A circumferential slot In-line Virtual Impactor (IVI) has been designed using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulation tools and experimentally characterized using monodispersed liquid aerosols to validate simulation results. The base design, IVI-100, has an application as a pre-separator for sampling inlets, where the device scalps large particles from the aerosol size distribution. The IVI-100 samples air in at 111 L/min and deliver the fine aerosol fraction in a 100 L/min flow and provide a cutpoint particle size of 10 µm, with a pressure drop of 45 Pa. An inverted dual cone configuration encased inside a tube provides the IVI-100 with a characteristic circumferential slot of width 0.254 mm (0.100 inches) and a slot length of 239 mm (9.42 inches) at the critical zone. The upper cone causes the flow to accelerate to an average throat velocity of 3.15 m/s, while the lower cone directs the major flow toward the exit port and minimizes recirculation zones that could cause flow instabilities in the major flow region. The cutpoint Stokes number is 0.73; however, the cutpoint can be adjusted by changing the geometrical spacing between the acceleration nozzle exit plane and a flow divider. Good agreement is obtained between numerically predicted and experimentally observed performance. An aerosol size selective inlet for bioaerosol and other air sampling applications using an upgraded prototype of IVI-100, mounted inside a BSI-100 inlet shell was tested in an aerosol wind tunnel over a speed range of 2 – 24 km/hr. The BSI-IVI-100 inlet has a cutpoint of 11 µm aerodynamic diameter and delivers the fine fraction at 100 L/m. The geometric standard deviation of the fractionation curve is 1.51 and the performance is not affected by wind speeds. An IVI-350, which is an adaptation of the IVI to be used as a powder fractionator, was designed based on computational simulations, and provides a cutpoint of 3 µm AD, while operating in a total flow rate of 350 L/min. Four Identical IVI -350 units will be operated in parallel to fractionate aerosolized powders in a 1400 L/min flow. An optimized inlet, with a contoured tear-drop shaped insert provides uniform flow to four identical IVI units and prevents powder accumulation in the system entrance.

Precise and robust automotive localization is a must for autonomous vehicles. Radar is a cheap and robust sensor, and this project aimed to find a method to use automotive radar to localize globally. By using radar data to build occupancy grids based on other state-of-the-art radar localization methods, and applying image correlation techniques, a localization precision of below 20 cm could be achieved, delivering poses at frequency higher than 0.5 Hz along with a characterization of the uncertainty. By using an improved sensor model for the occupancy grid mapping, filtering the radar data, and using image correlation in the Fourier domain. The presented results are better than the state-of-the-art radar localization methods, both in terms of precision and frequency, however not in terms of heading estimation. The work provides a foundation for future investigations and improvements of radar as a sensor for localization. / Exakt och robust fordonslokalisering är ett måste för framtidens autonoma fordon. Radar är billig och robust sensor, och detta projekt utfördes i syfte att hitta en metod för att använda bilradar för att lokalisera globalt. Genom att använda radardata för att bygga occupancyg grids baserade på de senaste bästa radarlokaliseringsmetoder och tillämpa bildkorrelationstekniker, kunde en lokaliseringsprecision bättre än 20 cm uppnås, vilket ger positioner vid frekvens högre än 0,5 Hz tillsammans osäkerhetens karaktärisering. Genom att använda en förbättrad sensormodell för kartläggning av occupancy grids, filtrera radardata och använda bildkorrelation i Fourier- domänen. De presenterade resultaten är bättre än de senaste metoderna för radarlokalisering, både när det gäller precision och frekvens, men inte när det gäller riktning. Arbetet utgör en grund för framtida undersökningar av radar som en sensor för lokalisering.

East of Lake Winnipeg is what conservationists call the ‘east shore wilderness’ / ‘heart of the boreal.’ The largest contiguous tract of unindustrialized boreal forest on Earth, this area has been the focus of 15 years of discussion and planning in Manitoba. The area is also designated Waabanong Nakaygum, a homeland to the Anishinaabek of this bush-meets-lake region. Waabanong has seen limited access during the industrial period of personal mechanized mobility due to a lack of constructed all-weather roads. However, an older pattern of travel and mobility does exist across the land, for centuries constituting traditional Anishinaabek patterns of land use and trade. As all-weather roads are being constructed along Lake Winnipeg, oral interviews will examine the question: will the older trails remain in the collective culture of the people or shall the north-south cultural and economic flows replace the east-west bush history traced by the rivers that wind through?

Virginia's Smart Road, to be completed by early 2000, is a test bed for numerous research activities including snow and ice control, remote sensor testing, snow removal management, safety and human factors, and vehicle dynamics. An all-weather testing system will feature 75 automated snowmaking towers. In order to provide timely and repeatable weather scenarios, equipment operators will need to understand fully the limitations and capabilities of the snowmaking system. The research presented herein addresses the hydraulic and hydrologic variables and design methodology to implement efficient snowmaking at a transportation research facility. Design variables include nozzle configuration, water pressure and flowrate, compressed air pressure and flowrate, tower orientation, snow inducer concentration, water and compressed air temperature, and ambient weather conditions. Testing and data collection was performed at the Snow Economics, Inc. research and development site at Seven Springs Mountain Resort in Champion, PA. The results of this work will be used to guide the operators of the Smart Road on the most efficient use of the snowmaking equipment. / Master of Science

Ce document présente la mise en place d’un système de mesure des éclairements énergétiques spectraux solaires pour tout type de temps, sur 4 plans. Les 4 spectromètres mesurent au total 900 spectres/min et produisent chacun un spectre/min moyen et son écart type. Entre 2014 et 2015, 700 000 spectres ont été enregistrés sur un domaine compris entre 400 et 1000 nm avec un pas ≤1 nm. Un échantillon de 145 000 spectres représentatifs du climat lyonnais a été sélectionné pour une analyse statistique. Pour ce faire, l’échantillon a été réduit par partitionnement à 1175 spectres. Son domaine spectral a été étendu de 280 à 1500 nm à l’aide du RTM SMARTS. Une ACP de cet échantillon extrapolé a permis d’en réduire la description à 3 composantes et ainsi de réviser le modèle des illuminants D de la CIE. Enfin, la relation entre composition spectrale et paramètres environnementaux ou colorimétriques ouvre une voie vers des modèles statistiques de génération de spectres du rayonnement solaire. / This manuscript presents the design and setup of an all-weather spectral irradiance measurement system on 4 planes. The 4 spectrometers measure a total of 900 spectra/min to produce every minute, a mean spectral irradiance and its standard deviation. Between 2014 and 2015, this system recorded 700,000 spectra, for wavelengths ranging between 400 and 1,000 nm with a step ≤1 nm. A sample of 145,000 spectra representative of the Lyon climate was selected for statistical analysis. For this purpose, the sample was reduced in size by partitioning it in 1,175 spectra. Its spectral domain was extended to 280-1,500 nm by extrapolating the spectra with curve fitting using the SMARTS2 RTM. A PCA of the extrapolated sample reduced its description to only 3 components; hence, allowing a revision of the CIE’s illuminant D series. Finally, the relation between spectral power distribution and environmental or colorimetric parameters opens a way towards statistical models for generating solar spectra.