This thesis details the application of a medium frequency (MF) Doppler radar to observations of meteoroids entering the Earth's atmosphere. MF radars make possible a greater height coverage of the meteor region (70 to 160 km) than conventional meteor radars. However this type of radar has generally been under-utilised for meteor observations, primarily due to the less than ideal radio environment associated with MF systems. This situation demanded selection of the most appropriate radar meteor techniques and in this respect a variety of techniques are evaluated for application at this frequency. The 2 MHz radar system used in this study is located at the Buckland Park research facility (35.6 deg. S, 138.5 deg. E), near Adelaide, South Australia and is operated by the Department of Physics of the University of Adelaide. This radar has the largest antenna of any MF radar with 89 crossed dipoles distributed over an area of about 1 km in diameter. Beam forming is achieved by varying the phase to groups of elements of the array. The array was constructed in the 1960's, and while having several upgrades, a preliminary examination of the array and associated systems indicated that a significant amount of maintenance work would be required to enable the system to be used for meteor observations. It was also apparent that the software used with the radar hardware for atmospheric studies was not suitable for processing meteor data. Thus a major refurbishment of the radar hardware, as well as the development of appropriate software, was initiated. The complete radar system was divided into its constituent components of antenna array, transmitter, receiver and computer systems. The transmitter and receiver systems were examined and various improvements made including increasing total output power and enhancing beam steering capability. Time domain reflectometry (TDR) techniques were extensively used on the antenna array, as many feed cables showed the presence of moisture. New hardware in the form of a portable power combining system was designed, constructed and tested to further increase radar experimental capabilities. Techniques were developed that verified system performance was to specification. Extensive night time observations of sporadic and shower meteor events were made over a two and a half year period. A particular study was made of the Orionids shower as well as other meteor activity on the night of 22 October 2000. Using the upgraded beam swinging features of the array, a narrow radar beam was used to track the shower radiant in an orthogonal sense so as to maximise the number of shower meteors detected. From each echo, various intrinsic meteoroid parameters were determined, including meteor reflection point angle-of-arrival using a five-element interferometer, echo duration and height; meteoroid speeds were determined using the Fresnel phase time technique. Meteor echoes belonging to the Orionids radiant were selected using a coordinate transform technique. The speed was then used as an additional discriminant to confirm the Orionid shower members. A second radiant, observed at a slightly higher declination is classified as also part of the Orionid stream. The sporadic meteor component in the data set was examined and found to exhibit speeds much higher than expected for sporadic meteors at the time of the observations. However, these results are consistent with a selection bias based on meteoroid speed, that is inherent in radar observations. The Orionid observations indicate that the refurbishment of the radar system and the introduction of new software for meteor analysis has been successfully achieved and that radar meteor studies can now be carried out routinely with the Buckland Park 2 MHz radar. Moreover it has been shown for the first time that meteoroid speeds can be determined with a MF radar operating on a PRF as low as 60 Hz. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--School of Chemistry and Physics, 2003.

