<p>Agricultural tractors make massive use of hydraulic control technology. Being fuel con-sumption a big concern for agricultural applications, tractors typically use the state-of-the-art technology, load-sensing (LS) architecture, to allow good controllability in systems withmultiple actuators while promoting higher energy efficiency. Several variants of LS systemshave been proposed over the years, and research on cost-effective methods to further increasetheir efficiency is of high interest for original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and the fluidpower community. In this work, several energy-efficient solutions are proposed and demon-strated for the reference agricultural tractor hydraulic system, aiming at reducing the fuelconsumption and increasing the system efficiency, but without affecting the functionalityof the hydraulic control system. More importantly, facing the more stringent regulationson the CO2emission and the rising consciousness of a greener environment in society, bothindustry and academia have investigated the use of electricity as energy carrier and storage.This report also carries out the study on the possibility of electrification of the referencemachine, focusing on the auxiliary hydraulic supply to the planter.</p> <p>To begin with, the quantification of the energy loss within the hydraulic system representsan important step to drive the development of cost-effective solutions. For this purpose, acombined approach of simulation and experimental testing has been undertaken to character-ize the power distribution in the high-pressure circuit. After learning that the remote controlvalves are responsible for up to 25% of power loss in the system, two different energy-efficientsolutions are proposed on the tractor circuit. Both methods target at lowering the pumpdelivery pressure through incorporating electronic proportional pressure reducing valves (ep-PRVs). To support the development of the technology, the research takes into considerationthe circuit of a 400 hp tractor, simulation and experimental results show that among themain working conditions the solution can reach up to 15.6% power saving over the standardLS system.</p> <p>Moreover, the primary purpose of a tractor is to providing power to and controllingvarious implements. Most of their mechanical actuation is performed also with the electro-hydraulic fluid power system that is highly power-dense and versatile, but that has a low energy transmission efficiency. A new control approach of the hydraulic supply units thatpower the implement functions through the hydraulic remote is proposed, which switches thetraditional flow control methodology to an impressed pressure methodology. With a 16-rowplanter connected to the tractor understudy, a simulation model of the two vehicles is imple-mented and validated against experiments. Experiments on the proposed solutions appliedto the reference tractor and planter confirmed how an overall 38% efficiency improvementwas achieved during actual tests.</p> <p>On top of the IPSC strategy, more intelligent control algorithm is explored by proposinga new system architecture to fully incorporate both of the LS pumps with all of the EHRs,to achieve dynamic regrouping control (DRC) or static regrouping control (SRC). The DRCalgorithm determines the best supply configuration to all of the functions with minimumpower loss in time, which eventually leads to 44% power reduction compared to the base-line. On the other hand, the SRC algorithm targets at providing the best planter groupinglayout when connected to the tractor supply to contribute to least throttling losses duringrepresentative planting operations. The restuls from the SRC configuration can serve as asuggestive layout for the OEM when promoting such machines to the market.</p> <p>Last but not least, different scenarios of both selective purely electrification architectureand selective e-pump supply architecture are considered to discover the potential futuredirection of electrification to follow for the reference machine. From the power saving pointof view, replacing the fertilizer and vacuum hydraulic motors with the electric ones couldlead to 72% power reduction from the engine. However, more study on the cost analysiscould be useful to balance the saving and the cost added in the system.</p>

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While computed tomographic angiography (CTA) has emerged as a powerful noninvasive option that allows for direct visualization of arterial stenosis(AS), it cant assess the hemodynamic abnormality caused by an AS. Alternatively, trans-stenotic pressure gradient (TSPG) and fractional flow reserve (FFR) are well-validated hemodynamic indices to assess the ischemic severity of an AS. However, they have significant restriction in practice due to invasiveness and high cost. To fill the gap, a new computational modality, called <i>InVascular</i> has been developed for non-invasive quantification TSPG and/or FFR based on patient's CTA, aiming to quantify the hemodynamic abnormality of the stenosis and help to assess the therapeutic/surgical benefits of treatment for the patient. Such a new capability gives rise to a potential of computation aided diagnostics and therapeutics in a patient-specific environment for ASs, which is expected to contribute to precision planning for cardiovascular disease treatment. <i>InVascular</i> integrates a computational modeling of diseases arteries based on CTA and Doppler ultrasonography data, with cutting-edge Graphic Processing Unit (GPU) parallel-computing technology. Revolutionary fast computing speed enables noninvasive quantification of TSPG and/or FFR for an AS within a clinic permissible time frame. In this work, we focus on the implementation of inlet and outlet boundary condition (BC) based on physiological image date and and 3-element Windkessel model as well as lumped parameter network in volumetric lattice Boltzmann method. The application study in real human coronary and renal arterial system demonstrates the reliability of the in vivo pressure quantification through the comparisons of pressure waves between noninvasive computational and invasive measurement. In addition, parametrization of worsening renal arterial stenosis (RAS) and coronary arterial stenosis (CAS) characterized by volumetric lumen reduction (S) enables establishing the correlation between TSPG/FFR and S, from which the ischemic severity of the AS (mild, moderate, or severe) can be identified. In this study, we quantify TSPG and/or FFR for five patient cases with visualized stenosis in coronary and renal arteries and compare the non-invasive computational results with invasive measurement through catheterization. The ischemic severity of each AS is predicted. The results of this study demonstrate the reliability and clinical applicability of <i>InVascular</i>.

