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The catalyst layer of a proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell is a mixture of polymer, carbon, and platinum. The characteristics of the catalyst layer play a critical role in determining the performance of the PEM fuel cell. This research investigates the role of catalyst layer composition using a Central Composite Design (CCD) experiment with two factors which are Nafion content and carbon loading while the platinum catalyst surface area is held constant. For each catalyst layer composition, polarization curves are measured to evaluate cell performance at common operating conditions, Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS), and Cyclic Voltammetry (CV) are then applied to investigate the cause of the observed variations in performance. The results show that both Nafion and carbon content significantly affect MEA performance. The ohmic resistance and active catalyst area of the cell do not correlate with catalyst layer composition, and observed variations in the cell resistance and active catalyst area produced changes in performance that were not significant relative to compositions of catalyst layers. / Master of Science

This thesis deals with cross-country ski clothing for non-competitive women. Women in this category look for different clothing features in comfort and aesthetics than male top athletes, for whom cross-country skiwear today often seems to be designed. In this thesis the demands of these women have been mapped out by an interview with a reference group of users. The ergonomics of exercising in the winter outdoors are naturally a base for the collection. The collection consists of three functional layers of garments. Each layer has its own purpose and its specific style that reflects its function for the user. Knit materials are developed for thermal underwear and an insulating middle layer. The protecting outer garments were tested in real outdoor conditions. The spirit of the collection can be summarized as to mature femininity. The collection allows each skier to enjoy skiing as she best feels. The aim is to inspire more beautiful women to dust off their skis and enjoy nature. / <p>Program: Konstnärligt masterprogram i mode- och textildesign</p><p>Uppsatsnivå: D</p>

Dans ce travail de thèse, le comportement des composites stratifiés est étudié en utilisant des développements d'ordres élevés ou de type layer wise. Un modèle layer wise LS1 (et l'élément fini à huit nœuds qui lui est associé) a été développé en premier lieu pour l'analyse spécifique des contraintes entre les couches pour des problèmes de bords libres ou bien pour l'étude des liaisons entre les couches. Il est fondé sur un modèle de type layer wise qui considère le stratifié comme une superposition de plaques de Reissner couplées les unes aux autres par des efforts d'interfaces. Cet élément a 5n degrés de liberté par noeud (n étant le nombre de couches) et donne une prédiction des contraintes d'interface. Les travaux précédents se concentraient sur la précision et l'utilisation de l'estimation de ces contraintes d'interface. Mais le modèle permet aussi de calculer les déplacements et les déflexions ainsi que d'extraire les contraintes dans l'épaisseur avec ou sans post-traitement. Dans ce mémoire, la précision et la validité du calcul des déplacements et des contraintes ont été établies à partir d'un nombre important de benchmarks en flexion de composites et des plaques sandwich. Le but de cette étude est aussi de mieux positionner et de promouvoir cette approche en contraintes issue des travaux de Pagano peu utilisés et mal référencés. Ce modèle est ensuite développé et implémenté dans le code de calcul par éléments finis Abaqus via la routine utilisateur User-Element (UEL). Pour démontrer l'efficacité du modèle et du code de calcul, des exemples qui comprennent des plaques isotropes et anisotropes sont traités / In this document, the behaviour of laminated composite is investigated using several high order or layer wise finite element calculations. A layer wise model and its devoted finite element on C° eight-node layer wise finite element have been originally and specifically developed for an interlaminar stresses analysis in a free edge problem or for a bonding study. This model is the core of the present comparisons. It is based on a typical layer wise model that considers the laminate by a superposition of Reissner plates coupled by interfacial stresses. This element consists of 5n degrees of freedom per node (n is the layer number) and is able to predict interlaminar stresses. These out-of-plane stresses are deduced directly from constitutive equations without post-processing works. The previous papers dealt with the accuracy of these estimated interface stresses. However, the model not only permits to compute displacements and usual deflections but also to compute stresses through the layer thicknesses with or without postprocess. In the present paper, the accuracy and the validity of these computed displacements and stresses have also been established on a large number of important benchmarks of bending examples for composites and sandwich plates. The aim of this research is also to better positioning and promoting of this stress approach deriving from the works of Pagano, which was not generally studied in this way. This model has also been implemented into the ABAQUS finite-element program through a User-Element subroutine interface. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the model and the finite element code, examples which include isotropic and anisotropic plates, the problem of the perforated plate are calculated

