As CPU clock frequencies plateau and the doubling of CPU cores per processor exacerbate the memory wall, hybrid core computing, utilizing CPUs augmented with FPGAs and/or GPUs holds the promise of addressing high-performance computing demands, particularly with respect to performance, power and productivity. While traditional approaches to benchmark high-performance computers such as SPEC, took an architecture-based approach, they do not completely express the parallelism that exists in FPGA and GPU accelerators. This thesis follows an application-centric approach, by comparing the sustained performance of two key computational idioms, with respect to performance, power and productivity. Specifically, a complex, single precision, floating-point, 1D, Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) and a Molecular Dynamics modeling application, are implemented on state-of-the-art FPGA and GPU accelerators. As results show, FPGA floating-point FFT performance is highly sensitive to a mix of dedicated FPGA resources; DSP48E slices, block RAMs, and FPGA I/O banks in particular. Estimated results show that for the floating-point FFT benchmark on FPGAs, these resources are the performance limiting factor. Fixed-point FFTs are important in a lot of high performance embedded applications. For an integer-point FFT, FPGAs exploit a flexible data path width to trade-off circuit cost and speed of computation, improving performance and resource utilization. GPUs cannot fully take advantage of this, having a fixed data-width architecture. For the molecular dynamics application, FPGAs benefit from the flexibility in creating a custom, tightly-pipelined datapath, and a highly optimized memory subsystem of the accelerator. This can provide a 250-fold improvement over an optimized CPU implementation and 2-fold improvement over an optimized GPU implementation, along with massive power savings. Finally, to extract the maximum performance out of the FPGA, each implementation requires a balance between the formulation of the algorithm on the platform, the optimum use of available external memory bandwidth, and the availability of computational resources; at the expense of a greater programming effort. / Master of Science

Floating treatment wetlands (FTWs) are an innovative best management practice that can enhance the performance of traditional retention ponds by increasing removal of the nutrients nitrogen (N) and phosphorous (P). FTWs consist of floating rafts on which wetland plants are planted, allowing the roots to be submerged below the water surface while the shoots remain above. A growing body of research has documented FTW performance with regard to urban runoff treatment, however evaluation of FTW effectiveness for treatment of agricultural runoff has received less attention. Due to high fertilization and irrigation rates, commercial nursery runoff contains much higher concentrations of N and P than runoff from urban areas. We conducted this study over two growing seasons (2015 and 2016) to assess the effectiveness of FTWs for use in commercial nursery retention ponds. In the first study we used two different nutrient concentrations, one to simulate nursery runoff (17.1 mg∙L-1 TN and 2.61 mg∙L-1 TP) and one to simulate concentrations that fall between urban and nursery runoff (5.22 mg∙L-1 TN and 0.52 mg∙L-1 TP). Four treatments were used: 1) Pontederia cordata planted in cups supported by a Beemat, 2) Juncus effusus planted in cups supported by a Beemat, 3) a Beemat with no plants, and 4) no treatment (open-water). Performance was evaluated based on a 7-day hydraulic retention time (HRT). Pontederia cordata removed between 90.3% and 92.4% of total phosphorus (TP) and 84.3% and 88.9% total nitrogen (TN), depending on initial loads. These reductions were significantly more than other treatments at both high and low nutrient loading rates. Juncus effusus performed better than the control treatments for TP removal at low nutrient concentrations, but did not perform any better than the control at higher nutrient loads. In the second study, conducted in 2016, we evaluated different plant species over two 8-week trials using simulated nursery runoff. We used five monoculture FTWs with the following species: Agrostis alba, Canna ×generalis, Carex stricta, Iris ensata, and Panicum virgatum. Additionally, two treatments were created from mixed species plantings and the final treatment consisted of an open water control mesocosm. Nutrient removal performance was evaluated over a 7-day HRT. P removal (phosphate-P) by FTW treatments ranged from 26.1% to 64.7% for trial 1 and 26.8% to 63.2% for trial 2. Trial 1 N removal (sum of ammonium-N, nitrate-N, and nitrite-N) efficiencies ranged from 38.9% to 82.4%, and trial 2 ranged from 12.9% to 59.6%. Panicum virgatum removed significantly more N and P than the control and any other FTW treatment in the second study. Both studies indicated, depending upon plant species, that FTWs can effectively remove nitrogen and phosphorous from urban and commercial nursery retention ponds. / Master of Science

