This thesis consists of two parts; the first part pertains to fractoluminescence as a potential background in crystal scintillator detectors, and the second part bears on the simulation of a 24Na source to be used during the liquid scintillator phase of the SNO+ experiment. I participated in early work to develop a test-bed to study fractoluminescence in scintillators, and report here on preliminary results I obtained before I shifted my focus to SNO+. Full results obtained by the group have since been reported in PRL 111 154301 [1]. This project follows the discovery that mechanical stress on a dark matter detector’s crystals was causing a background signal. The response of inorganic crystal scintillators (Bi4Ge3O12, ZnWO4 , CdWO4 ) compressed to the point of rupture was studied. The double cleavage drilled compression geometry was used to create controlled cracks in 20×5×3 mm3 samples. A correlation between a sudden drop of the force, a burst of photonic and of acoustic emissions was discovered and a lower bound was set on the conversion efficiency from strain energy to light energy. SNO+ is a large underground experiment that aims primarily to search for neutrinoless double beta decay. The SNO+ detector consists of an acrylic vessel of liquid scintillator surrounded by light detectors. A tagged 24Na source was proposed as one of several radioactive sources to be deployed within the vessel to calibrate the detector. To achieve this an activated NaI(Tl) crystal would be coupled to a photomultiplier tube and lowered into the center of the vessel. The second half of this thesis explores options for implementing this plan and presents the detector response to a 24Na source as simulated by the Monte Carlo software developed by SNO+. The size of the crystal influences the type of information that can be gleaned from using this source so four different crystal sizes are presented for comparison. The simulations show that the source can be used to test the linearity of the energy scale and the simulation’s quenching model. / Thesis (Master, Physics, Engineering Physics and Astronomy) -- Queen's University, 2014-06-18 17:46:15.685

A four quadrant general single-phase bi-directional DC/DC converter was designed and constructed for high effect systems. The target application for the DC/DC converter was to be used to transfer energy between different energy storages, a miniature DC power grid and the high voltage AC power city grid. The converter is capable of step-up and step-down operations in both directions i.e. it is bi-directional at varying voltage levels. Different DC/DC topologies were investigated, and thereafter simulations were performed in LTspice and Simulink to ensure its capabilities and functionalities. The result of the simulations was a two layered PI-regulator, controlling both the external DC-grid voltage and inductor current through the converter. Once a suitable topology and control strategy was found, a suitable power transistor investigated and a PCB driver card were developed with KiCad. The final converter is capable to seamlessly change between its four modes and controlling voltages up to 1200 V and currents up to 200 A.

L’étude porte sur la propagation lente de fissure à température ambiante dans deux classes de polymères à l’état vitreux : le PMMA et la résine époxy-amine stœchiométrique DGEBA-IPD comme prototypes respectifs de thermoplastique (TP) et de thermodurcissable (TD). Des mélanges TD/TP présentant une séparation de phase de nano-domaines de thermoplastique dans une phase dominante de thermodurcissable ont été aussi explorés en vue de leur intérêt en tant que matrice à morphologie complexe utilisée dans les composites à renfort de fibre de carbone destinés à l’aéronautique. Un montage expérimental original a été développé pour le suivi in situ de propagation lente de fissures, combinant une caméra optique, un microscope à force atomique (AFM) et un échantillon sollicité en géométrie Double Cleavage Drilled Compression (DCDC). La possibilité d’accéder ainsi à une gamme de vitesses de propagation entre le pm/s et le nm/s a permis de mettre en évidence pour la toute première fois un régime de propagation stationnaire dans les thermodurcissables (résines pures et mélanges TD/TP) analogue au comportement établi pour les thermoplastiques, et de le caractériser en termes d’une loi cinétique reliant la vitesse de propagation au facteur d’intensité des contraintes (SIF). L’analyse in situ AFM a de plus permis de caractériser les différentes modalités de déformation à l’échelle de la zone de process en combinant l’imagerie topographique et des techniques de corrélation d’images numériques (DIC). Un modèle de prédiction des énergies de rupture en propagation stationnaire ainsi qu’en régime de stick-slip a été développé, en intégrant les champs de déformation visco-plastiques mesurés dans la zone de process, la vitesse de déformation locale, et la loi de comportement des matériaux mesurée à l’échelle macroscopique. / This work deals with the slow crack growth in glass polymer materials at room temperature, namely PMMA and stoechiometric epoxy-amine DGEBA-IPD resin as archetypes of thermoplastic (TP) and thermoset (TS) respectively. TS/TP blends developing phases separation in nano-domains of thermoplastic during the cure process have also been studied since they are used as matrix with a complex morphology in carbon fibers reinforced composites materials for aircrafts. An innovative experimental setup has been developed for in situ investigation of slow crack growth by combining optical measurements, in situ atomic force microscopy (AFM) and a Double Cleavage Drilled Compression (DCDC) sample. By this way, a steady state crack propagation regime has been highlighted for a first time in thermosets (pure and TS/TP blends) with crack speed ranging from pm/s to nm/s. Thus crack speed and stress intensity factor (SIF) diagrams were established for each material. Furthermore, in situ AFM images allowed characterizing deformations at the process zone scale by combining topographic imaging with Digital Images Correlation (DIC) technique. Finally, we developed a model for predicting fracture energy for steady state propagation and stick-slip regime, based on the visco-plastic strain fields measured round the process zone, the local strain rate, and the constitutive laws of materials measured at the macroscopic scale.

With recent developments in power conversion technologies and market trends that are driving those technologies toward further miniaturization and greater integration, the need for verifying an empirically based modeling methodology for proprietary power converters such as Power Supply on Chip (PwrSoC) products has risen significantly. This need motivates the investigation of black-box models which require little or no knowledge of the internal workings of a system, for those areas of industry adopting PwrSoC technology as a point-of-load solution. This thesis reports a black-box modeling method tailored to accommodate but not limited to the requirements of a specific commercially available PwrSoC technology.

