Hydrocracking and hydrotreating are bitumen upgrading technologies designed to enhance fuel quality by decreasing its density, viscosity, boiling point and heteroatom content via hydrogen addition. The aim of this thesis is to model and simulate an upgrading and integrated gasification combined cycle then to evaluate the feasibility of integrating slurry hydrocracking, trickle-bed hydrotreating and residue gasification using the Aspen HYSYS® simulation software. The close-coupling of the bitumen upgrading facilities with gasification should lead to a hydrogen, steam and power self-sufficient upgrading facility with CO2 capture. Hydrocracker residue is first withdrawn from a 100,000 BPD Athabasca bitumen upgrading facility, characterized via ultimate analysis and then fed to a gasification unit where it produces hydrogen that is partially recycled to the hydrocracker and hydrotreaters and partially burned for power production in a high hydrogen combined cycle unit. The integrated design is simulated for a base case of 90% carbon capture utilizing a monoethanolamine (MEA) solvent, and compared to 65% and no carbon capture scenarios. The hydrogen production of the gasification process is evaluated in terms of hydrocracker residue and auxiliary petroleum coke feeds. The power production is determined for various carbon capture cases and for an optimal hydrocracking operation. Hence, the feasibility of the integration of the upgrading process and the IGCC resides in meeting the hydrogen demand of the upgrading facility while producing enough steam and electricity for a power and energy self-sufficient operation, regardless of the extent of carbon capture.

Hydrocracking and hydrotreating are bitumen upgrading technologies designed to enhance fuel quality by decreasing its density, viscosity, boiling point and heteroatom content via hydrogen addition. The aim of this thesis is to model and simulate an upgrading and integrated gasification combined cycle then to evaluate the feasibility of integrating slurry hydrocracking, trickle-bed hydrotreating and residue gasification using the Aspen HYSYS® simulation software. The close-coupling of the bitumen upgrading facilities with gasification should lead to a hydrogen, steam and power self-sufficient upgrading facility with CO2 capture. Hydrocracker residue is first withdrawn from a 100,000 BPD Athabasca bitumen upgrading facility, characterized via ultimate analysis and then fed to a gasification unit where it produces hydrogen that is partially recycled to the hydrocracker and hydrotreaters and partially burned for power production in a high hydrogen combined cycle unit. The integrated design is simulated for a base case of 90% carbon capture utilizing a monoethanolamine (MEA) solvent, and compared to 65% and no carbon capture scenarios. The hydrogen production of the gasification process is evaluated in terms of hydrocracker residue and auxiliary petroleum coke feeds. The power production is determined for various carbon capture cases and for an optimal hydrocracking operation. Hence, the feasibility of the integration of the upgrading process and the IGCC resides in meeting the hydrogen demand of the upgrading facility while producing enough steam and electricity for a power and energy self-sufficient operation, regardless of the extent of carbon capture.

<p>In the process of designing an electric power supply system for an aircraft, parameters like low weight and low losses are important. Reliability, robustness and low cost are other important factors. In the Saab Gripen aircraft, the design of the primary power supply of the electric flight control system was updated by exchanging a switching transistor regulator to a magnetic amplifier (magamp). By introducing a magamp design, weight was saved and a more reliable power supply system at a lower cost was achieved.</p><p> In this particular case, with the power supply of the electric flight control system in the Saab Gripen fighter, advantage could be taken of a specific permanent magnet generator (PM-generator). The frequency of the generator offered the perfect conditions for a magamp controller. A key parameter in designing magnetic amplifiers (magamps) is low losses. New amorphous alloys offer new possibilities of the technique in designing magnetic amplifiers, because of their extremely low losses.</p><p> The core losses are evaluated by studying the equations and diagrams specifying the power losses. The core losses are evaluated and compared with the copper losses in the process of optimizing low weight and low losses. For this an engineering tool is developed and demonstrated.</p><p> Evaluations of the hysteresis characteristics for the magnetic alloys, as well as modeling and simulation of the core losses, are presented in this work. The modeling of the core losses includes hysteresis losses, eddy current losses and excess losses as well as copper losses. The losses are studied dynamically during realistic operational conditions. The model can be used for any generic analysis of hysteresis in magnetic circuits. Applications of magnetic amplifiers in aircrafts have been demonstrated to be a feasible alternative</p>