In this thesis, a compact and light primary switched conversion system for AC-fed railway propulsion is investigated. It is characterized by soft switching of all converter stages and a source commutated primary converter comprising series connected valves. Both weight and volume of the conversion system are reduced significantly compared to a conventional system with a low frequency transformer. The conversion system is made up of N isolated AC/DC conversion cells, each comprising a cycloconverter and a voltage source converter (VSC) coupled by a medium frequency transformer. The cells are series connected on the AC side and connected to a common DC-link. Thus, 2N+1 voltage levels can be synthesized at the AC terminal and the voltage stress on the transformer and line filter is reduced compared to a one cell solution. Series connection of semiconductor valves allows independent choice of blocking voltage and number of converter cells. Choosing two converter cells is an attractive compromise. Five level output reduces the harmonic distortion and simplify transformer and line filter design while keeping the complexity of the conversion system low. The mutually commutated converter (MCC) allows a transformer frequency in the range of 4 to 8 kHz without derating the line side converter due to zero voltage switching of the VSC. Modern magnetic materials, like high silicon steel, amorphous and noncrystalline materials allow design of the transformer with high efficiency at elevated frequencies. In a 15 kV system, the peak voltage at the catenary is typically beyond 32 kV which is far beyond the voltage capability of currently available semiconductors. Therefore, several semiconductors are connected in series. Favourable commutation conditions and a new gate drive arrangement allow snubberless commutation of the primary converter stage. Thus, the primary converter can be highly integrated, reducing both weight and volume. The conversion system can be placed on the roof or in the underframe without compromising efficiency or vehicle performance. The feasibility of the conversion concept has been demonstrated by means of a down-scaled prototype. Snubberless commutation of series connected valves is demonstrated. / QC 20100723

This thesis details the application of a medium frequency (MF) Doppler radar to observations of meteoroids entering the Earth's atmosphere. MF radars make possible a greater height coverage of the meteor region (70 to 160 km) than conventional meteor radars. However this type of radar has generally been under-utilised for meteor observations, primarily due to the less than ideal radio environment associated with MF systems. This situation demanded selection of the most appropriate radar meteor techniques and in this respect a variety of techniques are evaluated for application at this frequency. The 2 MHz radar system used in this study is located at the Buckland Park research facility (35.6 deg. S, 138.5 deg. E), near Adelaide, South Australia and is operated by the Department of Physics of the University of Adelaide. This radar has the largest antenna of any MF radar with 89 crossed dipoles distributed over an area of about 1 km in diameter. Beam forming is achieved by varying the phase to groups of elements of the array. The array was constructed in the 1960's, and while having several upgrades, a preliminary examination of the array and associated systems indicated that a significant amount of maintenance work would be required to enable the system to be used for meteor observations. It was also apparent that the software used with the radar hardware for atmospheric studies was not suitable for processing meteor data. Thus a major refurbishment of the radar hardware, as well as the development of appropriate software, was initiated. The complete radar system was divided into its constituent components of antenna array, transmitter, receiver and computer systems. The transmitter and receiver systems were examined and various improvements made including increasing total output power and enhancing beam steering capability. Time domain reflectometry (TDR) techniques were extensively used on the antenna array, as many feed cables showed the presence of moisture. New hardware in the form of a portable power combining system was designed, constructed and tested to further increase radar experimental capabilities. Techniques were developed that verified system performance was to specification. Extensive night time observations of sporadic and shower meteor events were made over a two and a half year period. A particular study was made of the Orionids shower as well as other meteor activity on the night of 22 October 2000. Using the upgraded beam swinging features of the array, a narrow radar beam was used to track the shower radiant in an orthogonal sense so as to maximise the number of shower meteors detected. From each echo, various intrinsic meteoroid parameters were determined, including meteor reflection point angle-of-arrival using a five-element interferometer, echo duration and height; meteoroid speeds were determined using the Fresnel phase time technique. Meteor echoes belonging to the Orionids radiant were selected using a coordinate transform technique. The speed was then used as an additional discriminant to confirm the Orionid shower members. A second radiant, observed at a slightly higher declination is classified as also part of the Orionid stream. The sporadic meteor component in the data set was examined and found to exhibit speeds much higher than expected for sporadic meteors at the time of the observations. However, these results are consistent with a selection bias based on meteoroid speed, that is inherent in radar observations. The Orionid observations indicate that the refurbishment of the radar system and the introduction of new software for meteor analysis has been successfully achieved and that radar meteor studies can now be carried out routinely with the Buckland Park 2 MHz radar. Moreover it has been shown for the first time that meteoroid speeds can be determined with a MF radar operating on a PRF as low as 60 Hz. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--School of Chemistry and Physics, 2003.

