Nonthermal plasma-assisted combustion (PAC) has been demonstrated to be a promising potential method to enhance combustion performance and reduce the pollutant emissions. To better understand the mechanism in PAC, we have conducted a series of studies on the combustion enhancement by plasma using a home-developed PAC platform which employs a nonthermal microwave argon plasma and a suit of optical diagnostic tools including optical imaging, optical emission spectroscopy, and cavity ringdown spectroscopy. A new PAC system in which a continuous atmospheric argon microwave plasma jet is employed to enhance combustion of methane/air mixtures was reported. Reactive species in PAC were characterized in a state-resolved manner including the simultaneously measurements of OH(A) and OH(X) radicals in the PAC flames. Roles of the state-resolved OH(A) and OH(X) radicals in microwave PAC of premixed methane/air mixture were explored. It was concluded that if both OH(A) and OH(X) radicals assisted the ignition and flame stabilization processes, then we may hypothesize that the role of OH(A) was more dominant in the ignition enhancement but the role of OH(X) was more dominant in the flame stabilization. The effect of fuel injection configurations was investigated in the comparative study between PAC of the premixed and nonpremixed methane/air mixtures. It was found that emissions from the CH (A-X) and C2 Swan systems only exist in the nonpremixed PAC which suggest that the reaction pathways are different between premixed and nonpremixed PAC. The PAC of premixed methane/oxygen/argon mixtures was investigated. A U-shaped dual-layer curve of fuel ignition/flame stabilization limit showing the effects of the plasma power on the fuel ignition and flame stabilization was observed and reported. A parametric study of the microwave PAC of the premixed ethylene/air mixtures was conducted. Behavior of the OH, CH, and C2 radicals and their dependence on plasma power, argon flow rate, and total ethylene/air mixture flow rate were also studied.

Investment incentive policies have been major policy instruments used in Canada and elsewhere to achieve economic growth and stabilization. In this study an attempt is made to isolate the specific effects contained in these policies, and to measure their impact on investment expenditures in Canada. There are three major sections to the study. First, various well-known models of investment behaviour are used to illustrate how investment incentive policies may be expected to influence investment expenditures. Secondly, a group of major Canadian incentive policies are described in detail, together with an outline of the institutional framework in which the policies were conceived and operated. Thirdly, these major policies are incorporated into investment functions to test for their impact on investment expenditures. From the empirical analysis, the investment incentive policies do not appear to have influenced investment expenditures to any substantial degree. At the same time the cost of these policies in terms of revenue foregone has been substantial. The major conclusion is that the case for investment incentive policies as instruments of short run stabilization policy is extremely weak. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

<p>In this Thesis I report on my work done in replicating the Pound-Drever-Hall (PDH) laser stabilization technique as well as applications of PDH to microring resonators and generated Optical Frequency Combs (OFC). These works have been broken down into three sections. First, I replicated the PDH method with a continuous wave (CW) laser along with a Fabry-Pérot Cavity (FPC). Second, I applied the same technique to a 25 GHz Free Spectral Range (FSR) microring resonator fabricated in Silicon Nitride. Third, I applied the PDH technique to a high Quality Factor (Q) high Free Spectral Range (FSR) microring resonator in preparation to lock the repetition rate of two soliton combs beat together. The last experiment was for an application towards a compact optical clock system; such systems will have a wide impact on the infrastructure of our navigation and communication structures in use today.</p>

There are many possible ways to perform the attitude control of a quadcopter and, recently, the subject of event-triggered control has become relevant in the scientic community. This thesis deals with the analysis and implementation of a saturating attitude controller for a quadcopter system, together with the derivation of an event-triggering rule to work with it. Two distinct rules are presented, one that ensures the stability of the closed loop system, the other, a linearised version that does not. The way those were derived consists in the use of a Lyapunov based approach. The stability of the system when under these rules was veried experimentally.

