Les batteries Li-ion (LIB) sont utilisées comme dispositifs de stockage d'énergie dans les applications automobiles, mobiles ou stationnaire. Cependant, leur vieillissement conduisant à une dégradation de leur performance reste un problème majeur. Les LIB présentent un comportement non uniforme qui entraîne une utilisation incomplète et un vieillissement non uniforme. L'objectif de ce travail est donc d'identifier les facteurs influençant le comportement inhomogène et d'étudier leur effet sur le vieillissement. Une approche combinée modèle/expérimentation est adoptée. Un dispositif expérimental a été développé pour simuler les dispersions thermiques et de potentiels dans les batteries Li-ion commerciales. Ce dispositif est utilisé pour effectuer des tests en cyclage et le vieillissement inhomogène est évalué par des tests de caractérisation effectués pendant et après le cyclage. Des modèles multi-physiques décrivant le comportement des LIB ont été développés pour représenter le comportement du système expérimental. Deux phénomènes de vieillissement identifiés expérimentalement sont pris en compte, à savoir la formation d'une couche de SEI (Solid Electrolyte Interface) et la perte de matière active d'électrode positive. Le premier est fortement dépendant de la température et le second est plus uniforme. Cette approche combinée a permis de montrer que la dispersion thermique avait plus d'impact que les différences de potentiel sur l'homogénéité du vieillissement / Li-ion batteries (LIB) are used as energy storage devices in automobile, mobile and stationary applications. However their lifetime issue is a primary concern resulting in a decreased performance. Li-ion batteries exhibit non-uniform behavior that results in incomplete utilization of the cell energy and non-uniform aging. Thus the objective of this work is to identify the factors influencing the inhomogeneous behavior and to study their effect on aging. A combined modeling and experimental approach is adopted in this work. In the experimental work, a setup is developed that surrogates the thermal and potential gradients occurring in commercial LIB. This setup is used to perform long-term accelerated cycling tests and inhomogeneous aging behavior is assessed. Several characterization tests are performed during and after the completion of the cycling. In the modeling part, multiphysics models describing the electrochemical, electrical and thermal behavior of LIB are developed. These models are appropriately coupled integrated with an aging component to represent the experimental setup behavior. Two main degradation phenomena, namely SEI (Solid Electrolyte Interface) formation and positive electrode active material have been identified experimentally and modelled. The latter is uniform whereas the former is influenced by temperature. Based on this, thermal dispersion impact on the inhomogeneity is greater than potential dispersion

The topic of the project has been about how the time spent during transport could take on a more engaging and active form; physically as well as mentally.  The initial inspiration for this is the changing landscape of mobility, where technologies such as autonomous and shared systems, could allow for purpose specific vehicles rather then personally owned ones. The project investigates how a subscription based business model could help a global mass-market brand, like Volkswagen to stay true to its brand essence. The project is set in 2039’s megacities and is describing a scenario, where Volkswagen sets out to emphasise the ‘Volk’ in its name, by offering a whole new range of purpose specific vehicles, which the user then can pick and book at any given time. During the creative process both analogue and digital tools were used to explore form, function and the overall experience. Full-scale physical mocks-ups and 3D software models where additionally used to validate proportions, scale and concept principles. Working from the Volkswagen design studio gave valuable insights into the brand heritage and design inputs from the design team. The result is an active mobility vehicle concept called, (((O))), which allows its users to spent their transport time in an more engaging way. Through two modes the user can decide to exercise body or mind while being transported. This is done by the usage of mixed realities which connects and relates with the passing surrounds. The project hereby links the digital world with the real one, in order to create new notions of what a travel experience could be in the future.