This thesis details the application of a medium frequency (MF) Doppler radar to observations of meteoroids entering the Earth's atmosphere. MF radars make possible a greater height coverage of the meteor region (70 to 160 km) than conventional meteor radars. However this type of radar has generally been under-utilised for meteor observations, primarily due to the less than ideal radio environment associated with MF systems. This situation demanded selection of the most appropriate radar meteor techniques and in this respect a variety of techniques are evaluated for application at this frequency. The 2 MHz radar system used in this study is located at the Buckland Park research facility (35.6 deg. S, 138.5 deg. E), near Adelaide, South Australia and is operated by the Department of Physics of the University of Adelaide. This radar has the largest antenna of any MF radar with 89 crossed dipoles distributed over an area of about 1 km in diameter. Beam forming is achieved by varying the phase to groups of elements of the array. The array was constructed in the 1960's, and while having several upgrades, a preliminary examination of the array and associated systems indicated that a significant amount of maintenance work would be required to enable the system to be used for meteor observations. It was also apparent that the software used with the radar hardware for atmospheric studies was not suitable for processing meteor data. Thus a major refurbishment of the radar hardware, as well as the development of appropriate software, was initiated. The complete radar system was divided into its constituent components of antenna array, transmitter, receiver and computer systems. The transmitter and receiver systems were examined and various improvements made including increasing total output power and enhancing beam steering capability. Time domain reflectometry (TDR) techniques were extensively used on the antenna array, as many feed cables showed the presence of moisture. New hardware in the form of a portable power combining system was designed, constructed and tested to further increase radar experimental capabilities. Techniques were developed that verified system performance was to specification. Extensive night time observations of sporadic and shower meteor events were made over a two and a half year period. A particular study was made of the Orionids shower as well as other meteor activity on the night of 22 October 2000. Using the upgraded beam swinging features of the array, a narrow radar beam was used to track the shower radiant in an orthogonal sense so as to maximise the number of shower meteors detected. From each echo, various intrinsic meteoroid parameters were determined, including meteor reflection point angle-of-arrival using a five-element interferometer, echo duration and height; meteoroid speeds were determined using the Fresnel phase time technique. Meteor echoes belonging to the Orionids radiant were selected using a coordinate transform technique. The speed was then used as an additional discriminant to confirm the Orionid shower members. A second radiant, observed at a slightly higher declination is classified as also part of the Orionid stream. The sporadic meteor component in the data set was examined and found to exhibit speeds much higher than expected for sporadic meteors at the time of the observations. However, these results are consistent with a selection bias based on meteoroid speed, that is inherent in radar observations. The Orionid observations indicate that the refurbishment of the radar system and the introduction of new software for meteor analysis has been successfully achieved and that radar meteor studies can now be carried out routinely with the Buckland Park 2 MHz radar. Moreover it has been shown for the first time that meteoroid speeds can be determined with a MF radar operating on a PRF as low as 60 Hz. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--School of Chemistry and Physics, 2003.

Depuis un demi-siècle, le développement de la traction électrique ferroviaire en courant monophasé en France s'est appuyé sur les progrès réalisés aussi bien au niveau des installations fixes de traction qu'au niveau du matériel roulant. Toutefois, au cours des deux dernières décennies, l'augmentation du trafic et l'introduction de locomotives avec des chaines de traction innovantes ont été à l'origine de phénomènes électriques qui se sont avérés néfastes pour l'exploitation du système. Les premiers phénomènes observés ont été à l'origine de dégâts matériels à bord de locomotives. Il s'agissait de surtensions résultant d'une interaction défavorable entre l'impédance interne de l'infrastructure et les harmoniques générés par les engins moteurs équipés de redresseurs à thyristors. Plus récemment, suite à l'introduction massive d'engins équipés de redresseurs à absorption sinusoïdale de courant, un phénomène de modulation très basse fréquence de la tension caténaire est apparu et a provoqué la mise hors tension des locomotives voire la disjonction de la sous station alimentant le secteur concerné. Ceci constitue aujourd'hui un obstacle majeur à l'utilisation généralisée de la nouvelle technologie à bord des engins. Ces perturbations affectent l'exploitation du système en entrainant généralement des retards voire des annulations de circulation. Elles peuvent aussi dégrader la qualité d'énergie du réseau