A Biedermeier Cabin was designed with attention to detail and stylistic simplicity in mind. This cabin, located along the banks of the Shenandoah River, is mainly used during the Summer months. The cabinâ s folding doors open up completely for the Summer months to let the breezes flow through. During the Winter months, when the cabin is not in use, all the windows and doors are folded or slid closed to protect the cabin from harsh weather. This seasonal transformation was a main focus in designing the cabin. The appearance of floating was also incorporated within the design. The intent was for the structure to protrude out of the earth and have a â floatingâ deck that cantilevers above the treetops overlooking the river. The roof folds around the structure, providing a feeling of privacy and intimacy. The roofâ s slope opens up toward the river, the intended primary vista. / Master of Architecture

Yes / We present hot melt extrusion (HME) for the design of floating multiparticulates. Metoprolol succinate was selected as the model drug. Our foremost objective was to optimize the components Eudragit® RS PO, polyethylene oxide (PEO) and hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) to balance both buoyancy and controlled release. Gas generated by sodium bicarbonate in acidic medium was trapped in the polymer matrix to enable floating. Eudragit® RS PO and PEO with sodium bicarbonate resulted in multiparticulates which exhibited rapid flotation within 3 minutes but inadequate total floating time (TFT) of 3 hours. Addition of HPMC to the matrix did not affect floating lag time (FLT), moreover TFT increased to more than 12 hours with controlled release of metoprolol succinate. Floating multiparticulates exhibited t50% of 5.24 hours and t90% of 10.12 hours. XRD and DSC analysis revealed crystalline state of drug while FTIR suggested nonexistence of chemical interaction between the drug and the other excipients. The assay, FLT, TFT and the drug release of the multiparticulates were unchanged when stored at 40 °C/75%RH for 3 months confirming stability. We present floating multiparticulates by HME which could be extrapolated to a range of other drugs. Our approach hence presents platform technology for floating multiparticulates.

This thesis presents an innovative approach to enhance the stability of floating offshore wind turbine (FOWT) platform through mooring actuation. First, an OC3- Hywind spar-buoy floating platform is modeled utilizing the Control-oriented, Reconfigurable, and Acausal Floating Turbine Simulator (CRAFTS) with a specific focus on predicting hydrodynamic and mooring line loads while intentionally excluding consideration of aerodynamic forces. The accuracy of this model is validated against the industry standard OpenFAST simulator through various test cases. The central objective of this study revolves around achieving robust stabilization of the spar buoy platform, primarily focusing on X-Z symmetric planar motions, including surge, pitch, and heave degrees of freedom (DOFs). To accomplish this, two linearization techniques are employed: one transforms the inherently complex nonlinear model from CRAFTS into a linear Mass-Spring-Damper (MSD) system, particularly targeting surge and pitch motions, while the other method involves the conversion of the nonlinear model from CRAFTS into the Functional Mockup Interface (FMI) within MATLAB/Simulink for linearization. The analysis utilizing Bode plots derived from these lin- earized models yields crucial insights into the system's response to mooring actuation. Notably, it emphasizes the inherent challenge in pitch control, characterized by lower gain compared to surge at relevant frequencies, necessitating substantial mooring actuation or cable length modifications for effective pitch stabilization. Then, a Linear Quadratic Regulator (LQR) controller is designed to mitigate surge and pitch motions. Numerical simulations conducted across diverse scenarios reveal the inherent challenge in simultaneously mitigating surge and pitch motions using the original platform configuration. To address this challenge, a control co-design strategy is proposed, leading to the development of an optimized mooring line configuration that effectively stabilizes both motions with minimal adjustments. In summary, this thesis introduces a control-oriented modeling approach and an innovative control strategy to enhance the stability of the floating wind turbine platform through mooring actuation. The results emphasize the potential for broader application of this approach to various floating platforms for FOWTs and the extension of stabilization efforts to address all six DOFs in future research, where aerodynamic loads are also incorporated.