Actuellement, l'interaction haptique est visualisée, il a été démontré que le retour tactile améliore l'expérience et améliore la productivité en allégeant la charge visuelle.La plupart des technologies de retour haptique disponibles aujourd'hui sont basées sur une vision globale du monde. Ce travail aborde ce problème en développant une méthode utilisant des ondes élastiques pour réaliser des déformations de flexion planes hors plan sur une plaque mince. Dans cette étude, la décomposition modale est proposée pour obtenir une déformation contrôlée localement (stimulation haptique). L'approche nécessite seulement la connaissance du comportement modal de la structure. Cette connaissance peut être définie en utilisant sa projection sur les formes de mode. Pour des considérations pratiques, Une méthode pour définir les forces motrices dans l’espace modal. Les tensions réelles à appliquer aux actionneurs sont ensuite déduites. La méthodologie est validée sur plusieurs démonstrateurs de géométries différentes. La possibilité de contrôler l’un des deux modes de fonctionnement à l’aide d’un seul actionneur est validée en focalisant une forme prédéfinie à différents endroits. Pour éviter la limitation de la tension, un prototype à plusieurs actionneurs a été développé avec plus de vitesses. Les résultats confirment la polyvalence de la méthode. La robustesse face à l'identification des incertitudes et de la troncature est évaluée et proposée. Des tests haptiques préliminaires, avec des champs de vitesse contrastés et localisés sont présentés, montrant des résultats tangibles pour la différenciation et la localisation des stimuli par l'utilisateur. / Currently, the haptic interaction on screens is visual, although it has been demonstrated that tactile feedback enhances the experience and improves the productivity by relieving the visual load.Most of the haptic feedback technologies available today are based on global stimulation which limit their use for collaborative device interfaces or control panels for instance. This work address this problem by developing a method that uses elastic waves to realize localized out of plane bending deformations on a thin plate. In this study modal decomposition is proposed to realized controlled local deformation (haptic stimulation). The approach only necessitates the knowledge of the modal behavior of the structure which can be extracted from finite elements analysis or identified. By this prior knowledge arbitrary shapes can be defined using its projection on the mode shapes. For practical considerations, a model reduction criterion is proposed as well. A method to define the driving forces is developed which consists in setting the modes transients in the modal space. Actual voltages to be applied to the actuators are then deduced. The methodology is validated on several demonstrators with different geometries. The ability to control in open loop simultaneously over ten modes using a single actuator is validated by focalizing a predefined shape at different locations. To avoid voltage limitation, a prototype with several actuators was realized to create more elaborated shapes with higher velocities. The results confirm the versatility of the method. The robustness towards identification uncertainties and truncation is evaluated, and improvements with regards to identification errors and transient control in relation to the haptic experience are proposed. Preliminary haptic tests, with contrasted and localized velocity fields are presented, showing tangible results as for the differentiation and the localization of the stimuli by the user.

Indutores Ativos são circuitos que quando utilizados se mostram como uma opção viável para melhorar o aproveitamento de área do chip e o fator de qualidade do indutor, comparado com indutor passivo, além de possibilitar o ajuste de parâmetros. Neste trabalho foram estudadas três topologias e abordagens encontradas na literatura para indutores ativos: indutor ativo simples, indutor ativo cascode, indutor ativo com resistência de realimentação. Propomos uma técnica para garantir que o indutor ativo não apresente pólos com parte real positiva, quando conectado a um circuito RC externo, através do cancelamento entre um pólo e um zero. Propomos também uma nova abordagem de projeto para a topologia indutor ativo com resistência de realimentação a qual chamamos de indutor ativo com baixa resistência de realimentação. Para estudo de aplicabilidade foi projetado um LNA (Low Noise Amplifier) utilizando a abordagem de projeto proposta. O amplificador deve atender requisitos de ganho, frequência de operação, impedância de entrada, consumo de potência, figura de ruído além de estabilidade para cargas de saída (pólos com parte real sempre positiva), utilizando o indutor ativo com baixa resistência de realimentação. / Active inductors are circuits that when used prove to be a viable option to improve chip area usage and the inductor\'s quality factor, compared to the passive inductor, while also allowing parameter adjustment. This work studies three topologies and approaches found in literature for active inductors: simple active inductor, cascode active inductor, active inductor with feedback resistance. We propose a technique to guarantee that the active inductor doesn\'t present poles with a positive real part, when connected to an external RC circuit, through cancelling between a pole and a zero. We also propose a new project approach for the topology of the active inductor with feedback resistance which we call low feedback resistance active inductor. To assess the applicability, a LNA (Low Noise Amplifier) was projected using the proposed project approach. The amplifier must meet the requirements regarding gain, operation frequency, input impedance, power consumption, noise figure and also stability for output loads (poles with an always negative real part), using the low feedback resistance active inductor.

