Stability and sustainability of operation of interconnected power converter systems has been an important focus of study in the field of power electronics and power systems. With ever-increasing application of electrical machines by means of electrification of vehicles, airplanes and shipboards, detailed study of the relating dynamics is very important to ensure the proper implementation and stable behavior of the overall system. In this work, the application of the black box approach study of the power converters has been expanded to the electrical machines. Using this modeling method, it is possible of have accurate behavior of electrical and mechanical terminals of the machine without the detailed information about the internal structure of the machine, material characteristics or topology of the machine. Instead, accurate model of electrical and mechanical terminals of the machine are achieved by measuring specific frequency responses of the machine to distinguish dynamic relation of the various electrical and mechanical quantities of the machine. The directly measured frequency responses, are coupled with the dynamics of the source and load in the electrical and mechanical terminals of the machine thus in order to decoupled the described couplings a mathematical process is used that results in decoupling of the controller and drive on the electrical side and the dynamics of the mechanical load and mechanical shaft at the mechanical terminal of the machine. Resulting model is the linear time invariant representation of the electrical machine at a specific operating point. Additionally, this work represents the application of this modeling method for accurate measurement of internal parameters of the machine such as inductances and mechanical inertia and characterization of the mechanical shaft coupler. Resulting unterminated model of the machine is a very important matter of information for system integrators and electrical and mechanical designs related to the application of the machine, to ensure the stable and sustainable operation of the machine. This work for the first time, represents the experimental implementation of this terminal behavioral modeling method for studying electrical machines as well as describes some of the practical limitations of this methodology. By incorporating and integrating a combination of commercially available devices such as frequency response analyzer, Hardware-In-The-Loop (HIL), Power-Hardware-In-The-Loop (PHIL), a test setup has been developed that is capable of control, operate and study arbitrary frame small-signal related measurements required for terminal behavioral study of the electrical machines. Resulting model of the machine that has been extracted from this modeling method is then used to compare in time domain with the real machine in the case of transient change in the mechanical load on the shaft to discover the validity of this modeling procedure. / Master of Science / According to the data from the International Energy Agency, around half of the electricity used globally is consumed by electric motors. Moreover, the growth in the electrical vehicle industry will increase their application even further, hence the development of high-fidelity models of electric machines for real-time emulation, system-level analyses, and stability studies still stands out as an important and needed research focus. New modeling concepts that go beyond the standard industry practice can be used at the design and integration stage to ensure the stable behavior of the overall system. Furthermore, convenient testing and identification pressures can help ensure the long-term operation of the system. Aligned with this trend, this thesis is studying permanent magnet synchronous machines (PMSM) using small-signal terminal-behavioral three-port networks. Having such a behavioral model of the machine available provides many opportunities for system integrators, and even enables an in-situ system observation and stability assessment at both the machine's electrical and mechanical interfaces. This capability can undoubtedly be of high importance in practice, as it is offering new insights into dynamic interactions of the electro-mechanical systems, the governor or turbine control design in ships, aircrafts, electrical vehicles, and even large synchronous machines in power plants. A so-called characterization testbed has been built that combines Hardware-In-The-Loop (HIL) and Power-Hardware-In-The-Loop (PHIL) environments, with sensor-interface boards that are used to properly scale measured signals for machine control. The Frequency-Response-Analyzer is used to sweep the proper electrical or mechanical terminal of the machine by perturbing the proper control signal within the machine controller running in PHIL and reading d-q currents, voltages, torque, and speed variables whose dynamic ratios are then obtained without the need for interrupting the normal operation of the electrical machine. The capability of acquiring such a detailed model of the machine while the machine is in operation is an important benefit of this modeling method, in comparison to the conventional identification methods widely applied in the industry. The resulting model is a linearized time invariant representation of the electrical machine at a specific operating point of interest, and can be used by system integrators to ensure the stability of the system using well known stability assessment methodologies. Furthermore, this modeling strategy has been experimentally verified for the first time on electrical machines, and the resulting model has been compared with the transient behavior of the machine in the presence of a step change in the mechanical load of the machine.

