<p>Temporal and spatial variations of pelagic microorganisms in the northern Baltic Sea were studied, as well as factors influencing their abundance and growth rates. Three main questions were asked 1) How does increased productivity influence the structure of the microbial food web? 2) Does predation limitation vary between trophic levels? 3) What is the relative importance of resource and predation limitation at different trophic levels?</p><p>A field study in the northern Baltic Sea showed that dominating protozoa, flagellates and ciliates, increased with increasing primary productivity from north to south. Furthermore, relatively small protozoan cells dominated in the low productive north, while larger cells became more dominant in the south. The relationship between plankton size structure and productivity was further studied in an experimental system. In agreement with present theories regarding nutrient status of pelagic food webs, increased productivity caused a lengthening of the food chain as well as a change in plankton size structure. While microplankton dominated in nutrient rich treatments pico- and nanoplankton dominated during nutrient poor treament. The flagellate community was dominated by a potentially mixotroph, <i>Chrysochromulina</i> sp., at low nutrient concentrations. To our knowledge this is the first experimental study showing that <i>Chrysochromulina</i> sp. in resemblance with other mixotrophs is favoured by nutrient poor conditions compared to strict autotrophs and heterotrophs.</p><p>During a stratified summer period autotrophic microorganisms in the northern Baltic Sea did not respond to removal of potential predators, indicating that they were primarily limited by inorganic nutrients. An exception was small eucaryotic picoplankton that showed a large response to predator removal. Among the heterotrophic microorganisms direct effect of predation seemed to increase from ciliates, heterotrophic bacteria, small heterotrophic flagellates, medium flagellates to large flagellates. No quick indirect effect was observed, but after four days trophic cascades were detected.</p><p>The relative importance of resource and predation limitation was studied among heterotrophic bacteria, flagellates and ciliates in the northern Baltic Sea. For all these groups, resource limitation seemed to prevail during the summer period. The results also indicated that the relative importance of predation increased with the productivity of the system. To our knowledge there are no earlier measurements on the relative importance of resource and predation limitation for micoorganisms in the pelagic environment.</p>

<p>Heterotrophic microorganisms are important for the flow of carbon and nutrients in the sea. Bacteria, nanoflagellates and ciliates are relevant components of the pelagic food web. In order to be able to predict the outcome of e.g. eutrophication or climate change we need to know how the different components of the pelagic food web are regulated. With the focus on the northern Baltic Sea food web, this thesis deals with limitation and control of heterotrophic protists, the effect of resource heterogeneity on food web efficiency and diversity of nanoflagellates.</p><p>In-situ microcosm experiments showed that the net growth of heterotrophic flagellates were resource limited throughout the year. Field data confirmed that the abundance of flagellates was bottom-up controlled. Furthermore, field data also showed that the annual average biomass of protists, flagellates and ciliates increased with primary productivity. On a smaller seasonal scale temperature and bacterial biomass were able to explain most of the variation in flagellate biovolume. The temporal variation in ciliate biovolume could not be explained by any bottom-up factors like bacterial biomass, flagellate biomass or chlorophyll a. This and an in-situ microcosm experiment implied that the seasonal dynamics of ciliates were more regulated by predators like mesozooplankton.</p><p>The food web efficiency i.e. how much of production at the resource level is converted to production at the top trophic level, may be affected by specific size or type of resource. Indoor mesocosms revealed that the food web efficiency was 11 times lower when heterotrophic bacteria dominated basal production instead of nano- and micro-sized phytoplankton. This was due to a lengthening of the food web when pico-sized bacteria constituted the main resource.</p><p>The PCR-DGGE molecular biological method was used to study the diversity of heterotrophic or mixotrophic chrysomonads. The focus was set on chrysomonads due to their relatively large contribution to the nanoflagellate community. Group-specific PCR primers were optimized for the target group. A field survey in the northern Baltic Sea showed that a handful of chrysomonad sequences were present throughout the year. Significantly more chrysomonads were recorded in the basin with higher primary productive and salinity. In total 15-16 different chrysomonad sequences were recorded. Most of them matched uncultured chrysomonad clones.</p>

Temporal and spatial variations of pelagic microorganisms in the northern Baltic Sea were studied, as well as factors influencing their abundance and growth rates. Three main questions were asked 1) How does increased productivity influence the structure of the microbial food web? 2) Does predation limitation vary between trophic levels? 