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  • About
  • The Global ETD Search service is a free service for researchers to find electronic theses and dissertations. This service is provided by the Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations.
    Our metadata is collected from universities around the world. If you manage a university/consortium/country archive and want to be added, details can be found on the NDLTD website.
241

Practical Aspects of the Implementation of Reduced-Order Models Based on Proper Orthogonal Decomposition

Brenner, Thomas Andrew 2011 May 1900 (has links)
This work presents a number of the practical aspects of developing reduced- order models (ROMs) based on proper orthogonal decomposition (POD). ROMS are derived and implemented for multiphase flow, quasi-2D nozzle flow and 2D inviscid channel flow. Results are presented verifying the ROMs against existing full-order models (FOM). POD is a method for separating snapshots of a flow field that varies in both time and space into spatial basis functions and time coefficients. The partial differential equations that govern fluid flow can then be pro jected onto these basis functions, generating a system of ordinary differential equations where the unknowns are the time coefficients. This results in the reduction of the number of equations to be solved from hundreds of thousands or more to hundreds or less. A ROM is implemented for three-dimensional and non-isothermal multiphase flows. The derivation of the ROM is presented. Results are compared against the FOM and show that the ROM agrees with the FOM. While implementing the ROM for multiphase flow, moving discontinuities were found to be a ma jor challenge when they appeared in the void fraction around gas bubbles. A point-mode POD approach is proposed and shown to have promise. A simple test case for moving discontinuities, the first order wave equation, is used to test an augmentation method for capturing the discontinuity exactly. This approach is shown to remove the unphysical oscillations that appear around the discontinuityin traditional approaches. A ROM for quasi-2D inviscid nozzle flow is constructed and the results are com- pared to a FOM. This ROM is used to test two approaches, POD-Analytical and POD-Discretized. The stability of each approach is assessed and the results are used in the implementation of a ROM for the Navier-Stokes equations. A ROM for a Navier-Stokes solver is derived and implemented using the results of the nozzle flow case. Results are compared to the FOM for channel flow with a bump. The computational speed-up of the ROM is discussed. Two studies are presented with practical aspects of the implementation of POD- based ROMs. The first shows the effect of the snapshot sampling on the accuracy of the POD basis functions. The second shows that for multiphase flow, the cross- coupling between field variables should not be included when computing the POD basis functions.
242

Monocular Obstacle Detection for Moving Vehicles

Lalonde, Jeffrey R. 18 January 2012 (has links)
This thesis presents a 3D reconstruction approach to the detection of static obstacles from a single rear view parking camera. Corner features are tracked to estimate the vehicle’s motion and to perform multiview triangulation in order to reconstruct the scene. We model the camera motion as planar motion and use the knowledge of the camera pose to efficiently solve motion parameters. Based on the observed motion, we selected snapshots from which the scene is reconstructed. These snapshots guarantee a sufficient baseline between the images and result in more robust scene modeling. Multiview triangulation of a feature is performed only if the feature obeys the epipolar constraint. Triangulated features are semantically labelled according to their 3D location. Obstacle features are spatially clustered to reduce false detections. Finally, the distance to the nearest obstacle cluster is reported to the driver.
243

Characterization of caking and cake strength in a potash bed

Wang, Yan 30 May 2006
When a water soluble granular fertilizer, such as potash, is wetted and then dried during storage and transportation processes, clumps or cakes often form in the material even when the maximum moisture content is less than 1% by mass. In order to avoid or decrease these occurred cakes, it is essential to characterize cake strength and to explore the process of cake formulation or caking through theoretical/numerical analysis. In this thesis, both experimental measurements of cake strength and theoretical/numerical simulations for recrystallization near a contact point are used to investigate the relationship between the caking process and the cake strength for important factors such as initial moisture content and drying time. <p>In this research, a centrifugal loading method has been developed to determine cake strength in a caked ring specimen of potash fertilizer where internal tensile stresses dominate. Research on fracture mechanics states that brittle materials, such as caked potash, fail at randomly positioned fracture surfaces in tension so the centrifuge test method is well suited to provide good data. A two-dimensional plane stress analysis was used to determine the area-averaged tensile stress at the speed of the centrifuge when each specimen fractures. Repeated tests and uncertainty calculations give data with a narrow range of uncertainty. <p>The centrifuge test facility was used for a series of tests in which the initial moisture content, drying time, particle size and chemical composition (i.e. magnesium content) of the samples were varied. For particle sizes in the range from 0.85 to 3.35 mm, experimental data show that the cake strength increased linearly with initial moisture content for each drying method and particle size, and decreased with increasing particle size for each initial moisture content and drying method. As well, it was also found that cake strength will increase essentially linearly with magnesium content from 0.02% to 0.1% for samples with the same initial moisture content, particle size and drying method. All data show that potash samples tend to form a stronger cake with a slower drying process. <p>A theoretical/numerical model is presented in this thesis to simulate ion diffusion and crystallization near one contact point between two potash (KCl) particles during a typical drying process. The effects of three independent factors are investigated: initial moisture content; evaporation rate; and degree of supersaturation on the surface surrounding the contact point. The numerical results show that the mass of crystal deposition near the contact point will increase with increased initial moisture content and decreased evaporation rate. These numerical predictions for recrystallization near the contact point are consistent with the experimental data for the cake strength of test samples of particle beds. With variations in the solid crystal surface degree of supersaturation near the contact point, simulations showed up to 5 times the increase in the crystal mass deposition near the contact point. This prediction of increased roughness is consistent with another experimental investigation which showed that the surface roughness of NaCl and KCl surfaces increased by a factor of five after one wetting and drying process.
244

