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Cette étude s’intéresse à la conception systémique intégrant simultanément les questions de dimensionnement et de gestion optimale de l'énergie. Le système étudié concerne un procédé de pompage intégrant un processus de dessalement d’eaux saumâtres alimenté par des sources de puissance hybrides renouvelable incluant un minimum de stockage électrochimique. Ce cas d’étude appartient à une classe typique de systèmes autonomes alimentés par des sources intermittentes dont profil de puissance a une forme "donnée" : « selon les conditions climatiques (ensoleillement, vent), avec un minimum de stockage d’électricité, la puissance offerte doit être convertie ou stockée hydrauliquement sous peine d’être gaspillée ». L'influence des conditions d'environnement et la robustesse du processus d’optimisation est enfin aussi discutée dans cette thèse. Deux types de modèles mathématiques, dynamiques et quasi-statiques, sont mis en œuvre pour décrire l'ensemble du dispositif. Le système est tout d’abord modélisé dynamiquement par Bond Graphs. Pour une simulation plus rapide, plus adaptée à l’optimisation globale du système, un modèle quasi-statique est créé pour être simulé dans l'environnement Matlab. Pour de tels dispositifs, étant donné une certaine puissance offerte au fil du vent et du soleil, trouver le point optimal de fonctionnement à chaque période consiste en un partage de puissance entre les sous systèmes de pompage et de traitement de l’eau : ce processus est plutôt complexe compte tenu des non linéarités (courbes rendement – puissance) et de la présence de nombreuses contraintes relatives aux limitations de puissance des pompes, aux conditions de niveau des réservoirs, ainsi qu’aux limitations de pression et de débit dans les processus hydrauliques (pompes osmoseur). Nous montrerons qu’il n’est pas si trivial de choisir une fonction objectif qui assure simultanément la performance et la robuste du système vis-à-vis des conditions d’environnement : une fonction objectif robuste quel que soit le profil de puissance des sources est ainsi proposée pour mettre en œuvre une gestion optimale de l’énergie. Le problème d’optimisation étant posé sous forme standard, consistant en la maximisation d’une fonction objectif sous contraintes, des approches d’optimisation efficaces par programmation non linéaire sont employées. La question du dimensionnement et son couplage à la gestion énergétique est finalement étudiée. En particulier, l’intérêt de la modularité des systèmes, considérant plusieurs pompes connectées en parallèle pour la même fonction, est investigué. / This study focuses on systemic design, integrating simultaneously issues of sizing and optimal energy management. The system under study consists of a pumping process including a brackish water desalination system fed by hybrid renewable power sources with minimum electrochemical storage. Such a device belongs to the class of “autonomous systems” supplied by intermittent sources whose power profile has a “given” waveform: “with minimum electrical storage, power has to be converted, stored in water tanks, or wasted following climatic (sun, wind) conditions”. Influence of environment conditions and robustness of the optimization process is then also discussed in this thesis. Both dynamic and quasi static models are implemented for representing the whole system. The device is firstly modeled dynamically by Bond Graph methodology. For faster simulations, which are more suitable for system optimization, a quasi static model is created to be simulated in the Matlab environment. For such systems, given a certain source power, finding optimal operation point at each period consists of a power sharing between all pumping devices: it is a complex process with huge nonlinearities (efficiency vs power curves) and with many constraints as for the limitation of pump powers, tank level conditions, or pressure and flow limitations in hydraulic network and pumping devices. It is not so trivial to define an objective function which ensures system performance and robustness versus environment conditions: a convenient objective function, whatever the input power profile, is then proposed to implement the optimal management. The optimization problem being mathematically expressed, consisting of objective function maximization under constraints, efficient optimization methods by non linear programming are implemented. The issue of sizing and its coupling with system management efficiency is finally studied. In particular, the interest of modular operation with several pumps connected in parallel is also concerned in this research.

