Master of Arts / Department of Economics / Yang M. Chang / China’s absorbing foreign direct investment (FDI) has contributed importantly to its economy growth. Based on the findings of some previous studies in the literature, this report presents a general review of FDI in China, which includes characteristic, history and regional distribution. In the report, I discuss various economic determinants of FDI (such as market size, labor cost, infrastructure, and government policies) and investigate the impact of FDI on China's economic growth. Furthermore, I discuss challenges, new trends and the future opportunities facing China.

Published Article / South Africa is constantly loosing contracts for the manufacturing of innovative projects to the East, due to its non-competitive mould-making industry. The paper will report on progress made in a specific focus area in mould-making, namely Hybrid Moulds for injection moulding. Hybrid Moulds refers to a hybrid between Additive Fabrication and conventional methods through the use of amongst others, Direct Metal Laser Sintering techniques, combined with conventional CNC machining (High Speed) techniques. Although the emphasis is on an economically viable process for limited production runs, once the moulds have been developed, it normally is pushed to its limits to realize production quantities. One of the competitive edges is the cutting of lead-times, which obviously impacts on production costs. Another aspect is the ability to manufacture short runs of injection moulded parts in the required engineering material Realising that Laser Sintering of metals is an expensive manufacturing process, a concurrent manufacturing process was developed. Intricate mould details, which normally are time-consuming to manufacture through EDM processes, were grown as inserts, while the less-complex parts of the mould is machined in Aluminium through 3 and 5 Axis High Speed CNC Machining. Using a 3-axis CNC wire cutter, pockets will be created where the more complex Laser Sintered Metal inserts will be fitted. One of the competitive edges is the cutting of lead-times, which obviously impacts on production costs. Another aspect is the ability to manufacture short runs of injection moulded parts in the required engineering material.

Published Article / A stream flow at an outlet of a catchment can be entirely a base flow or direct flow or a combination of both. The base flow component of a stream is mainly contributed from the ground water storage which often is an open aquifer whereas the direct flow component is mainly the result of a direct response of a rainfall event. The Upper Modder river basin catchment is considered to be the origin of the Modder River which supplies water to Rustfontein Dam, situated at the outlet of the C52A with an area of 928 km2. Nine years of daily stream flow showed a continuous none zero discharge throughout the year. During the rainy season the discharge of the stream increases significantly. Thus, it is necessary to separate the direct and base flow of the stream in order to understand the important component that is more likely to be affected by different land use changes in a catchment. The Modder river daily mean flow at the inlet of Rustfontein dam (in Central South Africa) was analysed using four base flow separation methods, the Nathan & McMahon (N&M), the Chapman, Smakhtin & Watkins (S&W) method and the frequency duration analysis. All the methods gave higher percentage of the low flow component, except for the S&W method which underestimated it. The N&M filtering equation gave base flow components greater than 66% in 1999 and increased to 84% in 2007 while the Chapman equation revealed 65% and 74% in 1999 and 2007, respectively. Similarly, the frequency duration analysis gave 62% in 1999 and increased to 79% in 2007. The frequency duration analysis gave up to 13% lower percentage than the N&M (1990) filtering equation. The nine year base flow averages are 69%, 69% and 75% for frequency duration analysis, Chapman (1999) and N&M (1990) filtering equations, respectively. The result revealed that the Modder River is largely supplied by the ground water discharge. The result seemed to concur with the fact that for a semi-arid catchment such as the Modder river basin, with an average annual runoff coefficient of approximately 6%, the contribution of annual rainfall to direct runoff is very minimal.

International Telemetering Conference Proceedings / October 18-21, 2004 / Town & Country Resort, San Diego, California / Hardware architecture and design details of a multi-channel GPS signal simulator with highly flexibility is presented, while the dynamic performance objectives and the requirements on the hardware architecture are discussed. The IF part of the simulator is implemented almost entirely in the digital domain by use of a field programmable gate array (FPGA), which mainly include C/A code generators, carrier generators, spreaders, and BPSK modulators. The results of testing the proposed simulator hardware architecture at IF with the help of a GPS receiver are presented.

International Telemetering Conference Proceedings / October 26-29, 1998 / Town & Country Resort Hotel and Convention Center, San Diego, California / A Phase Modulator combining digital techniques with non-traditional analog circuitry can minimize the shortcomings of a traditional (purely analog) Phase Modulator. These shortcomings are: nonlinear response from input modulating signal to output modulated signal; parameters (frequency and modulation index) that are difficult to set; and the need for complex filters. The design approach discussed in this paper uses a combination of Direct Digital Synthesis (DDS) and analog devices operating in their linear range to generate a Phase Modulated RF (140 MHz) signal. A Numerically Controlled Oscillator (NCO) digitally generates the first IF yielding a very accurate, repeatable and linear signal with easily adjustable parameters such as frequency and modulation index. Linear multipliers (instead of saturated diode mixers or step recovery diodes) are used for up-conversion to RF. Using linear multipliers eases the filtering requirements due to the significantly reduced harmonics and IM (Inter-Modulation) terms. The resulting RF signal is easily translated to higher frequency bands such as L, S, C, X or K.

