Author

Joshua Blair

Date of Graduation

2014

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Type

MS

College

Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources

Department

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Committee Chair

David S Mebane

Committee Co-Chair

Ever Barbero

Committee Member

Xingbo Liu

Abstract

In this work, data from isotope exchange - secondary ion mass spectrometry (IE-SIMS) and electrical conductivity relaxation (ECR) experiments are analyzed using a purely Bayesian approach. The new technique allows quantification of the uncertainty associated with fitting two parameters (the surface exchange coefficient, k, and the bulk diffusion coefficient, D) to a single reaction-diffusion model. The behavior and reliability of the technique is analyzed by considering an idealized data set, where the parameters of interest are pre-defined. The associated MCMC routine finds the parameter location in less than 5,000 samples, despite the starting point being 8 orders of magnitude away. Real experimental data from two experiments conducted on the same material at the same temperature and very similar partial pressures are analyzed and compared and yield vastly differing results from those obtained in the original studies.

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