In this work we study two aspects of image security: improper usage and illegal access of images. In the first part we present our results on steganalysis – protection against improper usage of images. In the second part we present our results on image encryption – protection against illegal access of images. Steganography is the collective name for methodologies that allow the creation of invisible –hence secret– channels for information transfer. Steganalysis, the counter to steganography, is a collection of approaches that attempt to detect and quantify the presence of hidden messages in cover media. First we present our studies on stego-images using features developed for data stream classification towards making some qualitative assessments about the effect of steganography on the lower order bit planes(LSB) of images. These features are effective in classifying different data streams. Using these features, we study the randomness properties of image and stego-image LSB streams and observe that data stream analysis techniques are inadequate for steganalysis purposes. This provides motivation to arrive at steganalytic techniques that go beyond the LSB properties. We then present our steganalytic approach which takes into account such properties. In one such approach, we perform steganalysis from the point of view of quantifying the effect of perturbations caused by mild image processing operations–zoom-in/out, rotation, distortions–on stego-images. We show that this approach works both in detecting and estimating the presence of stego-contents for a particularly difficult steganographic technique known as LSB matching steganography. Next, we present our results on our image encryption techniques. Encryption approaches which are used in the context of text data are usually unsuited for the purposes of encrypting images(and multimedia objects) in general. The reasons are: unlike text, the volume to be encrypted could be huge for images and leads to increased computational requirements; encryption used for text renders images incompressible thereby resulting in poor use of bandwidth. These issues are overcome by designing image encryption approaches that obfuscate the image by intelligently re-ordering the pixels or encrypt only parts of a given image in attempts to render them imperceptible. The obfuscated image or the partially encrypted image is still amenable to compression. Efficient image encryption schemes ensure that the obfuscation is not compromised by the inherent correlations present in the image. Also they ensure that the unencrypted portions of the image do not provide information about the encrypted parts. In this work we present two approaches for efficient image encryption. First, we utilize the correlation preserving properties of the Hilbert space-filling-curves to reorder images in such a way that the image is obfuscated perceptually. This process does not compromise on the compressibility of the output image. We show experimentally that our approach leads to both perceptual security and perceptual encryption. We then show that the space-filling curve based approach also leads to more efficient partial encryption of images wherein only the salient parts of the image are encrypted thereby reducing the encryption load. In our second approach, we show that Singular Value Decomposition(SVD) of images is useful from the point of image encryption by way of mismatching the unitary matrices resulting from the decomposition of images. It is seen that the images that result due to the mismatching operations are perceptually secure.

In order to identify the weakest bus in a power system so that the Unified Power Flow Controller could be connected, an investigation of static and dynamic voltage stability is presented. Two stability indices, static and dynamic, have been proposed in the thesis. Multi-Input Multi-Output (MIMO) analysis has been used for the dynamic stability analysis. Results based on the Western System Coordinate Council (WSCC) 3-machine, 9-bus test system and IEEE 14 bus Reliability Test System (RTS) shows that these indices detect with the degree of accuracy the weakest bus, the weakest line and the voltage stability margin in the test system before suffering from voltage collapse. Recently, Flexible Alternating Current Transmission systems (FACTs) have become significant due to the need to strengthen existing power systems. The UPFC has been identified in literature as the most comprehensive and complex FACTs equipment that has emerged for the control and optimization of power flow in AC transmission systems. Significant research has been done on the UPFC. However, the extent of UPFC capability, connected to the weakest bus in maintaining the power flows under fault conditions, not only in the line where it is installed, but also in adjacent parallel lines, remains to be studied. In the literature, it has normally been assumed the UPFC is disconnected during a fault period. In this investigation it has been shown that fault conditions can affect the UPFC significantly, even if it occurred on far buses of the power system. This forms the main contribution presented in this thesis. The impact of UPFC in minimizing the disturbances in voltages, currents and power flows under fault conditions are investigated. The WSCC 3-machine, 9-bus test system is used to investigate the effect of an unsymmetrical fault type and position on the operation of UPFC controller in accordance to the G59 protection, stability and regulation. Results show that it is necessary to disconnect the UPFC controller from the power system during unsymmetrical fault conditions. / Libyan Government