The nonlinear dynamic characteristics and stability of floating vehicles are investigated theoretically and experimentally. Mathematical models of such floating bodies are used to investigate their complicated motions in regular waves. In particular, we address the phenomenon of indirectly exciting the roll motion of a vessel due to nonlinear couplings of the heave, pitch, and roll modes. In the analytical approach the method of multiple scales is used to determine first-order approximations to the solutions, yielding a system of nonlinear first-order equations governing the modulation of the amplitudes and phases of the system. The fixed-point solutions of these equations are determined and their bifurcations are investigated. Hopf bifurcations are found. Numerical simulations are used to investigate the bifurcations of the ensuing limit cycles and how they produce chaos. Experiments are conducted with tanker and destroyer models. They demonstrate some of the nonlinear effects, such as the jump phenomenon, the subcritical instability, and the coexistence of multiple solutions. The experimental results are qualitatively in good agreement with the results predicted by the theory. Coupling of the pitch and roll motions of a vessel when their frequencies are in the ratio of two-to-one is modeled by a two-degree-of-freedom system. The damping in the pitch mode is modeled by a linear viscous damping, whereas that of the roll mode is modeled by the sum of a linear viscous part and a quadratic viscous part. The effect of the quadratic damping is investigated when either mode is externally excited through a primary resonance. Force-response and frequency-response curves are generated. Coexistence of multiple solutions is found. The jump phenomenon continues to exist, whereas the saturation phenomenon ceases in the presence of quadratic damping. Hopf bifurcations are found. They indicate conditions for the nonexistence of steady-state periodic responses. Instead, the response is an amplitude- and phase-modulated motion consisting of both modes. Floquet theory is used to determine the stability of limit-cycle solutions. They undergo a pitchfork bifurcation followed by a cascade of period-doubling bifurcations, leading to chaos and hence chaotically modulated motions. When the roll mode is excited, the quadratic damping causes the region between the two Hopf bifurcation frequencies to shrink. However, the quadratic damping which may be introduced by attaching antirolling devices does not eliminate complicated motions completely in this region. The dynamic stability and excessive motion of the roll mode of a vessel in following or head regular waves is investigated theoretically and experimentally. The motion is modeled by a three-degree-of-freedom system with quadratic and cubic nonlinearities. The heave and pitch modes are linearized and their harmonic solutions are coupled into the roll mode. The resulting nonlinear ordinary-differential equation with time-varying coefficients is used to determine the stability of the roll mode for the case of principal parametric resonance. Experiments with a tanker model were conducted to validate the theory. They demonstrate the jump phenomenon and subcritical instability. They also reveal that the large-amplitude roll response depends not only on the encounter frequency but also on the position of the model relative to the waves. / Ph. D.

Die Realisierung von Funktionalitäten des vernetzten Fahrens basiert auf intensivem Datenaustausch, der Car-to-X-Kommunikation (C2X). Unter anderem werden zwischen den Fahrzeugen über Cooperative Awareness Messages (CAM) die Fahrzeugpositionen mitgeteilt. Die von den Fahrzeugen ausgesendeten Daten können auch von stationären Road Side Units (RSU) empfangen und für lokale Lösungen zur Interaktion zwischen Fahrzeugen und Verkehrstechnik genutzt werden. Darüber hinaus bietet sich die Nutzung der Positionsdaten im Sinn von Floating Car Daten (FCD) für zentralisierte Analysen an. Anwendungsfelder sind hier insbesondere die Verkehrsinformation und die Verkehrsstatistik. Die Positionsdaten werden bei C2X wesentlich häufiger als bei herkömmlichen FCD-Ansätzen erfasst. Um die Ressourcen zur Datenübertragung und Datenaufbereitung bei Ansätzen mit zentraler Datenverarbeitung nur in einem erforderlichen Maß zu belasten, stellt sich die Frage nach einer geeigneten Abtastrate zur Filterung der aufkommenden C2X-Positionsdaten. Verkehrskenngrößen wesentlicher Datenauswertungen mit Nutzung von Positionsdaten werden dazu bestimmt und die Ausprägung der Kenngrößen über eine beispielhafte Messstrecke unter Variation der Abtastraten für die Filterung der C2X-Positionsdaten ermittelt. Es werden Abtastraten bestimmt, bei denen die Datenauswertungen der verbleibenden Positionsdaten die Realität hinreichend genau abbildet. Es wird aufgezeigt, dass eine Abtastrate in Höhe von 2 Sekunden die beste Eignung für die gewählten Anwendungsfälle besitzt. Bei höheren Abtastraten kommen Streuungsef-fekte zum Tragen. Bei niedrigeren Abtastraten ist ein Informationsverlust zu erwarten.

