Cette étude s’inscrit dans le domaine de la microélectronique. Elle consiste à étudier l’impact de la morphologie 3D du dépôt d’énergie sur la modélisation des événements singuliers (SEE) induits par les muons atmosphériques. La démarche a consisté dans un premier temps à modéliser le dépôt d’énergie induits par des protons dans des volumes nanométriques. Pour cela, le code Monte-Carlo GEANT4 a permis de simuler et de stocker dans une base de données, les caractéristiques des traces des dépôts d’énergie des protons. Une fois la démarche validée pour les protons, des simulations du dépôt d’énergie induit par des muons ont été réalisées. Une caméra CCD a été utilisée afin de réaliser des mesures de l’environnement radiatif atmosphérique et de contraindre la modélisation des dépôts d’énergie induits par les muons. Cette étude met en évidence et quantifie l’apport de considérer la distribution radiale du dépôt d’énergie induit par des protons pour des volumes nanométriques, dans les calculs de prédiction des SEE. En revanche, l’étude montre que la considération de la distribution radiale du dépôt d’énergie induit par des muons dans des volumes nanométriques a un impact négligeable sur la modélisation des SEE. Il serait intéressant de réaliser des mesures du dépôt d’énergie induit par des muons dans des technologies nanométriques sous accélérateur. Cela permettrait d’apporter des données expérimentales encore inexistantes, nécessaires au développement de nouveaux modèles physiques plus précis sur la modélisationdu dépôt d’énergie induit par des muons. / This study concerns the domain of the microelectronics. It consists in the studyof the impact of the 3D morphology of the energy deposit on the Single EventEffect (SEE) modeling, induced by atmospheric muons. Over a first phase, theapproach has consisted in the modeling of the energy deposit induced by protonsin nanometric volumes. For that purpose the use of the Monte Carlo code GEANT4has allowed to simulate and stock in a database the tracks characteristics of theenergy deposit induced by protons. Once the approach validated for the protons,simulations of the energy deposit induced by muons have been realized. A CCDcamera has been used in order to measure the radiative atmospheric environmentand to constrain the modeling of the energy deposit induced by muons. This studyhighlights and quantify the contribution of the radial distribution of the energydeposit incuced by protons in nanometric volumes for the SEE prediction. On theother hand, the study shows that the contribution of the radial distribution of theenergy deposit induced by muons in nanometric volumes has a negligeable impacton the SEE modeling. It will be interesting to realize measurements of the energydeposit induced by muons in nanometric technologies under accelerator. This willallow to bring experimental data still nonexistant necessary to the developpmentof new physical models more accurate on the modelization of the energy depositinduced by muons.

Depuis de nombreuses années, les scientifiques ont étudié les bases neurales de la mémoire. Cependant, une question clé demeure: comment le cerveau distingue t'il les informations suffisamment importantes pour être consolidées en mémoire à long terme des informations stockées de manière temporaire en mémoire à court-terme/mémoire de travail, et qui doivent être effacées afin de ne pas saturer nos ressources cognitives. Contrairement à l'opinion populaire qui considère l'oubli comme nuisible à notre mémoire, de nombreux travaux suggèrent que l'oubli est un processus adaptatif essentiel permettant le filtrage des informations non-essentielles qu'on peut stocker de manière temporaire. Étonnamment, on connaît peu de choses des bases cellulaires et moléculaires de cet oubli adaptatif. Le travail présenté dans cette thèse vise à déterminer les bases de cette forme d'oubli adaptatif, en particulier de celui nécessaire au traitement des informations en mémoire de travail. Avec cette thèse, nous avons ainsi montré que le gyrus denté est une structure clé responsable du traitement des informations non pertinentes en mémoire, un processus essentiel qui permet une utilisation optimale de nos ressources cognitives. Nous pensons que ces travaux nous aident à mieux comprendre comment le cerveau gère les interférences, mais également à identifier les mécanismes responsables de l'oubli « utile » d'informations / For many years, scientists have been investigating the neural bases of memory. However, a key question remains unanswered: how does the brain distinguish information important enough to be consolidated into long-term memory from information