Elektrische Maschinen werden heutzutage auf mannigfaltigen Gebieten eingesetzt. Sie verrichten ihre Aufgaben in leistungsstarken Industrieantrieben für Erzmühlen oder Stahlwalzen, als Synchrongeneratoren zur Elektroenergieerzeugung, in Fertigungsanlagen wie Backstraßen oder Fließbänder oder auch im Verkehr, in Zügen oder verstärkt nun auch in Automobilen. Sie erleichtern uns aber auch den Alltag an Stellen, wo sie oft gar nicht wahrgenommen werden. Sie ermöglichen nützliche Helferlein im Auto mithilfe von Servomotoren – Scheibenwischer, Fensterheber oder Seitenspiegelverstellung sind nur ausgewählte Beispiele. Aber auch Fensterrollläden, Klimaanlagen oder Fahrstühle benötigen elektrische Antriebe. Darüber hinaus verstecken sich sie sich als Klein- und Kleinstmaschinen in medizinischen Geräten wie dem Zahnarztbohrer oder in Pflegeprodukten des täglichen Bedarfs von der Haarschneidemaschine, über den Nasenhaartrimmer und Föhn bis hin zur elektrischen Zahnbürste. Da Elektromotoren also in immer mehr Geräten stecken, müssen auch immer größere Stückzahlen gefertigt werden, die am besten nichts kosten. Es besteht somit die große Herausforderung all die Bedürfnisse ressourcenschonend und kostengünstig zu bedienen. Aus diesem Gedanken heraus entstand am Lehrstuhl die Idee, Wicklungen elektrischer Kleinmaschinen zu drucken. Dies geschieht mithilfe der Siebdrucktechnik, wie es schon heute bei RFID-Chips die Regel ist. Es handelt sich also um ein erprobtes Verfahren, das eine günstige Fertigung großer Stückzahlen erlaubt. Erste Erfahrungen wurden bereits gesammelt, hier sei auf [10], [11] und [12] verwiesen. Im Rahmen dieser Diplomarbeit sollen diese Grundlagen nun ausgebaut, gefestigt, sowie erweitert werden. Um einen Eindruck und Überblick zu gewinnen, wird im Folgenden eine Reihe elektrischer Kleinmaschinen entworfen. Hierbei sollen Probleme ausfindig gemacht, Lösungen eruiert und Abweichungen zum konventionellen Entwurf aufgezeigt werden. Im Rahmen dessen werden Berechnungsvorschriften für siebgedruckte Wicklungen abgeleitet und diese schließlich zur Berechnung einer Maschinenreihe mit verschiedenen Außendurchmessern und Längen genutzt. Am Ende der Arbeit sollen ausgewählte Motoren aus der berechneten Reihe stehen, an denen Messungen stattfinden um die verwendeten Algorithmen zu verifizieren.

Switched mode power supplies (SMPS) have found wide spread acceptance in all power processing applications. The design demand is moving towards higher power densities. For reduction in size and weight, it is imperative to process the power at a higher switching frequency. High switching frequency requires soft switching techniques to reduce the switching losses. Several families of soft switching converters have emerged in the past two decades. Analysis and modelling methods have been proposed in relation with these topologies. Active clamp converters are the recently introduced soft switching topologies. Steady state analysis and model of these converters have been reported in literature. This thesis presents a unified equivalent circuit oriented model for the family of active clamp converters. Analytical expressions for DC conversion ratio in terms of pole current and throw voltage are derived for all the DC-DC converters with active clamp. The special feature is that, the conversion ratio exhibits a load dependent drop (IRd), where I is the pole current and Rd is the damping resistance. The damping resistance Rd is a mathematical artifact to represent the voltage loss on account of delay in the turn-on of the active switch. There is no energy loss associated with this load dependent drop. This is conveniently expressed as an appropriate lossless resistance in the equivalent circuit model. The proposed equivalent circuit models are valid for both steady-state and dynamic performance. A spread sheet based design is presented for the basic DC-DC converters with active clamp. A prototype design following the spreadsheet is made. The performance of the same is validated and verified by simulation and measurements. Steady state and dynamic results are presented. The stability criterion for the active clamp converters under current programming is investigated. The same is verified through simulation and validated on a current programmed active clamp converter prototype. The active clamp converters suffer from a few disadvantages: Higher VA ratings of switches, load dependent ZVS performance and