates was significantly delayed in the fungicide treated soils. The C concentration in the obtained aggregate fractions decreased with decreasing aggregate size class, which is in line with the aggregate hierarchy postulated by several authors for soils with SOM as the major binding agent. Macroaggregation involved incorporation of large amounts maize-derived organic matter, but macroaggregates did not play the most important role in the stabilization of maize-derived SOM, because of their relatively low amount (less than 10% of the soil mass). Furthermore, the maize-derived organic matter was quickly incorporated into all aggregate size classes. The microaggregate fraction stored the largest quantities of maize-derived C and N – up to 70% of the residual maize-C and -N were stored in this fraction.

NMR study of slow motions of HDA hydrocarbons chains inside lamellar structures

Measurements of H-1 and C-13 Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) for the nano-composite materials formed by the intercalation of hexadecylamine (HDA) in metal oxides (TiO2, V2O5 and MoO3), are reported. The H-1 NMR spin-lattice relaxation in the rotating frame was described by using the spectral density due to Davidson and Cole, which incorporates a distribution of correlation times characterized by a width parameter epsilon. The fitting of the data was obtained for epsilon = 0.74, indicating that the correlation times are distributed over a narrow range in this system. High-resolution C-13 NMR techniques were used to resolve the NMR lines of middle-chain methylene groups in the spectra and variable contact time cross-polarization {H-1-}C-13 experiments were employed to analyze the reorientation dynamics of the CH3 and CH2 groups in the HDA chains.

The effects of anticalcification treatments and hydration on the molecular dynamics of bovine pericardium collagen as revealed by (13)C solid-state NMR

This article describes a solid-state NMR (SSNMR) investigation of the influence of hydration and chemical cross-linking on the molecular dynamics of the constituents of the bovine pericardium (BP) tissues and its relation to the mechanical properties of the tissue. Samples of natural phenetylamine-diepoxide (DE)- and glutaraldehyde (GL)-fixed BP were investigated by (13)C cross-polarization SSNMR to probe the dynamics of the collagen, and the results were correlated to the mechanical properties of the tissues, probed by dynamical mechanical analysis. For samples of natural BP, the NMR results show that the higher the hydration level the more pronounced the molecular dynamics of the collagen backbone and sidechains, decreasing the tissue`s elastic modulus. In contrast, in DE- and GL-treated samples, the collagen molecules are more rigid, and the hydration seems to be less effective in increasing the collagen molecular dynamics and reducing the mechanical strength of the samples. This is mostly attributed to the presence of cross-links between the collagen plates, which renders the collagen mobility less dependent on the water absorption in chemically treated samples. Copyright (C) 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Local Structure and Photochromic Response in Ormosils Containing Dodecatungstophosphoric Acid

Two hybrid materials based on dodecatungstophosphoric acid (HPW) dispersed in ormosils modified with 3-aminopropiltrietoxysilane (APTS) or with N-(3-(trimethoxysilyl)-propyl)-ethylene-diamine (TSPEN) show reversible photochromic response induced by irradiation in the 200-390 nm UV range. A set of solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) techniques was used to analyze the structural properties of the main components of these hybrids (the HPW polyanion, the inorganic matrix, and the organic functionalities). For the ormosils, the use of (29)Si NMR, {(1)H}-(29)Si cross-polarization, and {(1)H}-(29)Si HETCOR revealed a homogeneous distribution of silicon species Q ``, T(2), and T(3) for the APTS hybrid, contrasting with the separation of T(3) species in the TSPEN hybrid. The combination of (31)P NMR, {(1)H}-(31)P cross-polarization and (31)P-{(1)H} spin-echo double resonance (SEDOR) revealed the dispersion of the HPW ions in the ormosil, occupying sites with a high number of close protons (>50). Differences in the molecular dynamics at room temperature, inferred from SEDOR experiments, indicate a state of restricted mobility of the HPW ion and the surrounding molecular groups in the TSPEN hybrid. This behavior is consistent with the presence of more amino groups in the TSPEN, acting as chelating groups to the HPW ion. This hybrid, with the strong chelate interaction of the diamine group, shows the most intense photochromic response, in agreement with the charge transfer models proposed to explain the photochromic effect. Electronic reflectance spectroscopy in irradiated samples revealed the presence of one-electron and two-electron reduced polyanions. The one-electron reduced species could be detected also by (31)P NMR spectroscopy immediately after UV irradiation.

A potential novel rapid screening NMR approach to boundary film formation at solid interfaces in contact with ionic liquids

The boundary films generated on a series of inorganic compounds, typical of native films on metal and ceramic surfaces, when exposed to various ionic liquids (ILs) based on the trihexyl(tetradecyl)phosphonium cation have been characterized using multinuclear solid-state NMR. The NMR results indicate that SiO₂ and Mg(OH)₂ interact strongly with the anion and cation of each IL through a mechanism of adsorption of the anion and subsequent close proximity of the cation in a surface double layer (as observed through ¹H−²⁹Si cross polarization experiments). In contrast, Al₂O₃, MgO, ZnO, and ZrO₂ appear less active, strongly suggesting the necessity of hydroxylated surface groups in order to enhance the generation of these interfacial films. Using solid-state NMR to characterize such interfaces not only has the potential to elucidate mechanisms of wear resistance and corrosion protection via ILs, but is also likely to allow their rapid screening for such durability applications.

