With overcrowded schools as a project vehicle, this thesis investigates the expansion and contraction of an existing infrastructure" and the relationship that developed between the two. The proposed intervention, guided by the site, touches on an urban scale by generating a gateway into the city. / Master of Architecture

In modern power electronics systems there is a growing trend to replace discrete devices with integrated power electronic modules (IPEMs). In this way, several components can be replaced by a single component. By using prefabricated building blocks, the engineer simplifies the design process, reducing the total design cycle time and cost. By integrating only the necessary components to provide power switching, the end user has a pre-optimized building block with the flexibility to be used in a large variety of applications. Besides simplifying the design process, power modules should be designed in such a way as to improve the performance of the power converter. This begs the question as to how best to judge if one IPEM has better performance than another or better performance than its discrete counterpart. In analyzing a converter's performance, popular criteria include efficiency, power density, device stresses, and EMI. All of these criteria are strongly linked to the switching characteristics of the IPEM's power devices. This thesis is a comprehensive study of the requirements for obtaining and analyzing the switching characteristics of the IPEM's power devices. It outlines the important switching characteristics and the implications of each characteristic on converter performance. It deals with the relevant measurement issues, specifically addressing the minimum requirements, which sensors are most suitable, and problems leading to inaccurate data. A parametric study is conducted to determine the effects of several circuit and operating parameters on the switching characteristics. Using the resulting data and the knowledge from the measurement study, we can decide how to design the testbed layout, what operating conditions should be chosen for testing, and what effects of the tester must be decoupled to truly see the effects of IPEM design. The thesis concludes with the design of standard test equipment and procedures. / Master of Science

Power module design is needed for high system performance and reliability, especially in terms of high efficiency and high power density. Low parasitic impedance and thermal management is desired for the lower power loss and device stress. For power module with high efficiency and improved breakdown voltage, this thesis proposes a novel series-connected power MOSFETs module. Three IRF7832 MOSFETs (30 V breakdown voltage) in series are simulated in a chopper circuit. The drain-source voltage sharing in switching off-mode shows that the devices can share voltage within their breakdown ranges. The switching characteristics are studied, and the switching energy losses without parasitic inductance and with 5 nH parasitic inductances are 203.38 µJ and 316.49 µJ, respectively. The critical parasitic inductance is the one connecting the source of the upper MOSFET and the drain of the middle MOSFET. The switching energy loss due to critical parasitic inductance is about 44.4% of the total switching energy loss. The layout is designed for the double-substrates direct-bond module and wire-bonded module using direct-bond-copper (DBC) substrate. Based on layout dimensions and packaging materials, the packaging module's parasitic parameters are obtained using Ansoft® Q3D extractor. Using parasitic inductance values from simulation, the switching energy losses of direct-bond module and wire-bonded module are 296.18 µJ and 238.99 µJ, respectively. Thermal management is then studied using Ansoft® ePhysics. The MOSFET junction-to-air thermal resistances of the double-substrate direct-bond module and the single-substrate wire-bonded module are 33oC/W and 82oC/W, respectively. Hence, by comparing the direct-bond module with a wire-bonded power module, direct-bond module shows lower parasitic impedances and better thermal management. To test the breakdown voltage of series-connected power MOSFETs module, three TI DualCoolTM N-channel NexFET Power MOSFETs (25 V breakdown voltage) in series are assembled using flip-chip direct-bond technology. Three samples are assembled and the breakdown voltages are measured by using high-power curve tracer as 76 V, 82 V, and 72 V. The more accurate method for testing breakdown voltages by digital voltmeter obtains 77.51 V, 82.31 V, and 73.06 V. The series-connected power MOSFETs module shows compact volume, low parasitic impedances, thermal resistances and improved breakdown voltage. This power module has strong potential for use in applications that require minimized packaging size and parasitic inductance for high voltage, high switching frequency, and high efficiency. / Master of Science

This thesis deals with the relationship between form and strength in architecture. The proposed building is a Kindergarten which unites issues of shape, physics, and habitat. The roof is vaulted and the walls are curved for lateral resistance and in order to make folds scaled to a child. These physical moves work towards the theme of the Kindergarten: a place for the transition between home and school. / Master of Architecture

