Ionomeric polymer metal composites can be used as transducers characterized by high strain and low force. They are created by bonding a thin conductive electrode to the surfaces of an ionomeric polymer. Much of the work in the past has focused on using a voltage across the thickness of the polymer to produce mechanical motion. That work has often demonstrated that the mechanism of transduction within the polymer was associated with the accumulation of charge in the polymer. This thesis will discuss the use of current as a means to better control the accumulation of charge. Better control of the charge will provide more reliable control of the mechanical motion of the polymer. The data presented in this thesis demonstrates that the response of an ionomeric polymer to a current input is repeatable. The repeatability is a desirable result; however, using current to actuate the polymers also produces back relaxation in the response. Examination of the back relaxation reveals a low frequency non-linearity. The nonlinearity is quantified by the fact that the gain associated with the back relaxation does not increase linearly with an increase in input current. There is also a change in the response at certain voltage thresholds. For example, when the voltage across the polymer exceeds 3 V, the rate of back relaxation increases. The repeatability of the response will aid in implementing reliable control of the polymer, but the non-linearities in the back relaxation will provide a considerable challenge in developing a model to be used in control. / Master of Science

No description available.

Silicon carbide (SiC) power switching devices promise to be a major breakthrough for new generation ac three-phase power converters, offering increased junction temperature, low specific on-resistance, fast switching, and low switching loss. These characteristics are desirable for increasing power density, providing faster system dynamics, and improving power quality. At present, the normally-on SiC JFET prototypes available from SiCED are the first SiC power switches close to commercialization. The objective of this work is to characterize the switching behavior of the prototype SiC JFET devices, as well as demonstrate the feasibility of achieving high switching frequency for a 2 kVA three-phase converter. The switching characterization of the 1200 V SiC JFET prototypes is shown for a wide range of operating conditions such as switched voltage, switched current, and junction temperature. The SiC JFET is shown to be a fast-switching, low-loss device offering performance benefits compared to traditional silicon (Si) power devices of similar ratings. Utilizing the SiC JFET, a three-phase ac buck rectifier is then demonstrated with a 150 kHz switching frequency and a rated power of 2 kVA. Additionally, improvements are made to the charge control scheme for the buck rectifier allowing power factor compensation and reduction of input current transients. / Master of Science

Este trabalho apresenta o projeto de pesquisa desenvolvido para a obtenção do título de Mestre em Engenharia Elétrica, na área de concentração de engenharia de sistemas, da Escola Politécnica da Universidade de São Paulo. O principal objetivo deste trabalho foi o desenvolvimento de um sistema de acionamento (driver) para os atuadores piezoelétricos do interferômetro de Fabry-Pérot do espectrômetro BTFI (Brazilian Tunable Filter Imager), um instrumento visitante do telescópio SOAR (Southern Astrophysical Research Telescope), no Chile. O Fabry-Pérot é um instrumento óptico composto de duas superfícies paralelas altamente reflexivas (espelhos), cuja distância é controlada por um sistema de nanoposicionamento composto de três atuadores piezoelétricos (piezos) do tipo APA® (Amplified Piezoelectric Actuators) e um sistema de medida capacitivo. O principal requisito técnico de desempenho do sistema de nanoposicionamento do Fabry-Pérot é tal que o ruído de posicionamento dos espelhos deve ser limitado a 3 . No entanto, os fenômenos não lineares de histerese e escorregamento (creep) dos piezos limitam a precisão de posicionamento do sistema de controle, razão pela qual foi desenvolvido um sistema de acionamento por carga e tensão para os piezos, com o intuito de atenuar suas não linearidades e, consequentemente, melhorar o desempenho do sistema de controle em malha fechada, em termos de ruído de posicionamento. A primeira etapa deste trabalho consistiu da caracterização do modelo e da instrumentação do sistema de nanoposicionamento do Fabry-Pérot, composto de sensores capacitivos, conversores de sinal, atuadores piezoelétricos e sistema de aquisição de dados. Após a caracterização dos componentes do sistema, sua especificação técnica de desempenho de 3 foi traduzida em requisitos de engenharia para o projeto do sistema eletrônico de acionamento dos piezos por carga e tensão, notadamente em termos de ruído, tempo de resposta, banda de resposta em frequência, ganho, corrente