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This thesis addresses the problem of energy management of a hybrid electric power unit for an autonomous vehicle. We introduce, evaluate, and discuss the idea of autonomous-specific energy management strategy. This method is an optimization-based strategy which improves the powertrain fuel economy by exploiting motion planning data. First, to build a firm base for further evaluations, we will develop a high-fidelity system-level model for our case study using MATLAB/Simulink. This model mostly concerns about energy-related aspects of the powertrain and the vehicle. We will derive and implement the equations for each of the model subsystems. We derive model parameters using available data in the literature or online. Evaluation of the developed model shows acceptable conformity with the actual dynamometer data. We will use this model to replace the built-in rule-based logic with the proposed strategy and assess the performance.\par Second, since we are considering an optimization-based approach, we will develop a novel convex representation of the vehicle and powertrain model. This translates to reformulating the model equations using convex functions. Consequently, we will express the fuel-efficient energy management problem as the convex optimization problem. We will solve the optimization problem using dedicated numerical solvers. Extracting the control inputs using this approach and applying them on the high-fidelity model provides similar results to dynamic programming in terms of fuel consumption but in substantially less amount of time. This will act as a pivot for the subsequent real-time analysis.\par Third, we will perform a proof-of-concept for the autonomous-specific energy management strategy. We implement an optimization-based path and trajectory planning for a vehicle in the simplified driving scenario of a racing track. Accordingly, we use motion planning data to obtain the energy management strategy by solving an optimization problem. We will let the vehicle to travel around the circuit with the ability to perceive and plan up to an observable horizon using the receding horizon approach. Developed approach for energy management strategy shows a substantial reduction in the fuel consumption of the high-fidelity model, compared to the rule-based controller. / Thesis / Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering (MSME) / The automotive industry is on the verge of groundbreaking transformations as a result of electrification and autonomous driving. Electrified autonomous car of the future is sustainable, energy-efficient, more convenient, and safer. In addition to the advantages of electrification and autonomous driving individually, the intersection and interaction of these mainstreams provide new opportunities for further improvements on the vehicles. Autonomous cars generate an unprecedented amount of real-time data due to excessive use of perception sensors and processing units. This thesis considers the case of an autonomous hybrid electric vehicle and presents the novel idea of autonomous-specific energy management strategy. Specifically, this thesis is a proof-of-concept, a trial to exploit the motion planning data for a self-driving car to improve the fuel economy of the hybrid electric power unit by adopting a more efficient energy management strategy. With the ever-increasing number of autonomous hybrid electric vehicles, particularly in the self-driving fleets, the presented method shows an extremely promising potential to reduce the fuel consumption of these vehicles.

[ES] A la luz de la crisis medioambiental y del creciente interés en el uso del H2 para avanzar hacia la Economía del Hidrógeno, esta tesis tiene como objetivo analizar y optimizar nuevas arquitecturas de sistemas propulsivos de FCV para aplicaciones en turismos y vehículos pesados en términos de rendimiento, durabilidad e impacto medioambiental. Para ello, se ha desarrollado una plataforma de modelado de FCV multifísica y flexible que integra un modelo de pila de combustible validado junto con los componentes del BoP, los componentes mecánicos y eléctricos del vehículo y el sistema propulsivo, un modelo de degradación de FC semi-empírico informado por tendencias físicas diseñado para ser utilizado en condiciones de conducción y un optimizador de EMS en tiempo real que ofrece el mejor rendimiento dado un diseño de sistema propulsivo y un ciclo de conducción, de tal forma que todas las arquitecturas propuestas para una aplicación determinada sean comparables en términos justos. La discusión de los resultados puede dividirse en tres partes diferentes. La primera está orientada a la optimización del rendimiento del FCS. Los resultados de esta parte ayudaron a identificar la estrategia de gestión del aire que, dado un conjunto de restricciones impuestas en los componentes del BoP, maximizaba la potencia neta del FCS (eficiencia) para cada