This thesis explores the effects of favourable pressure gradient on the structure of turbulent boundary layers (TBL). In this context, the structure of three types of boundary layers namely a zero-pressure-gradient boundary layer, equilibrium boundary layers under favourable pressure gradient and relaminarising boundary layers is investigated mostly from the point of view of large-scale dynamics. This covers a whole range of flows on the so-called Reynolds number - pressure gradient diagram - from turbulent zero pressure gradient flows to relaminarising flows at relatively low Reynolds numbers. The study of turbulent and relaminarising boundary layers is carried out primarily using direct numerical analyses and some limited experiments in this thesis. The direct numerical simulations (DNS) of a zero-pressure-gradient turbulent boundary layer (ZPG TBL) is validated against the experimental and DNS data available in the literature. Furthermore, the important question of time-averaged signature of a large scale vortex structure and its relation with the two-point correlations in the context of ZPG TBL is addressed. In this context, a synthetic flow consisting of hairpin vortex structures is generated. The two-point correlations in the synthetic TBL and a real TBL are found to be qualitatively similar. This shows that the vortex structure leaves a time-averaged footprint in the form of correlations of velocity and vorticity. A study of two-point correlations in a real TBL shows that the structure angle deduced from two-point correlations varies with wall-normal location. The structure angle is small near the wall and increases away from the wall in agreement with the previous studies. The small angle close to the wall signifies the presence of streamwise structure. Away from the wall, this streamwise coherence is lost and the correlation contours become more isotropic. The presence of the wall and the mean shear affects smaller scales making them anisotropic close to the wall. Towards the edge of the boundary layer, smaller scales tend to become isotropic leading to -5/3 law in the energy spectrum. Further, a relation between a passive scalar in a flow and vorticity is explored. It is found that the scalar product of vorticity and scalar gradient is conserved in a non-diffusive situation. This assertion is demonstrated under various flow conditions. Despite the differences in Schmidt numbers, the structures observed in the outer layer are similar in both numerical and experimental flow visualisations. Further, the equilibrium turbulent boundary layers under favourable pressure gradient are studied. The numerical simulations of equilibrium sink flow TBL are validated against the experimental results of Dixit (2010). A study of two-point correlations reveals that the near-wall structure angle decreases with a favourable pressure gradient in sink flow TBLs. In the outer region, the loss of streamwise coherence occurs at a wall-normal location closer to the wall than in an ZPG TBL. Edge intermittency study reveals that the flow is non-turbulent beyond y/δ = 0.8 inside the mean boundary layer edge. The variation of the ratio of pressure gradient to Reynolds shear stress gradient shows that this ratio is very large (> 50) beyond y/δ = 0.8. The dominance of pressure gradient makes this part of sink flow TBL to behave like a Euler-region. Small scales in sink flow TBL tend to be isotropic near the edge of the boundary layer and spectra shows -5/3 law akin to ZPG TBL, albeit at lower Reynolds numbers. The concept of equilibrium is extended to flows with wall transpiration. The sink flow TBL is a special case of more generalised equilibrium TBLs with wall transpiration. Conditions required for the flow with wall transpiration are derived. It is observed that there is a systematic variation of various statistical properties with wall velocity. Further, it is observed that the motion in these equilibrium flows is purely active like in sink flow TBL. In equilibrium TBL, the Reynolds shear stress is directly related to mean velocity. So we have at our disposal an exact relation between the Reynolds shear stress and the mean velocity gradient without the need to do any ad-hoc modelling for the sink flow. This is an interesting observation from the point of view of modelling TBLs using eddy-viscosity. Eddy-viscosity model derived from sink flow TBL data is found to predict the mean velocity profiles in flows with wall transpiration with a sufficient accuracy. Similarly, it is plausible that any general non-equilibrium flow may be treated as a departure from equilibrium. With suitable modifications, eddy viscosity obtained from equilibrium TBL may be used to model them without invoking ad-hoc assumptions. Finally, the effect of initial Reynolds number on the process of relaminarisation is studied numerically and experimentally. ZPG TBLs with two different initial Reynolds number are subjected to different degrees of acceleration. However, the pressure gradient history is same in both the cases. It is observed that the flow with a higher initial Reynolds number relaminarises at a lower pressure gradient value than the flow with a lower initial Reynolds number. Assessment of different parameter criteria reveals that the criterion proposed by Narasimha & Sreenivasan (1973) is appropriate for the prediction of the onset of relaminarisation. Further, the structures in relaminarising flows are studied. The near-wall structure angle is found to decrease with the increasing FPG and the streamwise length of the structure also increases. The low and high speed streaks in the near-wall region are found to become longer and less undulating with an increase in the spanwise spacing. A stabilisation mechanism of near-wall streaks is also presented which suggests that the kinematic effect of mean vertical velocity directed towards the wall is responsible for the stabilisation of streaks.