Cette thèse a pour objectif d’apporter un ensemble d’outils logiciels s’inscrivant dans une méthodologie globale de conception de systèmes mécatroniques. Elle arrive en complément de travaux déjà menés au sein du laboratoire sur le pré-dimensionnement d’actionneurs aéronautiques de nouvelle génération : les actionneurs électromécaniques (EMA). Cette technologie apporte de nouvelles problématiques qui forcent les ingénieurs à modifier leur processus de développement et ce dès la phase de spécification où des profils de mission devront être générés/transformés/analysés de manière à simplifier la conception et assurer leur validation. Une toolbox Simulink a donc été créée dans cette thèse pour répondre à ce besoin de transformation de l’information entre avionneur et systémier. Comme tout système embarqué, le concepteur fait face à des compromis entre performances, durée de vie et intégration, qui peuvent se résumer à un problème d’optimisation décrit par un ensemble d’équations et de contraintes. Un effort particulier de description a été mené sur le conditionnement de ces équations sous la forme d’un séquencement de calculs explicites adaptés aux algorithmes d’optimisation. La méthode et son implémentation logicielle, toutes deux basées sur la théorie des graphes, interagissent avec le concepteur de manière à l’informer des erreurs de singularité ou de bouclages algébriques apparaissant dans son problème et à lui fournir des pistes de résolution. Pour finir, des études de pré-dimensionnement d’actionneurs de train d’atterrissage et de surfaces de vol primaires (aileron et spoiler), réalisées dans le cadre de cette thèse, dresseront les possibilités offertes par cette approche innovante : conception intégrée avec une cinématique complexe, conception collaborative pluri-partenaires découplée, utilisation de surfaces de réponse pour accélérer l’optimisation / The aim of this thesis is to bring a package of software tools included in a whole methodology dealing with mechatronic systems design. It comes as an add-on to the work already carried out at the laboratory in the field of the new generation of aircraft actuation systems: electromechanical actuators (EMA). This technology triggers new problematics leading the engineers to modify their development process as early as the specification phase, when mission profiles have to be generated/transformed/analyzed in order to simplify the design and ensure the validation step. Thus a Simulink toolbox has been created to meet the need for an information translator working as an intermediate between airframer and system-supplier. As for all the embedded systems, the designer has to face some performance-lifetime-integration trade-off, which can be considered as an optimization problem described by a set of equations and constraints. Particular attention is paid here to the conditioning of those explicit equations in order to obtain a standardized calculation sequence adapted to many optimization algorithms. The method and implemented software, both based on the graph theory, interact with the designer to inform him on the possible singularity and algebraic loop issues, providing some leads for their resolution. Finally, some preliminary sizing studies of landing gear and primary flight control surfaces (aileron and spoiler) actuation systems are presented to highlight the possibilities brought out by this innovative approach: integrated design with complex kinematics, collaborative multi-partners design, use of response surfaces to speed up the optimization

This master thesis has been carried out in collaboration with Saab, Avionics Systems in Jönköping, Sweden, during the spring of 2017. The thesis investigates unidirectional rectifier topologies in aircraft and the focus has been on evaluating the power quality requirements according to the aircraft standards, in the course of the More Electric Aircraft concept. Both passive and active power factor correction topologies are considered, discussed and compared. Simulation models are designed in MATLAB/Simulink and the procedures are presented. A modular concept regarding components is discussed where different power supplies and loads are considered. The simulations present both a passive 12-pulse auto-transformer rectifier unit and an active Delta-switch rectifier fulfilling requirements for aircraft such as the total harmonic distortion of the supply current. In addition, the input power factor is close to unity and an efficiency greater than 97% is obtained. Lastly, future aspects of each topology are discussed and necessary improvements to obtain realistic simulation models are presented.