d'électricité amont à un niveau tel que la sous-station d'alimentation doit être déconnectée. La direction de l'ingénierie de la SNCF a donc pris des dispositions pour comprendre puis éviter l'apparition des phénomènes observés. Une collaboration interne entre le centre d'ingénierie du matériel et la division des installations fixes de traction électrique ainsi qu'un partenariat avec le LAPLACE ont été mis en place. Le présent document est le fruit de cette collaboration. L'objectif de cette thèse est donc d'étudier et de modéliser les interactions entre les engins et les installations fixes de traction sur le réseau français 25kV/50Hz. Ce manuscrit comporte deux parties principales qui s'organisent ainsi : La première partie est consacrée à l'étude du phénomène de modulation très basse fréquence de la tension caténaire. Les modèles des deux principaux composants du système sont d'abord présentés. Les études ainsi menés permettent de comprendre l'origine du phénomène, puis ensuite de développer une méthode de caractérisation des engins permettant de retrouver les limites de stabilité dans les secteurs problématiques du réseau ferré. Ceci nous a conduit à proposer une représentation générale des locomotives modernes sous forme d'une matrice admittance qu'il est possible d'obtenir par une mesure directe sur des engins réels. La deuxième partie concerne l'étude des interactions harmoniques à l'origine de surtensions sur la caténaire. L'analyse systématique du phénomène est basée sur des outils de simulation de circuits électroniques de puissance utilisant une bibliothèque de modèles élémentaires. La première étape consiste à développer un modèle « moyenne fréquence » du réseau d'alimentation afin de mettre en évidence les fréquences de résonance de l'ensemble ligne/sous-station. La deuxième étape consiste à modéliser les locomotives afin de prendre en compte leur réponse harmonique. Au final, il devient possible de savoir si un engin donné va générer des déformations de la tension en vérifiant si l'une des composantes harmoniques du courant absorbé coïncide avec une des résonances caractéristique du circuit d'alimentation. Pour compléter cette deuxième partie, une modélisation plus fine, intégrant l'effet de peau et l'effet de proximité est abordée. Elle s'appuie sur la caractérisation expérimentale en moyenne fréquence d'un transformateur 50Hz. Ceci nous permet de vérifier l'influence de ces phénomènes sur le comportement fréquentiel du réseau d'alimentation. / For a half a century, the increasing development of AC electrical traction railway networks in France relied on the progress made in the infrastructure power supply an in the rolling stock. However, over the past two decades, increased traffic and the introduction of modern locomotives were the cause of electrical phenomena that have proven harmful to the operation of the railway network. The first events that occurred induced serious faults on board locomotives. It was overvoltages resulting from unfavourable interaction between the internal impedance of the infrastructure and the harmonics generated by the electrical vehicles using thyristor controlled rectifiers. More recently, with the massive introduction of active front-end locomotives, problems of low frequency oscillations and instability were observed causing power off locomotives or disjunction of the sector sub-station. The objective of this thesis is to study and model the interactions between locomotives and fixed installations for electric traction on the French rail network 25kV/50Hz. This script has two main parts, which organized as follows: The first part is devoted to the study of the phenomenon of very low frequency modulation of the catenary voltage. The models of the two main components of the system, namely the single-phase power and the active front-end locomotives are first presented. Studies conducted this way, help to understand the origin of the phenomenon and then to develop a method to characterize the vehicle to find the stability limits in problems sectors of the rail network. This led us to propose a general representation of modern locomotives as an admittance matrix that can be obtained by direct measurement on real machines. The second part is the study of harmonic interactions causing overvoltages on the catenary. Systematic analysis of the phenomenon is based on simulation tools of power electronics circuits using a collection of specific elementary models. The first step consists in developing a “medium frequency” model of the power network in order to highlight the resonance and anti-resonance frequencies of the line/sub-station set. The second step is to model locomotives to take into account their harmonic response. In the end, it becomes possible to know whether a particular machine will generate deformations of the catenary voltage, by checking if any of the harmonic components of the consumed current coincides with one of the characteristic resonances of the traction electric circuit. To complete the second part, a more detailed model is discussed incorporating physical phenomena that occur with an increasing frequency (skin effect in the insulted conductors or proximity effect between conductors).It is based on the experimental characterization on medium frequency of a 50Hz transformer. This allows us to check the influence of these phenomena on the frequency behaviour of the supply network.