Le véhicule aérien a connu de nombreuses révolutions durant les dernières décennies afin d’être plus économe en énergie et plus respectueux de l’environnement. Dans cet objectif, l’électricité est apparue comme le vecteur énergétique le plus adapté associé aux sources conventionnelles d’énergie. C’est dans ce contexte que nos recherches se sont portées sur ce mode de transport qui va voir des bouleversements structurels importants et de plus en plus d’équipements électriques installés à bord. Ce travail de recherche s’intéresse à une brique de conversion DC/DC nécessaire au transfert d’énergie entre les bus HVDC et LVDC présents sur les avions actuels, pour cela nous avons étudié la structure et le contrôle de la topologie Dual Active Bridge qui apparaît comme le meilleur candidat pour atteindre les objectifs techniques, de rendement et compacité. Un dimensionnement ainsi que des résultats expérimentaux sont présentés pour valider nos choix avec un démonstrateur de 3,75kW. Des pistes de réflexions sont enfin proposées pour poursuivre et étendre certaine assertions vers une structure tri-ports pour l’interfaçage de multiples réseaux et moyen de stockage. L’originalité de ses travaux réside dans la volonté de concevoir un produit industrialisable dans le domaine de l’aéronautique en favorisant plusieurs ruptures technologiques jusqu’alors rédhibitoire chez les avionneurs. / Avionics is intended to become more and more efficient in terms of energy saving thanks to increased efficiency of embedded system. Today, electricity is presented as the best energy vector compared to hydraulic or pneumatic. This is why current researches aim to focus on power electronic converters in order to meet the future electrical power demand in aircraft networks. This research project presents a DC/DC dual active bridge converter which is expected as the best candidate to meet the complex requirements of an aircraft environment, especially the high voltage dynamics. This persuaded us to study the structure and modulations which are explained and brought face to face with a 3,75kW demonstrator in order to validate the theoretical assumptions. Some food for thought is proposed to extend this work toward a three-port converter to interface multiple network as well as storage systems. The originality of this work is to build a new kind of active conversion system promoting break through technologies to prove it suits to aircraft specifications.

No description available.

For this project the main goal was to design, simulate, build and test a DC motor driver. To accomplish this four specific parts had to be design. First a DCDC converter that converts the input signal from an external power supply in a controllable DC output. The second part was a DCDC converter that converts the DC input in a voltage useful for the function generator, the third part is the function generator that provides a signal to the H-Bridge, and the final part is the H-Bridge itself. The goal is to compare the measurement with the simulations to the expectations. What we are interested in is the influence of EMF when the RPM of the motor is zero or close to zero.

Ce mémoire traite des différents aspects liés à la conception et à la réalisation intégrée de l'ensemble d'un micro-convertisseur isolé. À partir d'une étude théorique se basant sur des modèles simplifiés, un pré-dimensionnement des éléments actifs et passifs a été mené pour cibler nos besoins. Une première phase de nos travaux a consisté en la conception des parties actives. Ces structures actives sont intégrées en technologie CMOS 0,35μm et sont constituées du circuit de puissance, à savoir un onduleur monophasé, d'un circuit de commande rapprochée optimisée, ainsi que d'un circuit de commande semiéloignée permettant la gestion d'une commande entrelacée dans le cadre d'un projet de recherche sur les réseaux de micro-convertisseurs. La seconde phase de ces travaux a consisté en la conception et la réalisation des composants passifs magnétiques que sont le transformateur HF et l'inductance de sortie. L'étude de ces composants s'est portée sur des structures planar, sur la base d'une technologie Kapton cuivré ou silicium avec circuit magnétique reporté. Le dernier aspect présenté dans ce mémoire concerne, d'une part, les techniques de réalisation utilisées pour ces composants passifs et, d'autre part, l'hybridation de l'ensemble du micro-convertisseur. Cette étude permet ainsi d'aborder les difficultés liées à la réalisation de tels dispositifs.

No description available.

The University of Waterloo Alternative Fuels Team’s participation in EcoCAR: The Next Challenge provided an unparalleled opportunity to execute advanced vehicle technology research with hands on learning and industry leading mentoring from practicing engineers in the automotive industry. This thesis investigates the optimization of the hybrid operating strategy on board the EcoCAR development vehicle. This investigation provides the framework to investigate the pros and cons of different hybrid control strategies, develop the model based design process for controls development in a student team environment and take the learning of this research and apply them to a mule development vehicle. A primary controls development model was created to simulate software controls before releasing to the vehicle level and served as a tool to evaluate and compare control strategies. The optimization routine was not directly compatible with this model and so a compromise was made to develop a simplified vehicle model in the MATLAB environment that would be useful for observing trends but realizing that the accuracy of the results may not be totally consistent with the real world vehicle. These optimization results were then used to create a new control strategy that was simulated in the original vehicle development model. This new control strategy exhibited a 15% gain in fuel economy over the best case from the literature during an Urban Dynamometer Driving Schedule (UDDS) drive cycle. Recommendations for future work include adding charge depletion operation to the simulation test cases and improving the accuracy of the optimization model by removing the simplifications that contributed to faster simulation time. This research has also illustrated the wide variability of drive cycles from the mildly aggressive UDDS cycle having 5 kilowatts average propulsion power to the very aggressive US06 cycle having 19 kilowatts average propulsion power and their impact on the efficiency of a particular control strategy. Understanding how to adapt or tune software for particular drive cycle or driver behaviour may lead to an interesting area of research.