La détermination de la vitesse de propagation des ondes de cisaillement (Vs) dans un sol est fondamentale dans tous les problèmes en dynamique des sols. Plusieurs techniques permettent la mesure de Vs dans les sols. En effet, le paramètre Vs permet la caractérisation et l'évaluation du potentiel de liquéfaction des sols granulaires. Cependant, indépendamment de la technique de mesures utilisées, plusieurs valeurs de Vs peuvent être obtenues. Cette diversification peut se justifier par plusieurs facteurs, notamment la granulométrie. D'où cette étude qui porte sur l'influence de la granulométrie sur la vitesse des ondes de cisaillement des sols granulaires. Dans ce mémoire de maîtrise, l'effet des éléments caractéristiques des sols granulaires (D[indice inférieur 50], e, Cu, [sigma][indice inférieur m]) sur la vitesse des ondes de cisaillement est étudié. Quatre types de sols granulaires ayant des propriétés granulométriques différentes sont considérés. Il s'agit de : (1) Le sable d'Ottawa (C-190) (D[indice inférieur 50] = 0,37 mm et Cu=1,96), (2) Le sable de Milby qui est un sable très fin ((D[indice inférieur 50] = 0,247 mm et Cu= 3,2), (3) Le sable Eastman (D[indice inférieur 50] = 0,6 mm et Cu = 11,05) et (4) Le Till Eastman (D[indice inférieur 50] = 0,1 mm et Cu = 22). Les essais en laboratoire ont été réalisés sur une cellule oedométrique équipée d'un dispositif d'anneau piézoélectrique qui permet de déterminer à la fois la valeur le module oedométique (Eoed) à partir de la cellule et la mesure de Vs à partir de l'essai ring actuator développé à l'université de Sherbrooke. Il ressort de cette étude que la vitesse des ondes de cisaillement augmente avec l'augmentation du D[indice inférieur 50]. De plus, cette étude révèle qu'il existe une corrélation directe entre le module oedométrique et le module de cisaillement Gmax. Cette corrélation peut se traduire par une fonction de la forme de la forme Eoed / Gmax = f([sigma]).

In the setting of Noetherian or Dedekind domains, we investigate the properties of very flat and contraadjusted modules. These are the modules from the respective classes in the cotorsion pair (VF, CA) generated by the set of all modules of the form R[s−1 ]. Furthermore, we introduce the concept of locally very flat modules and pursue the analogy of their relation to very flat modules and the relation between projective and flat Mittag-Leffler modules. It is shown that for Noetherian domains, the class of all very flat modules is covering, if and only if the class of all locally very flat modules is precovering, if and only if the spectrum of the ring is finite; for domains of cardinality less than 2ω , this is further equivalent to the class of all contraadjusted modules being enveloping.

O objetivo deste trabalho é estudar algumas classes de anéis. Para isso, introduzimos o conceito de módulo pobre e provamos algumas propriedades básicas destes módulos. Além disso, estudamos quais hipóteses sobre um anel R fazem com que alguma família da classe dos R-módulos seja uma família destituída (famílias tais que todo R-módulo é pobre), uma família sem classe média (famílias tais que todo R-módulo ou é pobre ou é injetivo) ou uma família que é uma utopia (famílias tais que todo R-módulo não é pobre). / The goal of this dissertation is to study certain classes of rings. To this end, we introduce the definition of a poor module and prove some basic properties of these modules. Furthermore, we study which hypotheses on a ring R turn some classes of R-modules into a destitute family (families such that every R-module is poor), a family with no middle class (families such that every R-module is either poor or injective) or a family that is an utopia (families such that every R-module is not poor)

Malgré le bénéfice apparent des modules bifaces, cette technologie souffre toujours d'un manque de visibilité sur les gains en performance qu'elle apporte. Dans cette thèse, nous étudions le cas de modules bifaces verticaux intégrés sur une façade et nous évaluons plusieurs architectures de modules spécifiques aux contraintes électriques et optiques des applications bifaces. Nous avons mis en place une méthodologie d'évaluation des performances électriques annuelles de modules bifaces basée sur trois outils : un dispositif de caractérisation en double éclairement au simulateur solaire, un banc de test modulable en environnement extérieur et son modèle optique avec un logiciel de tracé de rayons. Les résultats expérimentaux obtenus à court terme dans différentes configurations du banc ont permis de valider notre modèle optique. Ainsi, les performances annuelles de l'application façade verticale à échelle réduite ont pu être maximisées suivant les paramètres importants de l'application et du module. En particulier, les avantages d'une architecture à cellules découpées, à interconnexion en parallèle et à verres texturés ont été évalués séparément vis-à-vis des pertes résistives qui surviennent en double éclairement et du rayonnement souvent non-uniforme et diffus incident sur la face arrière du module. Ce travail à échelle réduite a permis de dresser des perspectives pour un module de taille réelle et d'initier des études à l'échelle du système biface. / Despite the apparent benefits of bifacial modules, their application still suffers from a lack of visibility on the performance gain that they can actually provide. In this thesis we consider the specific application of vertically oriented bifacial modules, notably for facade integration. We also consider several innovative module architectures to work around some of the electrical and optical constraints of bifacial modules. We have developed a methodology to evaluate the annual electrical performance of bifacial modules based on three tools. Firstly, a double illumination characterization setup is used in a solar simulator for comparing module architectures. Then, a reduced scale outdoor test bench allows us to evaluate bifacial module performance in a variety of configurations. Finally, a ray-tracing model validated with short-term outdoor data leads to the annual electrical performance. This methodology allowed us to find optimal performance according to the most important parameters of application and module. Specifically, a module architecture using half-cut cells, a parallel cell interconnection and textured glasses have been analysed with respect to their influence on the resistive losses which occur in double illumination as well as to their influence on the effect of non-uniform and diffuse irradiance on the backside of the module. This work enabled us to propose real size module architectures and to launch studies at the bifacial system level.

