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The Subject of this work is the optimization of the control stratgy for a Plug-In Range Extender in order to decrease CO2 emissions with respect to the regulations. Therefore, the vehicle is equipped with a gasoline combustion engine, a high voltage battery and two electric motors. One electric motor propells the front axle and the other one is connected to the combustion engine to generate electric power. The control is restricted by customer requirements due to the concept of the vehicle. A Model-in-the-Loop is created to simulate the control strategy with support of a battery model. Therefore, the control strategy is optimized in a Matlab/Simulink environment. The simulation results are compared to tests on the dynamometer rig. The optimization highly depends on the specific goal function, which can be a global optimization or a local minimum to balance the State of Charge. Furthermore, customer related drive cycles are taken into account to analyze the control strategy. / Master of Science

This study traces the evolution of the applied ecological discipline of range management in terms of the goals, methods, concepts, and criteria developed by range management for their science between 1897 and 1920. It argues, in contrast to the traditional view uÌ uat describes the knowledge-development process in applied science as just science applied to social problems, that wider social goals, values, concepts, and criteria play a definite role in shaping the applied science knowledge-development process. The first generation of range management allowed the primary users of the knowledge in the wider society, the stockmen in the West and Southwest, to have a direct influence on the knowledge-development process. The next generation of scientists eliminated the stockmen's direct influence on the knowledge-development process, yet the stockmen still influenced that process indirectly in various ways. This study concludes that an orientation towards the wider society that actually applies the knowledge is characteristic of range management and may be illustrative of illustrative of many applied sciences. Due to that orientation towards the wider society and to the wider society's influence on the scientist's choice of methods,concepts, and criteria, another characteristic of range management and possibly of other applied sciences is a tension in the knowledge development process between that orientation and the individual goals of scientists in their research. / Master of Science

This thesis describes the development of a range sensing system. The goal was to create a range sensor that is robust and flexible so that a number of applications within the forest products manufacturing environment can be addressed. Features of the system include: the capability of producing spatially registered image pairs of range and intensity, the ability to generate both range and intensity very quickly, the applicability to a wide variety of industrial applications, the ability to handle large depth-of-field range sensing problems, the ability to do real-time data processing, and the capability to do extensive system diagnostics under complete software control. A triangulation based plane-of-light optical method is employed to extract range information. The research shows that this method suits range sensing applications where conveyor belts are involved. An in-depth study of the triangulation method is included. In the study it shows that this method also supports large depth-of-field range sensing. A dedicated signal processing hardware, built on the Micro Channel interface, performs pipelined image processing and generates range and intensity images in a spatially registered form. The hardware is designed to support several modes of operation, for the purpose of facilitating optical adjustments and calibrations. The hardware self-diagnostic facility is also included in the design. A memory management scheme is provided that facilitates real-time data processing of the range and intensity images. The experiments show that this scheme provides a real-time environment for software processing. This thesis also contains a theory exploring the limitations of the measurement accuracy of the range detection algorithm employed in the prototype system. The maximum data generation rate of the prototype system is 380 range/intensity lines per second at 128 range/intensity pixels per line. Several proposals toward future work are included that aim at improving the speed as well as the measurement accuracy of the prototype system. / Master of Science

The streams of the southeastern United States are both hotspots for biodiversity and centers of imperilment. The specific spatiotemporal scales at which stressors impact biota are often unknown, partly due to inadequate knowledge about many species' life-histories. I conducted two complementary studies to investigate the habitat associations of an imperiled highland stream fish, the Candy Darter Etheostoma osburni. In Chapter 2, I asked (1) does micro-habitat suitability correlate with the "robustness" (i.e., viability) of four distinct populations? In Chapter 3, I expanded the extent of investigation, and asked (2) which environmental factors, expressed at what spatial scales, best explain in-stream conditions, and (3) do stream segments where Candy Darters persist have cooler temperatures and less fine-sediment than segments where the species is extirpated or historically went undetected? Chapter 2 revealed Candy Darters demonstrate ontogenetic habitat shifts, with age-0 individuals selecting slower water velocities than adults. Despite, clear habitat selection for multiple habitat variables, suitability attributed to fine-sediment avoidance most strongly correlated with population robustness across streams. Chapter 3 indicated Candy Darters are extirpated from most areas in Virginia and southern West Virginia. Land use and natural catchment features, including geology, elevation, and stream geomorphology, predominantly explained instream conditions. Populations persist in segments with cool stream temperatures and low embeddedness year-round. To recover Candy Darters, managers will need to remedy pervasive land-use threats and restore stream habitat, while operating within the impending context of warming air and water temperatures and the existential threat of the introduced Variegate Darter E. variatum. / M. S.

Due to the limitations of GPS in areas where line of sight to the sky is obstructed the development of a GPS-free algorithm for relative formation control is an asset to collaborative vehicles. This paper presents a novel approach based on the Received Signal Strength Indication (RSSI) measurement between broadcast and receive nodes to calculate distance and using the data transfer capability to allow each vehicle to develop a table of relative positions. These relative positions are used to create a potential field that results in an absolute minimum at the vehicles desired position. All vehicles are numbered sequentially. The numbering defines the order in which they will broadcast their data, as well as their position along the perimeter. This thesis looks at two control methods for achieving a formation. The first is the circular motion method that puts perimeter nodes in an orbit around around the perimeter center. The second is a gradient descent method that calculates the gradient of the potential field. Both methods achieve a formation when all perimeter nodes are at their absolute minimums in the potential field. Tests were conducted to analyze RSSI measurements using the 802.15.4 protocol, and a mathematical simulation was conducted for each control algorithm. / Master of Science

A detailed study has been made of the distribution of lead on a public shotgun range in the George Washington-Jefferson National Forests in southwestern Virginia. Sampling of more than 100 sites has yielded data on the distribution pattern of the lead shot. Since opening in 1993 through 2000, 11.1 metric tons of lead has accumulated over an area 220 by 300 m (66,000 m2) with an average rate of accumulation of 1.4 metric tons per year. More than 85 % of the total dispersed lead lies scattered in the forest that surrounds the approximately 60 by 60 m cleared shooting surface. Lead is irregularly distributed because of the use of stationary targets and the general trajectory of launched clay targets. Maximum concentrations occur at distances of about 28 m about 80 m, and at about 180 m reach a maximum value of more than 5000 g per m2. Significant amounts of fine particulate lead, generated during shooting and as a result of impact occur close to the shooting box but absent at distances beyond 50 m. / Master of Science