valor de densidad de corriente. El balance energético resultante, que comprende la potencia producida por la pila de combustible, las perdidas electroquímicas y el consumo de los componentes del BoP, fue analizado y utilizado para determinar y diseñar la estrategia de control de los actuadores del BoP para condiciones de conducción. La segunda parte se centra en la evaluación y optimización, cuando es posible, de la arquitectura FCREx para aplicaciones de turismos y la configuración multi-FCS para aplicaciones de vehículos de transporte pesado. Desde el punto de vista del rendimiento, la arquitectura FCREx ofrecía un consumo mínimo de H2 con una elevada potencia de la pila de combustible y una gran capacidad de la batería, pero este diseño podría ser prohibitivo en términos de costes. Podía ofrecer hasta un 16.8-25% menos de consumo de H2 y un 6.8% menos de consumo de energía. La limitación en la dinámica de esta arquitectura aumento la durabilidad de la FC en un 110% con una penalización en el consumo de H2 del 4.7%. La arquitectura multi-FCS para aplicaciones pesadas podría funcionar con una dinámica aún menor, con un aumento de la durabilidad de la pila del 471% con una penalización en el consumo de H2 del 3.8%, ya que el perfil de conducción de los vehículos pesados suele ser menos dinámico. El control y el dimensionamiento diferencial solo podrían aportar beneficios en términos de impacto ambiental o de coste, pero no de rendimiento. La última parte considera los resultados obtenidos en términos de rendimiento y durabilidad para analizar el impacto medioambiental de cada arquitectura. La estrategia de producción de H2 afecta significativamente a las emisiones del ciclo de vida en ambas aplicaciones sobre cualquier otra elección de diseño. El diseño óptimo para la arquitectura FCREx que minimiza las emisiones tiene una alta potencia de la pila de combustible y una capacidad moderada de la batería. En el caso de la aplicación para vehículos pesados, se identificó la dinámica de control óptima para cada diseño y estrategia de producción de H2, y se determinó que la estrategia de diseño de dimensionado diferencial solo proporcionaba beneficios si se consideraba una tecnología de pila de combustible diferente para las distintas pilas integradas en el sistema propulsivo. / [CA] A la llum de la crisi mediambiental i del creixent interés en l'ús de l'H2 per a avançar cap a l'Economia de l'Hidrogen, aquesta tesi té com a objectiu analitzar i optimitzar noves arquitectures de sistemes propulsius de FCV per a aplicacions en turismes i vehicles pesants en termes de rendiment, durabilitat i impacte mediambiental. Per a això, s'ha desenvolupat una plataforma de modelatge de FCV multifísica i flexible que integra un model de pila de combustible validat juntament amb els components del BoP, els components mecànics i elèctrics del vehicle i el sistema propulsiu, un model de degradació de pila de combustible semi-empíric informat per tendències físiques dissenyat per a ser utilitzat en condicions de conducció i un optimitzador d'EMS en temps real que ofereix el millor rendiment donat un disseny de sistema propulsiu i un cicle de conducció, de tal forma que totes les arquitectures proposades per a una aplicació determinada siguen comparables en termes justos. La discussió dels resultats pot dividir-se en tres parts diferents. La primera està orientada a l'optimització del rendiment del FCS. Els resultats d'aquesta part van ajudar a identificar l'estratègia de gestió de l'aire que, donat un conjunt de restriccions imposades en els components del BoP, maximitzava la potència neta del FCS (eficiència) per a cada valor de densitat de corrent. El balanç energètic resultant, que comprén la potència produïda per la pila de combustible, les pèrdues electroquímiques i el consum dels components del BoP, va ser analitzat i utilitzat per a determinar i dissenyar l'estratègia de control dels actuadors del BoP per a condicions de conducció. La segona part se centra en l'avaluació i optimització, quan ¿es possible, de l'arquitectura FCREx per a aplicacions de turismes i la configuració multi-FCS per a aplicacions de vehicles de transport pesat. Des del punt de vista del rendiment, l'arquitectura FCREx oferia un consum mínim d'H2 amb una elevada potència de la pila de combustible i una gran capacitat de la bateria, però aquest disseny podría ser prohibitiu en termes de costos. Podia oferir fins a un 16.8-25% menys de consum d'H2 i un 6.8% menys de consum d'energia. La limitació en la dinàmica d'aquesta arquitectura va augmentar la durabilitat de la pila en un 110% amb una penalització en el consum d'H2 del 4.7%. L'arquitectura multi-FCS per a aplicacions pesades podria funcionar amb una dinàmica encara menor, amb un augment de la durabilitat de la pila del 471% i una penalització en el consum d'H2 del 3.8%, ja que el perfil de conducció dels vehicles pesants sol ser menys dinàmic. El control i el dimensionament diferencial