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The Reversed-Field Pinch (RFP) is one of the major alternatives for realizing energy production from thermonuclear fusion. Compared to alternative configurations (such as the tokamak and the stellarator) it has some advantages that suggest that an RFP reactor may be more economic. However, the conventional RFP is flawed with anomalously large energy and particle transport (which leads to unacceptably low energy confinement) due to a phenomenon called the "RFP dynam". The dynamo is driven by the gradient in the plasma current in the plasma core, and it has been shown that flattening of the plasma current profile quenches the dynamo and increases confinement. Various forms of current profile control schemes have been developed and tested in both numerical simulations and experiments. In this thesis an automatic current profile control routine has been developed for the three-dimensional, non-linear resistive magnetohydrodynamic computer code DEBSP. The routine utilizes active feedback of the dynamo associated fluctuating electric field, and is optimized for replacing it with an externally supplied field while maintaining field reversal. By introducing a semi-automatic feedback scheme, the number of free parameters is reduced, making a parameter scan feasible. A scaling study was performed and scaling laws for the confinement of the advanced RFP (an RFP with enhanced confinement due to current profile control) have been obtained. The conclusions from this research project are that energy confinement is enhanced substantially in the advanced RFP and that poloidal beta values are possible beyond the previous theoretical limit beta βΘ < ½. Scalings toward the reactor regime indicate strongly enhanced confinement as compared to conventional RFP scenarios, but the question of reactor viability remains open. / QC 20101101

<p>The Reversed-Field Pinch (RFP) is one of the major alternatives for realizing energy production from thermonuclear fusion. Compared to alternative configurations (such as the tokamak and the stellarator) it has some advantages that suggest that an RFP reactor may be more economic. However, the conventional RFP is flawed with anomalously large energy and particle transport (which leads to unacceptably low energy confinement) due to a phenomenon called the "RFP dynam".</p><p>The dynamo is driven by the gradient in the plasma current in the plasma core, and it has been shown that flattening of the plasma current profile quenches the dynamo and increases confinement. Various forms of current profile control schemes have been developed and tested in both numerical simulations and experiments.</p><p>In this thesis an automatic current profile control routine has been developed for the three-dimensional, non-linear resistive magnetohydrodynamic computer code DEBSP. The routine utilizes active feedback of the dynamo associated fluctuating electric field, and is optimized for replacing it with an externally supplied field while maintaining field reversal. By introducing a semi-automatic feedback scheme, the number of free parameters is reduced, making a parameter scan feasible. A scaling study was performed and scaling laws for the confinement of the advanced RFP (an RFP with enhanced confinement due to current profile control) have been obtained.</p><p>The conclusions from this research project are that energy confinement is enhanced substantially in the advanced RFP and that poloidal beta values are possible beyond the previous theoretical limit beta β_Θ < ½. Scalings toward the reactor regime indicate strongly enhanced confinement as compared to conventional RFP scenarios, but the question of reactor viability remains open.</p>

In this research thesis, a new data-centric approach is used to determine the individual cell capacities in Li-ion batteries used in electric vehicles (EVs). This approach could also be extended to batteries for static energy storage applications. The method is based on real-world data collected from pouched-shaped cells having Nickel Manganese Cobalt (NMC) based chemistry of different capacities, used in electric buses. An algorithm has been developed which takes as input the charging and discharging current data of the battery, and voltages of the individual cell either from sensors installed on the terminals of a cell or from a battery simulator software. As an output, the algorithm tries for finding the best two resting states on the time axis of the current profile and net charging or discharging of the battery in between those times. A reasonable amount of net charge is required for capacity calculation, for this reason, the recommended SOC difference between those two resting states should be at least ±10% or more. Several experiments were also performed to firm up the results. For the experiments, 100 pouch-shaped NMC-based cells of 40 Ah capacity each were used. These 100 cells were connected in series as 1P100s and it is one module of the xP100s larger battery pack of an electric trolley bus. The algorithm has three levels: at the first level, it uses only simulator data of current and cell voltages to determine the total capacities of individual cells from partial charging or discharging. In the second level, it takes real current data and simulator voltages from the individual cells to determine the same total capacities of individual cells. The third level uses real current charging and discharging data and only minimum, average, and maximum cell voltages to find an indicator of the skewed capacities of cells. Further, the second and third level is compared with the first. For more accuracy and exact calculations of the individual cell capacity, special tests and data collection procedures are proposed as well. Irrespective of the type of data available, a non-destructive diagnostic of the battery is carried out. Abnormal cells are detected with cell number and its location inside the pack in the case where individual cell data are available. In the case where only maximum and minimum cell voltages are available, the cell will be determined which limits the capacity of all the cells connected in series with it. For better diagnostics of the battery new data collection techniques are proposed, given that the owner of the vehicle allows the transfer of data from BMS.