The goal of this dissertation is to provide a solution by using a low-cost and high-performance laser module package for the applications of high-speed optical communication, fiber-to-the-home (FTTH), and passive optical network (PON). A 10-Gb/s coaxial-type laser module, a 10-Gb/s bi-directional optical sub-assembly (BOSA) module, and a 4 channels x 10-Gb/s coarse wavelength division multiplexing (CWDM) laser module have been implemented for this study. The conventional TO-Can header suffers poor RF transmission characteristics without proper modification. The notch filter effect induced by the parasitic inductance of the long lead and wires is one of its major factors. The proposed coaxial laser module is fitted with a commercial TO-Can with an internal matching resistor of 18£[ to reduce the signal reflection. The comparison of small signal results between the theoretical and the experimental results shows good agreement. The proposed 10-Gb/s coaxial laser module implemented can achieve 31% mask margins with the OC-192 standard. For cost consideration, the structure of the proposed 10-Gb/s BOSA modules is adapted to the idea of the commercial low bit rate of 155-Mb/s or 1.25-Gb/s BOSA modules. The proposed BOSA modules show a clear opening eye diagrams at both their transmitter and receiver side. The power penalty with a 10-km SMF transmission is 0.5dB and the crosstalk penalty is 0.9dB. According to the experimental results, we have demonstrated successfully the high-performance and the low-cost of 10-Gb/s BOSA modules and verified the feasibility of the bi-directional architecture for use in the future¡¦s high-speed FTTH or PON network applications. The 4 channel x 10-Gb/s laser modules adapted the existing low-cost TO-Can laser and the CWDM techniques provide one of the solutions for the 40-Gb/s optical communication application. The proposed optical module operating at 10-Gb/s per channel can exceed a rate of over 30 km transmission at the bit-error-rate (BER) of 10-9, with an average system power penalty of 12 dB. The proposed high-performance 40-Gb/s CWDM module shows the low-cost possibility that ensures the application of WDM-passive optical network (WDM-PON) fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) systems.

Parasitic inductance in power modules generates voltage spikes and current ringing during switching which cause extra stress in power electronic devices, increase electromagnetic interference (EMI), and degrade the performance of the power converter system. As newer power devices have faster switching speeds and higher power ratings, the effect of the parasitic inductance of the power module is more pronounced. This dissertation proposes a novel packaging method for power electronics modules based on the concepts of novel switching cells: P-cell and N-cell. It can reduce the stray inductance in the current commutation path in a phase-leg module and hence improve the switching behavior. Taking an insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) as an example, two phase-leg modules, specifically a conventional module and a P-cell and N-cell based module were designed. Using Ansoft Q3D Extractor, electromagnetic simulation was carried out to extract the stray inductance from the two modules. An ABB 1200 V / 75 A IGBT model and a diode model were built for simulation study. Circuit parasitics were extracted and modeled. Switching behavior with different package parasitics was studied based on the Saber simulation. Two prototype phase-leg modules were fabricated. The parasitics were measured using a precision impedance analyzer. The measurement results agree with the simulation very well. A double pulse tester was built in laboratory. Several approaches were used to reduce the circuit and measuring parasitics. From the switching characteristics of the two modules, it was verified that the larger stray inductance in the layout causes higher voltage overshoot during turn off, which in turn increases the turn off losses. Multichip (two in parallel) IGBT modules applying novel switching cells was also designed. The parasitics were extracted and compared to a conventional design. The overall loop inductance was reduced in the proposed module. However, the mismatch of the paralleled branches was larger.