e tensão elétricas e dissipação de potência. Uma vez concluído o projeto do driver, um protótipo foi implementado e testado com o sistema real, a fim de se verificar experimentalmente a atenuação dos efeitos não lineares. Finalmente, foram realizados alguns experimentos com o driver e o sistema de nanoposicionamento em malha fechada, controlado por um compensador PI, a fim de se verificar a influência da atenuação das não linearidades dos piezos nesta configuração. Após a análise dos resultados experimentais obtidos, verificou-se que o ruído de posicionamento do sistema, em malha fechada, é significativamente menor quando os fenômenos não linearidades dos piezos são atenuados. / This work represents the research project to obtain the degree of Master of Sciences in Electrical Engineering, specializing in Systems Engineering, at the Escola Politécnica da Universidade de São Paulo, in São Paulo, Brazil. The main objective of this project was to design an electronic power driver for the piezoelectric actuators of the Fabry-Pérot interferometer of the BTFI spectrometer, a visitor instrument of the SOAR telescope, in Chile. Fabry-Pérot is an optical instrument composed by two high reflexive parallel surfaces (mirrors), which distance is controlled by a nanopositioning system composed by three piezoelectric actuators (piezos) of the class APA® (Amplified Piezoelectric Actuators) and a capacitive measurement system. The main performance specification of the Fabry-Pérots nanopositioning system is such that the positioning noise must be limited to 3 . However, the nonlinear behaviors (hysteresis and creep) of the piezos limit the positioning precision of the control system, for which reason a charge and voltage actuation system was developed for the piezos, in order to mitigate its nonlinearities and, consequently, improve the performance of the control system in closed loop, in terms of positioning noise. The first step in this work consisted on the characterization of the Fabry-Pérot nanopositioning systems model and instrumentation, which are composed by capacitive sensors, signal converters, piezoelectric actuators and a data acquisition board. After the characterization of the components of the nanopositioning system, the 3 specification was interpreted to low level engineering requirements for the design of the charge and voltage driver, especially in terms of noise, response time, frequency bandwidth, gain, electrical current, voltage and power dissipation. Once concluded the design of the driver, a prototype was implemented and tested in the real system, in order to verify the attenuation of the nonlinear effects. Finally, some experiments with the driver and the nanopositioning system were performed in closed loop, controlled by a PI compensator, in order to verify the influence of the attenuation of the nonlinearities of the piezos in such configuration. The analysis of the obtained experiment results showed that the nanopositioning systems noise, in closed loop, is significantly reduced when the nonlinear effects of the pizeos are attenuated.

Este trabalho apresenta o projeto de pesquisa desenvolvido para a obtenção do título de Mestre em Engenharia Elétrica, na área de concentração de engenharia de sistemas, da Escola Politécnica da Universidade de São Paulo. O principal objetivo deste trabalho foi o desenvolvimento de um sistema de acionamento (driver) para os atuadores piezoelétricos do interferômetro de Fabry-Pérot do espectrômetro BTFI (Brazilian Tunable Filter Imager), um instrumento visitante do telescópio SOAR (Southern Astrophysical Research Telescope), no Chile. O Fabry-Pérot é um instrumento óptico composto de duas superfícies paralelas altamente reflexivas (espelhos), cuja distância é controlada por um sistema de nanoposicionamento composto de três atuadores piezoelétricos (piezos) do tipo APA® (Amplified Piezoelectric Actuators) e um sistema de medida capacitivo. O principal requisito técnico de desempenho do sistema de nanoposicionamento do Fabry-Pérot é tal que o ruído de posicionamento dos espelhos deve ser limitado a 3 . No entanto, os fenômenos não lineares de histerese e escorregamento (creep) dos piezos limitam a precisão de posicionamento do sistema de controle, razão pela qual foi desenvolvido um sistema de acionamento por carga e tensão para os piezos, com o intuito de atenuar suas não linearidades e, consequentemente, melhorar o desempenho do sistema de controle em malha fechada, em termos de ruído de posicionamento. A primeira etapa deste trabalho consistiu da caracterização do modelo e da instrumentação do sistema de nanoposicionamento do Fabry-Pérot, composto de sensores capacitivos, conversores de sinal, atuadores piezoelétricos e sistema de aquisição de dados. Após a caracterização dos componentes do sistema, sua especificação técnica de desempenho de 3 foi traduzida em requisitos de engenharia para o projeto do sistema eletrônico de acionamento dos piezos