required only temporarily, and that needs to be cleared away for not saturating our cognitive resources. In contrast to the popular view considering forgetting as deleterious to our ability to remember, forgetting might be an essential adaptive process allowing the filtering of non-essential information. Surprisingly, very little is known on the cellular and molecular bases of adaptive forgetting. The work presented in this thesis aims to find a way to determine such bases of adaptive forgetting, in particular in the context of Working Memory processing. With this thesis, we thus showed that the dentate gyrus is a critical node in processing the forgetting of irrelevant information, an essential process allowing optimal use of cognitive resources. Our work sheds light not only on the question of how the brain responds to interferences, but also on the mechanisms of "forgetting" what should be forgotten

Em Computação Gráfica, campos vetoriais possuem diversas aplicações desde a síntese e mapeamento de texturas à animações de fluidos, produzindo efeitos amplamente utilizados na indústria do entretenimento. Para produzir tais campos, é preferível o uso de ferramentas de design em vez de simulações numéricas não só devido ao menor custo computacional mas, principalmente, por prover liberdade ao artista ao sintetizar o campo de acordo com a sua necessidade. Atualmente, na literatura, existem bons métodos de design de campos vetoriais em superfícies de objetos tridimensionais porém, o design no interior desses objetos ainda é pouco estudado, principalmente quando o campo de interesse possui propriedades específicas. O objetivo deste trabalho é desenvolver uma técnica para sintetizar campos vetoriais, com características do movimento de fluidos incompressíveis, no interior de domínios. Em uma primeira etapa, o método consiste na interpolação dos vetores de controle, com uma certa propriedade desejada, em todo o domínio. Posteriormente, o campo obtido é modificado para respeitar a geometria do contorno. / Vector fields are important to an wide range of applications on the field of Computer Graphics, from the synthesis and mapping of textures to fluid animation, producing effects widely used on the entertainment industry. To produce such fields, design tools are prefered over numerical simulations not only for its lower computational cost, but mainly by providing freedom to the artist in the creation process. Nowadays, good methods of vector field design over surfaces exist in literature, however there is only a few studies on the synthesis of vector fields of the interior of objects and even fewer when specific properties of the field are required. This work presents a technique to synthesize vector fields with properties of imcompressible fluids motion in the interior of objects. On a first step, the method consists in interpolating control vectors with a certain desired property throughout the whole domain and later the resulting field is modified to properly fit the boundary geometry of the object.

L'oubli est une perte temporaire ou permanente de mémoire, que l'on perçoit souvent de manière déplaisante lorsqu'elle nous empêche d'accéder à un savoir que l'on a acquis. Cependant, des découvertes récentes suggèrent que l'oubli peut aussi être un processus adaptatif permettant d'optimiser notre mémoire, en effaçant des informations non pertinentes susceptibles d'interférer avec le stockage ou le rappel de nouvelles informations. Ainsi, l'oubli adaptatif est particulièrement essentiel au fonctionnement de notre mémoire à court terme ou mémoire de travail (MT), car les informations qui y sont stockées doivent être oubliées une fois utilisées. A l'inverse, des informations peuvent être stockées pendant toute une vie dans la mémoire à long terme ou mémoire de référence (MR) chez l'animal. Les mécanismes cellulaires et moléculaires sous-tendant le stockage des informations en mémoire mais également leur oubli adaptatif restent mal connus. Au cours de cette thèse, nous avons adopté une approche comparative et utilisé trois tâches comportementales chez le rat au sein d’un même labyrinthe radial : une tâche de MR et deux tâches de MT impliquant un oubli adaptatif plus ou moins efficace. Nous avons étudié la transmission synaptique à la synapse entre le cortex entorhinal et le gyrus denté (voie d’entrée de l’hippocampe, structure clé de la mémoire) entre les deux jours d’apprentissage de ces trois tâches. Nous avons montré que la consolidation mnésique (en MR) induit un phénomène de potentialisation synaptique à long terme (proche d'une LTP), comme attendu d’après la littérature. A l'inverse, nous avons montré