Hydrocracking and hydrotreating are bitumen upgrading technologies designed to enhance fuel quality by decreasing its density, viscosity, boiling point and heteroatom content via hydrogen addition. The aim of this thesis is to model and simulate an upgrading and integrated gasification combined cycle then to evaluate the feasibility of integrating slurry hydrocracking, trickle-bed hydrotreating and residue gasification using the Aspen HYSYS® simulation software. The close-coupling of the bitumen upgrading facilities with gasification should lead to a hydrogen, steam and power self-sufficient upgrading facility with CO2 capture. Hydrocracker residue is first withdrawn from a 100,000 BPD Athabasca bitumen upgrading facility, characterized via ultimate analysis and then fed to a gasification unit where it produces hydrogen that is partially recycled to the hydrocracker and hydrotreaters and partially burned for power production in a high hydrogen combined cycle unit. The integrated design is simulated for a base case of 90% carbon capture utilizing a monoethanolamine (MEA) solvent, and compared to 65% and no carbon capture scenarios. The hydrogen production of the gasification process is evaluated in terms of hydrocracker residue and auxiliary petroleum coke feeds. The power production is determined for various carbon capture cases and for an optimal hydrocracking operation. Hence, the feasibility of the integration of the upgrading process and the IGCC resides in meeting the hydrogen demand of the upgrading facility while producing enough steam and electricity for a power and energy self-sufficient operation, regardless of the extent of carbon capture.

In the process of designing an electric power supply system for an aircraft, parameters like low weight and low losses are important. Reliability, robustness and low cost are other important factors. In the Saab Gripen aircraft, the design of the primary power supply of the electric flight control system was updated by exchanging a switching transistor regulator to a magnetic amplifier (magamp). By introducing a magamp design, weight was saved and a more reliable power supply system at a lower cost was achieved. In this particular case, with the power supply of the electric flight control system in the Saab Gripen fighter, advantage could be taken of a specific permanent magnet generator (PM-generator). The frequency of the generator offered the perfect conditions for a magamp controller. A key parameter in designing magnetic amplifiers (magamps) is low losses. New amorphous alloys offer new possibilities of the technique in designing magnetic amplifiers, because of their extremely low losses. The core losses are evaluated by studying the equations and diagrams specifying the power losses. The core losses are evaluated and compared with the copper losses in the process of optimizing low weight and low losses. For this an engineering tool is developed and demonstrated. Evaluations of the hysteresis characteristics for the magnetic alloys, as well as modeling and simulation of the core losses, are presented in this work. The modeling of the core losses includes hysteresis losses, eddy current losses and excess losses as well as copper losses. The losses are studied dynamically during realistic operational conditions. The model can be used for any generic analysis of hysteresis in magnetic circuits. Applications of magnetic amplifiers in aircrafts have been demonstrated to be a feasible alternative / QC 20101103

Ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF) is produced by astrocytes which have been implicated in regulating stress responses. We found that CNTF in the medial amygdala (MeA) promotes despair or passive coping, i.e., immobility in an acute forced swim stress, in female mice, while having no effect in males. Neutralizing CNTF antibody injected into the MeA of wildtype females reduced activation of downstream STAT3 (Y705) 24 and 48 h later. In concert, the antibody reduced immobility in the swim test in females and only after MeA injection, but not when injected in the central or basolateral amygdala. Antibody injected into the male MeA did not affect immobility. These data reveal a unique role of CNTF in female MeA in promoting despair or passive coping behavior. Moreover, 4 weeks of chronic unpredictable stress (CUS) increased immobility in the swim test and reduced sucrose preference in wildtype CNTF+/+, but not CNTF-/- littermate, females. Following CUS, 10 min of restraint stress increased plasma corticosterone levels only in CNTF+/+ females. In males, the CUS effects were present in both genotypes. Further, CUS increased CNTF expression in the MeA of female, but not male, mice. CUS did not alter CNTF in the female hippocampus, hypothalamus and bed nucleus of stria terminalis. This suggests that MeA CNTF has a female-specific role in promoting CUS-induced despair or passive coping, behavioral anhedonia and neuroendocrine responses. Compared to CNTF+/+ mice, CNTF-/- mice did not show differences in CUS-induced anxiety-like behavior and sensorimotor gating function as measured by elevated T-Maze, open field and pre-pulse inhibition of the acoustic startle response. Together, this study reveals a novel CNTF-mediated female-specific mechanism in stress responses and points to opportunities for developing treatments for stress-related disorders in women.