Den globala uppvärmningen sätter många samhällsviktiga funktioner på prov. Inte minst förmågan att upptäcka och bekämpa bränder. Ett viktigt steg för att kunna göra detta på ett effektivt sätt är att kunna lagra den data som samlas in och bearbeta denna så att den effektivt kan användas av godtyckligt program. För att kunna göra detta krävs ett databassystem. För att undersöka vilket databassystem som är bäst lämpat att lagra branddata från USA:s jordbruksdepartement utförs insättnings-, läs, och uppdateringsoperationer på databaserna Cassandra, MongoDB och MySQL. Testresultaten som erhölls från studien tyder på att MongoDB med stor marginal är bäst lämpat för att bearbeta data från Active Fire Maps-dokument som erhållits från USA:s jordbruksdepartement.

A interação de várias substancias bioativas com monocamadas de fosfolipídios foi investigada usando isotermas de pressão e potencial de superfície, incluindo as drogas farmacológicas dipiridamol (DIP), clopromazina (CPZ) e trifluoperazina (TFP), além da melatonina (MEL) e o colesterol (COL). Os fosfolipídios empregados foram o zwiteriônico dipalmitoil fosfatidil colina (DPPC) e o aniônico dipalmitoil fosfatidil glicerol (DPPG) espalhados na superfície de água ultrapura, sendo que as monocamadas servem como modelo simples de membranas. A cooperatividade na interação entre fosfolipídios e moléculas com atividade biológica foi essencial para entender os acentuados efeitos na expansão (ou condensação) das monocamadas e as mudanças no momento de dipolo (até 10% de aumento na expansão em relação à monocamada do fosfolipídio puro para as misturas DIP/DPPC) que ocorreram a concentrações molares muito baixas entre 0,2-0,4% do DIP. Tais efeitos foram observados para todas as cinco substâncias investigadas, em todos os regimes de pressão. Nas altas concentrações, o comportamento da interação depende do tipo de mólecula e também de se a monocamada é de DPPC ou DPPG. Para o DPPC, as drogas farmacológicas foram expelidas da interface em vários graus a altas pressões, e existia um máximo de concentração da droga acima do qual ocorria a saturação, provavelmente porque as moléculas em excesso foram para a subfase. Essas concentrações críticas foram de 2% em mol para o DIP e a CPZ e de 5% em mol para a TFP. Para o DIP, em particular, os resultados das isotermas foram correlacionados com experimentos de espectroscopia de FTIR e microscopia de fluorescência \"in situ\", realizados por colaboradores, os quais permitiram a determinação de uma localização precisa da droga estudada. Não existe inserção do DIP na região da cauda hidrofóbica da monocamada do DPPC, com a interação ocorrendo com o grupo fosfato no zwiteríon, cujas pequenas mudanças na orientação induzidas pelo DIP levam a grandes mudanças no momento de dipolo. Como o DPPG está carregado negativamente sobre a superfície da água pura, não existe saturação nos efeitos de expansão com o aumento da concentração das drogas. O aumento do momento de dipolo efetivo na monocamada mista é atribuído a alterações na densidade de carga superficial pela adsorção da droga catiônica, que reduz a contribuição negativa do potencial da dupla camada, quando comparado com o da monocamada de DPPG puro. Os resultados do COL e a MEL devem ser considerados separadamente devido a sua natureza distinta, embora um comportamento cooperativo também tenha observado com grandes efeitos nas baixas concentrações. Tanto o COL como o MEL induzem mudanças na expansão das monocamadas de DPPC até a máxima concentração empregada, 20% molar. Para o COL foi observado um efeito de condensação a baixas concentrações, o qual foi seguido por uma expansão a altas concentrações, confirmando assim resultados prévios da literatura. Todas as monocamadas mistas COL/DPPG apresentavam-se expandidas, também confirmando alguns resultados da literatura para lipídios (diferentes do DPPC) quando misturados com o COL. A interação da MEL com o DPPC foi essencialmente similar à do COL, apesar do fato de a MEL pura não formar monocamadas estáveis. Sua interação com o DPPG foi peculiar já que o efeito que esta induz satura a 