pour la première fois que l’oubli adaptatif en MT induirait une dépression synaptique à long terme. De plus, de nombreuses études suggèrent l’implication du sommeil dans la mémoire, mais le rôle des différentes phases de sommeil dans la consolidation mnésique ainsi que leur rôle dans l’oubli adaptatif reste ambigu. Nous avons donc également réalisé des enregistrements polysomnographiques (entre les deux jours des tâches), afin de quantifier la durée des états sommeil et la puissance des oscillations cérébrales. Nous avons ainsi confirmé le rôle du sommeil paradoxal, et plus particulièrement de ses oscillations gamma, pour la consolidation mnésique en MR. A l’inverse, l’oubli adaptatif en MT serait favorisé par les oscillations lentes du sommeil lent. Ces résultats représentent une contribution significative non seulement aux mécanismes neuronaux sous-tendant la mémoire et l’oubli adaptatif, mais également aux modulations de ces mécanismes par le sommeil. Nous avons donc montré que la consolidation mnésique induit un phénomène physiologique de potentialisation synaptique proche d'une LTP. Or l’induction artificielle de LTP par stimulation tétanique est considérée comme un modèle cellulaire de la mémoire. Notre second objectif a été d'évaluer l'impact de la modulation des états de sommeil sur une LTP, cette-fois-ci induite artificiellement (dans les mêmes conditions à la même synapse chez le rat vigile). Nous voulions ainsi comparer l'effet de la modulation du sommeil sur une potentialisation physiologique (après apprentissage) ou sur une LTP artificielle. Nous avons montré de nombreuses similitudes entre ces deux situations de potentialisation synaptique, notamment en ce qui concerne le rôle favorable du sommeil paradoxal, ce qui confirme l’intérêt de la LTP artificielle pour l’étude de la mémoire. Enfin, notre étude montre que non seulement le sommeil, mais également les oscillations de l'éveil contribuent à la mémoire et l’oubli. Nous avons analysé les oscillations locales dans le gyrus denté au cours des trois tâches comportementales déjà décrites. L'importante résolution spatiale et temporelle de cette analyse nous a permis d'identifier l'implication de certaines oscillations locales à des moments cruciaux de prise de décision dans le labyrinthe, au cours de l'encodage et du rappel d'informations stockées en MR ou en MT / Forgetting is a temporary or permanent loss of memory, often perceived as deleterious to our cognitive abilities, especially when it prevents us from accessing information we previously acquired. However, recent studies in Neurosciences suggest that forgetting could also be an adaptive phenomenon that would optimize memory function by erasing non relevant information, that could otherwise interfere with the storage or recall of new information. Therefore, adaptive forgetting would particularly be necessary for daily activities relying on short-term or working memory (WM), as information temporarily stored in WM need to be forgotten once used, so that this temporary information does not interfere in the future with the storage and recall of newer information. On the contrary, information can be stored for a lifetime in long-term or reference memory (RM) in animals. The molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying memory storage of information, but also adaptive forgetting, are still unclear. During this thesis, we used a comparative approach by training rats in three different behavioral tasks in the same radial maze: one RM task and two WM tasks involving a more or less effective adaptive forgetting process of previously stored information. We studied synaptic transmission at the synapse between the entorhinal cortex and the dentate gyrus (gating hippocampus, a key structure for memory) between two days of training in these three tasks. Our results show that memory consolidation (in RM) induces a form of long-term potentiation (LTP-like), confirming previous published work from the literature. However, we showed for the first time that adaptive forgetting in WM could trigger long-term synaptic depression. Moreover, numerous studies suggest that sleep is important for optimal memory processing, but the role of the different sleep phases in memory consolidation and in adaptive forgetting remains to be elucidated. We thus also performed polysomnographic recordings (between the two trainings days in the three behavioral tasks), in order to measure sleep state durations and sleep oscillations associated with these processes. Our results confirm the essential role of paradoxical sleep, and more specifically gamma oscillations during this state, for memory