3) What is the relative importance of resource and predation limitation at different trophic levels? A field study in the northern Baltic Sea showed that dominating protozoa, flagellates and ciliates, increased with increasing primary productivity from north to south. Furthermore, relatively small protozoan cells dominated in the low productive north, while larger cells became more dominant in the south. The relationship between plankton size structure and productivity was further studied in an experimental system. In agreement with present theories regarding nutrient status of pelagic food webs, increased productivity caused a lengthening of the food chain as well as a change in plankton size structure. While microplankton dominated in nutrient rich treatments pico- and nanoplankton dominated during nutrient poor treament. The flagellate community was dominated by a potentially mixotroph, Chrysochromulina sp., at low nutrient concentrations. To our knowledge this is the first experimental study showing that Chrysochromulina sp. in resemblance with other mixotrophs is favoured by nutrient poor conditions compared to strict autotrophs and heterotrophs. During a stratified summer period autotrophic microorganisms in the northern Baltic Sea did not respond to removal of potential predators, indicating that they were primarily limited by inorganic nutrients. An exception was small eucaryotic picoplankton that showed a large response to predator removal. Among the heterotrophic microorganisms direct effect of predation seemed to increase from ciliates, heterotrophic bacteria, small heterotrophic flagellates, medium flagellates to large flagellates. No quick indirect effect was observed, but after four days trophic cascades were detected. The relative importance of resource and predation limitation was studied among heterotrophic bacteria, flagellates and ciliates in the northern Baltic Sea. For all these groups, resource limitation seemed to prevail during the summer period. The results also indicated that the relative importance of predation increased with the productivity of the system. To our knowledge there are no earlier measurements on the relative importance of resource and predation limitation for micoorganisms in the pelagic environment.

In order to investigate the two-phase flow behaviour in a complex reactor-typical geometry and to supply suitable data for CFD code validation, a model of the hot leg of a pressurised water reactor was built at FZD. The hot leg model is operated in the pressure chamber of the TOPFLOW test facility, which is used to perform high-pressure experiments under pressure equilibrium with the inside atmosphere of the chamber. This technique makes it possible to visualise the two-phase flow through large windows, also at reactor-typical pressure levels. In order to optimise the optical observation possibilities, the test section was designed with a rectangular cross-section. Experiments were performed with air and water at 1.5 and 3.0 bar at room temperature as well as with steam and water at 15, 30 and 50 bar and the corresponding saturation temperature (i.e. up to 264°C). The total of 194 runs are divided into 4 types of experiments covering stationary co-current flow, counter-current flow, flow without water circulation and transient counter-current flow limitation (CCFL) experiments. This report provides a detailed documentation of the experiments including information on the experimental setup, experimental procedure, test matrix and on the calibration of the measuring devices. The available data is described and data sheets were arranged for each experiment in order to give an overview of the most important parameters. For the cocurrent flow experiments, water level histograms were arranged and used to characterise the flow in the hot leg. In fact, the form of the probability distribution was found to be sensitive to the boundary conditions and, therefore, is useful for the CFD comparison. Furthermore, the flooding characteristics of the hot leg model plotted in terms of the classical Wallis parameter or Kutateladze number were found to fail to properly correlate the data of the air/water and steam/water series. Therefore, a modified Wallis parameter is proposed, which takes the effect of viscosity into account.

Heterotrophic microorganisms are important for the flow of carbon and nutrients in the sea. Bacteria, nanoflagellates and ciliates are relevant components of the pelagic food web. In order to be able to predict the outcome of e.g. eutrophication or climate change we need to know how the different components of the pelagic food web are regulated. With the focus on the northern Baltic Sea food web, this thesis deals with limitation and control of heterotrophic protists, the effect of resource heterogeneity on food web efficiency and diversity of nanoflagellates. In-situ microcosm experiments showed that the net growth of heterotrophic flagellates were resource limited throughout the year. Field data confirmed that the abundance of flagellates was bottom-up controlled. Furthermore, field data also showed that the annual average biomass of protists, flagellates and ciliates increased with primary productivity. On a smaller seasonal scale temperature and bacterial biomass were able to explain most of the variation in flagellate biovolume. The temporal variation in ciliate biovolume could not be explained by any bottom-up factors like bacterial biomass, flagellate biomass or chlorophyll a. This and an in-situ microcosm experiment implied that the seasonal dynamics of ciliates were more regulated by predators like mesozooplankton. The food web efficiency i.e. how much of production at the resource level is converted to production at the top trophic level, may be affected by specific size or type of resource. Indoor mesocosms revealed that the food web efficiency was 11 times lower when heterotrophic bacteria dominated basal production instead of nano- and micro-sized phytoplankton. This was due to a lengthening of the food web when pico-sized bacteria constituted the main resource. The PCR-DGGE molecular biological method was used to study the diversity of heterotrophic or mixotrophic chrysomonads. The focus was set on chrysomonads due to their relatively large contribution to the nanoflagellate community. Group-specific PCR primers were optimized for the target group. A field survey in the northern Baltic Sea showed that a handful of chrysomonad sequences were present throughout the year. Significantly more chrysomonads were recorded in the basin with higher primary productive and salinity. In total 15-16 different chrysomonad sequences were recorded. Most of them matched uncultured chrysomonad clones.