Les Transformateurs Moyenne Fréquence (TMF) sont une technologie innovante par rapport aux transformateurs basse fréquence, avec la promesse d’une réduction de volume et d’une augmentation du rendement. Cette thèse s’intéresse en particulier à leur conception pour des applications haute tension forte puissance, telles que les réseaux haute tension et moyenne tension à courant continu, ainsi que les réseaux ferroviaires. Dans ces applications, les TMF sont utilisés au sein de convertisseurs pouvant générer des contraintes spécifiques à prendre en compte durant leur conception : signaux non-sinusoïdaux, tension de polarisation, valeurs d’inductances cibles. De plus, les choix technologiques actuellement disponibles pour la réalisation des TMF sont nombreux, et aucun de ces choix ne fait actuellement consensus quelle que soit l’application visée. Des tendances ont pu être identifiées à l’aide d’un outil de classification des designs de TMF issus de la littérature. Ainsi, les technologies les plus prometteuses ont été sélectionnées et retenues pour la suite. A partir de ces technologies, une méthodologie de conception permettant de concevoir et comparer rapidement et ce de façon semi-automatique des TMF avec différents choix technologiques a été mise en place. Elle est constituée de trois étapes : pré-design, design analytique et validation. Le design analytique complet du TMF avec différents choix technologiques est réalisé à l’aide d’un outil de conception automatisée développé durant cette thèse, que nous avons nommé SUITED (SUpergrid Institute TransformEr Design). Cette méthodologie requiert des modèles et données pour chacun des composants et phénomènes du TMF. Concernant le noyau magnétique, une revue et une sélection de modèles issus de la littérature ont été effectuées pour l’évaluation de l’inductance magnétisante et des pertes magnétiques. De plus, des caractérisations magnétiques ont permis de mettre en évidence l’impact de certains procédés technologiques sur les niveaux de pertes de noyaux magnétiques en matériau nanocristallin, qui est un excellent candidat pour les TMF. Au niveau des bobinages, des modèles analytiques pour calculer le champ magnétique, l’inductance de fuite et les effets de peau et de proximité ont été développés et comparés avec ceux de la littérature ainsi que des simulations. Ces nouveaux modèles s'avèrent obtenir une meilleure précision sur les géométries de TMF considérées que ceux de la littérature. De plus, une nouvelle méthode d’évaluation des capacités parasites de bobinages à spires rectangulaires a été mise en place et validée avec succès. Des schémas thermiques équivalents ont été identifiés pour différentes géométries de TMF. Les résistances thermiques de conduction, convection et radiation sont calculées à partir de modèles détaillés. En particulier, l’anisotropie des matériaux est prise en compte pour la conduction thermique, et les coefficients de convection sont évalués via des corrélations différentes pour chaque face du TMF. Les schémas thermiques sont ensuite résolus de façon itérative et analytique pour prendre en compte les non-linéarités des résistances thermiques tout en optimisant le temps de calcul nécessaire. Enfin, l’ensemble de la méthodologie de conception mise en place a été appliqué sur trois cas d’études correspondant à des applications cibles : haute tension, moyenne tension et ferroviaire. Les résultats obtenus montrent effectivement la performance et la nécessité de cette approche / Medium Frequency Transformers (MFT) are an innovative technology compared to low frequency transformers, with the promise of reduced volume and increased efficiency. This PhD thesis focuses in particular on their design for high voltage, high power applications, such as high voltage and medium voltage DC networks, as well as railway networks. In these applications, MFTs are used in converters that can generate specific constraints to be taken into account during their design: non-sinusoidal signals, polarization voltage, target inductance values. Moreover, the technological choices currently available for the realization of MFTs are numerous, and there is currently no consensus on any technology for any given application. Trends could be identified using a tool to classify MFT designs from the literature. Thus, the most promising technologies were selected and retained for the future. Based on these technologies, a design methodology was developed to quickly and semi-automatically design and compare MFTs with different technological choices. It consists of three steps: pre-design, analytical design, and validation. The complete analytical design of the MFT with different technological choices is carried out using an automated design tool developed during this thesis, named SUITED (SUpergrid Institute TransformEr Design). This methodology requires models and data for each of the components and phenomena of the MFT. Concerning the magnetic core, a review and selection of models from the literature were carried out for the evaluation of the magnetizing inductance and magnetic losses. In addition, magnetic characterizations have