Spatial Patterns of Zooplankton and Water Currents Near the Confluence of Two Major Fetches in Lake Opeongo,Ontario

Bridgeman, Sean 21 July 2010 (has links)
This study combines Optical Plankton Counter data on zooplankton abundance and Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler data on water currents to test hypotheses about spatial zooplankton distributions near a major point of land affecting local wind and water current patterns. Data were collected by repeatedly sampling a 2 km linear transect in the South Arm of Lake Opeongo, Ontario, Canada during July, 2008. Moving Split Window techniques were used to identify breakpoints in both zooplankton biomass concentration and a measure of water turbulence, and confirmed an effect of the topographic feature on local zooplankton distributions. Using additional data collected in 2001 and 2003, zooplankton abundance distributions were also tested under three wind speed ranges predicted from physical principles to correspond to varying stability of the water column. Significant differences were found in the variability and patch sizes of the distributions, indicating the importance of wind speeds on zooplankton patchiness.
245

Spatial Patterns of Zooplankton and Water Currents Near the Confluence of Two Major Fetches in Lake Opeongo,Ontario

Bridgeman, Sean 21 July 2010 (has links)
This study combines Optical Plankton Counter data on zooplankton abundance and Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler data on water currents to test hypotheses about spatial zooplankton distributions near a major point of land affecting local wind and water current patterns. Data were collected by repeatedly sampling a 2 km linear transect in the South Arm of Lake Opeongo, Ontario, Canada during July, 2008. Moving Split Window techniques were used to identify breakpoints in both zooplankton biomass concentration and a measure of water turbulence, and confirmed an effect of the topographic feature on local zooplankton distributions. Using additional data collected in 2001 and 2003, zooplankton abundance distributions were also tested under three wind speed ranges predicted from physical principles to correspond to varying stability of the water column. Significant differences were found in the variability and patch sizes of the distributions, indicating the importance of wind speeds on zooplankton patchiness.
246

Imaging and the National Imagining: Theorizing Visual Sovereignty in Trinidad and Tobago Moving Image Media through Analysis of Television Advertising

McFarlane-Alvarez, Susan Lillian 26 May 2006 (has links)
Academic and popular discourse frequently positions postcolonial countries as receivers of visual culture rather than as producers and transmitters. These countries are often deemed as being subject to hegemonic forces of global media flows, the influx of foreign programming into their media landscapes hindering any significant development of distinct national identity through visual media. Since independence from British rule in 1962, government, media practitioners and viewers in the postcolonial Caribbean nation of Trinidad and Tobago have sought ways to build a national visual culture despite the inundation of non-local visual texts into the country. This study positions postcolonial Trinidad and Tobago as actively productive of its own identity, and through a cultural studies analysis of television advertising, examines the central role that this industry (including personnel, economic structure, equipment and texts) plays in the construction of a national visual culture. This process of collective imagining takes place within the visual imaging of the advertising industry, and ultimately charts the undoing of colonial, hegemonic discourses within the broader mediascape. Ultimately the advertising industry facilitates the active negotiation of national identity, catalyzing the process of visual sovereignty.
247

Monocular Obstacle Detection for Moving Vehicles

Lalonde, Jeffrey R. 18 January 2012 (has links)
This thesis presents a 3D reconstruction approach to the detection of static obstacles from a single rear view parking camera. Corner features are tracked to estimate the vehicle’s motion and to perform multiview triangulation in order to reconstruct the scene. We model the camera motion as planar motion and use the knowledge of the camera pose to efficiently solve motion parameters. Based on the observed motion, we selected snapshots from which the scene is reconstructed. These snapshots guarantee a sufficient baseline between the images and result in more robust scene modeling. Multiview triangulation of a feature is performed only if the feature obeys the epipolar constraint. Triangulated features are semantically labelled according to their 3D location. Obstacle features are spatially clustered to reduce false detections. Finally, the distance to the nearest obstacle cluster is reported to the driver.
248