In recent years, Multi-hop Wireless Networks (MHWNs) have experienced an explosion of deployment due to the increasing demand for continuous connectivity regardless of the physical location. Internet predominant transport protocols, i.e. Transmission Control Protocol (TCP), face performance degradation in MHWNs because of the high loss and link failure rates. Several solutions have been proposed which are based on network state estimation or use information from MAC layer (called metrics) in a cross-layer manner to better comprehend the network state. The first part of this thesis provides a survey and comprehensive definition of common metrics from Physical, MAC, Network and Transport layers and thus provides a multi-criteria and hierarchical classification. After that, the effectiveness in reflecting network information of MAC metrics is also investigated in a systematic way by simulating various network situations and measuring the MAC metrics. Thus, the good MAC metric for congestion control which is coupled with the network contention level and the medium induced losses will be found out. From the results of the effectiveness study, new rate control schemes for transport protocols are proposed which adapt efficiently the source bit rate depending on the network condition provided by some MAC metrics. Through an extensive set of simulations, the performance of the proposed rate control schemes in MHWNs is investigated thoroughly with several network situations.

A series of detailed laboratory investigations were conducted to examine low solubility gas transfer across wind-forced wavy air-water interfaces. The study focuses on the increase in gas flux associated with the microphysical interfacial wind momentum exchange and the complex wave coupled hydrodynamics. Key elements of the laboratory investigations included the measurement of hydrodynamic behaviour within the aqueous viscous sub-layer using a particle image velocimetry (PIV) system and the development of a Laser Induced Fluorescent (LIF) system capable of measuring reliable dissolved oxygen concentration profiles to within 28??m of the air-water interface. Major achievements and findings included: 1. The first phase resolved gas flux measurements along wind forced microscale waves, indicating the highest mean gas fluxes are located in the wave troughs. This finding demonstrated the relative importance of wave orbital straining in gas flux enhancement; a wave coupled hydrodynamic process whose significance has previously been neglected. 2. The relative contributions to gas flux from wind shear, wave orbital straining, increased surface area of the waves, parasitic capillary ripples and microscale breaking are quantified with respect to friction velocity, wave steepness and an efficiency of microscale wave breaking. The parasitic capillary ripples are shown to have a negligible role in gas enhancement. A hybrid model is developed to estimate the gas flux based on both wind and wave characteristics. 3. Gas enhancement due to microscale wave breaking and the significance of the highly localised subduction at the toe of the spilling region on the leeward face of the wave crests was investigated using data from the LIF experiments. The highly localised subduction was shown to substantially reduce the thickness of the diffusion sub-layer, resulting in an increase in gas flux when waves transitioned from the incipient breaking to the microscale breaking wave form. 4. Consideration of previously unidentified optical distortions in LIF imagery due to non-linear effects is presented that is critical for robust LIF data processing and experimental design. A formal mathematical description of optical distortions has been developed and presented.