5% em mol. Isto também difere do comportamento das drogas farmacológicas. A MEL é neutra em todos os pHs, portanto, sua intenção com as membranas modelo de DPPG e DPPC só pode ocorrer via dipolo. O mesmo se aplica ao colesterol, o que justifica as diferenças no comportameto destas duas moléculas quando comparadas com as drogas (DIP, CPZ, TFP), que são carregadas sobre a água pura, nas misturas com os dois fosfolipídios (DPPG e DPPC). / The interaction of various bioactive substances with phospholipids monolayers has been investigated using surface pressure and surface potential isotherms, which include the pharmaceutical drugs dipyridamole (DIP), chlorpromazine (CPZ) and trifluoperazine (TFP), in addition to melatonin (MEL) and cholesterol (COL). The phospholipids employed were the zwitterionic dipalmitoyl phosphatidyl choline (DPPC) and the anionic dipalmitoyl phosphatidyl glycerol (DPPG) spread onto ultra pure water surfaces, where the monolayers served as simple model membrane systems. Cooperativity in the interaction between phospholipid and bioactive molecules was essential to account for the large effects of expansion (up to 10% increase in area in relation to the pure phospholipid monolayer for the DIP/DPPC mixture) of the monolayers and changes in dipole moment, which occurred at very low concentrations, e.g. 0.2 - 0.4 mol% of the substance. Such large effects were observed for all 5 substances investigated, at all surface pressure regimes. At higher concentrations, the interaction behavior depended on the type of molecule and also on whether the host monolayer was DPPC or DPPG. For DPPC, the pharmaceutical drugs were expelled at varying degrees from the interface at high surface pressures, and there was a maximum drug concentration above which the effects saturated, probably because the molecules in excess were lost to the subphase. These critical concentrations were 2mol% for DIP and CPZ and 5mol% for TFP. For DIP, in particular, the results from isotherm were correlated with in situ FTIR spectroscopy and fluorescent microscopy experiments, carried out by collaborators, which allowed the precise location of the drug to be determined. There is no insertion of DIP into the hydrophobic tail region of the DPPC monolayer, with interaction taking place with the phosphate group in the zwitterion, whose small changes in orientation induced by DIP lead to the large changes in dipole moment. Because DPPG is negatively charged on a pure water surface monolayer, there is no saturation of the expansion effects with the increase in drug concentration. The increase in the effective dipole moment of the mixed monolayers are attributed to alterations in the surface charge density by adsorption of the cationic drugs, which then reduces the negative contribution of the double-layer potential as compared to the pure DPPG monolayer. The results for COL and MEL must be considered separately owing to their distinct nature, even though a cooperative behavior was also observed with large effects at low concentrations. Both COL and MEL induce changes in the DPPC monolayers up to the highest concentration employed, viz. 20mol%. For COL, a condensation effect was observed at low concentrations, which was followed by monolayer expansion at high concentrations, thus confirming previous results in the literature. All COL/DPPG monolayers were more expanded than pure DPPG, also confirming previous results from the literature. While the interaction of MEL with DPPC was essentially similar to that of COL, in spite of the fact that MEL does not form stable monolayers on its own, its interaction with DPPG was somewhat peculiar in that the effects it induced saturate at 5mol%. This also differs from the behavior of the pharmaceutical drugs. MEL is neutral over a wide range of pHs, and therefore its interaction with DPPC and DPPG monolayers must occur via dipole interaction. The same applies to COL, and this explains why the behavior of these two substances is different from the drugs (DIP, CPZ and TFP) that are charged on the water surface, in the interaction with DPPC and DPPG.