A investigacao experimental do fenomeno de vibracoes induzidas pela emissao de vortices (VIV) em modelos flexiveis longos lancados em catenaria e sujeitos a pers de correnteza variavel e ortogonais ao plano de lancamento e o tema principal desta tese de doutorado. O objetivo, neste trabalho, e identicar, descrever e discutir os comportamentos dinamicos do VIV nas catenarias sob correnteza variavel, comparando-os com aqueles exibidos por este fenomeno agindo em um cilindro flexivel vertical. Desta forma, tenciona-se contribuir para a compreensao mais geral do VIV nas linhas oceanicas utilizadas na exploracao de petroleo e gas no mar. Neste contexto, muito se sabe sobre o comportamento do VIV em cilindros rgidos montados em suportes elasticos, bem como em cilindros flexiveis nao curvados, ambos os arranjos com uma vasta literatura descrevendo nao so os comportamentos dinamicos, como tambem suas relacoes com os aspectos fluidos que lhe dao origem. Contudo, no caso dos cilindros flexiveis longos, ainda existem pontos que precisam de compreensao mais profunda, particularmente aqueles que representam condicoes mais proximas da operacao oceanica real - o lancamento em catenaria e a acao de um perfil variavel e ortogonal de correnteza. Para tanto, um dispositivo denominado braco giratorio foi projetado e construido para que experimentos com modelos de catenaria em correnteza variavel com a profundidade fossem conduzidos no tanque de provas fisico do laboratorio Tanque de Provas Numerico (TPN), caracterizando uma pesquisa inedita no tema. Como condicoes de ensaio foram consideradas diferentes configuracoes geometricas da catenaria, todas comparadas com um cilindro flexivel vertical ensaiado tanto no braco giratorio, como tambem em tanque de reboque. Tratados segundo uma tecnica de decomposicao modal, os resultados de deslocamento ao longo dos modelos nessas condicoes de ensaio permitiram a identicacao e a descricao de comportamentos dinamicos bastante parecidos nas catenarias, sempre comparados aqueles do modelo vertical, o que trouxe grande abrangencia a compreensao do VIV nas linhas flexiveis em geral. Como contribuicao adicional, este trabalho dotou o tanque de provas do TPN de um equipamento bastante interessante para ampla gama de investigacoes sobre as interacoes fluido-estruturais - o braco giratorio. / The experimental investigation of Vortex-Induced Vibrations (VIV) on long catenary models and subjected to non-uniform velocity profiles, orthogonal to the catenarys plane, it is the main subject of this doctoral thesis. As a main goal, this work search to identify, describe and discuss the dynamic behaviors of VIV on catenary lines under non-uniform velocity profiles, comparing the results with those coming from the same phenomenon acting on flexible cylinders in a vertical configuration. Thus, it is intended to help for a more general understanding of VIV in offshore lines used in the oil and gas exploration at sea. In this context, much is known about the behavior of VIV on rigid cylinders elastically supported, as well as on flexible cylinders with no curvature, both configurations counting with a large literature describing not only the dynamic behaviors, but also their relationships with hydrodynamics aspects. However, in the case of long flexible cylinders, there are still more points to be understand, particularly at those conditions closer to the offshore operations - with catenary lines under variable current profile. Under those considerations, a rotating-arm was designed and assembled in the model basin at Numerical Offshore Tank (TPN), Brazil, for model tests under non-uniform current profile, featuring itself as an unpublished research on this topic. Different catenary geometries were tested in the rotating-arm at USP and also in the towing tank at Institute for Technological Research of the State of Sao Paulo (IPT), Brazil, all of them being compared with a vertical flexible cylinder. From those conditions of test, data was analyzed according to a technique of modal decomposition, so the motion results from all the models allowed the identication and the description of a dynamic behavior quite similar in the catenary when compared to that from a vertical cylinder, which has brought great understanding about the VIV on flexible lines. As an contribution, this work has provided to the TPN\'s model basin an interesting device for a wide variety of researchs on fluid- structural interaction - the rotating-arm.