made it possible to highlight the impact of certain technological processes on the levels of loss of magnetic cores made of nanocrystalline material, which is an excellent candidate for MFTs. Concerning the windings, analytical models to calculate the magnetic field, leakage inductance and skin and proximity effects were developed and compared with those in the literature and simulations. These models are proving to be more accurate on the MFT geometries considered. On top of that, a new method for evaluating the parasitic capacitances of windings with rectangular turns has been successfully implemented and validated. Thermal networks have been identified for the different MFT geometries. The thermal resistances of conduction, convection and radiation are calculated from detailed models. In particular, the anisotropy of materials is taken into account for thermal conduction, and the convection coefficients are evaluated via different correlations for each face of the MFT. The thermal networks are then solved iteratively and analytically to take into account the non-linearity of the thermal resistances while optimizing the required computation time. Finally, this entire design methodology was applied to three case studies corresponding to the target applications: high voltage, medium voltage and rail. The results obtained do show the performance and necessity of this approach.

No description available.

Ce travail concerne l’étude et la réalisation d’une architecture multicellulaire de conversion d’énergie électrique haute tension avec étage intermédiaire alternatif moyenne fréquence destinée à la traction électrique ferroviaire. L’objectif de ce travail est de diminuer la masse et le volume de l’étage de conversion alternatif-continu que l’on retrouve dans les engins de traction conçus pour circuler sur les réseaux alternatifs 25kV-50Hz ou 15kV-16Hz2/3. La recherche de gains sur l’étage de conversion alternatif-continu s’applique aussi bien sur les automotrices où l’on cherche à gagner de la place disponible pour y placer des passagers que sur les locomotives ou encore sur les motrices de TGV où l’on recherche un gain de masse étant donné que ces engins sont en limite de charge à l’essieu. Le contexte de la haute tension implique l’utilisation d’interrupteurs de forts calibres en tension pour limiter au maximum le nombre de cellules de conversions utilisées. D’un autre côté, la recherche de gains sur le transformateur nécessite une fréquence de découpage élevée, génératrice de pertes en commutation dans les interrupteurs. L’architecture de conversion retenue permet par l’association de structures duales d’obtenir des conditions de commutation douce, ce qui est favorable à une montée en fréquence avec des interrupteurs de forts calibres en tension. Le convertisseur élémentaire associe un onduleur de tension commandé au blocage et un commutateur de courant commandé à l’amorçage. Afin d’évaluer le rendement de l’architecture considérée, un prototype d’un bloc de conversion élémentaire, d’une puissance de 280 kVA, a été réalisé au laboratoire PEARL. Les interrupteurs sont réalisés sur la base de modules IGBT 6,5kV/200A. Les essais en commutation douce ont permis d’évaluer, dans des conditions de fonctionnement réelles, les pertes dans les modules IGBT. Compte tenu de ces résultats, il est possible de déterminer les limites de fonctionnement de la structure de conversion et d’effectuer un dimensionnement en considérant le compromis rendement-poids-volume pour un engin de traction donné. / This thesis concerns the study and the rating of a high voltage multicellular converter with an intermediate medium frequency stage dedicated to railway traction. The objective is to reduce the weight and the volume of the AC-DC conversion stage which is implemented in railway engines running on 25kV-50Hz or 15kV-16Hz2/3 railways. Reduction on weight and size of the AC-DC converter may be applied on multiple unit trains where the transformer causes room loss for passengers and on locomotives and high speed trains where the axle load is limited. On one hand high voltage switches are required in order to minimize the number of cells used to build the converter. On the other hand, reducing the size and the weight of the transformer requires a high switching frequency, causing high commutation losses. To achieve soft switching conditions with high voltage semiconductors, the proposed topology is based on an association of dual structures. Each elementary converter combines a controlled turn-off voltage source inverter and a controlled turn-on current source inverter. In order to estimate the efficiency of the new topology, a prototype of one elementary cell working at 280 kVA, was built at the Power Electronics Associated Research Laboratory (PEARL). The switches are standard 6.5 kV/200A IGBTs modules. Soft-switching tests, in real operating conditions, allow evaluating IGBTs and diodes switching losses. Thanks to these results, it is possible to find the structure operating limits and to size the transformer considering the trade-off between the system efficiency and the transformer weight.