consolidation in RM. On the contrary, we also found that adaptive forgetting in WM would benefit from slow oscillations during slow wave sleep. We believe that these results contribute significantly to our understanding of neuronal mechanisms underlying memory and forgetting, especially concerning the modulation of these mechanisms by the different sleep states following training. On the one hand, we thus here showed that memory consolidation induces an LTP-like physiological phenomenon. On the other hand, the induction of an artificial form of LTP by tetanic stimulation is considered a cellular model of memory. Our second goal was to assess the modulation of an artificial LTP (at the same synapse, in the same conditions, on freely-moving rats) by sleep states. We also wanted to compare the impact of sleep states on a physiological LTP-like process (after learning) or on an artificial LTP. Our results showed many similarities between these two situations of synaptic potentiation, in particular concerning the positive role of paradoxical sleep, confirming the relevance of artificial LTP as a model to study memory processes. Finally, our study shows that not only sleep, but also oscillations during waking, could contribute to memory and forgetting. We therefore analyzed local spontaneous oscillations in the dentate gyrus while rats were performing the three behavioral tasks previously described. The high spatial and temporal resolution of this analysis allowed us to show the role of different local spontaneous oscillations at critical moments of training in the maze, in particular during decision making, and during encoding or retrieval of information stored in RM or WM

No description available.

At the end of the 19th Century, the invention of the Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) marked the beginning of our current lifestyle. Soon after the first ICE patent, the importance of increasing air pressure upstream the engine cylinders was revealed. At the beginning of the 20th Century turbo-machinery developments (which had started time before), met the ICE what represented the beginning of turbocharged engines. Since that time, the working principle has not fundamentally changed. Nevertheless, stringent emissions standards and oil depletion have motivated engine developments; among them, turbocharging coupled with downsized engines has emerged as the most feasible way to increase specific power while reducing fuel consumption. Turbocharging has been traditionally a complex problem due to the high rotational speeds, high temperature differences between working fluids (exhaust gases, compressed air, lubricating oil and cooling liquid) and pulsating flow conditions. To improve current computational models, a new procedure for turbochargers characterization and modelling has been presented in this Thesis. That model divides turbocharger modelling complex problem into several sub-models for each of the nonrecurring phenomenon; i.e. heat transfer phenomena, friction losses and acoustic non-linear models for compressor and turbine. A series of ad-hoc experiments have been designed to aid identifying and isolating each phenomenon from the others. Each chapter of this Thesis has been dedicated to analyse that complex problem proposing different sub-models. First of all, an exhaustive literature review of the existing turbocharger models has been performed. Then a turbocharger 1-D internal Heat Transfer Model (HTM) has been developed. Later geometrical models for compressor and turbine have been proposed to account for acoustic effects. A physically based methodology to extrapolate turbine performance maps has been developed too. That model improves turbocharged engine prediction since turbine instantaneous behaviour moves far from the narrow operative range provided in manufacturer maps. Once each separated model has been developed and validated, a series of tests considering all phenomena combined have been performed. Those tests have been designed to check model accuracy under likely operative conditions. The main contributions of this Thesis are the development of a 1-D heat transfer model to account for internal heat fluxes of automotive turbochargers; the development of a physically-based turbine extrapolation methodology; the several tests campaigns that have been necessary to study each phenomenon isolated from others and the integration of experiments and models in a comprehensive characterization procedure designed to provide 1-D predictive turbocharger models for ICE calculation. / Reyes Belmonte, MÁ. (2013). Contribution to the Experimental Characterization and 1-D Modelling of Turbochargers for IC Engines [Tesis doctoral]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/34777

