This thesis introduces a new modeling approach that allows very large power systems to be modeled on a real time electro-magnetic transients (EMT) digital simulator with reduced hardware costs. The key step in achieving this is the development of an improved wide-band multi-port equivalent, which reduces a large power network into a small manageable equivalent model that preserves wideband behaviors. This approach has a foundation method that use a two part equivalent in which the high frequency behavior of the equivalenced network is represented by a terminating frequency dependent network equivalent (FDNE), with the low frequency behavior being modeled using a detailed Transient Stability Analysis (TSA) model that only models the electromechanical behavior. This approach allowed the modelling of medium size electric regions up to hundreds of buses in real time. This thesis extends the equivalent by implementing a reduced order of the detailed electromechanical TSA equivalent mentioned above. Coherency based reduction is used for the electromechanical model of the power network to be equivalenced, and is implemented as a Transient Stability Analysis (TSA) type electromechanical equivalent. A challenge in implementing the FDNE is to ensure that it is a passive network, as otherwise its inclusion could lead to unstable simulation. This thesis also introduces a practical procedure to enforce passivity in the FDNE. The validity of the proposed technique is demonstrated by comparing the approach with detailed electromagnetic simulations of the well-known 39 bus New England system and a modified 39 bus system with an HVDC infeed with coupling between the dc line and an adjacent ac line, in addition to a 108 bus ac system. The power of the method is demonstrated by the real-time simulation of a large system with 2300 busses and 139 generators. It has been shown that this approach has the potential to increase by at least one order of magnitude the size of the network that can be modeled and thus on a real time electro-magnetic transients (EMT) digital simulator with reduced hardware costs.

This thesis presents a transient stability method using dynamic phasors. This method can be used to investigate low frequency (<5Hz) and sub-synchronous frequency (5Hz-60Hz) oscillations. It has major advantages as compared to traditional transient stability method and EMT method. It allows modeling of higher-frequency oscillation possible using time domain simulations, which is not achievable with conventional method. It also can be simulated at much larger time step as compared to PSCAD/EMTDC simulation. Comparison of the results with traditional model and detailed EMT model are also present, and they show very accurate results at frequency ranges up to 60Hz.

Ultra-fast laser heating of nano-films is investigated using 3-D Dual Phase Lag heat transport equation with laser heating at different locations on the metal film. The energy absorption rate, which is used to model femtosecond laser heating, is modified to accommodate for three-dimensional laser heating. A numerical solution based on an explicit finite-difference method is employed to solve the DPL equation. The stability criterion for selecting a time step size is obtained using von Neumann eigenmode analysis, and grid function convergence tests are performed. DPL results are compared with classical diffusion and hyperbolic heat conduction models and significant differences among these three approaches are demonstrated. We also develop an implicit finite-difference scheme of Crank-Nicolson type for solving 1-D and 3-D DPL equations. The proposed numerical technique solves one equation unlike other techniques available in the literature, which split the DPL equation into a system of two equations and then apply discretization. Stability analysis is performed using a von Neumann stability analysis. In 3-D, the discretized equation is solved using delta-form Douglas and Gunn time splitting. The performance of the proposed numerical technique is compared with the numerical techniques available in the literature.