només podrien aportar beneficis en termes d'impacte ambiental o de cost, però no de rendiment. L'última part considera els resultats obtinguts en termes de rendiment i durabilitat per a analitzar l'impacte mediambiental de cada arquitectura. L'estratègia de producció d'H2 afecta significativament a les emissions del cicle de vida en totes dues aplicacions sobre qualsevol altra elecció de disseny. El disseny òptim per a l'arquitectura FCREx que minimitza les emissions té una alta potència de la pila de combustible i una capacitat moderada de la bateria. En el cas de l'aplicació per a vehicles pesants, es va identificar la dinàmica de control `optima per a cada disseny i estratègia de producció d'H2, i es va determinar que l'estratègia de disseny de dimensionament diferencial només proporcionava beneficis si es considerava una tecnologia de pila de combustible diferent per a les diferents piles integrades en el sistema propulsiu. / [EN] In light of the environmental crisis and the growing interest in the use of H2 to advance toward the Hydrogen Economy, this thesis aims at analyzing and optimizing novel FCV powerplant architectures for passenger car and heavy-duty vehicle applications in terms of performance, durability, and environmental impact. For that purpose, a multi-physics flexible FCV modeling platform was developed integrating a validated FC stack model together with the BoP components, the mechanical and electrical components of the vehicle and powertrain, a semi-empirical physics-informed FC degradation model designed to be used in driving conditions and a real-time EMS optimizer that offers the best performance given a powerplant design and driving cycle so that all the proposed architectures for a given application are comparable. The discussion of the results can be divided into 3 different parts. The first one is oriented towards the FCS performance optimization. The results in this part helped to identify the air management strategy that, given a set of constraints imposed in the BoP components, maximized the FCS net power output (efficiency) for each value of current density. The resulting energy balance comprising the FC stack power produced, the electrochemical losses, and the consumption of the BoP components was analyzed and used to determine and design the control strategy of the BoP actuators for driving cycle conditions. The second part is focused on the evaluation and optimization, when possible, of the FCREx architecture for passenger car applications and the multi-FCS configuration for heavy-duty vehicle applications. Performance-wise the FCREx architecture offered minimum H2 consumption with high FC stack power and high battery capacity, but this design could be prohibitive in terms of costs. It could offer up to 16.8-25% lower H2 consumption and 6.8% lower energy consumption. Limiting the dynamics of this architecture increased the FC durability by 110% with a penalty in H2 consumption of 4.7%. The multi-FCS architecture for heavy-duty applications could operate with even lower dynamics, with an increase in the FC durability of 471% with a penalty in H2 consumption of 3.8%, since the driving profile of heavy-duty vehicles is usually more steady. Differential control and sizing could only provide benefits in terms of environmental impact or cost, not performance. The last part considers the results obtained in terms of performance and durability to analyze the environmental impact of each architecture. The H2 production pathway affected significantly the life cycle emissions of both applications over any other design choice. The optimum design for FCREx architecture that minimized emissions had high FC stack power and moderate battery capacity. In the case of heavy-duty application, the optimum control dynamics for each design and H2 production pathway were identified, and the differential sizing design strategy was determined to only provide benefits if different FC stack technology was considered for the various stacks in the powerplant. / López Juárez, M. (2022). Analysis of Hydrogen Fuel Cell Powerplant Architectures for Future Transport Applications [Tesis doctoral]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/189212

Defence organisations have now significantly developed and in the process they have applied various measures to sustain their progresses and encourage innovation. One of those measures is by embarking on KM programs. KM in military is seen as a strategic approach to achieving defense objectives by leveraging the value of collective knowledge through the process of creating, gathering, organizing, sharing and transferring knowledge into action. It is through proper knowledge management practices that an organisation embraces and manages its knowledge generation, knowledge acquisition, knowledge organisation, knowledge storage, transfer, knowledge sharing, and knowledge retention. The purpose of this study was to investigate knowledge management