In this thesis, a reversible Lotka-Volterra model was proposed to study the nonlinear oscillation of the Belousov-Zhabotinsky(BZ) reaction in a closed isothermal chemical system. The reaction zone can be divided into two zones, oscillation zone and transition zone, where the oscillation time and the transition time and the number of the complete oscillations are estimated. By applying the geometric singular perturbation method, it was proved that there exist an oscillation axis in the oscillation zone, a strongly stable two-dimensional invariant manifold in transition zone, on which there is also a one-dimensional stable invariant manifold, which is the part of the central axis. There is no oscillation in the vicinity of the equilibrium, as indicated by Onsager's reciprocal symmetry relation. Furthermore, the damped oscillation is studied in terms of the action-action-angle variables. In the end, the model reference control technique is employed to control the oscillation amplitude in the BZ reaction.

A new approach was developed to determine the operational stability margin of a laboratory scale combustor. Applying modern and robust techniques and tools from Dynamical System Theory, the approach was based on three basic steps. In the first step, a gray-box thermoacoustical model for the combustor was derived. The second step consisted in applying System Identification techniques to experimental data in order to validate the model and estimate its parameters. The application of these techniques to experimental data under different operating conditions allowed us to determine the functional dependence of the model parameters upon changes in an experimental control parameter. Finally, the third step consisted in using that functional dependence to predict the response of the system at different operating conditions and, ultimately, estimate its operational stability margin. The results indicated that a low-order stochastic non-linear model, including two excited modes, has been identified and the combustor operational stability margin could be estimated by applying a continuation method.

Thermodynamic and thermoeconomic aspects of 12.5 kW residential solar-thermal power generating systems suitable for distributed, decentralized power generation paradigm are presented in this thesis. The design of a meso-scale power system greatly differs from centralized power generation. As a result, this thesis provides guidance in the selection of the power cycle and operating parameters suitable for meso-scale power generation. Development of standard thermodynamic power cycle computer simulations provides means for evaluation of the feasibility of meso-scale solar-thermal power generation. The thermodynamic power cycles considered in this study are the Rankine cycle, the organic Rankine cycle with toluene, R123, and ethylbenzene as working fluids, the Kalina cycle, and the Maloney-Robertson cycle. From a strictly thermodynamic perspective, the cycles are evaluated based on first- and second-law efficiencies. Additionally, the study includes economic feasibility through thermoeconomic characterization that encompasses a meso-scale cost model for solar-thermal power generation systems. Key results from this study indicate that a R123 organic Rankine cycle is the most cost-effective cycle implementation for operating conditions in which the maximum temperature is limited below 240C. For temperatures greater than 240C and less than 375C, the toluene and ethylbenzne organic Rankine cycles outperform the other cycles. The highest first law efficiency of 28% of the Kalina cycle exceeds all other cycles at temperatures between 375C and 500C. However, when considering cycle cost and overall feasibility, including thermodynamic and thermoeconomic performance, the Maloney-Robertson and Kalina cycles have poor performance on a cost-to-efficiency basis.

Advances in microelectronics and nanotechnology have generated tremendous interest in the non-Fourier regimes of heat conduction, where the conventional theories based on local equilibrium no longer apply. The non-Fourier regimes include small length scales, where the medium can no longer be treated using bulk properties due to ballistic transport, and short time scales, on the order of the relaxation time of heat carriers, such as in short pulse laser heating. One of the objectives of this thesis is to clarify some misunderstandings in hyperbolic heat equation (HHE), commonly thought as a remedy of Fourier's law at small time scales. The HHE is analyzed from the stand point of statistical mechanics with an emphasis on the consequences of assumptions applied to the Boltzmann transport equation (BTE) when deriving the HHE. In addition, some misperceptions of the HHE, caused by a few experiments and confusion with other physical phenomena, are clarified. It is concluded that HHE should not be interpreted as a more general equation governing heat transport because of several fundamental limitations. The other objective of this thesis is to introduce radiation entropy to the equation of phonon radiative transport (EPRT) for understanding the heat transfer mechanism on a fundamental level which can be applied to both diffusion and ballistic heat conduction in dielectric solids. The entropy generation due to phonon transport is examined along with the definition of a phonon brightness temperature, which is direction and frequency dependent. A better understanding of non-Fourier heat conduction will help researchers and engineers to choose appropriate theories or models in analyzing thermal transport in nanodevices.

The scale of the energy business today and a favorable and promising economic environment for the production of natural gas, requires study of the thermophysical behavior of fluids: sophisticated experimentation yielding accurate, new volumetric data, and development and improvement of thermodynamic models. This work contains theoretical and experimental contributions in the form of 1) the revision and update of a field model to calculate compressibility factors starting from the gross heating value and the mole fractions of diluents in natural gas mixtures; 2) new reference quality volumetric data, gathered with state of the art techniques such as magnetic suspension densimetry and isochoric phase boundary determinations; 3) a rigorous first-principles uncertainty assessment for density measurements; and 4) a departure technique for the extension of these experimental data for calculating energy functions. These steps provide a complete experimental thermodynamic characterization of fluid samples. A modification of the SGERG model, a standard virial-type model for prediction of compressibility factors of natural gas mixtures, matches predictions from the master GERG-2008 equation of state, using least squares routines coded at NIST. The modification contains new values for parametric constants, such as molecular weights and the universal gas constant, as well as a new set of coefficients. A state-of-the-art high-pressure, single-sinker magnetic suspension densimeter is used to perform density measurements over a wide range of temperatures and pressures. This work contains data on nitrogen, carbon dioxide, and a typical residual gas mixture (95% methane, 4% ethane, and 1% propane). Experimental uncertainty results from a rigorous, first-principles estimation including composition uncertainty effects. Both low- and high-pressure isochoric apparatus are used to perform phase boundary measurements. Isochoric P-T data can determine the phase boundaries. Combined with density measurements, isochoric data provides isochoric densities. Further mathematical treatment, including noxious volume and thermal expansion corrections, and isothermal integration, leads to energy functions and thus to a full thermodynamic characterization.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2007. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.Eng. (Mechanical )) -- University of Pretoria, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 73-81)

Thesis (M. App. Sc.)--Carleton University, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 109-111). Also available in electronic format on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 1997. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 180-182). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Wollongong, 2006. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references: leaf 393-431.