Active control constitutes the state of the art in vibration management in rotating machines. However, existing designs are impractical and costly, and hence not yet widely applied. The goal of the research reported here was to develop a design which would allow the implementation of active technology in a wider range of rotating machine applications. Thus, this study focuses on a novel active rotor topology, consisting of a hollow rotor with internally mounted sensors and actuators. This layout provides greater freedom to select the sensor and actuator positions along the rotor, and naturally protects the devices from harsh working environments. The research was structured according to four themes. Firstly, the concept feasibility was explored by constructing a fully functioning prototype. MEMS accelerometers and mass balancer actuators were mounted in an assembled rotor, together with a microcontroller and radio unit to enable wireless transmission of data. Secondly, the behaviour of MEMS accelerometers in a rotating frame of reference was studied. An output model was derived and applied to the study of whirl orbits and transient vibration. Further, techniques were developed to extract mean displacement and angular velocity information from the sensor signals. An analysis of potential sources of measurement error was conducted, and methods for their mitigation devised. The third theme focused on developing active vibration control techniques suitable for use with active rotors. The core of this work is the development and successful implementation of a non a priori method, Algorithmic Direct Search Control. This technique enables vibration to be minimised without knowledge of the system characteristics, by applying a direct search optimisation technique as a control law. Finally, the combination of active rotors and Active Magnetic Bearings was considered to tackle the problem of sensor/actuator non-collocation. The challenge of levitating a rotor on AMBs using only internal accelerometers was approached via integration-based displacement information extraction, to exploit existing PID controllers. This method proved unfeasible in practice, but valuable lessons were derived from the study. The key finding of this work is that active rotor technology is versatile, cost-effective, powerful and feasible. As such, it offers great potential as a route to achieving a more practical and generalised implementation of active control technology in rotating machinery.

The Active Control of Structural Response (ACSR) vibration suppression system, where hydraulic actuators located between the gearbox and the fuselage are used to cancel vibration in large helicopters, has been used successfully for many years. However the power consumed by the actuators can be high, and using hydraulic actuation for smaller rotorcraft has not been seen as practical. In contrast to active vibration reduction systems, passive vibration isolation systems require no external power. Passive vibration isolation systems however have the disadvantage of being limited to working at one specific frequency which will not be acceptable as slowed rotor flight becomes more common for fuel efficiency and noise legislation reasons. In this thesis two electrically powered actuation concepts, one piezoelectric, and one electromagnetic were initially evaluated. An electrically powered actively augmented passive, or hybrid, vibration reduction system based on an electro hydrostatic actuator (EHA) concept was proposed to be developed further. This hybrid actuator will have a wider range of operating frequencies than a purely passive system, and have lower power consumption than a purely active system. The design is termed a “Resonant EHA”; in that the resonant frequency of the coupled fluid, pump and electric motor rotor inertia matches the fundamental vibration frequency. The hydraulic cylinder, fluid and pump act as a single stage gear ratio, and the. brushless electric motor’s inertia is the main resonating mass as in a Dynamic Antiresonant Vibration Isolator (DAVI) passive vibration reduction system. The electrical power is used to compensate for friction in the actuator and other losses, and if needed can shift the operating point away from the resonant frequency. Simulation results indicated that a hydraulic circuit in which the pump leakage is fed back into the low pressure line would introduce unacceptable disturbances in the flows to and from the cylinder. To eliminate the source of the disturbances, a fully integrated electric motor and pump circuit design was chosen in which the electric motor is immersed