Les Véhicules Etroits et Inclinables (VEI) sont la convergence d'une voiture et d'un motocycle. Un mètre de largeur seulement suffit pour transporter une ou deux personnes en Tandem. Les VEI sont conçus dans le but de résoudre partiellement les problèmes de trafic routier, de minimiser la consommation énergétique et l'émission de polluants. De par leurs dimensions(ratio hauteur/largeur), ces véhicules doivent s'incliner en virage pour rester stable en compensant l'effet de l'accélération latérale. Cette inclinaison doit dans certains cas être automatique : elle peut être réalisée à l'aide d'un couple d'inclinaison généré par un actionneur dédié (système DTC), soit encore en modulant l'angle de braquage des roues (Système STC). Nous avons proposé dans ce mémoire une méthodologie de synthèse d'un régulateur structuré minimisant la norme H2 d'un problème bien posé au bénéfice d'une régulation optimisée de l'accélération latérale, considérant tour à tour les systèmes DTC et STC. Les régulateurs proposés sont paramétrés par la vitesse longitudinale et s'avèrent performants et robustes, et les moyens de réglages proposés permettent d'étudier l'intérêt relatif d'une solution DTC pure ou mixte DTC/STC, permettant de supporter les développements futurs sur le sujet. L'originalité des solutions proposées en regard des études rencontrées dans la littérature porte en particulier sur le fait de choisir de réguler directement l'accélération latérale perçue (plutôt que l'angle d'inclinaison), en anticipant la prise de virage par la prise en compte des angles et vitesse de braquage. L'optimisation de la régulation permet de réduire de manière importante le couple d'inclinaison requis, et l'accélération latérale subie par les passagers est faible. Tous les développements proposés s'appuient naturellement en amont sur un travail de modélisation (recherche du modèle juste nécessaire), et de bibliographie conséquent. Le modèle retenu comprend 5 degrés de libertés. Nous avons démontré qu'il possédait la propriété intéressante d'être plat, et avons utilisé cette propriété pour ouvrir des perspectives relatives à la conception d'un régulateur non-linéaire robuste, susceptible apriori d'accroître les performances dans le cas de " grands mouvements ". Au contraire de ce qui existe dans la littérature,le régulateur multivariable conçu pour le système SDTC permet le contrôle coordonné des actions sur les systèmes STC et DTC.

La détermination du rapport de la masse du proton à celle de l'électron via la spectroscopie rovibrationnelle de H2+ nécessite une détermination théorique et expérimentale des fréquences de transition avec une incertitude de l'ordre de 1 kHz. Les calculs de corrections radiatives et relativistes les plus précis atteignent aujourd'hui une incertitude de quelques dizaines de kHz, ce qui rend possible une expérience de spectroscopie haute résolution. Le dispositif expérimental que nous avons mis en place s'articule autour de deux axes. Le premier est le dispositif de préparation des ions et de détection de la transition vibrationnelle. Celui-ci se base sur la photodissociation sélective des ions H2+ confinés dans un piège de Paul hyperbolique. Le deuxième est une source laser accordable autour de 9.2 microns, spectralement étroite (au niveau du kHz) et stable, émettant 50 mW en régime continu. Cette source nous a permis de réaliser la spectroscopie haute résolution de l'acide formique.

Cette thèse concerne la simulation et la commande d'un biofiltre de dénitrification. Selon que l'on considère ou que l'on néglige la diffusion, des modèles d'EDP paraboliques ou hyperboliques sont considérés. En plus des classiques méthodes des lignes, des approches spécifiques au type d'EDP sont évaluées pour simuler le système. La méthode des caractéristiques s'applique aux systèmes d'EDP hyperboliques. L'analyse modale utilisée pour les systèmes d'EDP paraboliques permet de manipuler un système d'ordre réduit. L'objectif de commande est alors de réduire la concentration en azote en sortie du réacteur sous une certaine limite, en dépit des perturbations externes et des incertitudes du modèle. Deux stratégies de commande sont considérées. Une approche "early lumping" permet la synthèse d'une loi de commande linéaire H2 de type retour de sortie avec observateur. Une approche "late lumping" associe une loi de commande linéarisante un observateur à paramètres distribués.

