Many of the issues and problems concerning the role of our frameworks and structures of reasoning in the guidance of the process of social and technological development are encapsulated in the debate about nuclear energy. This thesis takes that debate as a context for analysing the rationality of scientific knowledge of society and the role and influence of such knowledge in debate and decision-making about appropriate forms of social and technological development. After an introductory review of the historical, political and economic context of the issues and of the development of UK energy policy over the last 25 years, the body of the thesis is structured into two parts. In the first part, a critical examination of orthodox conceptions of scientific objectivity is followed by an attempt to elaborate an alternative conception of the nature of the rationality of social scientific knowledge founded upon the notions of 'value-contingency' and 'ideology'. This conception is developed through discussions of the role of social problem-solving in providing a basis for the process of knowledge development and of the role of the state in structuring the problem-solving process and the development of social knowledge to provide a complex 'technical' legitimatory framework. The concept of a dominant 'technocratic ideology' is then elaborated and an attempt made to identify and outline the major cognitive and normative components of this ideology. In particular it is conceived of as presenting interrelated ideological accounts of the appropriate form of knowledge development, of the content of the social world and of the appropriate form of knowledge utilisation, which are underpinned by 'materialistic', 'liberalist' and 'rationalist' normative traditions. The second part of the thesis analyses certain aspects of the debate about nuclear energy in order to attempt to identify the role and influence of the 'technocratic ideology' and its normative commitments as elaborated in the first part, with a view to assessing the validity and implications of such a conception. After a review of the major issues of controversy in the debate, covering the economic, safety, environmental, social and political implications of nuclear energy, an attempt is made to clarify and categorise the main dimensions of the dispute in terms of the perception and valuation of economic benefits and 'social costs'. Arguments in support of nuclear power are then examined, themes of 'technocratic rationality' identified and the implications for the conduct of the debate discussed. Two particular aspects of the debate are then examined in detail to identify the influence of normative, ideological themes. Firstly, pro-nuclear perceptions and interpretations of the energy problem are analysed and liberalist and materialist themes identified; in particular tendencies towards the establishment of 'materialist ethical imperatives' are highlighted. Secondly, aspects of the process of consideration of alternative means to the 'solution' of the energy problem are examined including illustrations of the value-contingent nature of the relevant social knowledge, an analysis of the treatment of the issue of demand-side solutions in pro-nuclear arguments, and a brief discussion of the implications of technocratic rationality for the evaluation of the costs and benefits of nuclear power. Finally, conclusions are drawn on the evidence for the influence of technocratic rationality and the normative themes identified, on the political implications of such dominant ideological themes and on limitations of the analysis and further research directions.

M.Tech. (Metallurgical Engineering) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

In this thesis an attempt has been made to improve upon and to compare existing methods of scheduling a hydro-thermal power system. Two methods in particular, the coordination-equations method and the incremental dynamic programming method, were investigated in detail. Numerical calculations based on these two methods were carried out for a two-plant system on an Alwac III-E digital computer, a medium-speed computer with a limited amount of random-access memory. The economical solution of these equations for a larger system would require a faster computer with a large random-access memory and preferably automatic floating point arithmetic. The results obtained indicate that economic scheduling becomes important only for large power systems. It also appears that the dynamic programming method is the more suitable for digital computer solution. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Electrical and Computer Engineering, Department of / Graduate

The new formulation of the load-flow problem presented in this thesis yields a set of equations each of which has only one nonlinear term. The equations are derived from the corrections required to make the final values equal to the initial estimated values. The resultant set of equations can be used when the initial estimated values are adjusted to their final values. However, derivation of the equations for this latter case results in a set of equations with (n-1) nonlinear terms in each equation for an n-bus power system. Five algorithms based upon the new formulation are described. Numerical tests on several sample power systems show that some of the new algorithms possess better convergence and speed characteristics than the commonly used Ward-Hale and Newton algorithms. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Electrical and Computer Engineering, Department of / Graduate

The effect of local motor loads on power system stability is investigated. The power system consists of a synchronous generator supplying a large system through a long transmission line. The loads studied are an induction motor, a synchronous motor, and the combination of the two, although a general case of any number of local induction and synchronous motor leads can be easily formulated. Stability is determined by observing the response of the generator and the motors of the system with a fault at the transmission line. The response is calculated from the mathematical model and is- also observed from tests on a dynamic power system model in the laboratory. It is found from the studies that all the local motor loads improve the stability of a power system. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Electrical and Computer Engineering, Department of / Graduate

Linear optimal regulators have been designed for power system stabilization by introducing control signals to voltage regulators and/or governors. A new technique is developed in this thesis to determine the state weighting matrix Q of the regulator performance function with a dominant eigenvalue shift of the closed loop optimal system. The technique is used to investigate the stabilization of a typical one-machine infinite system and a multi-machine system with different stabilization schemes. The objective is to find the best way to stabilize a power system. An optimally sensitive controller is also developed to offset the effects of the changing system operating conditions on the effort of the stabilizing signal. The controller automatically adjusts its gains so that it always provides the system with the optimum stabilizing signal. A new multi-machine state variable formulation, necessary for these studies, is developed. It requires minimum computations and retains all the parameter information for sensitivity studies. An exact representation of synchronous machines is investigated and test methods are suggested for the determination of exact circuit parameters. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Electrical and Computer Engineering, Department of / Graduate

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