The monitoring of nitrate mass load through the unsaturated zone below agricultural land was proposed as a novel technique to assess the effect of agricultural best management practices (BMPs). The objectives of the study were to: develop field techniques and apply computational models for the quantification of unsaturated zone nitrate mass flux; scale the point mass flux results to a nitrate mass load across an agricultural parcel; and assess the resulting nitrate mass load measurements as indicators to evaluate the effect of a BMP. At several locations across the study site, groundwater quality and profiles of soil water content and temperature were regularly monitored, and several rounds of geologic cores were collected for analysis of bulk soil nitrate and an applied bromide tracer. The field data were applied in several analytical techniques for estimating recharge, and in two unsaturated zone numerical models used to refine the recharge estimates. The recharge rate at each measurement location was then combined with unsaturated zone nitrate data to quantify nitrate mass flux. Upscaling of the flux values to field-scale mass load was based mainly on topography, geology and field observations. The calculation of stored nitrate mass in the shallow subsurface showed some correlation to changes in surface nitrogen application, with the greatest decreases in stored mass observed at locations underlain by sand where there was a switch to a grass crop. In contrast, the calculation of nitrate mass load suggested that the post-BMP value (4.1 t NO3-N/yr) was greater than the pre-BMP value (2.2 t NO3-N/yr). However, the calculation of nitrate mass load was limited by several factors, including a lack of nitrate concentration data from the deep unsaturated zone and an above-average annual precipitation rate; as a result, the findings suggesting an increase in nitrate mass load in response to decreasing nutrient inputs should be interpreted with caution. Continued monitoring of nitrate mass load and stored nitrate mass in the unsaturated zone is recommended to determine whether further benefits from the BMPs are observed as the measurement period lengthens and the unsaturated zone is progressively flushed.

Kitron had wishes to be able to test and measure how disturbance affects their vehicle electronic units before they have been verified by SP Technical Research Institute of Sweden in Borås. This work started with the writing of a demand specification together with Kitron for a product PSQS, Power Supply Quality Simulator, which can generate some test pulses according to a standard for electronic units to Volvos vehicles. A design proposal was developed with the help the demand specification and was verified with the help of simulations. All electric schematics was designed with the guide of the design proposal. The pulses realized in the works of this thesis are those which Kitron experienced that they have a need to test in their own premises and which are possible to generate with the means available. All work took place at Kitron in Jönköping, the restriction of the work has been the cost of components not to be to high as well as the finished product shall be easily managed. This thesis work resulted in a unit which is possible to produce a number of disturbances on the voltage feed to a unit under test. Some pulses have not been completely correct according to Volvos standard. There are large possibilities to further develop PSQS to a unit that follows Volvos standard and even other vehicle producer’s standards.

The INSPIRE initiative requires that every European member state establishes a national SDI and related web services. Among these a WFS must be implemented to query spatial data. Therefore several Quality of Service specifications must be fullled by this web service, among these are performance, capacity and availability. In this study work a WFS will be implemented for Nature SDI plus. In this European project the WFS will provide spatial data from several data specications of ANNEX I and III. The main object is to test the conformance to the INSPIRE specification. Therefore load and performance tests will be performed.

A problem in the field of district heating is the oil burners needed to provide power when a peak load occurs. One possible way of reducing the needed amount of oil is to reduce the power demand for space heating in the district-heating substations when the need for district heating water exceeds a certain limit. This can be done by use of a locally working controller function. In this Thesis the options concerning load priority are evaluated. To evaluate the potential for using controller functions concerning peak load priority an experiment was brought out in a chosen district-heating substation. The impact on the indoor thermal comfort during a heat reduction was also taken into account. With simulations and mathematical models the building and the indoor air cool down was evaluated. Also a survey was given to the residents to validate how the indoor thermal climate was affected during the experiment. Possible savings by using these kinds of functions were also accounted for. The result demonstrates that a simple controller function provides a possible way of reducing the power demand, but is not sufficiently reliable. This is mainly due to the used regulating parameter. With modifications or by adding additional regulating parameters such as water flow into the controller, the functionality can be improved. The result from the survey shows that during the experimental period the residents experienced a minor impact on the thermal comfort. Parameters, such as ventilation and heat losses also have a major impact on the building´s thermal inertia, especially at the lowest occurring outdoor temperatures. The simulations confirm the theory regarding the building heat capacity to prevent a negative impact on indoor thermal comfort. In addition, the indoor air temperature can initially decrease faster than the building framework, especially under the influence of ventilation. This must be taken into account when applying functions for load priority. Calculations indicate that the economical benefits by adapting functions for load priority are primarily for the heat-producer, due to reduced oil dependence and also other system aspects. The current ownership structure in Uppsala provides for a possible obstacle when it comes to expanded use of load priority functions. More incentives for the consumer are needed to provide for an increased usage of load priority functions in their district-heating substations.