This thesis presents three papers within the field of dynamic macroeconomics. The first paper, entitled “Medium-frequency cycles and the remarkable near trend-stationarity of output”, presents a dynamic stochastic general equilibrium model with endogenous growth, capable of reconciling the observed large medium-frequency fluctuations in output, with its long run (near) trend-stationarity. This requires a model in which standard business cycle shocks lead to highly persistent movements around trend, without significantly altering the trend itself. The robustness of the trend also requires that scale effects are eliminated both in the long and short runs. In an estimated version of the model, a financial-type shock to the stock of ideas emerges as the key driver of the medium frequency cycle. The second paper, entitled “Learning from learners”, is an intervention into two long running debates: the first, on whether learnability may be used to rule out explosive paths for inflation in New Keynesian models, and the second, into whether Taylor rule parameters may be identified from observing the data. We find that in an economy populated with traditional macroeconomic learners, Taylor rule parameters can always be identified by sophisticated econometric techniques. Furthermore, when all agents in the economy use such sophisticated techniques, stationary sunspot solutions are readily learnable, and there is no guarantee of convergence to a stationary solution even in the “determinate” case. This implies that learnability cannot be used for equilibrium selection. Finally, in the third paper, “Efficient simulation of DSGE models with inequality constraints” (joint with Michael Paetz), we present a new algorithm for the simulation of models subject to inequality constraints, such as the zero lower bound on nominal interest rates. Our algorithm is shown to deliver higher accuracy than all other non-global algorithms, and leading speed. We go on to provide a number of applications of our algorithm.

In this thesis, a new HVDC-based converter system for wind farms is investigated. It is based on a mutually commutated soft-switching converter system and provides a unique integrated solution for the wind turbine generator drive systems, the wind turbine interconnection, and the power conversion for HVDC transmission. In a wind farm, the mutually commutated converter system is a distributed system. A medium-frequency collection grid connects the converter station, equipped with a single-phase voltage source converter and a medium-frequency transmission transformer, with the wind turbines, each containing a cycloconverter and a medium-frequency distribution transformer. In this thesis, various system aspects regarding the application of a distributed mutually commutated converter system in a wind farm are investigated. Special attention is paid to the design of a medium-frequency collection grid that has an acceptable level of transient overvoltages, the design of medium-frequency transformers with suitable magnetic, electric and thermal properties, and the development of a strategy to commutate the voltage source converter during low power generation. In order to adapt the mutually commutated converter system for an application in a wind farm, it had to be further developped. Different carrier-based and space-vector oriented modulation methods have been investigated. It turns out that for any load angle there is a quasi-discontinuous pulse width modulation strategy that can produce the same pulse patterns as space vector modulation. In addition, a modulation strategy has been developed that allows to replace the IGBTs in the cycloconverter with cheap, robust, and reliable fast thyristors, despite their absence of turn-off capability. The feasibility of different modulation strategies for mutually commutated converter systems has been verified on a down-scaled prototype converter system with both IGBT- and thyristor-based cycloconverters. Finally, a feasible wind farm layout is proposed, which considerably reduces the energy generation costs for large winds farms distant to a strong grid connection point. As a consequence, the proposed solution may facilitate the establishment of remotely located wind farms. / QC 20100802