L’intégration des énergies renouvelables a conduit à introduire la notion d’utilisation locale de ces nouvelles sources de production. Nous pouvons définir le paradigme de microréseau comme une agrégation de plusieurs sources d'énergie distribuée qui peuvent alimenter leurs charges locales. Ces microréseaux peuvent être îlotables pour garantir la continuité de service et l’alimentation des charges. Pour assurer la fiabilité du réseau, une stratégie de protection des générateurs et du microréseau lui-même a été proposée. Dans ce mémoire, les points communs et les différences entre les générateurs classiques et les générateurs connectés au réseau à l’aide de convertisseur d’ d’électronique de puissance sont présentés. Ensuite, nous présentons la conception d’une source de tension à base d’une micro-turbine à gaz comme source d’énergie primaire contrôlable. Nous étudions les possibilités pour le générateur de demeurer connecté dans les conditions du creux de tension (fault-ride-through) tout en étant protégé contre les surintensités. Nous avons proposé deux solutions différentes permettant de limiter ces courants du générateur. De plus, pour assurer la continuité d’alimentation des charges en deux modes de fonctionnement, nous avons intégré un détecteur de l’ilotage basé sur le relais ROCOF dans le système de commande du générateur. Une validation expérimentale pour ces travaux a été réalisée en utilisant la simulation temps réel PHIL. Finalement, un plan de protection coordonnée valide dans les deux modes de fonctionnement et avec les différents types de source est présenté. Cette stratégie a été testée sur un exemple de microréseau simulé sur le simulateur temps réel / The integration of renewable energy has led to introduce the concept of local use of these new production sources. We can define the Microgrid paradigm as an aggregation of several distributed power sources that can supply their local charges. These microgrids may be islanded to ensure the continuity for supplying the loads in both operation modes. To provide the reliability of the network, a strategy to protect the generators and the Microgrid itself has been proposed. In this thesis, the similarities and differences between conventional generators and the generators connected to the network using the power electronics converter are firstly presented. Then, we present the design of a voltage source connected by a power electronic converter and LC filter, based on gas micro-turbine as the controllable primary energy source. We study the possibilities for the generator to remain connected in case of voltage sags (fault-ride-through) while being protected against the overcurrents. We have proposed two different solutions to limit these generator currents. In addition, to ensure continuity of supply the loads in two operation modes, we integrated an islanding detector based on the ROCOF (Rate Of Change Of Frequency) relay in the control system. An experimental validation for this work was realized using PHIL (Power Hardware in the Loop) real-time simulation. Finally, a coordinated protection plan valid in both operation modes and with different types of sources was presented. This strategy was tested on a simulated example of microgrid on real-time simulator

La résolution analytique du problème de la stabilité d’une suspension solide (particules rigides de forme sphérique) dans le système de Taylor-Couette cylindrique a été menée. On s’est basé sur les travaux de Ali and Lueptow (2002) pour formuler les équations régissant la stabilité de l’écoulement dans le cadre d’une théorie linéaire. Ces équations sont valables dans l’approximation du faible espace annulaire et ont pour but la prévision de l’instabilité primaire. A cet effet, nous avons utilisé une méthode variationnelle telle que la méthode de Galerkin pour résoudre le problème aux valeurs propres conduisant à établir le diagramme de stabilité liée au nombre d’onde au voisinage de l’état critique du développement de la première instabilité. Tout d’abord, on a cherché à mettre au point les calculs dans le cas de l’écoulement de Taylor-Couette classique en se référant aux travaux de Ali and Lueptow (2002). Ensuite on a procédé à la résolution systématique des équations du mouvement et l’on cherche à déterminer