Utvärdering av den biologiska reningen av processavloppsvattnet vid GE Healthcare i Uppsala / An evaluation of the biological wastewater treatment at GE Healthcare in Uppsala

Fridlund, Malin January 2005 (has links)
GE Healthcare operates in Uppsala (Sweden) and develops systems, equipments and medium to purify medical substances. Discussions with the local authority concerning planed far-reaching changes and upgrades of the biological process techniques for sewage management, aroused the question about revising the terms of permit for the activity. Therefore it seemed necessary to evaluate a newly installed biological process technique, which is the background of this thesis. The evaluated biological treatment process was built in 2003 and consists of a biological reactor filled with moving bed carriers with a high surface area for biological growth. At the time of the project the biological wastewater treatment plant consisted of a flow equalization facility and two following parallel biological processes; a biological reactor with moving bed carriers and a tower trickling filter. The aim of this thesis was to survey the function of the biological reactor with respect to the reduction of organic matter. Further to clarify which circumstances that have a negative effect on the organic reduction. During the three forthcoming years, an extensive reconstruction of the biological wastewater treatment facility will be accomplished. During the construction period the flow equalization will be very limited. Therefore an emission forecast with respect to organic matter was performed comprising the construction period during the years 2005, 2006 and 2007. This to estimate the safety margin to the emission standard during the construction period. Several parameters were surveyed during the project, water temperature, pH, plural nutrition elements, flow, oxygen concentration, suspended solids, organic load and microbial activity. At two occasions, the parameters were extensively studied during a 24-hour period respectively. Two capacity experiments were performed in order to evaluate the organic reduction at different organic loads. The obtained results together with an estimation regarding the organic load performed by AB Ångpanneföreningen were used for the emission forecast. The forecast considered two cases, operation with and without dosage of a flow with high organic content from the local solvent recycling facility (called T10-dosage). According to the forecast, the emission standard will be fulfilled during an average month regarding the organic load. This without T10-dosage and with an average reduction of 55 %. To fulfill the standard during a month with maximum organic load, a reduction of 65 and 75 % will be required in the cases without and with T10-dosage respectively. The organic reduction is negatively effected by lasting loads of 7 kg CODfilt/m3 or higher, or by a great increase of the load in a short period of time. Sporadic peaks regarding the organic load appeared to have temporary or no negative effects on the reduction. Flow variations during evenings, nights and weekends caused variations in the organic load with negative effect of the reduction rate. The oxygen concentration in the biological reactor has a conclusive significance of the reduction rate, a lower concentration than 2 mg/l affects the reduction rate in a negative way. The buffering capacity in the biofilm reactor showed to work excellently, the pH value varied between 6.8 and 8.9. There is an immediate risk of temperatures over 40oC during the construction period. This could have a negative influence of the organic reduction. Individual measured temperatures of 38oC did not have a negative effect on the reduction rate. The amount of suspended solids varied a lot in the outflow from the biological reactor and will continue to do so during the construction period. / GE Healthcare bedriver sin verksamhet i Uppsala vilken består av att utveckla system, utrustning och media för att rena läkemedelssubstanser. Vid diskussion med Uppsala kommuns VA- och avfallskontor väcktes frågan angående omprövning av tillståndet för verksamheten. Diskussionerna rörde planerade processförändringar och kompletteringar av bolagets biologiska processavloppsvattenrening. Av den anledningen ansågs det nödvändigt att utreda en för företaget ny processteknik för processavloppsvatten, vilket är bakgrunden till detta examensarbete. Den utvärderade processtekniken är en biofilmreaktor innehållande ett rörligt bärarmaterial med en stor skyddad yta för biologisk tillväxt. Biofilmreaktorn togs i drift under hösten år 2003 och därmed bestod det lokala reningsverket förenklat sett av en utjämningsanläggning följd av två parallella biosteg, ett biotorn med konventionell stationär biobädd över vilken processavloppsvatten spreds samt en biofilmreaktor med rörligt bärarmaterial. Syftet med examensarbetet var att kartlägga biofilmreaktorns funktion med avseende på reduktion av organiskt material. Vidare att klargöra vid vilka förhållanden reduktionsgraden har påverkats negativt. Under de tre kommande åren skall en stor om- och tillbyggnad av reningsverket genomföras. Förändringen kommer att medföra att utjämningsvolymen blir mycket begränsad under ombyggnadsperioden. Av den anledningen var ytterligare ett syfte med examensarbetet att utföra en utsläppsprognos med avseende på organiskt material för åren 2005 till och med 2007. Detta för att bedöma säkerhetsmarginalen till utsläppsvillkoret under ombyggnadsperioden. Examensarbetet realiserades genom att kartlägga parametrarna organisk belastning, organisk reduktion, vattentemperatur, pH, närsalter, flöde, koncentration löst syre, suspenderad substans samt mikrobiell aktivitet. Därutöver utfördes två kapacitetsförsök för att kartlägga den organiska belastningens inverkan på reduktionen. Vid det ena försöket skapades en högre organisk belastning genom att successivt öka flödesbelastningen över biofilmreaktorn. Vid det andra försöket doserades en delström (kallad T10-dosering) innehållande rester från den lokala lösningsmedelsåtervinningen med stort organiskt innehåll. Därtill utfördes två dygnsprovtagningar för att kartlägga ett flertal parametrars dygnsvariationer. Den framtagna utsläppsprognosen baserades på en belastningsprognos utförd av AB Ångpanneföreningen samt den i arbetet kartlagda reduktionen av organiskt material vid olika belastningar. Prognosen omfattar två fall, med eller utan T10-dosering. Enligt utsläppsprognosen kommer utsläppsvillkoret inte att överskridas under åren 2005 till och med 2007. Detta gäller vid en för året genomsnittlig månad avseende belastning utan T10-dosering och med en genomsnittlig organisk reduktionsgrad på 55 %. Under en månad med maximal belastning krävs 65 % reduktion och 75 % med T10-dosering. Kapacitetsförsöken visade att reduktionsgraden påverkades negativt vid en varaktig belastning överstigande 7 kg CODlöst/m3 samt vid kraftiga belastningsökningar. Tillfälliga belastningstoppar hade endast kortvarig eller ingen negativ inverkan på reduktionen. Höga flöden under dagtid och låga flöden under nätter och helger orsakade variationer i den organiska belastningen, vilket hade en negativ inverkan på reduktionen. När koncentrationen löst syre i biofilmreaktorn understeg 2 mg/l påverkades mikroorganismerna negativt och därmed även reduktionen. Buffertkapaciteten i biofilmreaktorn var god under den studerade tidsperioden och pH-värdet varierade mellan 6,5 och 8,8. Under ombyggnadsperioden föreligger en stor risk för att vattentemperaturen kan bli för hög i biofilmreaktorn vid ett flertal tillfällen. Enstaka uppmätta temperaturtoppar på 38°C påverkade dock inte reduktionen negativt. I biofilmreaktorns utgående vatten varierade mängden suspenderad substans kraftigt, vilket även kommer att gälla under ombyggnadsperioden.
249