In this dissertation, we study integrodifference equations in patchy landscapes. Specifically, we provide a framework for linking individual dispersal behavior with population-level dynamics in patchy landscapes by integrating recent advances in modeling dispersal into an integrodifference equation. First, we formulate a random-walk model in a patchy landscape with patch-dependent diffusion, settling, and mortality rates. We incorporate mechanisms for individual behavior at an interface which, in general, results in the probability-density function of the random walker being discontinuous at an interface. We show that the dispersal kernel can be characterized as the Green's function of a second-order differential operator and illustrate the kind of (discontinuous) dispersal kernels that arise from our approach. We examine the dependence of obtained kernels on model parameters. Secondly, we analyze integrodifference equations in patchy landscapes equipped with discontinuous kernels. We obtain explicit formulae for the critical-domain-size problem, as well as, explicit formulae for the analogous critical size of good patches on an infinite, periodic, patchy landscape. We examine the dependence of obtained formulae on individual behavior at an interface. Through numerical simulations, we observe that, if the population can persist on an infinite, periodic, patchy landscape, its spatial profile can evolve into a discontinuous traveling periodic wave. We derive a dispersion relation for the speed of the wave and illustrate how interface behavior affects invasion speeds. Lastly, we develop a strategic model for the spread of the emerald ash borer and its interaction with host trees. A thorough literature search provides point estimates and interval ranges for model parameters. Numerical simulations show that the spatial profile of an emerald ash borer invasion evolves into a pulse-like solution that moves with constant speed. We employ Latin hypercube sampling to obtain a plausible collection of parameter values and use a sensitivity analysis technique, partial rank correlation coefficients, to identify model parameters that have the greatest influence on obtained speeds. We illustrate the applicability of our framework by exploring the effectiveness of barrier zones on slowing the spread of the emerald ash borer invasion.

This thesis introduces a new modeling approach that allows very large power systems to be modeled on a real time electro-magnetic transients (EMT) digital simulator with reduced hardware costs. The key step in achieving this is the development of an improved wide-band multi-port equivalent, which reduces a large power network into a small manageable equivalent model that preserves wideband behaviors. This approach has a foundation method that use a two part equivalent in which the high frequency behavior of the equivalenced network is represented by a terminating frequency dependent network equivalent (FDNE), with the low frequency behavior being modeled using a detailed Transient Stability Analysis (TSA) model that only models the electromechanical behavior. This approach allowed the modelling of medium size electric regions up to hundreds of buses in real time. This thesis extends the equivalent by implementing a reduced order of the detailed electromechanical TSA equivalent mentioned above. Coherency based reduction is used for the electromechanical model of the power network to be equivalenced, and is implemented as a Transient Stability Analysis (TSA) type electromechanical equivalent. A challenge in implementing the FDNE is to ensure that it is a passive network, as otherwise its inclusion could lead to unstable simulation. This thesis also introduces a practical procedure to enforce passivity in the FDNE. The validity of the proposed technique is demonstrated by comparing the approach with detailed electromagnetic simulations of the well-known 39 bus New England system and a modified 39 bus system with an HVDC infeed with coupling between the dc line and an adjacent ac line, in addition to a 108 bus ac system. The power of the method is demonstrated by the real-time simulation of a large system with 2300 busses and 139 generators. It has been shown that this approach has the potential to increase by at least one order of magnitude the size of the network that can be modeled and thus on a real time electro-magnetic transients (EMT) digital simulator with reduced hardware costs.

In this study, an efficient algorithm has been developed for the dynamic stability analysis of self-reconfigurable, modular robots. Such an algorithm is essential for the motion planning of self-reconfigurable robotic systems. The building block of the algorithm is the determination of the stability of a rigid body in contact with the ground when there exists Coulomb friction between the two bodies. This problem is linearized by approximating the friction cone with a pyramid and then solved, efficiently, using linear programming. The effects of changing the number of faces of the pyramid and the number of contact points are investigated. A novel definition of stability, called percentage stability, is introduced to counteract the adverse effects of the static indeterminacy problem between two contacting bodies. The algorithm developed for the dynamic stability analysis, is illustrated via various case studies using the recently introduced self-reconfigurable robotic system, called I-Cubes.