le critère d’apparition des instabilités en présence de particules en suspension et l’on détermine simultanément les paramètres de couplage entre forces d’interaction liquide-solide. L’ensemble des travaux ainsi réalisés permettront de lever la contradiction fondamentale entre la théorie et l’expérience. L’étude expérimentale a permis d’analyser les effets de la concentration des particules en suspension (disques) et du rapport d’aspect radial ’ sur l’apparition des instabilités dans le système de Taylor-Dean. Le dispositif expérimental utilisé est constitué d’un cylindre intérieur tournant et le cylindre extérieur est maintenu fixe. Le comportement rhéologique du fluide utilisé est viscoplastique obéissant au modèle de Herschel Bulkley. L’apparition des instabilités est examinée en utilisant une technique de visualisation. Pour une concentration donnée dans l’intervalle étudié, la nature des structures apparaissant dans le système d’écoulement dépend ’, alors que pour une valeur donnée de ’ dans l’intervalle étudié, la valeur du nombre de Taylor critique Tac dépend de la concentration des particules. Nous avons obtenu que le nombre de Taylor critique Tac correspondant au déclenchement de la première instabilité évolue non linéairement en fonction de ’. De plus, nous avons examiné expérimentalement les effets de limitation axiale (effet de bords) sur le déclenchement des instabilités dans le système de Taylor-Dean. Les résultats obtenus montrent que les bords tournants n’affectent pas le type de structures qui apparaissent dans le système d’écoulement de Taylor-Dean. Cependant, ils influencent le seuil critique d’apparition des instabilités qui est marquée par des valeurs élevées du nombre de Taylor critique pour des bords tournants ce qui indique un effet stabilisant des bords mobiles. / The analytical solution of the stability problem of a solid suspension (rigid spherical particles) in the system of cylindrical Taylor-Couette was conducted. We are based on the work of Ali and Lueptow (2002) to formulate the equations governing the stability of the flow in a linear theory. These equations are valid in the approximation of small gap configuration and aim to predict the primary instability. For this purpose, we used a variational method such as the Galerkin method to solve the eigenvalue problem leading to establish the stability diagram related to the wave number in the vicinity of the critical state of development of the first instability. First, we develop the calculations in the case of Taylor-Couette flow with reference to classic work of Ali and Lueptow (2002). Then, we carried out a systematic solution of the equations of motion and we search to determine the criterion of onset of instabilities in the presence of suspended particles and coupling parameters are simultaneously determined from liquid-solid interaction force. All work carried out and will remove the fundamental contradiction between theory and experiment. The experimental study has analyzed the effect of the concentration of suspended particles (disks) and radial aspect ratio ' on the occurrence of instabilities in the Taylor-Dean flow system. The experimental device used consists of a rotating inner cylinder and the outer cylinder is stationary. The rheological behavior of the fluid is viscoplastic obeying to Herschel Bulkley model. The onset of instability is examined using a visualization technique. For a given concentration in the range studied, the nature of the structure appearing in the flow system depends on ', while for a given value of ' in the range studied, the value of the critical Taylor number Tac depends on the particle concentration. We obtain that the critical Taylor number Tac corresponding to the onset of the first instability evolves nonlinearly versus '. In addition, we examined experimentally the effect of axial limitation (endwall effects) on the onset of instabilities in the Taylor-Dean flow system. The results show that the rotating endwalls do not affect the type of structures that appear in the Taylor-Dean flow system. However, they influence the threshold of appearance of instabilities which is characterized by high values of the critical Taylor number for rotating endwalls indicating a stabilizing effect of the rotating endwalls.