increased component count. Several soft switching topologies have been reported in literature. Efficiency improvement and increase in switching frequency are obtained to different degrees. This thesis proposes a new family of soft switching converters. This family of converters switch at constant frequency and maintains the advantages of traditional PWM converters. The proposed topology employs an auxiliary circuit to achieve soft switching. The auxiliary circuit consists of a dependent voltage source, an auxiliary switch, a series diode and a set of resonant elements (Inductor and capacitor). The switching transitions of both the active switch and the auxiliary switch are lossless. The novelty in the proposed circuit is the method of generating the dependent source required to enable zero current switching of the auxiliary switch. The dependent source is realized by a coupled winding in the energy storage inductor or tapped from the energy transfer transformer of non-isolated and isolated converters respectively. The proposed topology is applicable to most of the isolated and non-isolated DC-DC converters. The circuit equations governing the sub-intervals of the converter are expressed in terms of pole current and throw voltage. With such a definition, performance results and the design equations are identical for all types of DC-DC converters. Equivalent circuit models are obtained for the whole family of DC-DC converters. The proposed model is valid for steady state and dynamic performance. Analytical expressions of DC conversion ratio for all topologies, in terms of pole current and throw voltage are derived. The special feature is that, the conversion ratio exhibits a load dependent drop (IRd), where I is the pole current and Rd is the damping resistance. The damping resistance Rd is a mathematical artifact to represent the voltage loss on account of delay in the turn-on of the active switch. There is no energy loss associated with this load dependent drop. This is conveniently expressed as an appropriate lossless resistance in the equivalent circuit model. Design guidelines are established for the whole family of proposed converters; the same are validated through prototype converters.

Η επεξεργασία των νικελιούχων λατεριτικών μεταλλευμάτων της χώρας μας για την παραγωγή σιδηρονικέλιου στη Λάρυμνα συνοδεύεται με την εκπομπή 200000t/y λεπτομερούς σκόνης που συλλέγεται στα συστήματα αντιρρύπανσης των περιστροφικών κάμινων (Π/Κ), μέσης περιεκτικότητας 1.2-1.5% σε Ni και 4-5% σε C. Η διατριβή αυτή συνέβαλε στην ανάπτυξη μεθόδου ανακύκλωσης της σκόνης αυτής με απευθείας αναγωγική της τήξη σε ηλεκτρική κάμινο συννεχούς ρεύματος (DC-HEP) με εμφυσησή της μέσω του κεντρικού διάτρητου γραφιτικού ηλκετρόδιου. Την προκαταρκτική θεωρητική διερεύνηση και τις εργαστηριακές προδοκιμές ακολούθησαν βιομηχανικές δοκιμές στην κάμινο 125t DC-HEP στη χαλυβουργία Georgsmarienhutte της Γερμανίας, όπου έλαβε χώρα τήξη 70t σκόνης και 2.5t φιλομερούς μεταλλεύματος.Η ανάκτηση Ni ήταν πολύ υψηλή 93-99%. Παρήχθησαν χάλυβες χαμηλής κραμάτωσης σε σε Ni καθώς και ποικίλοι τύποι σκωρίας προς διερεύνηση της χρήσης τους στην παραγωγή σύνθετων τσιμέντων Portland και σκωριωτσιμέντων. Πραγματοποιήθηκε μεταλλουργική αξιολόγηση των δοκιμών και αναπτύχθηκε μοντέλο προσομοίωσης της αναγωγικής τήξης της σκόνης. / The tratment of the laterite nickel ferrous ores in Hellas for the production of ferronickel at Larymna is associated with the emission of 200000t/y of fine dust collected in the gas cleaning systems of the rotary kilns (R/Ks), with 1.2-1.5% and 4-5% . Average Ni and C contents respectively . This thesis contributed to the development of a method for the recycling of this dust by means of its direct reduction smelting in a DC-HEP furnace (Direct Current-Hollow Electrode Powder) by its injection through the central hollow graphite electrode. The preliminary theoretical study and the laboratory trials were followed by industrial heat campaigns in the 12st DC-HEP furnace at georgsmarienhutte steelwork in Germany, where around 70t of dust and 2.5t of ore fines were smelted. The Ni-recovery was very high 93-99.9%. Low Nickel alloyed steel grades were produced and various slag types for the investigation of their utilization for the production of composite-portland cements and slag cements. The metallurgical evaluation of the trials was performed and model for the dust reduction smelting process was developed.

