The need to incorporate significant improvements in power supplies is driven by customer demands, industry requirements and regulatory standards. For reduction in size and weight, it is imperative to process the power at a higher switching frequency. High frequency processing of power requires soft switching techniques to reduce the switching losses. Many soft switching techniques are reported in the literature to enhance the high frequency operation of power supplies. This thesis proposes novel high frequency, auxiliary circuit assisted, (a) soft-switched boost converters and their application to DC-to- DC converters and AC-to-DC front-end power factor corrected converters; and (b) zero-voltage switching (ZVS) dc link DC-to-AC inverters. In auxiliary circuit assisted soft transition converters, the auxiliary circuit processes the power during switching transitions, creating a soft transition path. In most of the proposed converters in the literature, the auxiliary circuit suffers from severe switching losses and switching stress. Discontinuous current operation of the auxiliary circuit results in parasitic oscillations between the switch capacitance and the resonant inductors increasing the stress on the devices. A zero-current switching (ZCS) auxiliary circuit and ZVS auxiliary circuit are proposed in this thesis to achieve soft transitions for the main circuit. A ZCS auxiliary circuit assisted soft transition boost converter is proposed. Operating intervals of the proposed technique in various intervals of operation are analyzed. Design constraints and considerations are discussed. A 300 W dc-to-dc boost converter and a 600 W, ac-to-dc power factor correction front-end boost converter prototype models are built in the laboratory. The experimental results confirm the theory. The resonant inductor used in the auxiliary circuit is coupled weakly to the boost inductor. Although parasitic oscillations are reduced due to the coupling, they are not completely eliminated. Hence, RC snubbers are required to suppress the oscillations. A ZVS auxiliary circuit assisted soft transition boost converter is also presented. Operating intervals of the proposed converter in various intervals of operation are analyzed. As all the parasitic elements in the circuit are accounted, parasitic oscillations are eliminated. A 300 W dc-to-dc converter operating at 250 kHz is built in the laboratory to verify the theory. A modified gating scheme to utilize the soft switching auxiliary circuit in the main power processing is also proposed. A 600 W, 100 kHz, 380 V dc, operating with universal input line voltage, ac-to-dc power factor corrected (PFC) boost converter is built using the proposed technique with modified gating algorithm. Large signal analysis to analyze the soft switching characteristics of the proposed technique during load and input voltage transients is also presented. PSPICE simulation results are presented to verify the theory. The proposed converter maintains soft switching during load and input voltage transients. The proposed auxiliary network is also extended to a family of pulse width modulated (PWM) converters. A two-switch soft switching boost converter is derived from the proposed converter. By integrating the proposed auxiliary network with a full bridge inverter, a ZVS dc link voltage source inverter (VSI) is obtained. Operating intervals of the proposed inverter in various intervals of operation for the forward power flow and reverse power flow are presented. A modified unipolar switching scheme to achieve ZVS during reverse power flow is also presented. The voltage stress on the VSI is clamped to the dc bus voltage in the proposed converter. The conduction losses are reduced as compared to other soft switching converters in the literature. As the proposed technique requires synchronized PWM operation, sine-ramp modulated PWM signals are used. Experimental results from a 120 V, 60 Hz, 300 VA, single phase VSI switching at 50 kHz are presented to verify the theory. / Graduate

The aim of this research is to develop an accurate method for the analysis of signals composed of fluctuating harmonics. The results obtained of analysis are applied to the calibration of harmonic analysis instruments. A new method is presented suitable for the accurate analysis of smoothly fluctuating harmonic signals. The method is based on a model of signals with a known period, in which the harmonics are individually modulated by polynomial functions normalised over a sampled signal sequence time. Using this model, a decomposition method is developed such that the modulating polynomials can be recovered from a signal. The polynomial decomposition method leads to a piece-wise analysis of the waveform. Two methods based on least squares and splines respectively, are developed with the aim of giving continuity to the piece-wise analysis. Comparisons of the new method with the short time Fourier transform are given. Having defined a test signal and obtained and accurate analysis of it properties, it can be used to calibrate harmonic analysers. For a given applied signal, analysis with these devices can give rise to variation in results as a function of the phase between the signal and the STFT windows. This result distribution due to variable phase (RDVP) is discussed and examples are given for various signals. The RDVP complicates the calibration process due to the spread of results that occur when testing the device. A method is developed to find the RDVP for an applied signal that uses the polynomial decomposition method to find the modulation functions of each harmonic in the applied calibration signal. Having found the RDVP for an applied signal, it is necessary to fit the results of the analyser under test, to the distribution. The random nature of the phase makes the systematic comparison of the theoretical and measured distributions difficult to achieve. A novel method that uses multiple phase shifted modulated harmonics is presented. By comparing the results of the analyser under test to the distributions of each of the phase-shifted harmonics, a best-fit phase shift can be determined and the required calibration comparison made. Key words: time-frequency analysis, demodulation, harmonic analysis, fluctuating harmonics, waveform metrology, calibration of harmonic analysers.