por carga e tensão, notadamente em termos de ruído, tempo de resposta, banda de resposta em frequência, ganho, corrente e tensão elétricas e dissipação de potência. Uma vez concluído o projeto do driver, um protótipo foi implementado e testado com o sistema real, a fim de se verificar experimentalmente a atenuação dos efeitos não lineares. Finalmente, foram realizados alguns experimentos com o driver e o sistema de nanoposicionamento em malha fechada, controlado por um compensador PI, a fim de se verificar a influência da atenuação das não linearidades dos piezos nesta configuração. Após a análise dos resultados experimentais obtidos, verificou-se que o ruído de posicionamento do sistema, em malha fechada, é significativamente menor quando os fenômenos não linearidades dos piezos são atenuados. / This work represents the research project to obtain the degree of Master of Sciences in Electrical Engineering, specializing in Systems Engineering, at the Escola Politécnica da Universidade de São Paulo, in São Paulo, Brazil. The main objective of this project was to design an electronic power driver for the piezoelectric actuators of the Fabry-Pérot interferometer of the BTFI spectrometer, a visitor instrument of the SOAR telescope, in Chile. Fabry-Pérot is an optical instrument composed by two high reflexive parallel surfaces (mirrors), which distance is controlled by a nanopositioning system composed by three piezoelectric actuators (piezos) of the class APA® (Amplified Piezoelectric Actuators) and a capacitive measurement system. The main performance specification of the Fabry-Pérots nanopositioning system is such that the positioning noise must be limited to 3 . However, the nonlinear behaviors (hysteresis and creep) of the piezos limit the positioning precision of the control system, for which reason a charge and voltage actuation system was developed for the piezos, in order to mitigate its nonlinearities and, consequently, improve the performance of the control system in closed loop, in terms of positioning noise. The first step in this work consisted on the characterization of the Fabry-Pérot nanopositioning systems model and instrumentation, which are composed by capacitive sensors, signal converters, piezoelectric actuators and a data acquisition board. After the characterization of the components of the nanopositioning system, the 3 specification was interpreted to low level engineering requirements for the design of the charge and voltage driver, especially in terms of noise, response time, frequency bandwidth, gain, electrical current, voltage and power dissipation. Once concluded the design of the driver, a prototype was implemented and tested in the real system, in order to verify the attenuation of the nonlinear effects. Finally, some experiments with the driver and the nanopositioning system were performed in closed loop, controlled by a PI compensator, in order to verify the influence of the attenuation of the nonlinearities of the piezos in such configuration. The analysis of the obtained experiment results showed that the nanopositioning systems noise, in closed loop, is significantly reduced when the nonlinear effects of the pizeos are attenuated.

The vehicle industry have for many years improved the design of car motors and iterated the control systems associated with it. The systems have become very complex and hard to understand because of this work process. It is today very difficult to perform evaluations of the engine's performance or components theoretically at Powertrain Engineering Sweden (PES). This thesis proposes a test method to estimate the robustness, in terms of stability margins, of the air charge throttle control loop using measurement data. Alternative test methods are also presented, for example system identification performed with MATLAB's SITB. The proposed test method superimposes a sine wave upon the control signal in a closed loop system. The control signal is measured after it is superimposed and after it have made one round trip around the loop. These two signals is regarded as sine in and sine out. The phase shift and relation in amplitude are estimated from the measurements and the robustness is presented by Bode plots. The method finds the phase shift from the time difference between the zero-crossings of the input- and output signal. The relation in amplitude is found by looking at the total sum of the absolute value sine wave. Extensive testing with different tunings of the P-part of the air charge controller shows that the proposed method correctly identifies if the systems stability margins have become larger or smaller. For nine measurements with different P-tunings it is seen that the magnitude curves stay separate throughout the whole Bode plot. It is also shown that the gain margins are decreasing for every increase in P-value. The overall results and findings in this thesis are promising and can act as a foundation for future thesis' work to come.