A investigacao experimental do fenomeno de vibracoes induzidas pela emissao de vortices (VIV) em modelos flexiveis longos lancados em catenaria e sujeitos a pers de correnteza variavel e ortogonais ao plano de lancamento e o tema principal desta tese de doutorado. O objetivo, neste trabalho, e identicar, descrever e discutir os comportamentos dinamicos do VIV nas catenarias sob correnteza variavel, comparando-os com aqueles exibidos por este fenomeno agindo em um cilindro flexivel vertical. Desta forma, tenciona-se contribuir para a compreensao mais geral do VIV nas linhas oceanicas utilizadas na exploracao de petroleo e gas no mar. Neste contexto, muito se sabe sobre o comportamento do VIV em cilindros rgidos montados em suportes elasticos, bem como em cilindros flexiveis nao curvados, ambos os arranjos com uma vasta literatura descrevendo nao so os comportamentos dinamicos, como tambem suas relacoes com os aspectos fluidos que lhe dao origem. Contudo, no caso dos cilindros flexiveis longos, ainda existem pontos que precisam de compreensao mais profunda, particularmente aqueles que representam condicoes mais proximas da operacao oceanica real - o lancamento em catenaria e a acao de um perfil variavel e ortogonal de correnteza. Para tanto, um dispositivo denominado braco giratorio foi projetado e construido para que experimentos com modelos de catenaria em correnteza variavel com a profundidade fossem conduzidos no tanque de provas fisico do laboratorio Tanque de Provas Numerico (TPN), caracterizando uma pesquisa inedita no tema. Como condicoes de ensaio foram consideradas diferentes configuracoes geometricas da catenaria, todas comparadas com um cilindro flexivel vertical ensaiado tanto no braco giratorio, como tambem em tanque de reboque. Tratados segundo uma tecnica de decomposicao modal, os resultados de deslocamento ao longo dos modelos nessas condicoes de ensaio permitiram a identicacao e a descricao de comportamentos dinamicos bastante parecidos nas catenarias, sempre comparados aqueles do modelo vertical, o que trouxe grande abrangencia a compreensao do VIV nas linhas flexiveis em geral. Como contribuicao adicional, este trabalho dotou o tanque de provas do TPN de um equipamento bastante interessante para ampla gama de investigacoes sobre as interacoes fluido-estruturais - o braco giratorio. / The experimental investigation of Vortex-Induced Vibrations (VIV) on long catenary models and subjected to non-uniform velocity profiles, orthogonal to the catenarys plane, it is the main subject of this doctoral thesis. As a main goal, this work search to identify, describe and discuss the dynamic behaviors of VIV on catenary lines under non-uniform velocity profiles, comparing the results with those coming from the same phenomenon acting on flexible cylinders in a vertical configuration. Thus, it is intended to help for a more general understanding of VIV in offshore lines used in the oil and gas exploration at sea. In this context, much is known about the behavior of VIV on rigid cylinders elastically supported, as well as on flexible cylinders with no curvature, both configurations counting with a large literature describing not only the dynamic behaviors, but also their relationships with hydrodynamics aspects. However, in the case of long flexible cylinders, there are still more points to be understand, particularly at those conditions closer to the offshore operations - with catenary lines under variable current profile. Under those considerations, a rotating-arm was designed and assembled in the model basin at Numerical Offshore Tank (TPN), Brazil, for model tests under non-uniform current profile, featuring itself as an unpublished research on this topic. Different catenary geometries were tested in the rotating-arm at USP and also in the towing tank at Institute for Technological Research of the State of Sao Paulo (IPT), Brazil, all of them being compared with a vertical flexible cylinder. From those conditions of test, data was analyzed according to a technique of modal decomposition, so the motion results from all the models allowed the identication and the description of a dynamic behavior quite similar in the catenary when compared to that from a vertical cylinder, which has brought great understanding about the VIV on flexible lines. As an contribution, this work has provided to the TPN\'s model basin an interesting device for a wide variety of researchs on fluid- structural interaction - the rotating-arm.

Near-bottom current data was collected over a period of 8 years at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Field Research Facility in Duck, North Carolina. This data set consisted of currents measured up to three elevations above the bottom at deployment depths of 5 meters, 8 meters and 13 meters, as well as continuous real-time wind and wave data collected at the pier. The data was collated, quality checked and analyzed to define a climatology of near bottom currents along the study area using current moments. This data set had previously never been available for analysis due to the large amount of effort required to take old computer files and subject them to rigorous processing and quality control. The analyses conducted in this thesis represent the first ever attempt to analyze this type of data on this scale. An initial monthly investigation was conducted at the 8-meter site to determine driving forces of mean currents, and a more in depth seasonal investigation was subsequently completed to quantify the relationships between the cross-shore currents and different forcing mechanisms. Once seasonal trends were established relating mean current to incident wave height, wave steepness and wind speed, an examination of some significant historical events within the study was completed to help link cross-shore current behavior to storm events. Three separate nor’easter events and three significant hurricanes (Bonnie, Dennis and Floyd) were found to produce significant cross-shore currents at the study site. Similar to previous nearshore studies, it was found that the occurrence of onshore winds and wave heights greater than about 1.5 meters produce near-bottom mean currents moving in the offshore direction. Alternatively, when winds are blowing in the offshore direction, waves are still propagating onshore, but mean near-bottom currents tend to be directed in the onshore direction. The importance of vertical current structure within the water column was apparent, even though the instruments’ measurement elevations were all located within the bottom boundary layer. In contrast to the assumption of zero cross-shore velocity at near-coast sites implicit in two-dimensional depth averaged models used in most coastal engineering studies today, it was found that cross-shore near-bottom currents are rarely ever zero. Depth-averaged models inherently assume that currents move as a single block of water throughout the water column. The physical impacts of this misrepresentation of nearshore currents become very significant in predictions of many coastal phenomena, such as storm surge, sediment transport and wave conditions at the coast. When wave heights exceed 2 meters, mean currents tend to be between 0.2-0.5 meters per second in both the onshore and offshore direction, in the opposite direction of the primary forcing at the surface. In some instances, wave heights are low with strong mean currents while wind speeds are high, indicating the driving force in this situation is wind speed. However, there are cases where wave heights are large and mean current values are relatively low, which requires further investigation. Future work will include investigating phenomena that are related to higher-order odd moments of the current statistics, since they are expected to play a critical role in improved understanding of the physics within the nearshore and are very much needed for predictions of coastal evolution under future sea level rise and potential climate change.