In Norway there are plans of a ferry-free European road E39 with crossings of eight deep and wide fjords. A newly developed bridge concept that could be used for some of these fjord-crossings is a chained floating bridge. One of the challenges for the chained floating bridge is to create a convenient shipping-lane under the bridge, where one suggestion is to connect the chained floating bridge with a single pylon cable-stayed bridge. The aim of this thesis is to design and evaluate a cable-stayed bridge in connection with a chained floating bridge. The purpose is to evaluate the feasibility of such a design by conducting a case study of the crossing of Bjørnefjorden. A design of a bridge is created for the case based on a literature study of conventional cable-stayed bridges. The bridge design is modelled, analyzed and the structural integrity is evaluated with SOFiSTiK (a finite element software for structural design) according to Eurocode. The study concludes that the concept is feasible for Bjørnefjorden by providing a possible design of a cables-stayed bridge connected to a chained floating bridge with conventional cross sections. The analysis in the thesis confirms the structural integrity of the consept. The bridge design’s main span is 300m long, it has a 25m wide steel box girder where the cables (φ140mm) are placed in two planes with a spacing of 15m along the girder. It has a 184 m high A-shaped pylon with a concrete box section from the foundation up to the girder level (+50m), to the top is a steel box (3.5x3.5m). The bridge is designed with material properties according to Eurocode, where steel class S355 and concrete C45 are used. A parametric research also verifies the design’s feasibility for other geometries of chained floating bridges - where the horizontal reactions on the cable-stayed bridge vary in a range of 107MN-242MN. The parametric research confirms that both the utilization of the cross section and the stability increases with the horizontal reaction from the chained floating bridge. The parametric study also concludes that a width of 8m between the pylon legs decreases the effect on the lower part of the pylon and the support reaction at the pylon when compared with a 12m and a 18m width. However, the average utilization of the girder, cable and steel part of the pylon increases when the 8m width is compared with a 12m or a 18m wide pylon. A fan or radial cable arrangement compared to harp design is more efficient for the cables and the displacements of the girder in Z-direction. They are however, less efficient for the bottom part of the pylon than the harp arrangement. / I Norge planeras en färjefri Europaväg E39, där åtta djupa och breda fjordar ska förbindas med broar eller tunnlar. För att korsa några av fjordarna utvecklas bla. ett brokoncept med kedjeflytbro. En av utmaningarna i konceptet är att skapa en farled för fartyg under bron. Ett förslag är att koppla ihop kedjeflybron med en ”halv” snedkabelbro som har en pylon (inte två), där farleden går under huvud­spannet till snedkabelbron. Avsikten med detta examensarbete är att konstruera och utvärdera en snedkabelbro ihopkopplad med en kedjeflytbro. Syftet är att utvärdera om konceptet med snedkabelbro är genomförbart, med hjälp av en fallstudie av Bjørnefjordsförbindelsen. En konventionell design av en snedkabelbro upprättas efter fallets villkor med hjälp av en literaturstudie. Designen modelleras, analyseras och dimensioneras enligt Eurokod med analysverktyget SOFiSTiK. Slutsatsen är att konceptet med en snedkabelbro ihopkopplad med en kedjeflytbro är genomförbart då det är möjligt att designa en sådan med konventionella tvärsnitt. Analysen i rapporten bekräftar att designen har tillräcklig bärförmåga. I designen är huvudspannet 300m långt och består av en 25m bred brobalk upphängd av (φ140mm) kablar placerade i två plan var 15m. Bron har en 184m hög A-formad pylon med ett lådtvärsnitt i betong från fundament till brobalksnivån (+50m), därifrån till pylontoppen är tvärsnittet en stålbox (3.5x3.5m). Bron är dimensionerad med materialparameterar enligt Eurokod, där stålkvalitet S355 och Betong C45 har använts. En utförd parameterstudie bekräftar också konceptets genomförbarhet för andra geometrier av kedjeflytbron – där den horisontella reaktionen på snedkabelbron varierar mellan 107MN och 242MN. Parameterstudein bekräftar att både utnyttjandet av tvärsnittskapasiteten och stabiliteten ökar med den horisontella reaktionen från kedjeflytbron. Dessutom konkluderar parameterstudien att bredden 8m mellan pylonbenen minskar lasteffekten på den nedre delen av pylonen och stödreaktionen vid pylonen jämfört med bredden 12m och 18m. Däremot ökar medelutnyttjandet av tvärsnittaskapasiteten för brobalken, kablarna och ståldelen av pylonen för bredden 8m jämfört med 12m eller 18m. En radiell- eller solfjäderformad kabelkonfiguration jämfört med parallellformad design är mer effektiv för kablarna och nedböjning av brobalken. De gör däremot så att den den nedre delen av pylonen får större snittkrafter än för den parallellformade kabelkonfigurationen.