La multiplication des projets HVDC de par le monde démontre l'engouement toujours croissant pour cette technologie de transport de l'électricité. La grande majorité de ces transmissions HVDC correspondent à des liaisons point-à-point et se basent sur des convertisseurs AC/DC de type LCC ou VSC à 2 ou 3 niveaux. Les travaux de cette thèse se focalisent sur l'étude, le contrôle et la commande de systèmes HVDC de type multi-terminal (MTDC), avec des convertisseurs de type VSC classique ou modulaire multi-niveaux. La première étape consiste à obtenir les modèles moyens du VSC classique et du MMC. La différence fondamentale entre ces deux convertisseurs, à savoir la possibilité pour le MMC de stocker et de contrôler l'énergie des condensateurs des sous-modules, est détaillée et expliquée. Ces modèles et leurs commandes sont ensuite linéarisés et mis sous forme de représentations d'état, puis validés en comparant leur comportement à ceux de modèles de convertisseurs plus détaillés à l'aide de logiciels de type EMT. Une fois validés, les modèles d'état peuvent être utilisés afin de générer le modèle d'état de tout système de transmissions HVDC, qu'il soit point-à-point ou MTDC. La comparaison d'une liaison HVDC à base de VSCs classiques puis de MMCs est alors réalisée. Leurs valeurs propres sont étudiées et comparées, et les modes ayant un impact sur la tension DC sont identifiés et analysés. Cette étude est ensuite étendue à un système MTDC à 5 terminaux, et son analyse modale permet à la fois d'étudier la stabilité du système, mais aussi de comprendre l'origine de ses valeurs propres ainsi que leur impact sur la dynamique du système. La méthode de décomposition en valeurs singulières permet ensuite d'obtenir un intervalle de valeurs possibles pour le paramètre de"voltage droop", permettant ainsi le contrôle du système MTDC tout en s'assurant qu'il soit conforme à des contraintes bien définies, comme l'écart maximal admissible en tension DC. Enfin, une proposition de "frequency droop" (ou "statisme"), permettant aux convertisseurs de participer au réglage de la fréquence des réseaux AC auxquels ils sont connectés, est étudiée. Le frequency droop est utilisé conjointement avec le voltage droop afn de garantir le bon fonctionnement de la partie AC et de la partie DC. Cependant, l'utilisation des deux droop génère un couplage indésirable entre les deux commandes. Ces interactions sont mathématiquement quantifiées et une correction à apporter au paramètre de frequency droop est proposée. Ces résultats sont ensuite validés par des simulations EMT et par des essais sur la plate-forme MTDC du laboratoire L2EP. / HVDC transmission systems are largely used worldwide, mostly in the form of back-to-back and point-to-point HVDC, using either thyristor-based LCC or IGBT-based VSC. With the recent deployment of the INELFE HVDC link between France and Spain, and the commissioning in China of a three-terminal HVDC transmission system using Modular Multilevel Converters (MMCs), a modular design of voltage source converters, the focus of the scientific community has shifted onto the analysis and control of MMC-based HVDC transmission systems. In this thesis, the average value models of both a standard 2-level VSC and an MMC are proposed and the most interesting difference between the two converter technologies -the control of the stored energy in the MMC- is emphasised and explained. These models are then linearised, expressed in state-space form and validated by comparing their behaviour to more detailed models under EMT programs. Afterwards, these state-space representations are used in the modelling of HVDC transmission systems, either point-to-point or Multi-Terminal HVDC (MTDC). A modal analysis is performed on an HVDC link, for both 2-level VSCs and MMCs. The modes of these two systems are specifed and compared and the independent control of the DC voltage and the DC current in the case of an MMC is illustrated. This analysis is extended to the scope of a 5-terminal HVDC system in order to perform a stability analysis, understand the origin of the system dynamics and identify the dominant DC voltage mode that dictates the DC voltage response time. Using the Singular Value Decomposition method on the MTDC system, the proper design of the voltage-droop gains of the controllers is then achieved so that the system operation is ensured within physical constraints, such as the maximum DC voltage deviation and the maximum admissible current in the power electronics. Finally, a supplementary droop "the frequency-droop control" is proposed so that MTDC systems also participate to the onshore grids frequency regulation. However, this controller interacts with the voltage-droop controller. This interaction is mathematically quantified and a corrected frequency-droop gain is proposed. This control is then illustrated with an application to the physical converters of the Twenties project mock-up.