The human body has substantial kinetic and kinematic degrees-of-freedoms, so redundant solutions are available for the central nervous system (CNS) to perform a repetitive task. Due to these redundancies, inherent variations exist in human movement, called motor variability (MV). Current evidence suggests that MV can be beneficial, and that there is an inverse association between MV and risk of injury. To better understand how the CNS manipulates MV to reduce injury risks, we investigated the effects of individual differences, task-relevant aspects, and psychological factors as modifiers of MV. Earlier work found that experienced workers adapted more stable movements than novices in repetitive lifting tasks. To expand on this, we quantified how MV differs between experienced workers and novices in different lifting conditions (i.e., lifting asymmetry and fatigue). Three different measures (cycle-to-cycle SD, sample entropy, and the goal equivalent manifold) were used to quantify MV. In a symmetric lifting task, experienced workers had more constrained movement than novices, and experienced workers exhibited more consistent behavior in the asymmetric condition. Novices constrained their movements, and could not maintain the same level of variability in the asymmetric condition. We concluded that experienced workers adapt stable or flexible strategies depending on task difficulty. In a prolonged lifting task, both groups increased their MV to adapt to fatigue; they particularly increased variability in a direction that had no effects on their main task goal. Developing fatigue also makes it difficult for individuals maintain the main goal. Based on these results, we conclude that increasing variability is an adaptive strategy in response to fatigue. We also assessed variability in gait parameters to compare gait adaptability using a head-worn display (HWD) compared with head-down displays for visual information presentation. An effective strategy we observed for performing a cognitive task successfully during walking was to increase gait variability in the goal direction. In addition, we found that head-up walking had smaller effects on MV, suggesting that HWDs are a promising technology to reduce adverse events during gait (e.g., falls). In summary, these results suggest that MV can be a useful indicator for evaluating some occupational injury risks. / Ph. D.

Introduktion: Efter en främre korsbandsskada och korsbandsrekonstruktion (ACLR) drabbas många av en upprepad skada. En anledning kan vara att en ACL-skada medför neuroplastiska förändringar som kan ge ett ökat neurokognitivt beroende. Det här kan i sin tur innebära en nedsatt kapacitet att utföra motoriska uppgifter med samtidiga sekundära uppgifter – även kallat dual task-förmåga. Graden av neurokognitivt beroende mäts ofta genom dual task-tester (DT-tester) där den s.k. DT-kostnaden då kan komma att avslöjas. Syfte: Att undersöka om individer med ACLR visar större DT-kostnad än oskadade individer under hopptest med sekundära kognitiva uppgifter. Därtill att undersöka om självskattad psykologisk beredskap har ett samband med dual task-kostnaden hos individer med ACLR. Metod: 20 personer med ACLR och 20 personer utan knäbesvär utförde drop jump-test med sekundära kognitiva uppgifter (DT-testet). Både motoriska och kognitiva prestationer utvärderades. Gruppernas prestationer jämfördes mellan varandra med oberoende T-test. För kartläggning av psykologisk beredskap, omfattande känslor, självförtroende och riskbedömning användes enkäten Anterior Cruciate Ligament Return to Sport after Injury (ACL-RSI). För att bedöma sambandet mellan ACL-gruppens prestationer på DT-testet och totalpoängen på ACL-RSI användes Pearson’s korrelationskoefficient. Resultat: De oberoende t-testen bekräftade att ACL-gruppen presterade sämre än kontrollgruppen på DT-testet. I den motoriska uppgiften hade ACL-gruppen medelvärdet 85 % och kontrollgruppen 94,6 %. I den kognitiva uppgiften hade ACL-gruppen medelvärdet 66.7 % och kontrollgruppen 82,9%. Det uppvisades ett svagt positivt men ej signifikant samband mellan ACL-gruppens prestationer på DT-testet och ACL-RSIs totalpoäng. Konklusion: ACL-gruppen presterade sämre än kontrollgruppen på DT-test med sekundär kognitiv utmaning. Däremot visade sig psykologisk beredskap inte influera ACL-gruppens prestation på DT-testet. Resultaten styrker hypotesen att individer med ACLR har svårare att utföra DT-test med sekundära kognitiva utmaningar, men inte hypotesen att lägre psykologisk beredskap negativt påverkar deras prestationer.

