The main objective of this study is to explore the complex fluid flow phenomena that result in the generation of a high frequency noise in counterbalance valves through an experimental and numerical investigation of the flow. Once the influence of the different components involved in noise generation is established, a secondary objective is the introduction of design modifications that eliminate the undesired effect without altering the operation envelope or the performance of the valve. A hydraulic test bench was used to carry out an experimental investigation of the noise generation process. A computer based data acquisition system was used to record pressure fluctuations, flowrates and hydraulic oil temperatures in a production valve under a variety of operational conditions. Extensive experimental measurements and numerical modeling lead to the hypothesis that noise generation is the result of an acoustic resonance triggered by shear layer instability at the valve inlet. The pressure gradients developed when the shear layer entrains the stagnant fluid in the valve main cavity cause the layer to become unstable and oscillate. The oscillation frequency will depend on a great number of factors such as valve geometry, pressure and velocity gradients and the density and viscosity of the fluid. It is postulated that the observed noise is generated when this frequency matches one of the resonant frequencies of the valve cavity. The proposed mechanism is theoretically poorly understood and well beyond simplified analysis, its accurate numerical simulation is computational very intensive requiring sophisticated CFD codes. The numerical investigation was carried out using STAR–CCM+, a commercially available CFD code featuring 3-D capabilities and sophisticated turbulence modeling. Streamline, pressure, velocity-vector and velocity-scalar plots were obtained for several valve configurations using steady and unsteady state flow simulations. An experimental and numerical analysis of an alternative valve geometry was carried out. Experimental results demonstrated a greatly reduced instability range. The numerical analysis of the unsteady behavior of the shear-layer streamlines for both valves yielded results that were compatible with the experimental work. The results of this investigation promise a great positive impact on the design of this type of hydraulic valves.

One of the major factors in RF circuit design is the ability to predict the performance of these circuits in the presence of uncertainty in the key design parameters. This is referred to as uncertainty quantification in the mathematical literature. Uncertainty about the key design parameters arises mainly from the difficulty of controlling the physical or geometrical features of the underlying design, especially at the nanometer level. With the constant trend to scale down the process feature size, uncertainty quantification becomes crucial in shortening the design time. This thesis presents a new approach to statistically characterize the variability of the Harmonic Balance analysis and its application to Intermodulation distortion analysis in the presence of uncertainty in the design parameters. The new approach is based on the concept of Polynomial Chaos (PC) and Stochastic Galerkin (SG) methods. However, unlike the traditional PC, the proposed approach adopts a new mathematical formulation that decouples the Polynomial Chaos problem into several problems whose sizes are equal to the size of the original Harmonic Balance problem. The proposed algorithm produces significant CPU savings with equivalent accuracy to traditional Monte Carlo and standard PC approaches.

This thesis has two major goals; first to develop scalable scripts for steady-state analysis, then to perform a case study on the dynamic properties of a vertical pile. The scripts are based on the numerical library PETSc for parallel linear algebra. This opens up the opportunity to use the scripts to solve large-scale models on supercomputers. The performance of the scripts are verified against problems with analytical solutions and the commercial software ABAQUS. The case study compares the numerical results with those obtained from an approximate solution.   The results from this thesis are verified scripts that can find a steady-state solution for linear-elastic isotropic solids on supercomputers. The case study has shown differences between numerical and semi-analytical solutions for a vertical pile. The dynamic stiffness show differences within reasonable limits but the equivalent viscous damping show larger differences. This is believed to come from the material damping in the soil that has been excluded from the approximate solution.   These two results make it possible for further case studies on typical three-dimensional problems, that result in large-scale models, such as the dynamic properties of a slanted pile or pile-groups. The scripts can easily be expanded and used for other interesting research projects and this is the major outcome of from this thesis.