To investigate the density-dependent factors that may be partly responsible for the apparent stability of hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA; Adelges tsugae Annand) populations in central New England, we infested 64 eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis Carrière) trees with varying densities of HWA sistens ovisacs in a typical eastern hemlock forest in western Massachusetts. We subsequently documented HWA density, fecundity, and the amount of new growth on experimental trees over two consecutive years. We used a 2 x 2 randomized block design using previously and newly infested hemlocks divided into 1 m tall saplings and branches of mature trees. There was a density-dependent decline in the survival and fecundity of HWA in both the spring and winter generations. This response was a function of both previous infestation by HWA and current years crawler density in the spring generation. Additionally, the production of sexuparae in the spring generation played a key role in the overall density-dependent survival of HWA, suggesting that sexuparae production is strongly linked to developing crawler density. In Chapter 2, varying densities of HWA were manipulated on 16 previously uninfested eastern hemlocks in an open field plantation. In contrast to HWA populations in our forest experiment, there was no evidence of density-dependent survival on a tree-wide basis in the plantation in the springtime progrediens generation. However, there were comparable density-dependent survival of settled crawlers and sexuparae production when samples of the population were examined from branches with high density. Plantation hemlocks had 9.3 times more foliage and ten times lower HWA densities per cm than forest hemlocks. Despite the lack of density-dependence in the progrediens generation of this study, HWA populations of the subsequent sistens generation went extinct on 13 out of the 16 trees. These results show that density-dependent processes may only exist when HWA density/cm reaches a certain threshold, and that high mortality may occur during the late-summer aestivation phase at densities below this threshold, perhaps due to high summertime temperatures in HWA’s sistens generation. These results may help explain the slow process of HWA establishment in our region.

For future multicores, a dedicated interconnect subsystem for on-chip monitors was found to be highly beneficial in terms of scalability, performance and area. In this thesis, such a monitor network (MNoC) is used for multicores to support selective error identification and recovery and maintain target chip reliability in the context of dynamic voltage and frequency scaling (DVFS). A selective shared memory multiprocessor recovery is performed using MNoC in which, when an error is detected, only the group of processors sharing an application with the affected processors are recovered. Although the use of DVFS in contemporary multicores provides significant protection from unpredictable thermal events, a potential side effect can be an increased processor exposure to soft errors. To address this issue, a flexible fault prevention and recovery mechanism has been developed to selectively enable a small amount of per-core dual modular redundancy (DMR) in response to increased vulnerability, as measured by the processor architectural vulnerability factor (AVF). Our new algorithm for DMR deployment aims to provide a stable effective soft error rate (SER) by using DMR in response to DVFS caused by thermal events. The algorithm is implemented in real-time on the multicore using MNoC and controller which evaluates thermal information and multicore performance statistics in addition to error information. DVFS experiments with a multicore simulator using standard benchmarks show an average 6% improvement in overall power consumption and a stable SER by using selective DMR versus continuous DMR deployment.

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), commonly known as drones, have revolutionized numerous fields ranging from aerial photography to surveillance and logistics. Achieving stable flight is essential for their successful operation, ensuring accurate data acquisition, reliable manoeuvring, and safe operation. This thesis explores the feasibility of employing a frontal mono camera and sensor fusion techniques to enhance drone stability during flight. The objective of this research is to investigate whether a frontal mono camera, combined with sensor fusion algorithms, can be used to effectively stabilize a drone in various flight scenarios. By leveraging machine vision techniques and integrating data from onboard gyroscopes, the proposed approach aims to provide real-time feedback for controlling the drone. The methodology for this study involves the Crazyflie 2.1 drone platform equipped with a frontal camera and an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU). The drone’s flight data, including position, orientation, and velocity, is continuously monitored and analyzed using Kalman Filter (KF). This algorithm processes the data from the camera and the IMU to estimate the drone’s state accurately. Based on these estimates, corrective commands are generated and sent to the drone’s control system to maintain stability. To evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed system, a series of flight tests are conducted under different environmental conditions and flight manoeuvres. Performance metrics such as drift, level of oscillations, and overall flight stability are analyzed and compared against baseline experiments with conventional stabilization methods. Additional simulated tests are carried out to study the effect of the communication delay. The expected outcomes of this research will contribute to the advancement of drone stability systems. If successful, the implementation of a frontal camera and sensor fusion can provide a cost-effective and lightweight solution for stabilizing drones.