An investigation was undertaken to determine the feasibility of increasing the hydrogen production rate by coupling the water gas shift (WGS) process to the hybrid sulphur process (HyS). This investigation also involved the technical and economical analysis of the water gas shift and the H2 separation by means of Pressure swing adsorption (PSA) process. A technical analysis of the water gas shift reaction was determined under the operating conditions selected on the basis of some information available in the literature. The high temperature system (HTS) and low temperature system (LTS) reactors were assumed to be operated at temperatures of 350ºC and 200ºC, respectively. The operating pressure for both reactors was assumed to be 30 atmospheres. The H2 production rate of the partial oxidation (POX) and the WGS processes was 242T/D, which is approximately two times the amount produced by the HyS process alone. The PSA was used for the purification process leading to a hydrogen product with a purity of 99.99%. From the total H2 produced by the POX and the WGS processes only 90 percent of H2 is recovered in the PSA. The unrecovered H2 leaves the PSA as a purge gas together with CO2 and traces of CH4, CO, and saturated H2O. The estimated capital cost of the WGS plant with PSA is about US$50 million. The production cost is highly dependent on the cost of all of the required raw materials and utilities involved. The production cost obtained was US $1.41/kg H2 based on the input cost of synthesis gas as produced by the POX process. In this case the production cost of synthesis gas based on US $6/GJ for natural gas and US $0/Ton for oxygen was estimated to be US $0.154/kg. By increasing the oxygen and natural gas cost, the corresponding increase in synthesis gas has resulted in an increase in H2 production cost of US $1.84/kg. / Thesis (M.Sc. (Chemical Engineering))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2006.

[pt] O controle ativo de vibrações consiste na supressão ou atenuação das vibrações mediante a adição deliberada de forças de controle ao sistema. O controle ativo de vibrações tem um grande interesse na indústria aeroespacial devido às restrições de peso. As técnicas de controle ótimo não são propícias quando se tem dinâmica não-modelada, incertezas paramétricas e ambientes ruidosos, como é o caso na indústria aeroespacial. Assim, as técnicas de controle robusto parecem mais adequadas. A procura da maior família de perturbações em torno de uma dada planta nominal estabilizável por um único contro-lador em malha fechada pode ser formulada como o problema de controle H 1 . De fato,para muitos problemas de controle que requerem bons desempenhos, como por exemplo,controle de grandes sistemas espaciais, o controle ótimo robusto (controle H2=H 1 ) é um dos que assegura a robustez em estabilidade e o desempenho ótimo requerido. O presente trabalho considera o problema de atenuação de distúrbios para uma viga flexível simplesmente apoiada. A viga é modelada como um sistema de parâmetros concentrados. Um procedimento é estabelecido de forma que se leve em conta o desempenho da viga controlada e a robustez em estabilidade do sistema controlado. O problema de controle foi formulado em um contexto hilbertiano que permitiu garantir a existência (e unicidade) da solução. Uma aproximação do controlador é calculada através de uma pro- jeção da solução em um espaço de dimensão finita gerado pelo método de Galerkin considerando-se funções racionais como base para um espaço de Hardy ponderado. Resultados da aplicação indicam que o desempenho é fortemente relacionado à estabilidade. Existe um compromisso entre estabilidade e desempenho. / [es] EL control activo de vibraciones consiste en suprimir o atenuar las vibraciones adicionando deliberadamente fuerzas de control al sistema. El control activo de vibraciones levanta gran interés en la industria aeroespacial debido a las restricciones de peso. Las técnicas de control óptimo no son propicias cuando se tiene una dinámica no modelada, errores paramétricas y ambientes ruidosos, como es el caso en la industria aeroespacial. Así, las técnicas de control robusto parecen más adecuadas. La búsqueda de la mayor familia de perturbaciones en torno a una planta nominal, estabilizable por un único controlador en malla cerrada puede ser formulada como el problema de control H1. De hecho, para muchos problemas de control es necesario un buen desempeño, como por ejemplo, el control de grandes sistemas espaciales, el control óptimo robusto (control H2=H1 ) es uno de los que asegura la robustez en estabilidad y el desempeño óptimo requerido. El presente trabajo considera el problema de atenuación de disturbios para una viga flexible simplemente apoyada, modelando la viga como un sistema de parámetros concentrados. Se establece un procedimiento que considera el desempeño de la viga controlada y la robustez en estabilidad del sistema. El problema de control fue formulado en un contexto hilbertiano, lo que permitió garantizar la existencia (y unicidad) de la solución. Posteriormente, se calcula una aproximación del controlador a través de una proyección de la solución en un espacio de dimensión finita generado por el método de Galerkin considerando funciones racionales como base para un espacio de Hardy ponderado. Los resultados de la aplicación indican que el desempeño está fuertemente relacionado con la estabilidad. Existe un compromiso entre estabilidad y desempeño.

This thesis examines the politics of identity of women accountants in the UK who are mothers, by exploring the links between working in the accounting profession and the experience of motherhood. It takes a sociological approach to analyse how social, political, cultural and moral forces, in relation to accounting, motherhood and wider society, affect identity, or the self. The accounting profession is arguably a masculine enviromnent into which the accountant is socialised. Motherhood illustrates the tensions between an essentialist and a non-essentialist view of identity. The thesis explores the contradictions and juxtapositions between these two identities of accountant and mother, and the struggle of women to exercise agency within the confines of the profession. It uses a feminist methodological framework based on the subjective experience of women. As such, I present my own autobiographical account of being an accountant and mother, and the oral history narratives of fifteen other women, arguing that narrative forms an integral part of identity construction. The thesis concludes that the narrative approach and the use of oral histories has much to offer to accounting research and has important implications for our understanding of the interrelationships between accounting and motherhood. These include the emotions, transformations and constructions of identity of women accountants.