Cette thèse présente différents cas d'acclimatation d'une espèce de phytoplancton (Isochrysis sp.) à des modifications de son environnement physico-chimique avec une attention particulière portée sur la composante lipidique de la réponse aux changements. Dans ce contexte nous avons étudié les lipides à la fois comme des produits (triacylglycerol) et des acteurs (glycolipides) de la photosynthèse. Tout d'abord, nous avons étudié l’influence de plusieurs types de limitation par l'azote sur la teneur en lipides neutres des algues. Nous avons montré que la relation entre la disponibilité de l’azote et la teneur en lipide n'était pas monotone et qu'elle présentait un caractère hystérétique. Les cellules d’Isochrysis sp. n’accumulent des lipides neutres que transitoirement lors du passage d'une croissance forte vers une croissance faible. Nous nous sommes ensuite intéressé aux relations qui existent entre le cycle nycthéméral et l'accumulation de réserves énergétiques sous forme de lipides et de sucres. Les réserves sont accumulées pendant le jour en disproportion du reste du carbone et consommées pendant la nuit pour alimenter la division cellulaire et la croissance nocturne. La carence en azote dans ces conditions nycthémérales ne provoque pas d’accumulations significatives de lipides. Les variations diurnes de la teneur en lipides neutres sont plus importantes que les variations obtenues en carence. A travers ces différentes expériences nous avons pu mettre en évidences les relations qui existaient entre l'environnement, la croissance, et l'accumulation de réserves. La compréhension de ces mécanismes a permis de déterminer les conditions environnementales qui favorisent la production d’huile en vue d’une utilisation biocarburant. Nous avons aussi étudié l'influence des conditions de croissance sur la composition des glycolipides des membranes des chloroplastes. Les résultats montrent que les changements de la teneur en MGDG, DGDG et SQDG et de l’insaturation des acides gras de ces lipides accompagnent les modifications d’activité photosynthétique des cellules en limitation azotée et en cycle Jour/Nuit. / This thesis presents various cases of acclimation of a phytoplankton species (Isochrysis sp.) to changes in growth conditions, with special emphasis on the lipid response to those changes. In this context we have studied lipids as both products (triacylglycerol) and actors (glycolipids) of photosynthesis. First, we studied the influence of several types of nitrogen limitation on the neutral lipid content of algae. We showed that the relationship between nitrogen availability and lipid content was not monotonous and presented a hysteretic behaviour. Isochrysis sp. cells accumulated neutral lipids only transiently during the transition from high growth to low growth. We were also interested in the relationship between the circadian cycle and the accumulation of energy reserves as fats and sugars. Reserves were accumulated during the day and consumed during the night to provide energy for cell growth and division. Nitrogen deficiency under alternative light did not lead to significant accumulations of neutral lipids. Through these experiences we could understand the relationship between environment, growth, and accumulation of reserves. These results allowed us to identify the environmental conditions that enhance oil production for biofuel use. We also studied the influence of growth conditions on the composition of glycolipids that comprises chloroplast membranes. Changes in MGDG, DGDG and SQDG contents and in their fatty acids unsaturation were linked to changes in photosynthetic characteristics when growth conditions are modified (L/D cycle, N-limitation). Glycolipids are likely to be important actors of photosynthetic acclimation to environmental changes.

Le contrôle biologique (C. -B. - l'utilisation d'ennemis naturels pour lutter contre les ravageurs) est durable, écologique et rentable pour contrer la résistance des ravageurs en augmentant l'utilisation des pesticides. Les parasitoïdes des pucerons sont des ennemis naturels communs des pucerons, les principaux ravageurs mondiaux dans l'agriculture. L'étude de la spécificité de l'hôte parasitoïde contribue à (1) comprendre les mécanismes écologiques et évolutifs de l'écosystème et (2) évaluer l'efficacité des agents de lutte biologique et les risques écologiques pour les espèces non ciblées. Cette étude porte sur la spécificité de l'hôte fondamental des parasitoïdes sur les niveaux individuels, en matière de besoins en ressources et dans le contexte des interactions multi trophiques sous stress abiotique environnemental, c'est-à-dire la limitation de l'eau. Aphidius ervi (Hymenoptera: Braconidés: Aphidiinae) a été choisi; ce parasitoïde puceron est largement utilisé comme modèle écologique et comme agent de lutte biologique commercial (BCA). D'une part, l'indice de spécificité de l'hôte A. ervi a été mesuré sur une large gamme d'espèces de pucerons. D'autre part, les impacts indirects de la limitation de l'eau ont été étudiés sur la spécificité de l'hôte du parasitoïde. En outre, les modifications induites par le stress hydrique dans la plante et les traits de vie des pucerons ont été mesurés. A. ervi s'est avéré être une espèce intermédiaire spécialisée qui a attaqué toutes les espèces de pucerons à des taux élevés, mais n'a pas pu se développer correctement sur toutes les espèces. Les quelques espèces qui se développaient bien étaient phylogénétiquement proches et appartenaient à la tribu des Macrosiphini. En outre, une corrélation positive de préférence - performance a été trouvée. Sous