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Le traitement visuel répété d’un visage inconnu entraîne une suppression de l’activité neuronale dans les régions préférentielles aux visages du cortex occipito-temporal. Cette «suppression neuronale» (SN) est un mécanisme primitif hautement impliqué dans l’apprentissage de visages, pouvant être détecté par une réduction de l’amplitude de la composante N170, un potentiel relié à l’événement (PRE), au-dessus du cortex occipito-temporal. Le cortex préfrontal dorsolatéral (CPDL) influence le traitement et l’encodage visuel, mais sa contribution à la SN de la N170 demeure inconnue. Nous avons utilisé la stimulation électrique transcrânienne à courant direct (SETCD) pour moduler l’excitabilité corticale du CPDL de 14 adultes sains lors de l’apprentissage de visages inconnus. Trois conditions de stimulation étaient utilisées: inhibition à droite, excitation à droite et placebo. Pendant l’apprentissage, l’EEG était enregistré afin d’évaluer la SN de la P100, la N170 et la P300. Trois jours suivant l’apprentissage, une tâche de reconnaissance était administrée où les performances en pourcentage de bonnes réponses et temps de réaction (TR) étaient enregistrées. Les résultats indiquent que la condition d’excitation à droite a facilité la SN de la N170 et a augmentée l’amplitude de la P300, entraînant une reconnaissance des visages plus rapide à long-terme. À l’inverse, la condition d’inhibition à droite a causé une augmentation de l’amplitude de la N170 et des TR plus lents, sans affecter la P300. Ces résultats sont les premiers à démontrer que la modulation d’excitabilité du CPDL puisse influencer l’encodage visuel de visages inconnus, soulignant l’importance du CPDL dans les mécanismes d’apprentissage de base. / Repeated visual processing of an unfamiliar face suppresses neural activity in face-specific areas of the occipito-temporal cortex. This "repetition suppression" (RS) is a primitive mechanism involved in learning of unfamiliar faces, which can be detected through amplitude reduction of the N170 event-related potential (ERP). The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) exerts top-down influence on early visual processing. However, its contribution to N170 RS and learning of unfamiliar faces remains unclear. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) transiently increases or decreases cortical excitability, as a function of polarity. We hypothesized that DLPFC excitability modulation by tDCS would cause polarity-dependent modulations of N170 RS during encoding of unfamiliar faces. tDCS-induced N170 RS enhancement would improve long-term recognition reaction time (RT) and/or accuracy rates, whereas N170 RS impairment would compromise recognition ability. Participants underwent three tDCS conditions in random order at ~72 hour intervals: right anodal/left cathodal, right cathodal/left anodal and sham. Immediately following tDCS conditions, an EEG was recorded during encoding of unfamiliar faces for assessment of P100 and N170 visual ERPs. P300 was analyzed to detect prefrontal function modulation. Recognition tasks were administered ~72 hours following encoding. Results indicate the right anodal/left cathodal condition facilitated N170 RS and induced larger P300 amplitudes, leading to faster recognition RT. Conversely, the right cathodal/left anodal condition caused increases in N170 amplitudes and RT, but did not affect P300. These data are the first to demonstrate that DLPFC excitability modulation can influence early visual encoding of unfamiliar faces, highlighting the importance of DLPFC in basic learning mechanisms.

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The aim of this study is to ascertain what misconceptions N2 students have about DC resistive circuits and how screencasts could effect on the rectification of these misconceptions. This study was conducted at the Kathu Campus of the Northern Cape Rural Further Education and Training College in the town Kathu in the arid Northern Cape. The empirical part of this study was conducted during the first six months of 2013. A design-based research (DBR) method consisting of four phases was used. DBR function is to design and develop interventions such as a procedure, new teachinglearning strategies, and in the case of this study a technology-enhanced learning (TEL) tool (screencast) with the purpose of solving a versatile didactic problem and to acquire information about the interventions of the TEL tool (screencast) on the learning of a student. In the first and second phase of DBR quantitative data for this research were gathered with the Determining and Interpreting Resistive Electric circuits Concepts Test (DIRECT) in order to determine the four most common misconceptions. The DIRECT test was conducted in the first trimester to find the misconceptions; the test was conducted in the second trimester also to confirm the misconceptions. Further quantitative data were collected from a demographic questionnaire. The qualitative data were collected by individual interviews in the fourth phase of the research project. Phase three of this study was the development of screencasts in the four most prominent misconceptions in DC resistive circuits of the students. The respondents of this study were non-randomly chosen and comprised of two groups, one in the first trimester of the year and one in the second trimester of the year, which enrolled for the N2 Electrical or Millwright courses. The respondents were predominant male and representing the three main cultural groups in the Northern Cape namely: Black, Coloured and White. The four misconceptions on DC resistive circuits that were identified were: (i) understanding of concepts, (ii) understanding of short circuit, (iii) battery as a constant current source, and (iv) rule application error. Screencasts clarifying the four misconceptions were developed and distributed to the respondents. On the foundation of the results of this research, it can be concluded that the students have several misconceptions around direct current resistive direct current circuits and that the use of TEL like screencasts can be used to solve some of these misconceptions. Screencasts could supplement education when they were incorporated into the tutoring and learning for supporting student understanding. The results of this research could lead to the further development and refinement of screencasts on DC resistive circuits and also useable guidelines in creating innovative screencasts on DC resistive circuits. / MEd (Curriculum Development), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