La thermographie infrarouge est une méthode largement employée pour la caractérisation des propriétés thermophysiques des matériaux. L’avènement des diodes laser pratiques, peu onéreuses et aux multiples caractéristiques, étendent les possibilités métrologiques des caméras infrarouges et mettent à disposition un ensemble de nouveaux outils puissants pour la caractérisation thermique et le contrôle non desturctif. Cependant, un lot de nouvelles difficultés doit être surmonté, comme le traitement d’une grande quantité de données bruitées et la faible sensibilité de ces données aux paramètres recherchés. Cela oblige de revisiter les méthodes de traitement du signal existantes, d’adopter de nouveaux outils mathématiques sophistiqués pour la compression de données et le traitement d’informations pertinentes. Les nouvelles stratégies consistent à utiliser des transformations orthogonales du signal comme outils de compression préalable de données, de réduction et maîtrise du bruit de mesure. L’analyse de sensibilité, basée sur l’étude locale des corrélations entre les dérivées partielles du signal expérimental, complète ces nouvelles approches. L'analogie avec la théorie dans l'espace de Fourier a permis d'apporter de nouveaux éléments de réponse pour mieux cerner la «physique» des approches modales.La réponse au point source impulsionnel a été revisitée de manière numérique et expérimentale. En utilisant la séparabilité des champs de température nous avons proposé une nouvelle méthode d'inversion basée sur une double décomposition en valeurs singulières du signal expérimental. Cette méthode par rapport aux précédentes, permet de tenir compte de la diffusion bi ou tridimensionnelle et offre ainsi une meilleure exploitation du contenu spatial des images infrarouges. Des exemples numériques et expérimentaux nous ont permis de valider dans une première approche cette nouvelle méthode d'estimation pour la caractérisation de diffusivités thermiques longitudinales. Des applications dans le domaine du contrôle non destructif des matériaux sont également proposées. Une ancienne problématique qui consiste à retrouver les champs de température initiaux à partir de données bruitées a été abordée sous un nouveau jour. La nécessité de connaitre les diffusivités thermiques du matériau orthotrope et la prise en compte des transferts souvent tridimensionnels sont complexes à gérer. L'application de la double décomposition en valeurs singulières a permis d'obtenir des résultats intéressants compte tenu de la simplicité de la méthode. En effet, les méthodes modales sont basées sur des approches statistiques de traitement d'une grande quantité de données, censément plus robustes quant au bruit de mesure, comme cela a pu être observé. / Infrared thermography is a widely used method for characterization of thermophysical properties of materials. The advent of the laser diodes, which are handy, inexpensive, with a broad spectrum of characteristics, extend metrological possibilities of infrared cameras and provide a combination of new powerful tools for thermal characterization and non destructive evaluation. However, this new dynamic has also brought numerous difficulties that must be overcome, such as high volume noisy data processing and low sensitivity to estimated parameters of such data. This requires revisiting the existing methods of signal processing, adopting new sophisticated mathematical tools for data compression and processing of relevant information.New strategies consist in using orthogonal transforms of the signal as a prior data compression tools, which allow noise reduction and control over it. Correlation analysis, based on the local cerrelation study between partial derivatives of the experimental signal, completes these new strategies. A theoretical analogy in Fourier space has been performed in order to better understand the «physical» meaning of modal approaches.The response to the instantaneous point source of heat, has been revisited both numerically and experimentally. By using separable temperature fields, a new inversion technique based on a double singular value decomposition of experimental signal has been introduced. In comparison with previous methods, it takes into account two or three-dimensional heat diffusion and therefore offers a better exploitation of the spatial content of infrared images. Numerical and experimental examples have allowed us to validate in the first approach our new estimation method of longitudinal thermal diffusivities. Non destructive testing applications based on the new technique have also been introduced.An old issue, which consists in determining the initial temperature field from noisy data, has been approached in a new light. The necessity to know the thermal diffusivities of an orthotropic medium and the need to take into account often three-dimensional heat transfer, are complicated issues. The implementation of the double singular value decomposition allowed us to achieve interesting results according to its ease of use. Indeed, modal approaches are statistical methods based on high volume data processing, supposedly robust as to the measurement noise.