There is a need for spinal implants that have nonlinear stiffness to provide stabilization if the spine loses stiffness through injury, degeneration, or surgery. There is also a need for spinal implants to be customizable for individual needs, and to be small enough to be unobtrusive once implanted. Past and ongoing work that defines the effects of degeneration on the torque rotation curve of a functional spinal unit (FSU) were used to produce a spinal implant which could meet these requirements. This thesis proposes contact-aided inserts to be used with the FlexSuRe™ spinal implant to create a nonlinear stiffness. Moreover, different inserts can be used to create customized behaviors. An analytical model is introduced for insert design, and the model is verified using a finite element model and tests of physical prototypes both on a tensile tester and cadaveric testing on an in-house spine tester. Testing showed the inserts are capable of creating a non-linear force-deflection curve and it was observed that the device provided increased stiffness to a spinal segment in flexion-extension and lateral-bending. This thesis further proposes that the FlexSuRe™ spinal implant can be reduced in size by joining LET joint geometries in series in a serpentine nature. An optimization procedure was performed on the new geometry and feasible designs were identified. Moreover, due to maintaining LET joint geometry, the contact-aided insert could be implemented in conjunction with this new device geometry.

The purpose of this research was to investigate the influence of applying an intrinsic decompressive pre-load to a particular dynamic stabilization device on the biomechanical response of the lumbar spine. The FlexSPAR, which supports this ability, was used as a test case. A finite element model of a full lumbar spine was developed and validated against experimental data, and tested in the primary modes of spinal motion. The model was used to compare five lumbar spine test cases: healthy, degenerate, implanted with a pre-loaded device, implanted with a device without a pre-load, and implanted with rigid fixators. Results indicated that a pre-loaded FlexSPAR led to improved disc height restoration and segmental biomechanics. Results also showed that a pre-loaded FlexSPAR led to less change in bone remodeling stimulus in comparison to the device without a pre-load and rigid fixators. This work shows that there is a potential to improve the performance of posterior dynamic stabilization devices by incorporating a pre-load in the device.

Since the 1970's deep mixing columns have been widely used all over the world to improve the performance of soft soil in regard to bearing capacity or deformation behaviour. They are installed by mixing a binding agent, e.g. cement, in situ with the soil. The choice of installation method affects the properties of the column and the surrounding as the soil is disturbed by the installation process. However, the effects of the installation are often neglected during design even though they are plentiful. Besides the lateral displacement that could destabilize neighbouring constructions, the soil in the direct vicinity of the installed column is affected. Laboratory and field tests revealed the formation of three distinct zones outside the nominal diameter of the column which have different strength properties than the initial clay. They are formed due to cylindrical expansion, clay fracturing, and the migration of ions from the binding agent and their strength changes with time due to consolidation, cementation, heating, and thixotropy. Within this thesis, the installation effects that occur in the direct vicinity of the column have been studied in the context of a construction project in Sweden, where deep mixing columns are considered for the reduction of settlements of road and parks areas located on a thick clay layer. Based on analytical calculation methods and field measurements described in the literature, the occurrence and the magnitude of the installation effects have been assessed. The influence of considering these effects was then studied numerically using the finite element program PLAXIS. The simulation included one column within a column group and was performed in 2D assuming axisymmetry. The presence of the neighbouring columns was considered over the boundary conditions. The installation effects in the vicinity of the column comprised three zones which were implemented in the numerical model. For comparison, the simulations were also performed using the "wish-in-place" approach for the column that ignores the occurrence of any installation effects. The stabilized soil is loaded with two layers of new filling material which results in excess pore pressures and settlements that have been studied. The results for the model in which the installation effects were considered could be compared to the results for the model in which the column was wished-in-place. The comparison showed that the consideration of the installation effects leads to a faster consolidation and a significant reduction in settlements. This was observed for different installation patterns, i.e. triangular and square, and varying column spacings of 1.2 and 2.4 m. The positive installation effects were greatest for a smaller spacing and a triangular installation pattern. For a square installation pattern with a spacing of 2.4 m, the consolidation time and the final settlements were both reduced by more than 40%. Even though the assumptions and simplifications require verification, a clear positive influence can be seen for the project in Sweden. If these numerical results are confirmed by field observations, more efficient construction designs could be obtained which ultimately result in reduced costs and carbon dioxide emissions.