La maturité de la télématique et des technologies de l’information et la communication (TIC), ainsi que l’avènement du big data dans le transport ont conduit à des développements foisonnants dans le domaine des systèmes de transports intelligents (ITS), aussi bien sur le plan des technologies de recueil que du traitement innovant de l’information. Il est désormais possible de connaître les conditions de circulation et les états de trafic sur la plupart des sections d’un réseau routier sans avoir recours à des infrastructures intrusives de collecte de données, de transmettre l’information résultante via des réseaux sans fil et de traiter rapidement toutes ces données multi-sources disponibles. La constitution de grandes bases de données a naturellement fait évoluer la pratique de gestion du trafic et plus particulièrement les méthodes de prévision. Ces méthodes ont connu un renouveau en s’inspirant des travaux produits en apprentissage statistique. Néanmoins, la façon d’appréhender le problème de la prévision est restée à une échelle locale. Pour chaque section de route, un modèle de prévision est adapté et optimisé. Notre travail de thèse présente un cadre de prévision du trafic routier qui aborde la question à l’échelle du réseau. L’étude menée au sein de ces travaux de thèse vise à exposer et évaluer cette nouvelle approche, dite globale, au regard d’approches usuelles, puis à analyser sa sensibilité vis-à-vis de divers facteurs. Après un positionnement par rapport à l’état de l’art en théorie du trafic, le cadre prédictif fondé sur des méthodes de prévision multi-variées par apprentissage est détaillé. Une version multidimensionnelle des k plus proches voisins, modèle parcimonieux et simple, est évaluée sur divers cas d’études. L’originalité réside dans l’exploitation de données issues de méthodes innovantes de collecte (e.g. Bluetooth, véhicules traceurs, véhicules connectés). Par la suite, les performances de l’approche initiale sont comparées à d’autres méthodes d’apprentissage. Un effort particulier est porté sur l’adaptation de méthodes à noyaux au cadre prédictif global. Les performances obtenues laissent entrevoir une typologie des méthodes en fonction des caractéristiques spatiotemporelles du réseau. Afin d’améliorer les performances en prévision et de réduire les temps de calcul, une méthode d’identification et de sélection des sections critiques du réseau est proposée. Les résultats prouvent qu’un sous-ensemble restreint de sections est en effet suffisant pour garantir des performances satisfaisantes en généralisation. Enfin, la résilience du cadre prédictif est évaluée au regard des événements non récurrents affectant le fonctionnement nominal du réseau, comme des incidents ou des conditions météorologiques dégradées. Les résultats soulignent l’impact de ces conditions non récurrentes sur la prévision temps-réel de la dynamique court-terme d’un réseau et permettent de dresser une feuille de route pour l’élaboration d’un cadre prédictif résilient et opérationnel. Cette nouvelle vision de la prévision s’inscrit dans les perspectives actuelles en termes d’applications sur les modules embarqués et les objectifs des gestionnaires d’infrastructures. / The maturity of information and communication technologies and the advent of Big Data have led to substantial developments in intelligent transportation systems (ITS) : from data collection to innovative processing solutions. Knowledge of current traffic states is available over most of the network range without the use of intrusive infrastructure-side collection devices, instead relying on wireless transmission of multi-source data. The increasing use of huge databases had a strong influence on traffic management, including forecasting methods. These approaches followed the recent trend towards innovative works on statistical learning. However, the prediction problem remains mainly focused on the local scale. The prediction for each road link relies on a dedicated, optimized and adapted prediction model. Our work introduces a traffic-forecasting framework able to tackle network scale problems. The study conducted in this thesis aims to present and evaluate this new “global” approach, in comparison to most-used existing works, and then to analyze its sensitivity to several factors. The traffic-forecasting framework, based on multi-variate learning methods, is detailed