Les matériaux soumis à de grandes déformations présentes pour la plupart l’apparition de déformations inélastiques. Ce phénomène est souvent accompagné d’une localisation des déformations dans une zone étroite, précurseur de la rupture. Un cas particulier, mais très fréquent, est les bandes de cisaillement qui apparaissent pour beaucoup de géomatériaux. Ces bandes peuvent être rencontrées à des échelles allant de l’échelle kilométrique pour les zones de subduction à l’échelle micrométrique à l’intérieur des zones de faille. Etudier et modéliser la création de ces zones d’instabilité est fondamental pour décrire la rupture des géomatériaux et des phénomènes associés comme les glissements sismiques dans les zones de faille mature de la lithosphère. Les conditions de pression, de température, l’interaction de l’eau interstitielle avec un matériau finement fracturé conduisent à l’apparition de multiples processus physiques impliqués dans les glissements sismiques. Dans ce travail, nous nous attachons à modéliser la création de bandes de cisaillement à l’intérieur des gouges de faille en prenant en compte l’effet de la microstructure par l’intermédiaire des milieux continus de Cosserat, ainsi que les couplages thermo-hydro-mécanique. L’utilisation de la théorie de Cosserat permet non seulement de régulariser le problème de localisation des déformations par l’introduction d’une longueur interne dans les lois constitutives, mais en même temps de prendre en compte l’effet de la microstructure. Deux approches sont employées pour étudier le système d’équations couplées aux dérivées partielles non linéaires : L’analyse de stabilité linéaire et la méthode des éléments finis. L’analyse de stabilité linéaire permet d’examiner les conditions d’apparitions d’instabilités pour un système mécanique avec des couplages multi-physiques. Par ailleurs, des considérations sur les perturbations appliquées au système permettent aussi de déterminer l’épaisseur de la zone de cisaillement, un paramètre clé pour la compréhension du mécanisme mécanique des failles. Ces estimations sont confirmées par l’intégration numérique pour des déformations restant dans une gamme donnée. Elles sont confrontées aux observations expérimentales et in situ et présentent une bonne corrélation. D’autre part, les simulations numériques permettent d’obtenir la réponse mécanique de la gouge de faille et de donner des informations sur l’influence des différents couplages dans le budget énergétique d’un tremblement de terre / When materials are subjected to large deformations, most of them experience inelastic deformations. It is often accompanied by a localization of these deformations into a narrow zone leading to failure. One particular case of strain localization is the formation of shear bands which are the most common patterns observed in geomaterials. In geological structures, they appear at very different scales, from kilometer scale for subduction zones, to micrometric scale inside fault cores. Studying their occurrence and evolution is of key importance to describe the failure of geomaterials and model seismic slip for mature crustal faults. The pressure and temperature conditions in these faults and the interaction with the pore water inside a highly fractured materials highlight the importance of different physical processes involved in the nucleation of earthquakes. In this thesis, we study the occurrence and evolution of shear bands inside fault gouges taking into account the material microstructure by resorting to elastoplastic Cosserat continua and also the effect of thermo-hydro mechanical couplings. The use of Cosserat theory introduces information about the gouge microstructure, namely the grain size, and permits to regularize the mathematical problem of in the post-localization regime by introducing an internal length into the constitutive equations. Two approaches are used to study the coupled non-linear partial differential set of equations: linear stability analysis and finite element simulations. Linear stability analysis allows to study the occurrence of localized deformation in a mechanical system with multi-physical couplings. Considerations on the dominant wave length of the perturbations permit also to determine the width of the localized zone. This shear band thickness is confirmed by numerical integration in the post-localization regime for a certain range of deformation. The obtained widths of the localized zone are key parameters for understanding fault behavior, are in agreement with experimental and field observations. Moreover, numerical finite element computations enable to model the mechanical response of a fault gouge during seismic slip and give insights into the influence of various physical couplings on the energy budget