Over the 1980’s, the introduction of Additive Manufacturing (AM) technologies has provided alternative methods for the fabrication of complex three-dimensional (3D) synthetic bone tissue implant scaffolds. However, implants are still unable to provide post surgery feedback. Implants often loosen due to mismatched mechanical properties of implant material and host bone. The aim of this PhD research is to fabricate an integrated strain gauge that is able to monitor implant strain for diagnosis of the bone healing process. The research work presents a method of fabricating electrical resistance strain gauge sensors using rapid and mask-less process by experimental development (design of experiment) using the nScrypt 3Dn-300 micro dispensing direct write (MDDW) system. Silver and carbon electrical resistance strain gauges were fabricated and characterised. Carbon resistive strain gauges with gauge factor values greater than 16 were measured using a proven cantilever bending arrangement. This represented a seven to eight fold increase in sensitivity over commercial gauges that would be glued to the implant materials. The strain sensor fabrication process was specifically developed for directly fabricating resistive strain sensor structures on synthetic bone implant surface (ceramic and titanium) without the use of glue and to provide feedback for medical diagnosis. The reported novel approach employed a biocompatible parylene C as a dielectric layer between the electric conductive titanium and the strain gauge. Work also showed that parylene C could be used as an encapsulation material over strain gauges fabricated on ceramic without modifying the performance of the strain gauge. It was found that the strain gauges fabricated on titanium had a gauge factor of 10.0±0.7 with a near linear response to a maximum of 200 micro strain applied. In addition, the encapsulated ceramic strain gauge produced a gauge factor of 9.8±0.6. Both reported strain gauges had a much greater sensitivity than that of standard commercially available resistive strain gauges.

International Telemetering Conference Proceedings / October 17-20, 1988 / Riviera Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada / Mission safety and cost-efficiency concerns have resulted in a resurgence of interest in real-time strip chart recorders. But conventional recorder technologies require inordinate maintenance and daily calibration. Attempts at strip chart emulation involving costly dedicated microcomputers and CRT's have failed, because the chart itself is not real-time, a basic requirement. The concept of an inexpensive, direct digital link to a telemetry processing computer (VAX, e.g.) is discussed. A thorough examination of real-time monitoring of critical, non-repeatable data is presented. Objectives: An automated, turn-key telemetry data system. Reduce the routine maintenance required by conventional recording systems; eliminate the need for digital-to-analog converters (DAC's); and improve the efficiency of range personnel and the integrity of recorded data.

Submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Engineering Degree, Department of Electronic Engineering, Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa, 2016. / The aim of this research project is to design a three phase four quadrant variable speed drive (VSD) for a permanent magnet brushless direct current motor (PMBLDC) that can be applied to an electric bicycle (e-bike). The design is confined to PMBLDC motors with a maximum power rating of 1.5kW. The speed controller operates in current mode at a maximum voltage and current rating of 50V and 30A, respectively. The VSD has the ability to smoothly control the current delivered to the DC motor and therefore controls its torque. The motor’s current is limited in all four quadrants of operation, and its speed is limited in the forward and reverse directions. The performance of the proposed DC motor VSD system is tested on an electric- bicycle. The PMBLDC motor has three hall sensors embedded into the stator to determine rotor position. A phase switcher module interprets the position signals and produces a switching pattern. This effectively transforms the BLDC motor into a direct current (DC) brushed motor. The unipolar switching scheme used ensures that current flows out of the battery only for motoring operation and into the battery during regenerative braking. The current and torque are directly proportional in a BLDC motor. Torque control is achieved in the BLDC motor using a single channel current controller. The phase switcher current is monitored and used to control the duty cycle of the synchronous converter switches. The proposed e-bike speed control system provides efficient control in all four quadrants of operation and it is a suitable alternative for a low cost transportation mode. / M

No description available.

International Telemetering Conference Proceedings / October 23-26, 2000 / Town & Country Hotel and Conference Center, San Diego, California / The purpose of this paper is to present a chronology from a Small Business Innovation Research Program (SBIR) showing the impact of a wireless network architecture on future airborne data acquisition systems. The major advantages and challenges associated with the use of wireless network data acquisition versus wired time division multiplexing systems are rooted in data latency, bandwidth efficient data transmission while maintaining a low bit error rate and not interfering with existing avionics. Many of the issues raised are subtle and complex. It is not the intent of this paper to give these issues the thorough academic and technical analysis they deserve. It is the hope of the authors that this paper will generate awareness and discussion on these issues.