La demande accrue de services en temps rel, comme la vidéo streaming, justifie le besoin d'études qui visent à optimiser le délai de transmission de données. En plus du délai de transmission au niveau physique, les délais nécessaires à l'accès à la ressource et à la récupération de données venant des couches basses peuvent avoir un impact important sur les performances et ne doivent pas être négligés. Aussi, des études cross-layer doivent être menées pour minimiser le délai de transmission de l'information. Comprendre l'impact des mécanismes des couches basses sur les performances de bout-en-bout permet un meilleur dimensionnement du réseau, une adaptation du trafic transmis, ou l'introduction de service à faible priorité. Dans cette thèse, nous avons mesuré l'impact des mécanismes des couches liaison et réseau sur les performances de divers protocols de congestion de la couche transport.Dans le contexte des liens 4G par satellite, nous proposons un ensemble d'outils, Trace Manager Tool (TMT) et Cross Layer InFormation Tool (CLIFT), pour simuler de manière réaliste l'ensemble de la couche OSI dans le simulateur de réseau NS-2. Nous avons montré que, pour l'ensemble des variantes de TCP considérées, quand le débit au niveau transport est proche de la capacité de canal, utiliser ARQ au niveau liaison est optimal. Dans le cas où le taux d'erreur au niveau de la couche physique est plus élevé, H-ARQ permet d'obtenir un meilleur débit au niveau transport.Les dernières spécifications concernant l'accès au lien satellite DVB-RCS2 présentent deux méthodes d'accès (aléatoire et dédié) qui peuvent être implémentées pour permettre aux utilisateurs des services proposés par DVB d'aller sur Internet ou de transmettre des données. Nous avons développé un module pour NS-2, Physical Channel Access (PCA), qui modèle l'accès au canal pour chacune de ces méthodes afin de comparer leur impact sur les performances de bout-en-bout. Nous avons mesuré que les méthodes d'accès dédié permettent un débit plus important et les méthodes d'accès aléatoire une transmission rapide des flots courts. Nous avons donc proposé de mixer ces méthodes d'accès, en fonction de l'évolution dynamique de la charge du réseau et de la taille du flot de données transmis.Finalement, nous avons étudié s'il était possible d'exploiter les données de la gateway du satellite pour introduire un trafic à priorité basse. Nous avons montré qu'il était possible avec Low Ewtra Delay Background Transport (LEDBAT) comme protocole de la couche transport d'introduire un trafic en tâche de fond. Cependant, en fonction de la variation de la charge du réseau, paramétrer correctement des paramètres internes à ce protocole sont nécessaires. / Network providers offer services in line with users’ requests, even though the challengesintroduced by their mobility and the download of large content are crucial. Mobile videostreaming applications are delay sensitive and the increasing demand for this service legitimateextensive studies evaluating transmission delays. On top of physical transmissiondelays, accessing a resource or recovering data from lower layers should not be neglected.Indeed, recovery schemes or channel access strategies variously introduce end-to-end delays.This document argues that those cross-layer effects should be explored to minimizethe transmission delays and optimize the use of network resources. Also, understandingthe impacts of low layers protocols on the end-to-end transmission will enable betterdimensioning of the network and adapt the traffic carried on.In the context of satellite 4G links, we measure the impact of link layer retransmissionschemes on the performance of various transport layer protocols. We develop Trace ManagerTool (TMT) and Cross Layer InFormation Tool (CLIFT) to lead realistic cross layersimulations in NS-2. We show that, for all target TCP variants, when the throughput ofthe transport protocol is close to the channel capacity, using the ARQ mechanism is mostbeneficial for TCP performance improvement. In conditions where the physical channelerror rate is high, Hybrid-ARQ results in better performance.In the last specifications for DVB-RCS2, two access schemes (random and dedicated)are presented and can be implemented to manage the way home users access to the satellitelink for Web browsing or data transmission. We developed Physical Channel Access (PCA)that models in NS-2 the behaviour of those link layer level access methods. We measurethat, even though dedicated access methods can transmit more information data, randomaccess methods enable a faster transmission of short flows. Based on these results, wepropose to mix random and dedicated access methods depending on the dynamic load ofthe network and the sequence number of the TCP segments.As a potential exploitation of cross layer information, we explore the feasibility to introducelow priority traffic on long delay path. The rationale is to grab the unused 4G satellitelinks’ capacity to carry non-commercial traffic. We show that this is achievable with LEDBAT.However, depending on the fluctuation of the load, performance improvements couldbe obtained by properly setting the target value.