With the increasing use of multimedia applications on the wireless network, the functionalities of the IEEE 802.11 WLAN was extended to allow traffic differentiation so that priority traffic gets quicker service time depending on their Quality of Service (QoS) requirements. The extended functionalities contained in the IEEE Medium Access Control (MAC) and Physical Layer (PHY) Specifications, i.e. the IEEE 802.11e specifications, are recommended values for channel access parameters along traffic lines and the channel access parameters are: the Minimum Contention Window CWmin, Maximum Contention Window CWmax, Arbitration inter-frame space number, (AIFSN) and the Transmission Opportunity (TXOP). These default Enhanced Distributed Channel Access (EDCA) contention values used by each traffic type in accessing the wireless medium are only recommended values which could be adjusted or changed based on the condition of number of associated nodes on the network. In particular, we focus on the Contention Window (CW) parameter and it has been shown that when the number of nodes on the network is small, a smaller value of CWmin should be used for channel access in order to avoid underutilization of channel time and when the number of associated nodes is large, a larger value of CWmin should be used in order to avoid large collisions and retransmissions on the network. Fortunately, allowance was made for these default values to be adjusted or changed but the challenge has been in designing an algorithm that constantly and automatically tunes the CWmin value so that the Access Point (AP) gives out the right CWmin value to be used on the WLAN and this value should be derived based on the level of activity experienced on the network or predefined QoS constraints while considering the dynamic nature of the WLAN. In this thesis, we propose the use of feedback based control and we design a controller for wireless medium access. The controller will give an output which will be the EDCA CWmin value to be used by contending stations/nodes in accessing the medium and this value will be based on current WLAN conditions. We propose the use of feedback control due to its established mathematical concepts particularly for single-input-single-output systems and multi-variable systems which are scenarios that apply to the WLAN.

For high-voltage direct-current (HVDC) transmission, the strength of the ac system is important for normal operation. An ac system can be considered as weak either because its impedance is high or its inertia is low. A typical high-impedance systemis when an HVDC link is terminated at a weak point of a large ac system where the short-circuit capacity of the ac system is low. Low-inertia systems are considered to have limited number of rotating machines, or no machines at all. Examples of such applications can be found when an HVDC link is powering an isand system, or if it is connected to a wind farm. One of the advantages of applying a voltage-source converter (VSC) based HVDC systemis its potential to be connected to very weak ac systems where the conventional linecommutated converter (LCC) based HVDC system has difficulties. In this thesis, the modeling and control issues for VSC-HVDC links connected to weak ac systems are investigated. In order to fully utilize the potential of the VSC-HVDC system for weak-ac-system connections, a novel control method, i.e., powersynchronization control, is proposed. By using power-synchronization control, the VSC resembles the dynamic behavior of a synchronous machine. Several additional functions, such as high-pass current control, current limitation, etc. are proposed to deal with  issues during operation. For modeling of ac/dc systems, the Jacobian transfer matrix is proposed as a unified modeling approach. With the ac Jacobian transfer matrix concept, a synchronous ac system is viewed upon as one multivariable feedback system. In the thesis, it is shown that the transmission zeros and poles of the Jacobian transfer matrix are closely related to several power-system stability phenomena. The similar modeling concept is extended to model a dc system with multiple VSCs. It is mathematically proven that the dc system is an inherently unstable process, which requires feedback controllers to be stabilized. For VSC-HVDC links using power-synchronization control, the short-circuit ratio (SCR) of the ac system is no longer a limiting factor, but rather the load angles. The righthalf plane (RHP) transmission zero of the ac Jacobian transfer matrix moves closer to the origin with larger load angles, which imposes a fundamental limitation on the achievable bandwidth of the VSC. As an example, it is shown that a VSC-HVDC link using powersynchronization control enables a power transmission of 0.86 p.u. from a system with an SCR of 1.2 to a system with an SCR of 1.0. For low-inertia systemconnections, simulation studies show that power-synchronization control is flexible for various operation modes related to island operation and handles the mode shifts seamlessly. / QC20100607