Immunotherapy, by enhancing the endogenous anti-tumor immune responses, is showing promising results for the treatment of numerous cancers refractory to conventional therapies. However, its effectiveness for advanced castration-resistant prostate cancer remains unsatisfactory and new therapeutic strategies need to be developed. To this end, mathematical modeling provides a quantitative framework for testing in silico the efficacy of new treatments and combination therapies, as well as understanding unknown biological mechanisms. In this dissertation we present two mathematical models of prostate cancer immunotherapy defined as systems of ordinary differential equations. The first work, introduced in Chapter 2, provides a mathematical model of prostate cancer immunotherapy which has been calibrated using data from pre-clinical experiments in mice. This model describes the evolution of prostate cancer, key components of the immune system, and seven treatments. Numerous combination therapies were evaluated considering both the degree of tumor inhibition and the predicted synergistic effects, integrated into a decision tree. Our simulations predicted cancer vaccine combined with immune checkpoint blockade as the most effective dual-drug combination immunotherapy for subjects treated with androgen-deprivation therapy that developed resistance. Overall, this model serves as a computational framework to support drug development, by generating hypotheses that can be tested experimentally in pre-clinical models. The Chapter 3 is devoted to the description of a human prostate cancer mathematical model. The potential effect of immunotherapies on castration-resistant form has been analyzed. In particular, the model includes the dendritic vaccine sipuleucel-T, the only currently available immunotherapy option for advanced prostate cancer, and the ipilimumab, a drug targeting the cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen 4 , exposed on the CTLs membrane, currently under Phase II clinical trial. From a mathematical analysis of a simplified model, it seems likely that, under continuous administration of ipilimumab, the system lies in a bistable situation where both the no-tumor equilibrium and the high-tumor equilibrium are attractive. The schedule of periodic treatments could then determine the outcome, and mathematical models could help in deciding an optimal schedule.

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Submitted by Renata Lopes (renatasil82@gmail.com) on 2016-07-01T14:29:29Z No. of bitstreams: 1 paulaoliveiralagatta.pdf: 1917786 bytes, checksum: 627585584595873c205fcbcf5c79980f (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Adriana Oliveira (adriana.oliveira@ufjf.edu.br) on 2016-07-13T16:01:23Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 paulaoliveiralagatta.pdf: 1917786 bytes, checksum: 627585584595873c205fcbcf5c79980f (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-07-13T16:01:23Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 paulaoliveiralagatta.pdf: 1917786 bytes, checksum: 627585584595873c205fcbcf5c79980f (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-03-05 / CAPES - Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Neste trabalho são propostas duas formulações de importantes ferramentas para análise de redes em regime permanente, onde são consideradas equações que descrevem o comportamento do controle primário e secundário de frequência em sistemas elétricos de potência. A primeira proposta é baseada em uma formulação do problema de fluxo de potência convencional e a segunda uma formulação do fluxo de potência ótimo. A formulação de fluxo de potência proposta é desenvolvida a partir de uma metodologia genérica de representação de dispositivos de controle. Esta metodologia consiste em incorporar as equações que modelam dispositivos de controle ao problema básico de fluxo de potência em coordenadas polares, formando um sistema de equações de ordem (2nb+nc). O fluxo de potência desenvolvido é capaz de estimar os desvios de frequência do sistema devido a uma perturbação da carga. Por outro lado, o fluxo de potência ótimo proposto é capaz de identificar montantes e locais de corte carga, de forma a manter a frequência do sistema em uma faixa aceitável de operação. A formulação proposta de FPO consiste em incluir no problema equações de igualdade e desigualdade associadas com o controle primário de frequência e geração de potência ativa. Os desenvolvimentos propostos para o fluxo de potência convencional foram implementados no ambiente MatLab®. Para solução do fluxo de potência ótimo utilizou-se um pacote comercial de otimização, denominado LINGO®. A avaliação do fluxo de potência e fluxo de potência ótimo propostos é feita através do estudo de sistemas tutoriais e do sistema New England. A validação da análise de desvios de frequência é feita através da utilização do programa ANATEM, desenvolvido pelo CEPEL. Os resultados obtidos mostram as vantagens da utilização das formulações propostas. / This work proposes a new formulation for both the conventional power flow and the optimal power flow formulation, in which the steady-state equations describing the primary and secondary frequency control in electrical power systems are included. The proposed power flow formulation is based on a flexible methodology for the representation of control devices. Such methodology incorporates equations that model control devices into the basic power flow formulation in polar coordinates, generating an augmented system of equations having order (2nb + nc). The developed power flow is able to estimate the system frequency deviation due to a load disturbance. On other hand, the proposed optimum power flow formulation is able to identify the minimum load shedding necessary to maintain the system frequency in an acceptable range of operation. The proposed OPF formulation includes additional equality and inequality constraints to represent the steady state primary frequency control as a function of the active power generation. The proposed development for the conventional power flow was made using the MATLAB® environment. The optimal power flow solution used a commercial optimization package called LINGO®. The evaluation of the proposed power flow and optimal power flow formulations were made through the study of small test systems and the New England test system. Validations of the frequency deviation analysis were made using the program ANATEM, developed by CEPEL. The results obtained show the advantages of using the proposed formulations.