in hydraulic fluid. An EHA demonstrator was built sized for a 1.5 tonne rotorcraft. For sizing comparison purposes the frameless brushless D.C motor for each strut of 1.5 tonne rotorcraft has a rotor and stator mass of approximately 1 kg, and can produce a continuous stall torque of 2 Nm. The bidirectional pump has a displacement of 1.5 cm3/rev, the mean system pressure was taken as 90 bar, and the double ended hydraulic cylinder has a 32 mm diameter bore, and 18 mm rod. Initial test results for the proof of concept EHA showed highly significant free play with a reversal of torque direction, resulting in unacceptable loss in transmission stiffness. The free play was traced to the gear pump and a hypothesis for the origin of the free play was put forward. To avoid torque reversals the EHA was further tested with a constant offset torque bias which proved successful in restoring a sufficient stiffness to the transmission. The sizing of the electric motor and power consumed with a non-zero offset torque is greater than a torque reversing motor, which limits the immediate application of the device in the present form. Future research investigating the use of other transmission elements, such as a piston pump, to obtain a more linear stiffness is recommended. As a hybrid vibration isolation system a Root Mean Square (RMS) reduction by a factor of four and near elimination of the fundamental frequency vibrations was achieved for the frequency range of 10 to 20 hertz.

Traditional methods for Learning from Demonstration require users to train the robot through the entire process, or to provide feedback throughout a given task. These previous methods have proved to be successful in a selection of robotic domains; however, many are limited by the ability of the user to effectively demonstrate the task. In many cases, noisy demonstrations or a failure to understand the underlying model prevent these methods from working with a wider range of non-expert users. My insight is that in many mobile pick-and-place domains, teaching is done at a too fine grained level. In many such tasks, users are solely concerned with the end goal. This implies that the complexity and time associated with training and teaching robots through the entirety of the task is unnecessary. The robotic agent needs to know (1) a probable search location to retrieve the task's objects and (2) how to arrange the items to complete the task. This thesis work develops new techniques for obtaining such data from high-level spatial and temporal observations and demonstrations which can later be applied in new, unseen environments. This thesis makes the following contributions: (1) This work is built on a crowd robotics platform and, as such, we contribute the development of efficient data streaming techniques to further these capabilities. By doing so, users can more easily interact with robots on a number of platforms. (2) The presentation of new algorithms that can learn pick-and-place tasks from a large corpus of goal templates. My work contributes algorithms that produce a metric which ranks the appropriate frame of reference for each item based solely on spatial demonstrations. (3) An algorithm which can enhance the above templates with ordering constraints using coarse and noisy temporal information. Such a method eliminates the need for a user to explicitly specify such constraints and searches for an optimal ordering and placement of items. (4) A novel algorithm which is able to learn probable search locations of objects based solely on sparsely made temporal observations. For this, we introduce persistence models of objects customized to a user's environment.

The following results were obtained in the presented thesis: 1. Based on a previous work on the MoM method, a software modulus was created and tested in MATLAB, which solves a small-size scanning metal array with arbitrary element position and arbitrary lumped loading. 2. The solver was applied to optimize a broadband planar array of dipoles using the concept of negative lumped loading, which was introduced by R.C. Hansen in 2003. The problem statement was formulated by E. Kratzenberg of MIT Haystack Observatory. 3. The optimization implies full testing of varied array configurations with different element numbers, dipole thicknesses, generator impedances, and lumped loading values. 4. The results obtained indicate that that both 4x4 and 6x6 arrays of dipoles may be optimized over the frequency band from 50 to 300 MHz. The optimization means that the Scan Element Pattern of the array at zenith nearly follows the theoretical limit (area gain per element).