Quantifying rubber degradation using NMR

Ageing can lead to the degradation of the tensile properties of natural rubber. The ageing process causes changes in the polymer segmental motion as well as the chemical structure, both of which can be monitored using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. This work demonstrates that NMR can quantify rubber degradation due to ageing, and also that relatively simple NMR equipment can be used. This simpler equipment can be made portable and so could give a simple and fast indication of the condition of rubber in service. The 1H NMR transverse relaxation time, T2, and the 13C NMR spectrum using cross polarization and magic angle spinning (CP MAS) for samples taken at various levels of a degraded natural rubber liner were compared. These experiments showed that, as the level of degradation increased, the 1H NMR transverse relaxation time decreased. The 13C spectra showed considerable peak broadening, indicative of decreased mobility with increased level of degradation as well as the presence of degradation products. Further investigations using lower powered NMR equipment to measure the 1H NMR transverse relaxation times of two different series of natural rubbers were also performed. This work has shown that this simpler method is also sensitive to structural and mechanical property changes in the rubber. This method of monitoring rubber degradation could lead to the non-destructive use of NMR to determine the condition of a part in service.

Dynamic nuclear polarisation enhanced (14)N overtone MAS NMR spectroscopy.

Dynamic nuclear polarisation (DNP) has been used to obtain magic angle spinning (14)N(OT) (nitrogen-14 overtone) solid-state NMR spectra from several model amino acids, with both direct and indirect observation of the (14)N(OT) signal. The crystalline solids were impregnated with biradical solutions of organic liquids that do not dissolve the crystalline phase. The bulk phase was then polarized via(1)H spin diffusion from the highly-polarized surface (1)H nuclei, resulting in (1)H DNP signal enhancements of around two orders of magnitude. Cross polarisation from (1)H nuclei directly to the (14)N overtone transition is demonstrated under magic angle spinning, using a standard pulse sequence with a relatively short contact time (on the order of 100 μs). This method can be used to acquire (14)N overtone MAS powder patterns that match closely with simulated line shapes, allowing isotropic chemical shifts and quadrupolar parameters to be measured. DNP enhancement also allows the rapid acquisition of 2D (14)N(OT) heteronuclear correlation spectra from natural abundance powder samples. (1)H-(14)N(OT) HETCOR and (13)C-(14)N(OT) HMQC pulse sequences were used to observe all single-bond H-N and C-N correlations in histidine hydrochloride monohydrate, with the spectra obtained in a matter of hours. Due to the high natural abundance of the (14)N isotope (99.6%) and the advantages of observing the overtone transition, these methods provide an attractive route to the observation of C-N correlations from samples at natural isotopic abundance and enable the high resolution measurement of (14)N chemical shifts and quadrupolar interaction parameters.

Ultra-wideline 14N solid-state NMR as a method for differentiating polymorphs: glycine as a case study

Nitrogen-14 solid-state NMR (SSNMR) is utilized to differentiate three polymorphic forms and a hydrochloride (HCl) salt of the amino acid glycine. Frequency-swept Wideband, Uniform Rate, Smooth Truncated (WURST) pulses were used in conjunction with Carr-Purcell Meiboom-Gill refocusing, in the form of the WURST-CPMG pulse sequence, for all spectral acquisitions. The ¹⁴N quadrupolar interaction is shown to be very sensitive to variations in the local electric field gradients (EFGs) about the ¹⁴N nucleus; hence, differentiation of the samples is accomplished through determination of the quadrupolar parameters CQ and ηQ, which are obtained from analytical simulations of the ¹⁴N SSNMR powder patterns of stationary samples (i.e., static NMR spectra). Additionally, differentiation of the polymorphs is also possible via the measurement of ¹⁴N effective transverse relaxation time constants, T^eff2(¹⁴N). Plane-wave density functional theory (DFT) calculations, which exploit the periodicity of crystal lattices, are utilized to confirm the experimentally determined quadrupolar parameters as well as to determine the orientation of the ¹⁴N EFG tensors in the molecular frames. Several signal-enhancement techniques are also discussed to help improve the sensitivity of the ¹⁴N SSNMR acquisition method, including the use of selective deuteration, the application of the BRoadband Adiabatic INversion Cross-Polarization (BRAIN-CP) technique, and the use of variable-temperature (VT) experiments. Finally, we examine several cases where ¹⁴N VT experiments employing Carr-Purcell-Meiboom-Gill (CPMG) refocusing are used to approximate the rotational energy barriers for RNH3⁺ groups.