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Métodos de otimização que utilizam condições de otimalidade de primeira e/ou segunda ordem são conhecidos por serem eficientes. Comumente, esses métodos iterativos são desenvolvidos e analisados à luz da análise matemática do espaço euclidiano n-dimensional, cuja natureza é de caráter local. Consequentemente, esses métodos levam a algoritmos iterativos que executam apenas as buscas locais. Assim, a aplicação de tais algoritmos para o cálculo de minimizadores globais de uma função não linear,especialmente não-convexas e multimodais, depende fortemente da localização dos pontos de partida. O método de Otimização Global Topográfico é um algoritmo de agrupamento, que utiliza uma abordagem baseada em conceitos elementares da teoria dos grafos, a fim de gerar bons pontos de partida para os métodos de busca local, a partir de pontos distribuídos de modo uniforme no interior da região viável. Este trabalho tem dois objetivos. O primeiro é realizar uma nova abordagem sobre método de Otimização Global Topográfica, onde, pela primeira vez, seus fundamentos são formalmente descritos e suas propriedades básicas são matematicamente comprovadas. Neste contexto, propõe-se uma fórmula semi-empírica para calcular o parâmetro chave deste algoritmo de agrupamento, e, usando um método robusto e eficiente de direções viáveis por pontos-interiores, estendemos o uso do método de Otimização Global Topográfica a problemas com restrições de desigualdade. O segundo objetivo é a aplicação deste método para a análise de estabilidade de fase em misturas termodinâmicas,o qual consiste em determinar se uma dada mistura se apresenta em uma ou mais fases. A solução deste problema de otimização global é necessária para o cálculo do equilíbrio de fases, que é um problema de grande importância em processos da engenharia, como, por exemplo, na separação por destilação, em processos de extração e simulação da recuperação terciária de petróleo, entre outros. Além disso, afim de ter uma avaliação inicial do potencial dessa técnica, primeiro vamos resolver 70 problemas testes, e então comparar o desempenho do método proposto aqui com o solver MIDACO, um poderoso software recentemente introduzido no campo da otimização global. / Optimization methods that use optimality conditions of first and/or second order are known to be efficient. Commonly, such iterative methods are developed and analyzed in the light of knowledge concerning the mathematical analysis in n-dimensional Euclidean spaces, whose nature is of local character. Consequently, these methods lead to iterative algorithms that perform only local searches. Thus, the application of such algorithms to the calculation of global minimizers of a non-linear function, especially non-convex and multimodal, depends strongly on the location of the starting points. The Topographical Global Optimization method is a clustering algorithm, which uses an ingenious approach based on elementary concepts of graph theory, in order to generate good starting points for local search methods, from points distributed uniformly in the interior of the feasible set. The purpose of this work is two-fold. The first is a revisit to the Topographical Global Optimization method, where, for the first time, its foundations are formally described and its basic properties are mathematically proven. In this context, we propose a semi-empirical formula for computing the key parameter of this clustering algorithm, and, using a robustand efficient direction interior-point method, we extend the use of the Topographical Global Optimization method to problems with inequality constraints. The second objective is the application of this method to the phase stability analysis of mixtures, a difficult and important global optimization problem of the chemical engineering thermodynamics. Furthermore, in order to have an initial assessment of the power of this technique,first we solve 70 test problems, and then compare the performance of the method considered here with the MIDACO solver, a powerful software recently introduced in the field of global optimization.