The monitoring of nitrate mass load through the unsaturated zone below agricultural land was proposed as a novel technique to assess the effect of agricultural best management practices (BMPs). The objectives of the study were to: develop field techniques and apply computational models for the quantification of unsaturated zone nitrate mass flux; scale the point mass flux results to a nitrate mass load across an agricultural parcel; and assess the resulting nitrate mass load measurements as indicators to evaluate the effect of a BMP. At several locations across the study site, groundwater quality and profiles of soil water content and temperature were regularly monitored, and several rounds of geologic cores were collected for analysis of bulk soil nitrate and an applied bromide tracer. The field data were applied in several analytical techniques for estimating recharge, and in two unsaturated zone numerical models used to refine the recharge estimates. The recharge rate at each measurement location was then combined with unsaturated zone nitrate data to quantify nitrate mass flux. Upscaling of the flux values to field-scale mass load was based mainly on topography, geology and field observations. The calculation of stored nitrate mass in the shallow subsurface showed some correlation to changes in surface nitrogen application, with the greatest decreases in stored mass observed at locations underlain by sand where there was a switch to a grass crop. In contrast, the calculation of nitrate mass load suggested that the post-BMP value (4.1 t NO3-N/yr) was greater than the pre-BMP value (2.2 t NO3-N/yr). However, the calculation of nitrate mass load was limited by several factors, including a lack of nitrate concentration data from the deep unsaturated zone and an above-average annual precipitation rate; as a result, the findings suggesting an increase in nitrate mass load in response to decreasing nutrient inputs should be interpreted with caution. Continued monitoring of nitrate mass load and stored nitrate mass in the unsaturated zone is recommended to determine whether further benefits from the BMPs are observed as the measurement period lengthens and the unsaturated zone is progressively flushed.

Natural regeneration is used to restock trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.) cutblocks and factors controlling regeneration are areas of interest and concern to the forest industry. Harvest operations in Manitoba require that coarse woody debris, or slash, be left and distributed in cutblocks. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of slash loading on soil temperatures and aspen regeneration, and implications for harvest operations in the Duck Mountain area. Early sucker growth, initiation, and soil temperatures were surveyed in six winter and six summer cutblocks under different levels of slash loadings. A growth chamber study, using field temperature data as a guideline, examined the effects of diurnal temperature variation on sucker initiation and production. In winter and summer cutblocks, mean depths to sucker initiation from the parent root were 4.6 + 2.4 cm and 3.4 + 2.1 cm, respectively, and initiation of suckers occurred mainly from parental roots located in the LFH layer. Daily mean soil temperatures during the growing season were significantly lower under higher levels of slash (difference of 3.6 oC during May). Higher amounts of slash also significantly shortened the length of the growing season (89 fewer days above 0 oC in one season) and decreased the number of suckers produced (150 000 ha1 decreased to 14 000 ha-1), sucker volume (decreased by 256 cm3m-2) and leaf area index (decreased by 0.9). There was no difference in sucker production between any diurnal temperature treatments in the growth chamber study. Shallow depth to sucker initiation has important implications for harvest operations using heavy machinery especially those occurring during the summer season. Moderate levels of slash in summer cutblocks, and heavy levels of slash in winter cutblocks limit sucker growth. Although slash decreases diurnal temperature amplitudes, this may not be the reason for the decrease in sucker production associated with increased levels of slash. Both soil temperature and early sucker growth are strongly affected by slash loading; by monitoring harvest operations and the distribution of slash within cutblocks, the negative effect of heavy machine traffic and heavy piles of slash can be reduced and ensure successful forest regeneration.