An AC system’s voltage unbalance by a fundamental frequency negative sequence system is usually the main cause for the emission of non-characteristic harmonics by current source converters as used in conventional HVDC systems. This emission takes place on both sides of each 12-pulse converter. On the DC side mainly a 2nd harmonic voltage appears driving a 2nd harmonic current. The magnitude of this harmonic current can exceed the magnitudes of the characteristic harmonics even if no low order resonance exists. Further non-characteristic harmonics generated by the converter under such unbalanced supply voltage conditions have frequencies with a frequency distance to the characteristic harmonics of 2 times the fundamental frequency. The main technical drawbacks are the unintended coupling between both AC systems and the risk of thyristor over-stresses by DC current discontinuities at low power transfer levels. On both AC sides the largest 2 non-characteristic current harmonics generated by a 12-pulse HVDC converter under unbalanced supply voltage conditions are a negative sequence system of the fundamental harmonic and a positive sequence system of the 3rd harmonic. Also on the AC sides further harmonics are emitted by the converter with a order number distance of 2 to the orders of the characteristic harmonics. However, in practical AC system operation special attention has to be paid to the 3rd harmonic distortion level, in particular when low order resonance appears between the system impedance and the impedance of the converter station AC filters. In order to avoid the above mentioned problems, large smoothing reactors and sometimes large blocking filters are installed on the DC side and the voltage distortion on the AC sides is reduced by AC filters. However, these filters require an expensive high component rating if they are tuned to the 2nd or 3rd harmonic respectively. The work shows that a modification of the valve firing can reduce the levels of the 2nd and 3rd harmonic without investment into additional primary equipment. Furthermore, this offers the chance to reduce the minimum power transfer level since also the risk of an intermittent DC current can be reduced. A corresponding algorithm and a control strategy are proposed. However, the calculation of an appropriate firing pattern requires a detailed modelling of the processes within the converters, especially the formation of the harmonics and the harmonic transfer between AC and DC sides. The work proposes a component vector model for the calculation of the harmonics. This model assumes that each harmonic consists of a first component representing the ideal conversion process, a 2nd component representing the impact of different commutation angles and in the case of the modified firing a 3rd component considering the impact of the intended non-equidistant firing. The work shows, that the harmonic component vectors resulting from voltage unbalance and from firing modulation can be treated separately and superimposed linearly. The calculation of the harmonic component vectors is performed applying the method of switching functions. For the consideration of the commutation and firing angle differences the modelling of switching functions based on differential impulses is proposed. However, especially an accurate representation of the above mentioned 2nd component vector requires a correct calculation of the commutation angles and their valve-specific differences. The investigations of this work have revealed that the conventional method of calculating the commutation angles – assuming an ideal smoothed DC current - may not produce results of sufficient accuracy. This is especially true in the case of a high ripple of the DC current, e.g. smoothed with a small smoothing reactor. A small smoothing reactor is typical for HVDC back-to-back applications. Therefore a new analytical method for the calculation of the commutation angles has been developed which in particular considers the typical pulse form of the DC current and additionally the impacts of the voltage unbalance and of the proposed modification of the firing on the ripple shape of the DC current. Moreover, as this analytical method requires the instantaneous values of the DC current at the instants of valve firing, a further analytical method for the calculation of these discrete current values has been developed. The equations are valid under the same conditions as the new ones for calculation of the commutation angles, i.e. resistive-inductive AC system fundamental frequency impedances, any degree of DC current smoothing between ideal smoothing and a ripple at the limit for current discontinuities. Symmetrical conditions, supply voltage unbalances and non-equidistant firing as proposed are applied. It is shown that, using this method, also the discrete values of the DC current at the end of the commutation intervals can be determined. In practice one of these discrete current values indicates the minimum value during one period of the fundamental frequency. This offers the chance for a more exact analytical determination of the limit for the appearance of DC current discontinuities. For typical parameters of a back-to-back installation the new methods and the new analytical equations have been compared with simulation results showing excellent correlation for typical voltage unbalances of not more than 1...2% and firing angle differences of not more than 2.5°. This verification is performed for the harmonics, the commutation angles and the discrete values of the DC current at the firing instants as well.