The generic concept of quasi-single-stage (QSS) power conversion topology for ac-dc rectification and dc-ac inversion is proposed. The topology is reached by direct cascading and synchronized switching of two variety of buck or two variety of boost switching networks. The family of QSS power converters feature single-stage power processing without a dc-link low-pass filter, a unidirectional pulsating dc-link voltage, soft-switching capability with minimal extra commutation circuitry, simple PWM control, and high efficiency and reliability. A new soft-switched single-phase QSS bi-directional inverter/rectifier (charger) topology is derived based on the QSS power conversion concept. A simple active voltage clamp branch is used to clamp the otherwise high transient voltage on the current-fed ac side, and at the same time, to achieve zero-voltage-switching (ZVS) for the switches in the output side bridge. Seamless four-quadrant operation in the inverter mode, and rectifier operation with unity power factor in the charger (rectifier) mode are realized with the proposed uni-polar center-aligned PWM scheme. Single-stage power conversion, standard half-bridge connection of devices, soft-switching for all the power devices, low conduction loss, simple center-aligned PWM control, and high reliability and efficiency are among its salient features. Experimental results on a 3 kVA bi-directional inverter/rectifier prototype validate the reliable operation of the circuit. Other single-phase and three-phase QSS bi-directional inverters/rectifiers can be easily derived as topological extensions of the basic QSS bi-directional inverter/rectifier. A new QSS isolated three-phase zero-voltage/zero-current-switching (ZVZCS) buck PWM rectifier for high-power off-line applications is also proposed. It consists of a three-phase buck bridge switching under zero current and a phase-shift-controlled full-bridge with ZVZCS, while no intermediate dc-link is involved. Input power and displacement factor control, input current shaping, tight output voltage regulation, high-frequency transformer isolation, and soft-switching for all the power devices are realized in a unified single stage. Because of ZVZCS and single-stage power conversion, it can operate at high switching frequency while maintaining reliable operation and achieving higher efficiency than standard two-stage approaches. A family of isolated ZVZCS buck rectifiers are obtained by incorporating various ZVZCS schemes for full-bridge dc-dc converters into the basic QSS isolated buck rectifier topology. Experimental and simulation results substantiate the reliable operation and high efficiency of selected topologies. The concept of charge control (or instantaneous average current control) of three-phase buck PWM rectifiers is introduced. It controls precisely the average input phase currents to track the input phase voltages by sensing and integrating only the dc rail current, realizes six-step PWM, and features simple implementation, fast dynamic response, excellent noise immunity, and is easy to realize with analog circuitry or to integrate. One particular merit of the scheme is its capability to correct any duty-cycle distortion incurred on only one of the two active duty-cycles which often happens in the soft-switched buck rectifiers, another merit is the smooth transition of the input currents between the 60o sectors. Simulation and preliminary experimental results show that smooth operations and high quality sinusoidal input currents in the full line cycle are achieved with the control scheme. / Ph. D.

Baggrund: D. 1. januar 2007 trådte kommunalreformen i kraft i Danmark. Regionsdannelsen er den største ændring af den offentlige sektor siden kommunalreformen i 1970. Ansvaret for sundheds-væsenet bliver regionernes hovedopgave. Formål: At beskrive, analysere og diskutere de strukturændringer, der finder sted i sundhedsvæsenet, med hovedvægt på sygehusvæsenet i Danmark. Metode: Opgaven tager afsæt i et litteraturstudie, hvor udgangspunktet er officielle kilder og udredninger samt videnskabelig litteratur. Resultater: Strukturreformen, der er en centralisering, er inspireret af New Public Management-filosofien. Finansieringssystemet på sundhedsområdet er blevet væsentligt forandret med kommunalreformen. Det er en tvivlsom antagelse, at kommunale foranstaltninger er billigere end de regionale sundhedsydelser, og at nettobesparelsen er tilstrækkelig til at drive substitutionsprocessen. En nedsættelse af behandlingsgarantien fra to til en måned må forventes at stimulere markedet for private sundhedsydelser, med en underminering af den integrerede model med offentligt ejerskab og drift af sygehusvæsenet til følge. Konklusion: Den nye finansieringsmodel påvirker aktørernes økonomiske incitamenter, idet de enkelte aktører kun belønnes for de ydelser, de selv leverer til patienten, uden sammenhæng med resten af behandlingsforløbet. Den stigende aktivitetsafhængige finansiering udgør en væsentlig styringsmæssig udfordring. Ventetidsgarantien