This thesis deals with thermal management aspects of electric machinery used in high-performance  applications  with  particular  focus put  on electric machines designed for hybrid electric vehicle applications. In the first part of this thesis,  new thermal models of liquid (water and oil) cooled electric machines are proposed.  The proposed thermal models are based on a combination of lumped parameter (LP)  and numerical methods. As  a first  case study,  a permanent-magnet  assisted  synchronous reluctance machine (PMaSRM) equipped with a housing water jacket is considered.  Particular focus is put on the stator winding and a thermal model is proposed that divides the stator slot into a number of elliptical copper and impregna- tion layers.  Additionally, an analysis, using results from a proposed simplified thermal finite element (FE)  model representing only a single slot of the sta- tor and its corresponding end winding, is presented in which the number of layers and the proper connection between the parts of the LP thermal model representing the end winding and the active part of winding are determined. The approach is attractive due to its simplicity  and the fact  that it closely models the actual temperature distribution for common slot geometries.  An oil-cooled induction machine where the oil is in direct contact with the stator laminations  is also considered.  Here, a multi-segment structure is proposed that  divides  the  stator,  winding and cooling  system  into  a number  of an- gular  segments.   Thereby,  the  circumferential  temperature  variation  due to the  nonuniform distribution  of the  coolant  in the  cooling  channels  can be predicted. In the  second part  of this  thesis,  the  thermal  impact  of using  different winding impregnation  and steel  lamination  materials  is  studied.   Conven- tional varnish, epoxy and a silicone based thermally conductive impregnation material are investigated and the resulting temperature distributions in three small induction machines are compared. The thermal impact of using different steel lamination materials is investigated by simulations using the developed thermal  model  of the water  cooled  PMaSRM. The  differences  in alloy con- tents and steel lamination thickness are studied separately and a comparison between the produced iron losses and the resulting hot-spot temperatures is presented. Finally, FE-based approaches  for  estimating  the  induced  magnet  eddycurrent losses in the rotor of the considered PMaSRM are reviewed and compared in the  form  of a case  study  based on simulations.   A  simplified three-dimensional  FE model  and an analytical  model,  both  combined  with time-domain 2D FE analysis, are shown to predict the induced eddy current losses with a relatively good accuracy compared to a complete 3D FE based model.  Hence, the two simplified approaches are promising which motivates a possible future experimental verification. / <p>QC 20130528</p>

The energy crisis together with greater environmental awareness, has increased interest in the construction of low energy buildings. Fabric thermal storage systems provide a promising approach for reducing building energy use and cost, and consequently, the emission of environmental pollutants. Hollow core ventilated slab systems are a form of fabric thermal storage system that, through the coupling of the ventilation air with the mass of the slab, are effective in utilizing the building fabric as a thermal store. However, the benefit of such systems can only be realized through the effective control of the thermal storage. This thesis investigates an optimum control strategy for the hollow core ventilated slab systems, that reduces the energy cost of the system without prejudicing the building occupants thermal comfort. The controller uses the predicted ambient temperature and solar radiation, together with a model of the building, to predict the energy costs of the system and the thermal comfort conditions in the occupied space. The optimum control strategy is identified by exercising the model with a numerical optimization method, such that the energy costs are minimized without violating the building occupant's thermal comfort. The thesis describes the use of an Auto Regressive Moving Average model to predict the ambient conditions for the next 24 hours. A building dynamic lumped parameter thermal network model, is also described, together with its validation. The implementation of a Genetic Algorithm search method for optimizing the control strategy is described, and its performance in finding an optimum solution analysed. The characteristics of the optimum schedule of control setpoints are investigated for each season, from which a simplified time-stage control strategy is derived. The effects of weather prediction errors on the optimum control strategy are investigated and the performance of the optimum controller is analysed and compared to a conventional rule-based control strategy. The on-line implementation of the optimal predictive controller would require the accurate estimation of parameters for modelling the building, which could form part of future work.