With the rapid growth of data and computational needs, distributed systems and computational Grids are gaining more and more attention. Grids are playing an important and growing role in today networks. The huge amount of computations a Grid can fulfill in a specificc time cannot be done by the best super computers. However, Grid performance can still be improved by making sure all the resources available in the Grid are utilized by a good load balancing algorithm. The purpose of such algorithms is to make sure all nodes are equally involved in Grid computations. This research proposes two new distributed swarm intelligence inspired load balancing algorithms. One is based on ant colony optimization and is called AntZ, the other one is based on particle swarm optimization and is called ParticleZ. Distributed load balancing does not incorporate a single point of failure in the system. In the AntZ algorithm, an ant is invoked in response to submitting a job to the Grid and this ant surfs the network to find the best resource to deliver the job to. In the ParticleZ algorithm, each node plays a role as a particle and moves toward other particles by sharing its workload among them. We will be simulating our proposed approaches using a Grid simulation toolkit (GridSim) dedicated to Grid simulations. The performance of the algorithms will be evaluated using several performance criteria (e.g. makespan and load balancing level). A comparison of our proposed approaches with a classical approach called State Broadcast Algorithm and two random approaches will also be provided. Experimental results show the proposed algorithms (AntZ and ParticleZ) can perform very well in a Grid environment. In particular, the use of particle swarm optimization, which has not been addressed in the literature, can yield better performance results in many scenarios than the ant colony approach.

Heavy-duty diesel vehicle (HDDV) operations are a major source of pollutant emissions in major metropolitan areas. Accurate estimation of heavy-duty diesel vehicle emissions is essential in air quality planning efforts because highway and non-road heavy-duty diesel emissions account for a significant fraction of the oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and particulate matter (PM) emissions inventories. Yet, major modeling deficiencies in the current MOBILE6 modeling approach for heavy-duty diesel vehicles have been widely recognized for more than ten years. While the most recent MOBILE6.2 model integrates marginal improvements to various internal conversion and correction factors, fundamental flaws inherent in the modeling approach still remain. The major effort of this research is to develop a new heavy-duty vehicle load-based modal emission rate model that overcomes some of the limitations of existing models and emission rates prediction methods. This model is part of the proposed Heavy-Duty Diesel Vehicle Modal Emission Modeling (HDDV-MEM) which was developed by Georgia Institute of Technology. HDDV-MEM first predicts second-by-second engine power demand as a function of vehicle operating conditions and then applies brake-specific emission rates to these activity predictions. To provide better estimates of microscopic level, this modeling approach is designed to predict second-by-second emissions from onroad vehicle operations. This research statistically analyzes the database provided by EPA and yields a model for prediction emissions at microscopic level based on engine power demand and driving mode. Research results will enhance the explaining ability of engine power demand on emissions and the importance of simulating engine power in real world applications. The modeling approach provides a significant improvement in HDDV emissions modeling compared to the current average speed cycle-based emissions models.

The amount of distributed generation (DG) is increasing worldwide, and it is located in distribution networks close to consumers or even in the consumers¡¦ side of the meter. Therefore, the net demand to be supplied through transmission and distribution networks may decrease, allowing to postpone reinforcement of existing networks. This thesis presents a methodology for assessing the potential benefits of using non--constructional reinforcement strategies to relieve distribution network congestion and increase the utilization of the network assets. Due to the randomness of involved variables (load demand patterns, DG hourly production, DG availability, etc.), a simulation approach is used to model the uncertainties. The benefits of DG, energy storage (ES), and demand response (DR) on congestion relief and investment deferment are evaluated. The analyzed items include: the distribution network investment avoided cost, levelized annual cost, hourly overload probability, and hourly overload risk. Simulation results indicate the potential benefits of non--traditional strategies in increasing the distribution network utilization and relieving network congestion.

Power system frequency is one of the key performance indices of system operation. Abnormal frequency deviations would incur negative impacts to power equipments and service quality. Thus, it is important to operate and regulate the system frequency within an acceptable range. North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) has been using a Control Performance Standard (CPS) for frequency control performance assessment since 1997 which uses system frequency and inter--area power flow to evaluate the power system control performance. This thesis presents a design of CPS for isolated system and the results of Taiwan Power Company frequency control performance based on the proposed CPS1 formulation.