Submitted by Renata Lopes (renatasil82@gmail.com) on 2016-07-21T13:36:30Z No. of bitstreams: 1 felipedecastrobrumalmeida.pdf: 1845415 bytes, checksum: 51a0b14098a88f1127e6d6291d69e2f7 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Adriana Oliveira (adriana.oliveira@ufjf.edu.br) on 2016-07-22T15:30:27Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 felipedecastrobrumalmeida.pdf: 1845415 bytes, checksum: 51a0b14098a88f1127e6d6291d69e2f7 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-07-22T15:30:27Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 felipedecastrobrumalmeida.pdf: 1845415 bytes, checksum: 51a0b14098a88f1127e6d6291d69e2f7 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-03-29 / CAPES - Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Este trabalho tem por objetivo principal a avaliação do desempenho de dispositivos de controle e da modelagem da carga a partir de Regiões de Segurança Estática. Trata-se de uma importante ferramenta para avaliação da segurança de sistemas elétricos de potência, utilizadas tanto em ambiente off-line de planejamento da expansão e operação, quanto em tempo real nos centros de controle e operação (sistemas on-line VSA). Estas regiões são obtidas através de sucessivas soluções de casos de fluxo de potência e seu objetivo principal é verificar as condições de atendimento a carga (mercado) a partir de diversas condições de despacho da geração. Inicialmente, portanto, é apresentado de forma detalhada o processo de construção das Regiões de Segurança Estática, bem como os principais aspectos construtivos e considerações relevantes que podem influenciar de forma significativa a análise do desempenho do sistema. Com este objetivo, foi desenvolvido um programa para construção automática das Regiões de Segurança Estática na plataforma MatLab®. Um ambiente de processamento paralelo, intrínseco ao próprio MatLab®, foi utilizado com o intuito de aprimorar o desempenho computacional, o que permite a avaliação tanto de sistemas de pequeno porte, de valor tutorial, quanto de sistemas de médio/grande porte. Numa segunda etapa, este trabalho objetiva avaliar o desempenho de importantes dispositivos de controle e modelagem de carga a partir da construção automática das Regiões de Segurança. Os dispositivos de controle avaliados são: (i) Controle Remoto de Tensão; (ii) Controle de Tensão por Bancos Shunt Chaveados Automaticamente; (iii) Controle Automático de Tensão por Transformadores tipo LTC (Load Tap Changer); (iv) Controle Secundário de Tensão. A influência da modelagem da carga na avaliação da segurança do sistema é investigada a partir dos modelos ZIP e motor de indução. Os resultados obtidos demonstram que a representação de dispositivos de controle e da modelagem da carga podem influenciar significativamente as Regiões de Segurança Estática de sistemas elétricos de potência. / The main objective of this work is to evaluate the performance of control devices and load modelling through Static Security Regions. This is an important tool for security assessment of electric power systems, which can be used for both the operating environment (on-line systems VSA) and planning studies. These regions are obtained through successive power flow solutions and its main objective is to verify the steady-state security conditions from different configurations of generation dispatch for a given constant demand. Initially, the construction process of the Static Security Regions, as well as the key aspects of the construction and relevant considerations that may significantly impact the analysis of the system performance, is presented in detail. In this sense, a program for automatic construction of the Static Security Regions have been developed using the MatLab® platform. An intrinsic parallel processing environment was used to improve the computational performance, which allowed the evaluation of a small tutorial system and medium/large scale systems. As a second step, this work proposes the evaluation of the impact of important control devices and load modelling on the Static Security Regions construction. The control devices investigated are: (i) Remote Voltage Control; (ii) Shunt Devices with Automatic and Discrete Switching; (iii) Voltage Control by Automatic Load Tap Changing (LTC) Transformers; (iv) Secondary Voltage Control. The impact of load modelling is investigated through ZIP and induction motors models. The results obtained indicated that the representation of control devices and load modelling may significantly impact the Static Security Regions of the electrical power systems.