A surge of recent work elucidating a role for learning and memory in avian nest-building behaviour has challenged the long-standing assumption that nest building develops under genetic control. Whereas that work has been addressed at describing the cognitive mechanisms underpinning nest-building behaviour, almost nothing is known about either the neurobiological processes controlling nest building or the selection pressures responsible for the diversity in avian nest-building behaviour. Here, I sought to identify both the neural substrates involved in nest-building behaviour and some of those selection pressures. First, I used expression of the immediate early gene product Fos, an indirect marker of neuronal activity, to identify brain regions activated during nest-building behaviour in the brains of nest-building and control zebra finches (Taeniogypia guttata). I found that neural circuits involved in motor control, social behaviour, and reward were activated during nest building. Furthermore, I found that subpopulations of neurons that signal using the nonapeptides vasotocin and mesotocin and the neurotransmitter dopamine located within some of these neural circuits were also activated during nest building, suggesting these cell-signalling molecules may be involved in controlling nest-building behaviour. Next, I found that variation in the amount of folding in the cerebellum, a brain structure thought to be involved in manipulative skills, increased with increasing nest structural complexity, suggesting that the cerebellum is also involved in nest building. Finally, using evolutionary statistical models, I found support for the hypothesis that nest-site competition off-ground and increased predation pressure on the ground in Old World babblers (Timaliidae) led to the co-evolution of building domed nests on the ground. Here, then, I provide the first evidence of potential neural substrates controlling and selection pressures contributing to variation in nest-building behaviour.

La spectroscopie ro-vibrationelle de haute résolution de l’ion moleculaire H2+ par REMPD requiert une source sélective en état interne. Dans cette thèse nous présentons notre travail de conception et de réalisation d’une telle source utilisant la photo-ionisation multiphotonique résonante (REMPI) de H2 à l’aide d’un laser pulsé à 303 nm.Dans un deuxième temps nous présentons nos simulations numériques de refroidissement sympathique dans un piège de Paul linéaire, avec pour application principale le projet GBAR qui implique le refroidissement sympathique d’un ion d’antimatière H̄+ par des ions Be+ refroidis par laser. Nous avons dévelopé un code GPU utilisant un pas de temps variable permettant de décrire les interactions coulombiennes de façon efficace. Nous discutons de l’influence du chauffage RF et de lois d’échelles entre le temps de capture, l’énergie initiale et le nombre d’ions dans le cristal. Nous montrons que le refroidissement sympathique de H̄ requis pour GBAR pourrait fonctionner avec un cristal dissymétrique de Be+/HD+ qui semble plus efficace que le Be+ seul. Nous montrons qu’avec un tel cristal la capture du H̄+ pourrait être détectée expérimentalement par analyse de Fourier des données de fluorescence. / The high-resolution ro-vibrational spectroscopy of the H2+ molecular ion by resonance-enhanced multiphoton dissociation (REMPD) requires a state-selective source of H2+. In this thesis we present work on a functional state selective H2+ ion source using resonance enhanced multiphoton ionisation (REMPI) with a 303 nm pulsed laser.The second part of the thesis presents numerical simulations of sympathetic cooling in linear RF traps, whose main application is the GBAR project (Gravitational Behaviour of Antihydrogen at Rest) which involves sympathetic cooling of an antimatter H̄+ ion by laser-cooled Be+ ions. We developed a GPU code using a variable timestep technique enabling a fast description of Coulomb interactions. We discuss the influence of RF heating and scaling laws between cooling times, initial energy and ion numbers in the cooling crystal. We show that the H̄ sympathetic cooling step of GBAR could be feasible using a rotationally asymmetric two-component Be+/HD+ crystal which appears more effective than a single-component Be+ crystal. We find that the H̄+ ion’s capture by this crystal could be detected experimentally by Fourier analysis of the fluorescence data.