[ES] En los turbocompresores con turbina de geometría variable (VGT por sus siglas en inglés) los vanos del estator se mueven a una posición cerrada para generar una contrapresión durante el modo de frenado del motor. De este modo, se generan ondas de choque en el estator. Además, en otras aplicaciones donde se utilizan turbinas radiales como en ciclos reversos de Brayton para refrigeración, ciclos orgánicos Rankine, y en las turbinas para la unidad de potencia auxiliar, dependiendo de las condiciones de operación, pueden aparecer condiciones sónicas y ondas de choque. El presente trabajo se centra en el estudio del comportamiento del flujo a través de una turbina de geometría variable de un turbocompresor comercial en condiciones fuera de diseño alcanzando condiciones de choque. Se ha realizado un análisis detallado del patrón de flujo dentro de la turbine usando simulaciones CFD, identificando y cuantificando los fenómenos más importantes bajo diferentes condiciones de operación. Se han llevado a cabo simulaciones estacionarias usando Reynolds Averaged Navier Stokes (RANS) y no estacionarias (unsteady RANS) para obtener las características del flujo en el estator y en el rotor, además de obtener el mapa de la turbina. Los resultados CFD muestran que la región del dominio computacional donde aparecen las condiciones sónicas depende de la posición de los vanos del estator y la relación de presiones. Cuando los vanos del estator están en una posición cerrada (10% VGT), el fluido se acelera y, dependiendo de la relación de presiones, la presión estática en el lado de succión disminuye hasta cierto punto donde un incremento repentino revela la presencia de una onda de choque, la cual se expande por el espacio sin vanos. La intensidad de la onda de choque bajo la relación de presiones más altas varia con la velocidad de giro. Para analizar la interacción entre el rotor y el estator se llevaron a cabo simulaciones numéricas con los vanos del estator en una posición cerrada, 10% VGT, y en una posición más abierta, 30% VGT. El número de choques que una partícula del fluido experimenta aguas arriba del rotor está correlacionado con las pérdidas por choque del fluido. Cerca de los vanos del estator, las pérdidas de presión son altas, hacia el centro del espacio sin vanos las pérdidas disminuyen y cerca del rotor empiezan a incrementar. La interacción entre el rotor y el estator crea ondas de choque cuya intensidad depende de la posición del borde de ataque del rotor y de la velocidad de giro. A la velocidad de giro más alta, ocurren fluctuaciones en la carga cerca del borde de ataque, las cuales pueden comprometer la integridad de la pala. Cuando la turbina tiene los vanos del estator abiertos (80% VGT) y opera a la relación de presión más alta seleccionada, las condiciones de choque aparecen en el plano del borde de fuga del rotor. Además, el desarrollo del área chocada depende de la velocidad de giro y de las fugas en la punta del álabe. Así, se investigó los efectos de las fugas en la punta del alabe sobre el flujo principal bajo condiciones sónicas disminuyendo e incrementando el intersticio entre la punta del álabe y la carcasa hasta un 50% en base a la geometría dada por el fabricante. El flujo a través de este espacio se acelera para posteriormente mezclarse con el flujo principal y generar un vórtice. Los efectos del vórtice sobre el flujo en el plano ubicado en el borde de fuga del rotor cuando el intersticio varía son más significativos a altas velocidades que a bajas velocidades. El vórtice permanece más cerca del lado de succión a altas velocidades generando una región subsónica que incrementa con la altura del intersticio. Las fugas en la punta del álabe no afectan al flujo principal cerca del cubo cuando la turbina opera a altas y bajas velocidades. / [CA] En turbocompressors amb turbina de geometria variable (VGT per les seues sigles en anglès), les paletes de l'estàtor es mouen a una posició tancada per generar una contrapressió durant el mode de frenada del motor. D'aquesta forma, es generen unes ones de xoc en l'estàtor. A més, en altres aplicacions on s'utilitzen turbines radials com els cicles inversos de Brayton per a refrigeració, cicles orgànics de Rankine o en turbines per a la unitat de potencia auxiliar, depenent de les condicions d'operació poden aparéixer condicions sòniques i d'ones de xoc. El present treball es centra en l'estudi del comportament del flux en una turbina radial de geometria variable d'un turbocompressor comercial en condicions fora de disseny, arribant a