This master’s thesis introduces a slide bearing analysis using the MBS software tool of FEV Virtual Engine, including real surface topography based on 3D roughness measurements. The first half of the thesis gives a brief overview about gasoline combustion engines, slide bearing usage in engines, slide bearing construction and about essential approaches for the characterization of elasto-hydrodynamic behavior. In the second half, the process of model building, rough surface measurement and preparation of analyses are described. At the end of this thesis, the results of the analyses are shown and discussed.

Les travaux présentés dans ce mémoire portent sur les convertisseurs continu-continu (DC/DC) pour les réseaux de transport à Courant Continu (HVDC) dans un contexte de réseau maillé de type Multi Terminaux DC (MTDC). Dans ce genre de réseau, les convertisseurs DC/DC sont nécessaires pour interconnecter ces réseaux. L’objectif de ce travail est donc d’étudier un convertisseur DC/DC pour des applications à haute tension et forte puissance. De nombreux convertisseurs DC/DC classiques existent, mais ne sont pas adaptés à ces niveaux de tension et puissance. Le volume et coût sont les points clés de l’étude pour l’industrialisation des structures dédiées aux réseaux HVDC. Parmi les structures identifiées, le convertisseur DC-DC Modulaire Multiniveaux (M2DC), récent et compact, a été finalement choisi. Le travail proposé développe l’étude du M2DC en régime établi et une modélisation en modèle moyen de ce convertisseur. Ensuite, des lois de contrôle sont proposées pour valider les analyses précédentes sur la base du principe de l’inversion du modèle. Le travail vise enfin à valider les analyses et le contrôle à l’aide de la maquette du Convertisseur Modulaire Multiniveaux (MMC) du L2EP. Pour cela, un dimensionnement du M2DC basé sur le MMC existant est proposé. Enfin, des simulations HIL (Hardware-In-the-Loop) valident les analyses et montrent la faisabilité du prototypage du M2DC / This work is based on Multi Terminal Direct Current (MTDC) grids. In the MTDC grid, DC/DC converter stations are needed to connect different HVDC grids. A lot of DC/DC converters have been studied and developed, but are not suitable for high voltage and great power constraints. Therefore, the objective of this work is the study of a DC/DC converter for high voltage and great power applications. For the potentially HVDC applications, the volume and costs are major criteria. According to this, a high voltage and great power potential DC/DC converter is selected, which is the DC-DC Modular Multilevel Converter (M2DC). Focusing on the M2DC, the work proposes analyses in steady state and builds an average model for the converter. Based on the average model, the basic control algorithm for the converter is developed to validate the previous analysis. Since the thesis aims to use the existing L2EP Modular Multilevel Converter (MMC) to test the M2DC model and control, a design of the M2DC based on MMC is proposed. Finally, the M2DC HIL (Hardware In-the-Loop) simulations results are presented confirming previous analyses and allowing to go on to prototyping the M2DC on the base of the existing MMC