L'intégralité de ce projet a été réalisé à l'aide de logiciels sous licence libre. / Une évaluation du nombre de symptômes d'hyperactivité-impulsivité et d'inattention a été faite sur 277 jumeaux au moyen d'une entrevue semi-structurée administré aux parents, basée sur une échelle validée et communément admise, et une tâche de pointage a été demandée à chacun d'eux. La tâche de pointage a été effectuée avec chaque main successivement vers une cible dont la position à 135° ou à 45° était déterminée aléatoirement. Les tracés ont été classés en trois catégories selon le type de la première correction volontaire qu'ils présentaient sur leurs profils cinématiques : absence de correction, correction de position, correction dynamique. Ce projet veut caractériser la relation entre le taux de chaque type de correction et le nombre de symptômes de TDAH chez une population d'enfants ne répondant majoritairement pas à un diagnostic clinique de TDAH. Il a été montré que la présence de corrections de position était fréquemment corrélée à la présence de symptômes d'hyperactivité-impulsivité, mais pas, ou rarement, de symptômes d'inattention. D'autre part, il a été aussi remarqué que le taux de correction augmentait significativement lorsque le mouvement de pointage était effectué de la main gauche, sans égard à la dominance manuelle du sujet. Le premier résultat n'était pas attendu, étant donné la littérature relativement épaisse montrant un lien entre l'inattention et les problèmes de coordination motrice. Le second résultat, par contre, laisse entendre que la différenciation fonctionnelle hémisphérique d'un point de vue de contrôle attentionnel, ou de la motricité de la main gauche, serait affectée par le TDAH. / Symptoms linked to ADHD were assessed on 277 twins according to the commonly recognized dimensions formed by hyperactivity-impulsivity and inattention. A semi-structured interview administered to parents was used for the assessment. Subjects were asked to perform a pointing task. Left and right hands were tested in turn, and to reach a target placed either at 135° or 45°. Order of appearance was randomly determined. All traces were categorized according to the first voluntary correction as shown in their kinematic profiles : no correction, position correction, and dynamic correction. This project proposes to characterize the link between each correction type frequency and hyperactivity-impulsivity and inattention symptoms. The population studied was mostly subclinical and did not reach ADHD diagnosis criteria. Position corrections were shown to be correlated quite reliably to hyperactivity- impulsivity symptoms, but not to inattention symptoms. Deficits were most reliably linked with left hand use. The first result was unexpected considering abundant literature confirming the link between inattention and fine motor deficits, but the second one is more in line with a less exploited hypothesis stating that hemispherical functional differentiation related to control of the hand, or control of attention is affected by ADHD.

Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal.

Il existe plusieurs théories du contrôle moteur, chacune présumant qu’une différente variable du mouvement est réglée par le cortex moteur. On trouve parmi elles la théorie du modèle interne qui a émis l’hypothèse que le cortex moteur programme la trajectoire du mouvement et l’activité électromyographique (EMG) d’une action motrice. Une autre, appelée l’hypothèse du point d’équilibre, suggère que le cortex moteur établisse et rétablisse des seuils spatiaux; les positions des segments du corps auxquelles les muscles et les réflexes commencent à s’activer. Selon ce dernier, les paramètres du mouvement sont dérivés sans pré-programmation, en fonction de la différence entre la position actuelle et la position seuil des segments du corps. Pour examiner de plus près ces deux théories, nous avons examiné l’effet d’un changement volontaire de l’angle du coude sur les influences cortico-spinales chez des sujets sains en employant la stimulation magnétique transcrânienne (TMS) par-dessus le site du cortex moteur projetant aux motoneurones des muscles du coude. L’état de cette aire du cerveau a été évalué à un angle de flexion du coude activement établi par les sujets, ainsi qu’à un angle