condicions de xoc. S'ha realitzat un anàlisi detallat del patró de flux dins d'aquestes turbines utilitzant simulacions CFD, identificant i quantificant els fenòmens més importants a diferents condicions d'operació. S'han realitzat simulacions estacionàries utilitzant Reynolds Averaged Navier Stokes (RANS) i no estacionàries (Unsteady-RANS) per a obtenir les característiques del flux en l'estàtor i en el rotor, a més d'obtenir el mapa de la turbina. Els resultats CFD mostren que la regió del domini computacional on apareixen les condicions sòniques depenen de la posició de les paletes de l'estàtor i de la relació de pressions. Quan les paletes de l'estàtor estan en una posició tancada (10% VGT), el flux s'accelera i, depenent de la relació de pressions, la pressió estàtica en el costat de succió disminueix fins a cert punt on un increment brusc denota la presència d'una ona de xoc que s'expandix per l'espai sense paletes. L'intensitat de la ona de xoc a relacions de pressions elevades varia amb la velocitat de rotació. Per analitzar l'interacció entre rotor i estàtor es van realitzar simulacions numèriques amb les paletes de l'estàtor en una posició tancada, 10% VGT, i en una posició més oberta, 30% VGT. El nombre de xocs que una partícula del fluid experimenta aigües amunt del rotor està correlacionat amb les pèrdues per xoc del fluid. Prop de les paletes de l'estàtor, les pèrdues de pressión són elevades, cap al centre de l'espai sense paletes les pèrdues disminueixen i prop del rotor comencen a incrementarse. L'interacción entre rotor i estàtor crea ones de xoc amb una intensitat que depèn de la posició de la vora d'atac del rotor i de la velocitat de rotació. A la velocitat de rotació més elevada, prop de de la vora d'atac ocorren fluctuacions en la càrrega que poden comprometre la integritat de la pala. Quan la turbina té les paletes de l'estàtor obertes (80% VGT) i opera a la relació de pressió més elevada de les seleccionades, les condicions de xoc apareixen en el pla de la vora de fuga del rotor. A més, el desenvolupament de l'àrea xocada depèn de la velocitat de rotació i de les fugues en la punta de les paletes. Així, s'ha investigat els efectes de les fugues en la punta de les paletes sobre el flux principal sota condicions sòniques, disminuint i incrementant l'interstici entre la punta de la paleta i la carcasa fins un 50\% en base a la geometria donada pel fabricant. El flux en aquest espai s'accelera per a posteriorment mesclar-se amb el flux principal i generar un vòrtex. Els efectes del vòrtex sobre el flux en el pla ubicat a la vora de fuga del rotor quan l'interstici varia són més significatives a velocitats altes que a velocitats baixes. El vòrtex roman més prop del costat de succió a velocitats elevades generant una regió subsònica que incrementa amb l'altura de l'interstici. Les fugues en la punta de les paletes no afecten al flux principal prop del cub quan la turbina opera tant a altes com baixes velocitats. / [EN] In turbochargers with variable geometry turbine (VGT), the stator vanes move to a closed position to drive high exhaust back pressure during the engine braking mode. Thus, shock waves are generated at the stator. Furthermore, depending on the operational conditions in the use of radial turbines in other applications like reverse Brayton cycle for refrigeration, Organic Rankine Cycles, and gas turbine auxiliary power unit (GTAPU), sonic flow and shock waves can appear. The current work focuses on studying the flow behavior of a commercial turbocharger turbine of variable geometry at off-design conditions reaching choked flow. A detailed examination of the flow patterns within the turbine has been carried out using CFD simulations, identifying and quantifying the most important phenomena under different operational points. Reynolds Averaged Navier Stokes (RANS) and unsteady RANS simulations have been performed to obtain the flow structures in stator and rotor as well as the turbine map. The CFD results show that the region of the computational domain where the sonic conditions appear depends on the stator vanes position and the pressure ratio. When the stator vanes are in the closed position (10% VGT) the flow through the stator accelerates and, depending on pressure ratio, the static pressure on the suction side decreases until a certain point where a sudden increase reveals the presence of a shock wave that expands through the vaneless space. The intensity of the shock wave at higher pressure ratio varies with the rotational speed. To analyze the rotor-stator interaction, numerical simulations were carried out with the stator vanes at the closed position, 