after a review of the literature on traffic flow theory. A multi-dimensional version of the k nearest-neighbors, a simple and sparse model, is evaluated through several use cases. The originality of the work stands on the processing approach, applied to data collected through new measurement process (e.g. Bluetooth, floating car data, connected vehicles). Then, the performance of our primary approach is compared to other learning-based methods. We propose an adaptation of kernel-based methods for the global prediction framework. The obtained results show that global approaches perform as well as usual approaches. The spatial and temporal specificities of the methods are highlighted according to the prediction accuracy. To improve the forecasting accuracy and reduce the computation time, we propose an identification and selection method targeting critical links. The results demonstrate that the use of a restricted subset of links is sufficient to ensure acceptable performances during validation tests. Finally, the prediction framework resilience is evaluated with respect to non-recurrent events as incidents or adverse weather conditions affecting the nominal network operations. The results highlight the impact of these non-recurrent conditions on real-time forecasting of short-term network dynamics. This enables the design of a further operational and resilient prediction framework. This perspective of forecasting matches the current applications relying on embedded systems and addressing the traffic network supervisor’s expectations.

Considered under the theme 'The Floating World', the aim of this research project was to create a written exegesis and a series of artworks, primarily in the form of digital animation and illustration, which investigate decorative and illustrative art practices and their historical lineages. Particular emphasis was given to investigating the links between contemporary decorative/illustrative art practice and the aesthetics and psychology of the Edo period in Japan (C17th - C19th), in which the term 'The Floating World' was used to describe the city of Edo (old Tokyo). The writing concerned with The Floating World is comprised of the following chapters: history; concepts; aesthetics; contemporary adaptations of Ukiyo-e; and gothic romance and associated genres. The outcomes of my Masters program represent a sustained exploration of decorative and illustrative art practice and theory, and incorporate experimentation with associated genres such as magic realism, gothic romance, the uncanny, iconography, surrealism and other metaphorical and abstract representational practices. More broadly, my Masters project is an investigation, both theoretical and practical, into the way drawing and illustration have been a process through which to (literally) give shape to hopes and fears, and to describe understandings of self and the world. I am particularly interested in exploring how, through the act of abstraction and the use of metaphor and decoration, a capacity to 'speak the unspeakable' and 'know the unknowable' are somehow enabled. For example, when contemporary Japanese artist Takashi Murakami decorates Edo-inspired screens with a colourful arrangement of morphing cartoon mushrooms, he conjures up a startling and complex poetic space that juxtaposes traditional Japanese aesthetics and philosophy with the hyper-consumerist characters and ethos of Disneyland, as well as disquieting references to the mushroom bombs that dropped down on Hiroshima and Nagasaki from US planes. A similarly complex space is enacted by contemporary US artist Inka Essenhigh: her oversized canvases seem like sublime Japanese-inspired screens but a closer inspection reveals that the decorative motifs are actually dismembered body parts morphed together to create a savage and compelling metaphor for contemporary America that is all the more disarming for being perf ormed in a seemingly innocuous illustrative style. My research will draw on these examples but will endeavour to create a series of artworks that are particular to an Australian context. This interests me particularly in a time when, as a nation, we appear to be confounded about what it means to be Australian: as a contemporary artist I am interested in how we represent ourselves as a nation, and in exploring the motifs and attributes that we consider to be ours.