practices in the Department of Defence (RSA). The objective of the study was to find out how the department appreciates, understands, interprets and handles its knowledge. This study employed triangulation method to present trustworthiness of both qualitative and quantitative research approaches using positivist research design. Questionnaires, interviews and document analysis were employed to collect data. In order to arrive at the number of participants who received the questionnaires, a probability sampling method called stratified random sampling was used as well as purposive sampling. When setting up a study, it was essential to review the research identified in the literature review and to determine whether there is anything relevant to the research design of the proposed study. The study found that knowledge management was hardly understood generally in the department and was not an approach used and institutionalised for the benefit of the organisation. However there was embedded knowledge management appreciation from a few staff members in the department, only managing their own knowledge regarding learning, capturing and storage. Additionally there is a significant number of staff members who believe knowledge management is a way to go in the future and strongly believe their Defence Department needs to adopt a comprehensive and inclusive KM approach. / Information Science / M.A. (Information Science)

South African schools have experienced a high rate of educator turnover which has led to greater school instability, disruption of curricular cohesiveness and a continual need to hire experienced and inexperienced educators, who may be typically less effective, as replacements for educators who leave. Unfortunately, principals of schools lack organizational capacity to provide the necessary management strategies that can enhance educators’ job satisfaction. Since the principals are fully responsible for the proper functioning of the schools and their personnel, this study explored the relationship between the management strategies of school principals and the educators’ job satisfaction levels within the context of South African schools. It examined how management strategies of principals impact on job satisfaction levels of educators in various school environments. The study explored literature from local and international perspectives on management strategies and the job satisfaction of educators. It described the background and findings of the relationship between management strategies of principals and educators’ job satisfaction levels from an education management perspective. For the empirical inquiry the study adopted a qualitative research paradigm, and as such, a qualitative investigation of the relationship between the management strategies of school principals and the educators’ job satisfaction levels in schools was conducted. Non-probability sampling methods were used to select a sample of six school principals and twelve educators. Individual and focus group interviews were used in data collection and were audio-recorded. Throughout the research study, ethical considerations were upheld. Data analysis involved a mix of content and thematic analysis instruments. The study findings determined the relationship between management strategies of principals and educators’ job satisfaction levels. An understanding of human relationship is very important to school principals who have the responsibility of establishing an environment that not only motivates educators, but can also help to enhance their job satisfaction levels in a positive way. An understanding of educators’ needs also helps school principals to devise management strategies to enhance the job satisfaction levels of educators. Based on the findings, recommendations to improve the management strategies of school principals in the enhancement of educators’ job satisfaction were proposed. / Educational Leadership and Management / D. Ed. (Education Management)

This research uses the ‘demand-side thesis’ to examine the decline of the Dundee jute industry. In particular, it examines the effect of international competition and the strategic response of the industry during the inter-war (1919-1939) and the post-war (1945-1960s) period to counter this challenge. The strategic response is studied by examining strategies employed at the firm and the industry level. Strategy at the firm level is studied in the form of capability development using the capabilities approach. The thesis also makes an attempt to redress the issue of determinism in the capabilities approach which suggests that the pattern of capability development is governed by path-dependency. By drawing on the techniques employed in the history literature, this research identifies strategic options that were being considered by firms at the time of capability development and examine why certain alternatives were not pursued. This will bring to light aspects