10% VGT, and at wider position, 30% VGT. The number of shocks a fluid particle experiences upstream of the rotor is correlated with the fluid shock losses. Close to the stator vanes, the pressure losses are high; toward the center of the vaneless space, they start to decrease, and close to the rotor they start to increase. The rotor-stator interaction creates shock waves, whose intensity depends on the position of the rotor leading edge and the blade speed. At higher rotational speed, load fluctuation occurs close to the leading edge, which may compromise the blade's integrity. When the turbine has the stator vanes open (80% VGT) and operates at the selected higher pressure ratio, the choking condition appears in a plane at the rotor trailing edge. Furthermore, the development of the choked area depends on the rotational speed and tip leakage. Thus, the effect of the tip leakage flow on the main flow under sonic conditions was investigated decreasing and increasing the tip gap up to 50% of the original geometry given by the manufacturer. The flow through the gap accelerates and then mixes with the main flow, generating a vortex. The effects of the vortex on the flow at the rotor trailing edge plane when the tip gap varies are more significant at higher speed than at lower speed. The vortex stays closer to the tip suction side at higher speed, generating a subsonic region that increases with the tip gap height. At higher and lower rotational speeds, the tip leakage flow does not affect the main flow close to the hub. / I would like to acknowledge the financial support received through the "Subprograma de Formación de Profesorado Universitario (FPU)". Ministerio de Universidades. FPU18/02628 and by the "FPI Subprograma 2". Universitat Politècnica de València. PAID-10-18. / Echavarría Olaya, JD. (2023). Numerical Study of a Radial Turbine of Variable Geometry at Off-Design Conditions Reaching Choked Flow [Tesis doctoral]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/196861

The aim of this work is to research the issue of optimal sizing and location of photovoltaic distributed generation (PVDG) units on radial distribution feeders, and develop new procedures by which the optimal location may be determined. The procedures consider the concept that the PVDG production varies independently from changes in feeder load demand. Based on that, the developed procedures deal with two performance curves; the feeder daily load curve driven by the consumer load demand, and the PVDG daily production curve driven by the solar irradiance. Due to the mismatch in the profile of these two curves the PVDG unit might end up producing only part of its capacity at the time the feeder meets its peak load demand. An actual example of that is the summer peak load demand in Abu Dhabi city that occurs at 5:30 pm, which is 5 hours after the time the PV array yields its peak. Consequently, solving the optimization problem for maximum line power loss reduction (∆PPL) is deemed inappropriate for the connection of PVDG units. Accordingly, the procedures have been designed to solve for maximum line energy loss reduction (∆EL). A suitable concept has been developed to rate the ∆EL at one time interval over the day, namely feasible optimization interval (FOI). The concept has been put into effect by rating the ∆EL in terms of line power loss reduction at the FOI (ΔPLFOI). This application is deemed very helpful in running the calculations with no need to repeat the energy-based calculations on hourly basis intervals or even shorter. The procedures developed as part of this work have been applied on actual feeders at the 11kV level of Abu Dhabi distribution network. Two main scenarios have been considered relating to the avoidance and allowance of reverse power flow (RPF). In this course, several applications employing both single and multiple PVDG units have been solved and validated. The optimization procedures are solved iteratively. Hence, effective sub-procedures to help determine the appropriate number of feasible iterative steps have been developed and incorporated successfully. Additionally, the optimization procedures have been designed to deal with a 3-phase feeder under an unbalanced load condition. The line impedances along the feeder are modeled in terms of a phase impedance matrix. At the same time, the modeling of feeder load curves along with the power flow calculations and the resulting losses in the lines are carried out by phase. The resulting benefits from each application have been evaluated and compared in terms of line power loss reduction at the FOI (∆PLFOI) along with voltage and current flow profile.