No presente trabalho estudou-se uma nova rota para obter nanopartículas de prata e silício aleatoriamente dispersas em uma matriz nanoporosa de nanotubos de óxido de alumínio sobre alumínio. Além disso, estudou-se a aplicação deste novo material como ânodo em células a combustível alcalinas com etanol como combustível, usando a prata como catalisador na eletroxidação do etanol e da produção de H2. O processo proposto consiste na solidificação rápida mediante melt spinner de uma liga de alumínio-prata rica em alumínio (95.25% em peso de alumínio) para obter uma solução sólida supersaturada. Posteriormente foi feita uma anodização porosa em ácido oxálico e estudo eletroquímico em meio alcalino por meia hora. A morfologia da liga obtida foi caracterizada por Microscopia Eletrônica de Varredura, Difração de Raios-X, Microscopia Eletrônica de Transmissão equipado com Espectrometria de Raios X Dispersiva em Energia e avaliado o desempenho como ânodo mediante ensaios de voltametria cíclica Os resultados obtidos confirmam que o desenvolvimento de um novo processo para produzir nanopartículas cristalinas de prata com um tamanho que varia de 4 a 120 nm, com 95% delas entre 4 e 87 nm. A partir dos estudos eletroquímicos concluiu-se que a liga de Al-Ag produzida exibe um comportamento semelhante ao alumínio puro em NaOH 0.1 M e NaOH 0.1 M com 1 M de etanol. A reação entre o alumínio e o meio alcalino produz uma camada de hidrogênio que impede que a prata catalise a eletroxidação do etanol. Portanto, conclui-se que a liga de alumínio-prata produzida não é um material viável como ânodo em células a combustível alcalinas de etanol direto. Portanto, foi avaliado o método de produção de nanopartículas para uma liga Al-Si eutética (14.2% em peso). Esta liga com nanopartículas de silício apresentou um incremento no desempenho na produção de H2 de 17% comparado à liga Al-Si eutética sem o tratamento térmico. / In the present work a new route to obtain silver nanoparticles randomly dispersed in a porous Al2O3 nanotube matrix layer on aluminum was studied. Moreover, the use as an anode in alkaline fuel cells (AFC) with ethanol as combustible was studied, using the prepared surfaces as a catalyzer for the electrooxidation of ethanol. The developed process consists of the rapid solidification (quenching) through melt spinning of an aluminum-silver alloy (92.25 %wt. Al) to obtain a supersaturated solid solution, followed by a porous anodization in oxalic acid and electrochemical treatment in alkaline medium. The morphology of the alloy was characterized by Scanning Electron Microscopy, X-Ray Diffraction, Transmission Electron Microscopy and Energy Dispersive X. Ray Spectrometry and the performance of the ethanol electrooxidation was tested though cyclic voltammetry The obtained results confirm that this process produces crystalline silver nanoparticles with a size varying from 4 to 120 nm with 95% of the particles between 4 and 87 nm. The electrochemical study showed that the produced alloy exhibits a similar behavior to that of pure aluminum in the tested mediums. The reaction between the aluminum and the alkaline medium produces a gaseous hydrogen layer that impedes the catalytic action of silver on the ethanol oxidation. Moreover, it was concluded that the produced alloy is not a viable material for the use as anode for direct ethanol AFCs. Therefore, the nanoparticle production method was tested for an Al-Si near-eutectic alloy (14.2 %wt.). This alloy with silicon nanoparticles showed an increase in the performance of H2 production rate of 17% compared to that of the regular Al-Si near-eutectic alloy.

The use of carbon from fossil-based resources result in changes in the earth’s climate due to emissions of greenhouse gases. Biomass is the only renewable source of carbon that may be converted to transportation fuels and chemicals, markets now fully dominated by traditional oil supply. The biorefinery concept for upgrading and refinement of biomass feedstocks to value-added end-products has the potential to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and replace fossil products. Most biorefineries use biochemical conversion processes and may have by-product streams suitable as feedstocks for thermal conversion and production of syngas. Further synthesis to value-added products from the syngas could increase the product output from the biorefinery. The application of thermal conversion processes integrated into an existing biorefinery concept has been evaluated in this licentiate thesis work. Two by-product streams; hydrolysis (lignin) residue from an ethanol plant and biogas from wastewater treatment, have been investigated as gasification/reforming feedstocks. Also, the pre-treatment method torrefaction has been evaluated for improved gasification fuel characteristics and integration aspects. A new process and system concept (Bio2Fuels) with potential carbon negative benefits has been suggested and evaluated as an alternative route for syngas production by separating biomass into a hydrogen rich gas and a carbon rich char product. The evaluation demonstrated that hydrolysis residue proved a suitable feedstock for gasification with respect to syngas composition. Biogas can be further reformed to syngas by combined biomass gasification and methane reforming, with promising results on CH4 conversion rate and increased H2/CO ratio at temperatures ≥1000°C. The pre-treatment method torrefaction was demonstrated to improve fuel qualities and may thus significantly facilitate entrained flow gasification of biomass residue streams. Also, integration of a torrefaction plant at a biorefinery site could make use of excess heat for drying the raw material before torrefaction. The Bio2Fuels concept was evaluated and found feasible for further studies. The application of thermal conversion processes into an existing biorefinery, making use of by-products and biomass residues as feedstocks, has significant potential for energy integration, increased product output as well as for climate change mitigation.