other then those associated with path-dependency that played a role in the pattern of capability development. The capabilities developed by firms during the two periods are compared and contrasted in order to understand the pattern over this period. These findings are juxtaposed with the British cotton textile industry, a related sector, to examine the effectiveness of the demand-side thesis in explaining the decline of the jute industry in particular and the textile industry in general. This thesis makes contribution to three areas of literature: First, the thesis helps to further develop the demand-side framework by introducing a new case (Dundee jute industry) and developing a better understanding of strategic response within the jute and textile industry in general. Second, this thesis contributes to the theoretical development of capabilities approach in two specific areas: a) it helps to address the issue of determinism inherent in the capabilities approach through the notion of path-dependency. This was done by also examining the strategic options that were available to firms while developing their capabilities and underlining the reasons for not pursuing them. b) the analysis sheds new light on the nature of branching of capabilities in an industry over a long period. Third, this research makes significant contribution to the existing literature on the business history of the Dundee jute industry, which is sparse. The contributions can be categorised into four key aspects which have not been examined in the current literature: a) period (inter-war and post-war), b) issue (systematic examination of the Dundee jute industry’s decline, strategic response and role of collective strategies), c) method (detailed study of individual firm’s strategies), and d) cross comparison of industry’s experience with related sectors (for example, the cotton industry). Focusing on these issues has helped to throw new light on the challenges, especially technological, facing the industry in developing its strategic response.

Cette thèse est consacrée au développement de techniques de commande avancées pour des classes de systèmes non linéaires en général et pour des applications automobiles en particulier.Pour répondre au besoin du contrôle moteur, la première partie propose des nouveaux résultats théoriques sur la technique de commande non linéaire à base de modèles de type Takagi-Sugeno soumis à la saturation de la commande. La saturation de la commande est traitée en utilisant sa représentation polytopique ou une stratégie anti-windup.La deuxième partie porte sur la commande du système d'air d'un moteur turbocompressé à allumage commandé. Deux approches originales sont proposées. Dans la première, l'outil théorique concernant les modèles Takagi-Sugeno à commutation développé dans la première partie est directement appliqué. La seconde approche est basée sur une commande linéarisante robuste. L'originalité de ces approches multivariables consiste dans sa simplicité de mise en œuvre et son efficacité par rapport à celles qui existent dans la littérature.La dernière partie vise à développer des stratégies pour la gestion énergétique des systèmes électriques d'un véhicule obtenues en se basant sur le Principe du Minimum de Pontryagin. À cet effet, deux approches sont considérées : l'approche hors ligne d'optimisation utilisant les informations du futur concernant les conditions de roulage et l'approche en ligne qui est adaptée de la précédente. Ensuite, ces deux approches sont implémentées et évaluées dans un simulateur avancé. / This thesis addresses the development of some advanced control design tools for a class of nonlinear systems in general and for automotive systems in particular.Motivated by automotive applications, Part I proposes some novel theoretical results on control design for nonlinear systems under Takagi-Sugeno form subject to the control input saturation. The input saturation is dealt with by using its polytopic representation or an anti-windup strategy.Part II deals with our automotive application concerning the control of a turbocharged air system of a spark ignition engine. To this end, two novel control approaches are proposed in this part. For the first one, the theoretical design tool on switching Takagi-Sugeno controller developed in Part I is directly applied. The second one is based on a robust feedback linearization control technique. The originality of these MIMO approaches consist in their simplicity and effectiveness compared to other ones existing in the literature.Part III aims at developing the strategies, which are based on the Pontryagin's Minimum Principle in optimal control theory, for the energy management of the vehicular electric power systems in a hybrid engine configuration. To this end, both offline optimization approach using the future information of driving conditions and online implementable one have been developed and evaluated in an advanced simulator.