stress hydrique, la préférence et la performance des parasitoïdes ont été affectées, causant la perte de la corrélation. La limitation de l'eau a modifié négativement la qualité nutritionnelle de la plante, ce qui a entraîné une faible performance des pucerons sur les plantes hôtes. Ceci à son tour a diminué la convenance des hôtes pucerons pour le parasitoïde. Les effets de la limitation de l'eau n'étaient pas similaires pour toutes les combinaisons plantes-pucerons et dépendaient de plusieurs facteurs, à savoir les mécanismes végétaux adaptés au stress et la spécialisation de l'hôte des pucerons et des parasitoïdes. / Biological control (BC - the use of natural enemies to control pests) are sustainable, environmentally friendly and cost-effective methods to counteract pest resistance by increasing pesticide use. Aphid parasitoids are common natural enemies of aphids, the major worldwide pests in agriculture. The study of parasitoid host specificity contributes to (1) understanding ecological and evolutionary mechanisms driving the ecosystem and (2) evaluating the efficiency of biocontrol agents and the ecological risks for non-target species. This study focuses on the parasitoids fundamental host specificity on individual levels, in terms of resource requirements and in the context of multi-trophic interactions under environmental abiotic stress, i.e.water limitation. Aphidius ervi (Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Aphidiinae) was chosen; this aphid parasitoid is used widely as an ecological model and commercial biological control agent (BCA). On the one hand, A. ervi host specificity index was measured on a broad range of aphid species. On the other hand, the indirect impacts of water limitation were investigated on the host specificity of the parasitoid. Furthermore, water stress-induced modifications in the plant and the aphid life-history traits were measured. A. ervi was shown to be an intermediate specialist species who attacked all aphid species at high rates but was unable to develop well on all of them. The few that developed well were phylogenetically close and belong to the Macrosiphini tribe. Interestingly, a positive correlation preference – performance was found. Under water stress, both preference and performance of parasitoids were affected causing loss of the correlation. Water limitation negatively altered the plant nutritional quality resulting in low aphid performance on host plants. This in turn decreased the suitability of aphid hosts for the parasitoid. The impacts of water limitation were not similar across all plant-aphid combinations and depended on several factors, namely stress-adapted plant mechanisms and the host specialization of both aphids and parasitoids.

While radio frequency identification tags (RFIDs) have been widely used for identifying objects (and some people), their primary use has been for access control, inventory, and other similar purposes. In this thesis we will use the detection of an RFID to indicate that a user is present in a given location.  This will be used to extend a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) system with user presence. A typical HF RFID reader is able to read a tag from a range of 8-10 cm. In this application we wish to read tags from a range of 50 to 100 cm (the width of a doorway or narrow hallway). One of the challenges is how to increase the reading range while staying below the maximum RF power limits (for reasons of safety). Providing an RFID based presence indication can be used to automatically adjust the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system of a room, etc. This thesis presents several different antennas which were analyzed and simulated using FEKO to obtain a suitable antenna for this target application. The thesis shows that fractal patterns are the best for the intended application based upon the results of simulations. These antennas were implemented and tested. The prototype establishes that such antennas are a suitable design and can be used with current RFID systems to achieve long ranges. The thesis also suggests some future enhancements to these antennas. / Identifiering av radiofrekvenstaggar (RFID) har använts i stor utsträckning för att identifiera objekt (och vissa människor). De primära användningsområdena har varit åtkomstkontroll, inventering, och andra liknande ändamål. I denna avhandling kommer vi att använda närvaroupptäckten av en RFID-tagg för att ange att en användare befinner sig påen given plats. Detta kommer att användas för att utöka ett Session Initiation Protocol-system med användarnärvaro. En typisk HF RFID-läsare kan läsa en tagg från ett avstånd av 8-10 cm. I denna appliceringen vill vi läsa RFID-taggar från ett avstånd av 50 till 100 cm (bredden påen dörröppning eller en smal korridor). En av utmaningarna är hur man kan öka läsavståndet och samtidigt hålla sig under de maximala RF-effektgränserna (av säkerhetsskäl). En RFIDbaserad närvaroindikering kan användas för att automatiskt justera värme, ventilation och luftkonditionering av ett rum, osv. I denna avhandling kommer vi att presentera olika antenner som analyserades och simulerades med hjälp av FEKO, för att erhålla en lämplig antenn. Avhandlingen visar att de bästa resultaten från simuleringarna för det huvudsakliga målet, är att använda fraktala mönster. Genomförandet och testerna av dessa antenner leder till en prototyp av en gynnsam antennutformning, som en bas för framtida förbättringar. Dessutom beskriver vi skälen till varför fraktalantenner ofta används i nuvarande RFID-system för att uppnålånga läsavstånd.