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Many control techniques applied to converters with power factor correction (PFC) use cascaded control to compensate the output voltage and the input current. These techniques usually employ linear time-invariant (LTI) models and ignore the periodic output voltage oscillation by using compensator with low-pass characteristic. To ensure correlation between the rectifier and its LTI model, as well as power factor correction, these techniques reduce the crossing frequency, which result in a closed-loop voltage with poor dynamic response. Aiming to reduce the time-response designers have associated notch filters into the controller to increase the bandwidth. These filters increase the attenuation in ripple frequencies making possible to enlarge system bandwidth without compromising power factor correction. However, increasing the crossing frequency enhances the interaction between ac output components and the feedback system. In these cases, linear time-invariant (LTI) approach can not adequately represent the closed loop dynamics. As a result, LTI stability analysis based on LTI approach is no longer valid. On the other hand, a better dynamic representation can be achieved by using linear time-periodic models (LTP). These models include the modulation effects inherent in the output voltage dynamics. This work presents an alternative systematic methodology to perform the stability analysis for continuous-time closed-loop control systems using linear time-periodic (LTP) models. This methodology use an LTP representation in frequency domain called harmonic transfer function (HTF). This method extends the multi-variable LTI techniques for LTP approach. Finally is detailed the stability analysis of full-bridge and half-bridge single-phase PFC rectifiers. Theoretical, simulation and experimental results are presented to validate the proposed technique. / Muitas técnicas de controle aplicadas a retificadores monofásicos com correção do fator de potência (PFC) utilizam controladores em cascata para compensação da tensão de saída e da corrente de entrada. Essas técnicas, em geral, empregam modelos lineares e invariantes no tempo (LTI) e desconsideram as oscilações periódicas presentes nas tensões de saída, fazendo uso de leis de controle com características passa-baixa. Para garantir a correlação entre o modelo LTI e o retificador, bem como a correção do fator de potência, estas estratégias utilizam banda-passante reduzida, o que limita consideravelmente a resposta dinâmica da compensação da tensão. No intuito de reduzir o tempo de resposta da malha de tensão, sem comprometer a correção do fator de potência, projetistas têm associado filtros rejeita-banda à malha de controle. Esses filtros acentuam a atenuação nas frequências de interesse e, assim, possibilitam elevar a banda-passante sem comprometer a correção do fator de potência na entrada. Porém, a elevação da banda-passante aumenta a interação das componentes alternadas da tensão do lado cc com o sistema de compensação. Nestes casos, a abordagem LTI pode não representar adequadamente as dinâmicas de malha fechada e, consequentemente, não é válida para a análise da estabilidade. Por outro lado, uma melhor representação dinâmica da malha de compensação da tensão de retificadores PFC monofásicos pode ser obtida com a utilização de modelos lineares periódicos no tempo (LTP). Esses modelos dinâmicos incluem os efeitos de modulação inerentes da dinâmica da tensão de saída. Este trabalho apresenta uma metodologia sistemática alternativa para a análise da estabilidade de malha fechada de retificadores PFC monofásicos empregando-se modelos LTP em tempo contínuo. A metodologia de análise da estabilidade utiliza uma representação dos modelos LTP no domínio da frequência, denominado função de transferência harmônica (HTF). Esta representação estende as técnicas clássicas de análise da estabilidade de sistemas LTI multivariáveis para a abordagem LTP. Por fim, são detalhadas as análise de estabilidade dos retificadores monofásicos em ponte completa e meia ponte, considerando-se a operação com correção do fator de potência de entrada. Resultados teóricos, de simulação e experimentais são apresentados para validar a técnica de análise da estabilidade.

abstract: The holomorphic embedding method (HEM) applied to the power-flow problem (HEPF) has been used in the past to obtain the voltages and flows for power systems. The incentives for using this method over the traditional Newton-Raphson based nu-merical methods lie in the claim that the method is theoretically guaranteed to converge to the operable solution, if one exists. In this report, HEPF will be used for two power system analysis purposes: a. Estimating the saddle-node bifurcation point (SNBP) of a system b. Developing reduced-order network equivalents for distribution systems. Typically, the continuation power flow (CPF) is used to estimate the SNBP of a system, which involves solving multiple power-flow problems. One of the advantages of HEPF is that the solution is obtained as an analytical expression of the embedding parameter, and using this property, three of the proposed HEPF-based methods can es-timate the SNBP of a given power system without solving multiple power-flow prob-lems (if generator VAr limits are ignored). If VAr limits are considered, the mathemat-ical representation of the power-flow problem changes and thus an iterative process would have to be performed in order to estimate the SNBP of the system. This would typically still require fewer power-flow problems to be solved than CPF in order to estimate the SNBP. Another proposed application is to develop reduced order network equivalents for radial distribution networks that retain the nonlinearities of the eliminated portion of the network and hence remain more accurate than traditional Ward-type reductions (which linearize about the given operating point) when the operating condition changes. Different ways of accelerating the convergence of the power series obtained as a part of HEPF, are explored and it is shown that the eta method is the most efficient of all methods tested. The local-measurement-based methods of estimating the SNBP are studied. Non-linear Thévenin-like networks as well as multi-bus networks are built using model data to estimate the SNBP and it is shown that the structure of these networks can be made arbitrary by appropriately modifying the nonlinear current injections, which can sim-plify the process of building such networks from measurements. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Electrical Engineering 2017