får med nedsættelsen fra to til en måned karakter af at være et servicemål, frem for at være en garanti for behandling af høj faglig kvalitet. / Background: On 1 January 2007 the Local Government Reform came into force. The formation of regions is the biggest change of the public sector since the Local Government Reform in 1970. The regions’ main task will be the responsibility for health service. Purpose: To describe, analyse and discuss the structural changes taking place in the Danish health service, with emphasis on hospitals. Method: The starting point of the essay is official sources and explanations as well as scientific literature. Results: The structural reform is a centralisation is inspired by the New Public Management philosophy. The financial system in the health care area has been changed significantly through the Local Government Reform. It is dubious to assume that local government measures are cheaper than the regional health services, and that the net saving is sufficient to drive the substitution process. A reduction of the treatment guarantee from two to one month must be expected to stimulate the private health service market, thereby causing undermining of the integrated model with public ownership and operation of health service. Conclusion: The new financing model will affect the financial incentives in the system as the individual players are only rewarded for the services they deliver to the patient with no relation to the remaining treatment. The increasing activity depending financing presents a significant management challenge. With the reduction from two months to one the waiting time guarantee will assume the character of being a service goal instead of a guarantee of treatment of high professional quality. / <p>ISBN 978-91-85721-28-3</p>

Le rendement consommation/fréquence des futures générations de circuits intégrés sur silicium n’est pas satisfaisant à cause de la faible mobilité électronique de ce semi-conducteur et des relativement grandes tensions d’alimentation VDD requises. Ce travail se propose d’explorer numériquement les potentialités des transistors à effet de champ (FET) à base de matériaux III-V à faible bande interdite et à haute mobilité pour un fonctionnement en haute fréquence et une ultra basse consommation. Tout d’abord, l’étude consiste à analyser théoriquement le fonctionnement d’une capacité MOS III-V en résolvant de façon auto-cohérente les équations de Poisson et Schrödinger (PS). On peut ainsi comprendre comment et pourquoi les effets extrinsèques comme les états de pièges à l’interface high-k/III-V dégradent les caractéristiques intrinsèques. Pour une géométrie 2D, les performances des dispositifs sont estimées pour des applications logiques et analogiques à l’aide d’un modèle de transport quasi-balistique.Nous avons ensuite étudié plus en détails les performances des MOSFET III-V en régimes statiques et dynamiques sous faible VDD, à l’aide du simulateur particulaire MONACO de type Monte Carlo. Les caractéristiques de quatre topologies de MOSFET ont été quantitativement étudiées, en termes de transport quasi-balistique, de courants statiques aux états passants et bloqués, de rendement fréquence/consommation et de bruit. Nous en tirons des conclusions sur l’optimisation de ces dispositifs. Enfin, l'étude comparative avec un FET à base de Si démontre clairement le potentiel des MOSFET III-V pour les applications à haute fréquence, à faible puissance de consommation et à faible bruit. / The optimal frequency performance/power-consumption trade-off is very difficult to achieve using CMOS technology because of low Si carrier mobility and relatively large supply voltage (VDD) required for circuit operation. The main objective of this work is to theoretically explore, in terms of operation frequency and power consumption, the potentialities of nano-MOSFET based on III-V materials with low energy bandgap and high electron mobility.First, this work analyzes theoretically the operation of a III-V MOS capacitor using self-consistent solution of Poisson - Schrödinger system equation. We can thus understand how and why the interface trap state densities at high-k/III-V interfaces degrade the intrinsic characteristics. For a 2D geometry, the performance of devices is estimated for digital and analog applications using a model of quasi-ballistic transport.Then, we estimated the performance of III-V MOSFET in static and dynamic regimes under low VDD, using MONACO a Monte Carlo simulator. The characteristics of four designs of III-V MOSFET have been studied quantitatively in terms of quasi-ballistic transport, DC current in ON and OFF states, frequency/consumption efficiency and optimum matching conditions of noise. We provide the guideline on the design optimization of the devices.Finally, the comparative study with Si-based devices clearly demonstrates the potentiality of III-V nano-MOSFET architectures for high-frequency and low-noise application under low operating power and even for low voltage logic.