BACKGROUND: The abnormal signal intensity in cardiac T₂-weighted images is associated with various pathologies including myocardial edema. However, the assessment of pathologies based on signal intensity is affected by the acquisition parameters and the sensitivities of the receiver coils. T₂ mapping has been proposed to overcome limitations of T₂-weighted imaging, but most methods are limited in spatial and/or temporal resolution. Here we present and evaluate a double inversion recovery radial fast spin-echo (DIR-RADFSE) technique that yields data with high spatiotemporal resolution for cardiac T₂ mapping. METHODS: DIR-RADFSE data were collected at 1.5 T on phantoms and subjects with echo train length (ETL) = 16, receiver bandwidth (BW) = +/-32 kHz, TR = 1RR, matrix size = 256 x 256. Since only 16 views per echo time (TE) are collected, two algorithms designed to reconstruct highly undersampled radial data were used to generate images for 16 time points: the Echo-Sharing (ES) and the CUrve Reconstruction via pca-based Linearization with Indirect Echo compensation (CURLIE) algorithm. T₂ maps were generated via least-squares fitting or the Slice-resolved Extended Phase Graph (SEPG) model fitting. The CURLIE-SEPG algorithm accounts for the effect of indirect echoes. The algorithms were compared based on reproducibility, using Bland-Altman analysis on data from 7 healthy volunteers, and T₂ accuracy (against a single-echo spin-echo technique) using phantoms. RESULTS: Both reconstruction algorithms generated in vivo images with high spatiotemporal resolution and showed good reproducibility. Mean T₂ difference between repeated measures and the coefficient of repeatability were 0.58 ms and 2.97 for ES and 0.09 ms and 4.85 for CURLIE-SEPG. In vivo T₂ estimates from ES were higher than those from CURLIE-SEPG. In phantoms, CURLIE-SEPG yielded more accurate T₂s compared to reference values (error was 7.5-13.9% for ES and 0.6-2.1% for CURLIE-SEPG), consistent with the fact that CURLIE-SEPG compensates for the effects of indirect echoes. The potential of T₂ mapping with CURLIE-SEPG is demonstrated in two subjects with known heart disease. Elevated T₂ values were observed in areas of suspected pathology. CONCLUSIONS: DIR-RADFSE yielded TE images with high spatiotemporal resolution. Two algorithms for generating T₂ maps from highly undersampled data were evaluated in terms of accuracy and reproducibility. Results showed that CURLIE-SEPG yields T₂ estimates that are reproducible and more accurate than ES.

The application of a theoretical framework for calculating the radial electric field in the DIII-D tokamak edge plasma is discussed. Changes in the radial electric field are correlated with changes in many important edge plasma phenomena, including rotation, the L-H transition, and ELM suppression. A self-consistent model for the radial electric field may therefore suggest a means of controlling other important parameters in the edge plasma. Implementing a methodology for calculating the radial electric field can be difficult due to its complex interrelationships with ion losses, rotation, radial ion fluxes, and momentum transport. The radial electric field enters the calculations for ion orbit loss. This ion orbit loss, in turn, affects the radial ion flux both directly and indirectly through return currents, which have been shown theoretically to torque the edge plasma causing rotation. The edge rotation generates a motional radial electric field, which can influence both the edge pedestal structure and additional ion orbit losses. In conjunction with validating the analytical modified Ohm’s Law model for calculating the radial electric field, modeling efforts presented in this dissertation focus on improving calculations of ion orbit losses and x-loss into the divertor region, as well as the formulation of models for fast beam ion orbit losses and the fraction of lost particles that return to the confined plasma. After rigorous implementation of the ion orbit loss model and related mechanisms into fluid equations, efforts are shifted to calculate effects from rotation on the radial electric field calculation and compared to DIII-D experimental measurements and computationally simulated plasmas. This calculation of the radial electric field will provide a basis for future modeling of a fast, predictive calculation to characterize future tokamaks like ITER.