Moving object detection in urban environments

Gillsjö, David January 2012 (has links)
Successful and high precision localization is an important feature for autonomous vehicles in an urban environment. GPS solutions are not good on their own and laser, sonar and radar are often used as complementary sensors. Localization with these sensors requires the use of techniques grouped under the acronym SLAM (Simultaneous Localization And Mapping). These techniques work by comparing the current sensor inputs to either an incrementally built or known map, also adding the information to the map.Most of the SLAM techniques assume the environment to be static, which means that dynamics and clutter in the environment might cause SLAM to fail. To ob-tain a more robust algorithm, the dynamics need to be dealt with. This study seeks a solution where measurements from different points in time can be used in pairwise comparisons to detect non-static content in the mapped area. Parked cars could for example be detected at a parking lot by using measurements from several different days.The method successfully detects most non-static objects in the different test datasets from the sensor. The algorithm can be used in conjunction with Pose-SLAM to get a better localization estimate and a map for later use. This map is good for localization with SLAM or other techniques since only static objects are left in it.
250

Application of Block Sieve Bootstrap to Change-Point detection in time series

Zaman, Saad 30 August 2010 (has links)
Since the introduction of CUSUM statistic by E.S. Page (1951), detection of change or a structural break in time series has gained significant interest as its applications span across various disciplines including economics, industrial applications, and environmental data sets. However, many of the early suggested statistics, such as CUSUM or MOSUM, lose their effectiveness when applied to time series data. Either the size or power of the test statistic gets distorted, especially for higher order autoregressive moving average processes. We use the test statistic from Gombay and Serban (2009) for detecting change in the mean of an autoregressive process and show how the application of sieve bootstrap to the time series data can improve the performance of our test to detect change. The effectiveness of the proposed method is illustrated by applying it to economic data sets.

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