Hydraulic systems are complex dynamical systems whose performance can be degraded by certain faults, specifically internal or external leakage. The objective of this research is to develop an appropriate signal processing approach for detection and isolation of these faults. By analyzing the dynamics of the hydraulic actuator, an internal leakage is shown to increase the damping characteristic of the system and change the transient response of the pressure signals. An external leakage, on the other hand, drops the pressure signals without having a significant effect on transient responses. Offline detection of internal leakage in hydraulic actuators is first examined by using fast Fourier, wavelet and Hilbert-Huang transforms. The original pressure signal is decomposed using these transform methods and the frequency component which is sensitive to the internal leakage is identified. The root mean square of the processed pressure signal is used and a comparison of the three transforms is made to assess their ability to detect internal leakage fault, through extensive validation tests. The wavelet transform method is shown to be more suitable for internal leakage detection compared to the other two methods. The wavelet based approach is then extended to an online detection method of internal leakage fault. The online approach considers the more realistic case of an actuator that is driven in a closed-loop mode to track pseudorandom position reference inputs against a load emulated by a spring. Furthermore, the method is shown to remain effective even with control systems which are tolerant to leakage faults. Next, the application of wavelet transform to detect external leakage fault using both offline and online applications in hydraulic actuators is described. The method also examines the isolation of this fault from actuator internal leakage in a multiple-fault environment. The results show that wavelet transform is a fast and easily-implementable method for leakage detection in hydraulic actuators without any need to explicitly incorporate the model of actuator or leakage. Internal leakages as low as 0.124 lit/min, are shown to be detectable, for 80% of the times using structured input signal. For online application, internal leakages in the range of 0.2-0.25 lit/min can be identified. External leakages as low as 0.3 lit/min can be detected in all offline and online applications. Other methods such as observer based and Kalman filter methods, which require the model of the actuator or leakage fault, cannot report leakage detection of magnitudes as low as that reported in this work. The low leak rate detection and not requiring a model of the actuator or leakage make this method very attractive for industrial implementation.

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This thesis presents a Control Volume (CV) method for transient transport problems where the cell surface fluxes are reconstructed using local interpolation functions that besides interpolating the nodal values of the field variable, also satisfies the governing equation at some auxiliary points in the interpolation stencils. The interpolation function relies on a Hermitian Radial Basis Function (HRBF) mesh less collocation approach to find the solution of auxiliary local boundary/initial value problems, which are solved using the same time integration scheme adopted to update the global control volume solution. By the use of interpolation functions that approximate the governing equation, a form of analytical upwinding scheme is achieved without the need of using predefined interpolation stencils according to the magnitude and direction of the local advective velocity. In this way, the interpolation formula retains the desired information about the advective velocity field, allowing the use of centrally defined stencils even in the case of advective dominant problems. This new CV approach, which is referred to as the CV-HRBF method, is applied to a series of transport problems characterised by high Peclet number. This method is also more flexible than the classical CV formulations because the boundary conditions are explicitly imposed in the interpolation formula, without the need for artificial schemes (e.g. utilising dummy cells). The flexibility of the local meshless character of the CVHRBF is shown in the modelling of the saturated zone of the unconfined aquifer where a mesh adapting algorithm is needed to track the phreatic surface (moving boundary). Due to the use of a local RBF interpolation, the dynamic boundary condition can be applied in an arbitrary number of points on the phreatic surface, independently from the mesh element. The robustness of the Hermite interpolation is exploited to formulate a non-overlapping non-iterative multi-domain scheme where physical matching conditions are satisfied locally, i.e. imposing the continuity of the function and flux at the sub-domain interface.

The experimental investigation in this report was conducted both as indicator of the problems in McCormacks bay, and also as a base for the calibration of a numerical model of the hydraulic characteristics of the bay. There are some issues of public concern associated with the bay at the present time. These are related to dominant algae populations and their related problems, and the desire to preserve the existing bay as a healthy marine environment. Numerical models can be a useful tool to test various management options. A component of this study involved the calibration of a numerical model which described the response of the bay to tidal functions in the estuary. Calibration was achieved using data from measurements taken on the eighteenth of December 1996. The model was based specifically around the main central culvert running under the causeway. The model showed that an increase in the depth of this culvert would increase the range of water levels in the bay by up to 23%. This is significant and would increase the tidal exchange in the bay, thereby promoting circulation.

Hydraulic conductivity (K) is a key parameter required for the accurate prediction of contaminant transport in an aquifer. Traditionally, pump tests, slug tests, grain size analysis and, to a lesser extent, tracer tests have been employed to estimate the K of an aquifer. These methods have disadvantages in respect to assessing the K of a contaminated aquifer, for example, pumping tests generate large quantities of potentially contaminated water, slug tests interrogate only a small portion of aquifer to generate K values, and tracer tests are costly to perform. The recirculating well pair (RWP) system, assessed in this study, attempts to minimise these disadvantages while producing accurate estimates of K. The RWP system uses two wells, each screened in two positions; one screen injects water and the other extracts water from the aquifer. One well extracts water from the lower screen and injects it into the aquifer via the upper screen, whereas the second well extracts water from the upper screen and injects it through the lower screen. When these two wells are pumped in tandem a recirculation system is created within the aquifer. No water is lost or gained from the aquifer in this system. Hydraulic conductivity can be estimated from a RWP system by either the multi dipole or the fractional flow methods. The multi dipole method estimates K by measuring steady state hydraulic heads, whereas the fractional flow method uses a tracer test to obtain steady state concentrations at the four screens to estimate K. Both methods utilise a 3D flow model to simulate the aquifer system. Inverse modelling in conjunction with a genetic algorithm simulate the hydraulic head values obtained from the multi dipole experiments or the tracer steady state values obtained from the fractional flow method. Hydraulic ii conductivity estimates are obtained by matching the simulated and observed steady state hydraulic head, or tracer steady state values. An investigation of the accuracy of the two RWP methods, when system parameters are varied, in estimating K values was undertaken. Five multi dipole experiments were undertaken with varying dipole flow rates to assess the effect of altering dipole flow rate on estimates of K. Two experiments were also undertaken to assess the effect of altering the pumping well incidence angle as compared to the regional flow on the accuracy of K estimates. Five fractional flow experiments were conducted, four to assess the effect of changing dipole pumping rates and one to assess the influence of altering the incidence angle of the pumping wells on estimation of K. All experiments were undertaken in an artificial aquifer that allowed control of hydraulic parameters and accurate measurement of aquifer K by independent methods. Experimental results were modelled with the two RWP methods. Results indicate that both the multi dipole and fractional flow methods provide accurate estimates of the K of the artificial aquifer (5 % to 57% greater than the actual K and -14% to 17% of the actual K, respectively). Altering the ratio between the pumping well and regional aquifer flow rates had no effect on the estimated K results in both methods. Although preliminary results were positive, further work needs to be undertaken to determine if changing the orientation of the well pairs affects the estimation of K.