d’extension, représentant un déplacement dans le plan horizontal de 100°. L’EMG de deux fléchisseurs du coude (le biceps et le muscle brachio-radial) et de deux extenseurs (les chefs médial et latéral du triceps) a été enregistrée. L’état d’excitabilité des motoneurones peut influer sur les amplitudes des potentiels évoqués moteurs (MEPs) élicitées par la TMS. Deux techniques ont été entreprises dans le but de réduire l’effet de cette variable. La première était une perturbation mécanique qui raccourcissait les muscles à l'étude, produisant ainsi une période de silence EMG. La TMS a été envoyée avec un retard après la perturbation qui entraînait la production du MEP pendant la période de silence. La deuxième technique avait également le but d’équilibrer l’EMG des muscles aux deux angles du coude. Des forces assistantes ont été appliquées au bras par un moteur externe afin de compenser les forces produites par les muscles lorsqu’ils étaient actifs comme agonistes d’un mouvement. Les résultats des deux séries étaient analogues. Un muscle était facilité quand il prenait le rôle d’agoniste d’un mouvement, de manière à ce que les MEPs observés dans le biceps fussent de plus grandes amplitudes quand le coude était à la position de flexion, et ceux obtenus des deux extenseurs étaient plus grands à l’angle d’extension. Les MEPs examinés dans le muscle brachio-radial n'étaient pas significativement différents aux deux emplacements de l’articulation. Ces résultats démontrent que les influences cortico-spinales et l’activité EMG peuvent être dissociées, ce qui permet de conclure que la voie cortico-spinale ne programme pas l’EMG à être générée par les muscles. Ils suggèrent aussi que le système cortico-spinal établit les seuils spatiaux d’activation des muscles lorsqu’un segment se déplace d’une position à une autre. Cette idée suggère que des déficiences dans le contrôle des seuils spatiaux soient à la base de certains troubles moteurs d’origines neurologiques tels que l’hypotonie et la spasticité. / According to a dominant theory, the motor cortex is directly involved in pre-programming motor outcome in terms of movement trajectories and electromyographic (EMG) patterns. In contrast, the equilibrium point theory suggests that the motor cortex sets and resets the spatial thresholds, i.e., the positions of body segments at which muscles and reflexes begin to act. Movement parameters thereby emerge without pre-programming, depending on the difference between the actual and the threshold position of the body segments. To choose between these two theories of motor control, we investigated corticospinal influences associated with voluntary changes in elbow joint angle in healthy individuals using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) of the brain site projecting to motoneurons of the elbow muscles. In order to minimize the influence of motoneuronal excitability on the evaluation of corticospinal influences, motor evoked potentials (MEPs) elicited by TMS were obtained during the EMG silent period produced by a brief muscle shortening prior to the TMS pulse. MEPs were obtained at a flexion and an extension elbow angle actively established by subjects. MEPs were recorded from 2 elbow flexors (biceps and brachioradialis) and 2 extensors (medial and lateral heads of triceps). Flexor MEP amplitude was bigger at the elbow flexion position in the case of the biceps and extensor MEPs were bigger at the extension position in both extensors studied (reciprocal pattern). MEPs observed in the brachioradialis did not differ at the two elbow orientations. A similar difference in corticospinal influences at the two elbow positions was often preserved when the tonic activity of elbow muscles was equalized by compensating the passive muscle forces at the two positions with a torque motor. Thus, corticospinal influences and EMG activity were de-correlated and it can be concluded that the corticospinal system is not involved in pre-determining the magnitude of motor commands to muscles. Results suggest that the corticospinal system resets the spatial thresholds for muscle activation when segments move from one position to another. This implies that deficits in spatial threshold control may underlie different neurological motor problems (e.g., hypotonia and spasticity).