M.Ing. / A non-linear load that draws distorted currents from the supply cannot be compensated with classic compensation methods, but has to be compensated by a fast power electronic source of reactive power. Power electronic switches are subjected to electrical extremes when switched from a stiff DC supply. The input voltage to a voltage fed converter can be cyclically reduced to zero by the placing of a relatively small inductor and capacitor in the input of the converter. The switching elements in the converter may change state during these zero voltage instants without incurring switching losses. A voltage fed converter with high frequency resonant link snubber and reactive loading as power filter will be discussed in this thesis. A charged capacitor forms the fast source of reactive power. The resonant link is optimized for the application. Gate turn-off thyristors are used as the switching elements and are characterized according to their turn-off losses under resonant link operation. The gate drive, control and protection circuitry for the system are discussed. A single and three phase resonant link power filter with split supplies are discussed.

The varactor properties of silicon—diode rectifiers in the low-frequency region are investigated. A theoretical analysis of a two-diode bridge is made, and the results experimentally verified using a matched pair of these diodes and a pump frequency of 455 Kc. The theoretical transducer power gain is found to be a function of ( formula omitted). For the amplifier built, a transducer power gain of 12.6 db has been achieved with a bandwidth from 0 to 8 Kc. With the diodes placed in a thermostatically controlled oven, the d-c drift is ±30 µvper hour. The noise figure of the parametric amplifier bridge is about 3 db. A study of possible sources of noise is made. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Electrical and Computer Engineering, Department of / Graduate

Turbidity currents are turbulent particle suspensions that are the primary mechanism for transporting terrestrial sediments to the deep marine, and generate some of the largest depositional features on Earth. However the fluid-particle interactions that sustain these currents are poorly understood, principally due to the technical challenges posed by obtaining accurate velocity and density measurements, which are critical for describing flow behavior and depositional characteristics. Numerous studies have bypassed these issues by using saline density currents, but this negates the ability to link flow processes with depositional features, and it is unclear whether their density structures are representative of particle gravity flows. Consequently, numerous questions remain over the flow conditions that build up a significant part of the deep-marine geologic record. In this thesis I reports on the flow processes and depositional features of sediment-gravity currents across a broad range of particle sizes and concentrations. The technical challenges of obtaining reliable density data are overcome by running the experimental flows through a medical grade computed tomography (CT) scanner, and pair this data with three-dimensional velocity measurements using an ultrasonic Doppler velocity profiler (UDVP-3D) to get one of the first glimpses of the internal structure of turbidity currents. Unlike previous studies where flow processes are described in terms of the velocity field, this thesis demonstrates that fluid-particle interactions are controlled by momentum characteristics, and that the velocity field is determined largely by the current’s density structure. Moreover, the density structure also exerts a first order control on the morphology of their deposits.

The Agulhas Current plays a critical role in both local and global ocean circulation and climate regulation, yet the mechanisms that determine the seasonal cycle of the current remain poorly understood. Model studies predict an austral winter-spring maximum in poleward volume transport, whilst observations reveal an austral summertime (February-March) maximum. Here, the role of winds on Agulhas Current seasonality is investigated using shallow water models, satellite measurements, and a 23-year transport proxy based on observations. A one-and-a-half layer reduced gravity model is shown to successfully reproduce the seasonal phasing of the current. This seasonality is found to be highly sensitive to the propagation speed of Rossby waves, which determines the arrival time of the wind stress signal at the western boundary. By matching Rossby wave speeds to those observed using altimetry, an Agulhas Current with a maximum flow in February and a minimum flow in July is simulated, agreeing well with observations. Near-field winds, to the west of 35◦E, dominate this seasonality, as signals from more remote wind forcing dissipate due to destructive interference while crossing the basin. Local winds driving coastal upwelling/downwelling directly over the Agulhas cannot, alone, account for the observed seasonal phasing, as they force a NovemberDecember maximum and June minimum in flow. The seasonal response to Indian Ocean winds is also investigated using a barotropic (single layer) model with realistic topography. A barotropic adjustment cannot explain the observed Agulhas Current seasonality, predicting a wintertime maximum in transport. The results from the barotropic simulation are similar to previous model studies, where seasonality is dominated by a southward propagation of signals via the Mozambique Channel, suggesting that these models are too barotopic in their response to the winds. Findings from this study elucidate the role of near-field winds and baroclinic processes in determining the seasonality of the Agulhas Current.

"The purpose of this paper is to develop a uniform system of accounting to be used in keeping the Internal Accounts of the public schools of the State of Florida. Funds derived from any and all activities of the school involving school property or students by which funds are collected and disbursed are classified as Internal Accounts"--Introduction. / Typescript. / "May, 1954." / "Submitted to the Graduate Council of Florida State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science." / Advisor: Edward D. Trembly, Professor Directing Paper. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 19-20).

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