This diploma thesis focuses on two conditions that typically occure in childhood - poor posture and developmental coordination disorder. The theoretical part summarizes recent information on these diseases focusing on their etiology, prevalence, prognosis, methods of assessment, diagnosis and treatment. The main aim of the practical part was to evaluate the motor control of treated children with poor posture in comparison with children from the general population. The research group (13 children, mean age 9.85 years) and control group (16 children, mean age 9.94 years) were assessed using Movement Assessment Battery for Children 2. We found no significant difference between motor skills of treated children with poor posture and motor skills of children representing the general population. We also analysed whether treated children with poor posture reported less physical activity compared with the general population. By gathering data from questionnaires (completed by parents of tested children), no statistically significant difference was found. The difference was neither detected in test of posture and postural functions, where we investigated how poor posture of treated children can influence the results of the test. Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)

Este trabalho apresenta a concepção, o projeto, o desenvolvimento e a validação experimental de uma plataforma robótica bioinspirada o robô KA\'I yxo com a habilidade de escalar árvores para aplicação em monitoramento ambiental. Tal motivação surgiu da necessidade crescente do estudo e do entendimento de ocorrências naturais pelas consequências envolvidas, muitas vezes trágicas. O monitoramento ambiental em larga escala e a dificuldade de acesso e cobertura de áreas significativas são fatores que indicam a importância e a utilidade de robôs nessas tarefas. O robô KA\'I yxo possui como aplicação primeira uma solução para aquisição de dados de radiação solar, temperatura, umidade e altitude, de maneira que a mesma seja uma ferramenta útil para pesquisadores, aplicação esta identificada como relevante para a pesquisa na área ambiental após visitas ao Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia INPA. O desenvolvimento da plataforma robótica bioinspirada exposto nesta tese apresenta a sua evolução, desde a versão inicial do robô Kamanbaré (seis versões), até a versão atual da plataforma KAI yxo (terceira versão). Para esta última, são expostos em detalhes os modelos mecânico e matemático. No modelo mecânico, a importante questão da mobilidade é considerada. O modelo matemático construído compreende a cinemática direta, a cinemática inversa, a definição da andadura e a dinâmica do robô. O texto contém também uma apresentação detalhada das arquiteturas de controle, de software e de hardware. A utilização de Geradores Centrais de Padrões (CPGs) é justificada e discutida em detalhes. O ajuste dos parâmetros da CPG é realizado por meio de um processo de otimização baseado na técnica de Times Assíncronos (A-Teams). Resultados experimentais obtidos com a plataforma robótica são apresentados e discutidos. / This work presents the conception, design, development and experimental validation of a bioinspired robotics platform the robot KA\'I yxo with the ability to climb trees for use in environmental monitoring. Such motivation arose from the growing need of studying and understanding the consequences of natural occurrences involved, often tragic. Environmental monitoring in large scale and the difficulty of access and coverage areas are significant factors that indicate the importance and the usefulness of robots in these tasks. As a first application, the robot KA\'I yxo represents a solution for data acquisition from solar radiation, temperature, humidity and altitude, so that it may be a useful tool for researchers. This application was identified as relevant to environmental research after visits to the National Institute of Amazonian Research INPA. The development of the bio-inspired robotics platform exposed in this thesis presents its evolution starting from the initial version of the robot Kamanbaré (six versions) and ending with the current version of KA\'I yxo platform (third version). For the latter, the mechanical and mathematical models are exposed in details. In the mechanical model, the important issue of mobility is considered. The mathematical model constructed comprises the forward kinematics, the inverse kinematics, the definition of the gait and the dynamics of the robot. The text also contains a detailed presentation of the control, software and hardware architectures. The use of Central Pattern Generators (CPGs) is justified and discussed. The tuning of the CPG parameters is performed by an optimization process based on the Asynchronous Teams (ATeams) technique. Experimental results obtained with the robotic platform are presented and discussed.

Grace à leur forte densité de puissance et leur facilité de commande, les machines synchrones à aimants permanents (MSAP) sont fréquemment utilisées pour motoriser les actionneurs aéronautiques. Afin de pouvoir assurer le pilotage de ces moteurs, une information précise sur la position du rotor est nécessaire. Des capteurs de position sont utilisés pour mesurer la position et calculer la vitesse du rotor. Les inconvénients inhérents à l'utilisation de ces capteurs sont la diminution de la fiabilité du système et l'augmentation du poids, du volume, et du coût total du celui-ci. Dans ce travail, nous présentons une commande ne nécessitant pas le capteur de position à l'aide d'algorithmes d'estimation des variables mécaniques uniquement à partir de la mesure des courants statoriques. Après avoir abordé les méthodes de commande sans capteur adaptées aux hautes vitesses et basées sur l'estimation de la force électromotrice, nous établissons un état de l'art des méthodes de contrôle à basses vitesses basées sur la saillance du rotor. Une nouvelle méthode de commande sans capteur en basses vitesses et à l'arrêt, indépendante des paramètres du moteur et très simple à implanter est ensuite proposée et validée en simulation (sur un modèle de MSAP prenant en compte les effets de saturation) puis sur banc d'essais. Une étude analytique sur la convergence de l'algorithme et sa robustesse est également réalisée. Enfin, un processus d'initialisation ainsi qu'une méthode de transition sans à-coups entre les méthodes basses et hautes vitesses sont proposées et validées par simulation et expérimentation / For their high power density and ease of control, permanent magnet synchronous motors (PMSM) are widely used in more electric aircraft. In order to control PMSMs, precise information on the rotor position is required. This information is provided by position sensors which have inherent drawbacks despite their good precision: these sensors decrease reliability and increase weight, volume, and cost of the whole system. In this thesis, we present a mechanical sensorless control method by estimating the rotor speed and position only from the phase currents measurements. Sensorless control methods suitable for high speeds and based on back-EMF estimation are first discussed. Then, a state of the art in sensorless methods for low speeds operations is presented. A new sensorless control, independent from the motor parameters, is presented for operating at low speeds and standstill. Both simulations (on a PMSM model taking into account the saturation phenomenon) and experimental results show the effectiveness of this model-independent method. A convergence analysis and a robustness study of the proposed algorithm are also made. Finally, an initialization process and a method for smooth transition between low and high speeds methods are proposed and validated on an experimental test-bench

Neste estudo foi analisado o efeito de distância, velocidade, tamanhos do disco e do alvo, e massas do disco e da manopla, sobre o desempenho motor em movimentos requisitando rapidez e precisão. Para tanto, foram analisadas as características cinemáticas da tarefa de projetar um disco a um alvo com movimento de contato balístico, empunhando uma manopla. Os movimentos foram desempenhados sobre uma base plana e filmados com câmera optoeletrônica de alta freqüência. O estudo foi conduzido em seis experimentos com um grupo único de participantes. Os resultados indicaram que os modelos de controle motor que têm sido empregados para analisar a relação velocidade-precisão em tarefas mais simples não foram apropriados para explicar o comportamento da tarefa utilizada. O controle motor na tarefa demonstrou ser dinâmico e flexível, frente às diferentes restrições de movimento. As seguintes estratégias de controle foram sugeridas na explicação dos resultados: sincronização da maior velocidade e do instante de contato manopla-disco, manutenção na proporção entre as fases aceleração-desaceleração, maior inércia e menor impacto para aumentar a estabilidade de movimento, e o controle da velocidade e da precisão em dimensões independentes. A análise das ações articulares demonstrou as particularidades das estratégias utilizadas pelo sistema no movimento em função das variáveis manipuladas. Em conjunto, esta seqüência de experimentos permitiu uma compreensão mais ampla das estratégias de controle motor empregadas em movimentos com alta demanda de velocidade e de precisão / In this study it was analyzed the effect of distance, velocity, disc and target width, disc and manipulandum mass, over motor control of a rapid and accurate movement. For such, it was analyzed the kinematic characteristics of the task of launching a disc to a target using a ballistic movement, performed with a manipulandum. Movements were performed on a flat surface and filmed with a high frequency optoelectronic camera. The study was conducted through six experiments with a single group of participants. Analysis of results indicated that models of motor control that has been used to analyze speed-accuracy tradeoff in simpler tasks were not appropriate to explain the observed behavior in the task used. Motor control in the task showed to be dynamic and flexible, regarding the several constraints manipulated. The follow strategies of control were suggested to explain the results: synchronization of the peak velocity and the instant of disc-manipulandum contact, maintenance of the proportion between the acceleration-deceleration phases, greater inertia and minor impact to increase movement stability, and control of velocity and accuracy of independent dimensions. The prediction of Analysis of joint actions showed the particularities of the strategies used by the system on movement as a function of the manipulated variables. Together, this study sequence of experiments allowed for a deeper comprehension of the control strategies used in the control of rapid and accurate movements