Increasing power dissipation and chip densities in the rapidly evolving electronics cooling industry are causing an ever increasing need for the tools and methods necessary for electronic systems design and optimisation. Modern electronic systems have the capacity to produce significant amounts of heat which, if not removed efficiently, could lead to component failure. The most common technique of heat removal is by making use of a heat spreader, or so¬-called heat sink. These devices are excellent heat conductors with a large surface area to volume ratio, and cooled through either natural or forced convection. Despite the advantages of these devices, there are serious consequences involved in the application of heat sinks. The required size of a heat sink may limit the miniaturisation of a product, while inadequate design, due to a lack of understanding of the flow physics, may lead to premature component failure. It is therefore crucial that an optimal heat sink design is achieved for every particular application. In the past, both heat sink design and optimisation have occurred mostly through experimental characterisation of heat sinks, which was not always particularly successful or accurate. Recent rapid developments in computer technology have led to the availability of various computational fluid dynamics or CFD software packages, with the capability of solving the discretized form of the conservation equations for• mass, momentum, and energy to provide a solution of the flow and heat fields in the domain of interest. This method of using the fundamental flow physics is currently the most complete way to determine the solution to the heat sink design and optimisation problem. It does unfortunately have the drawback of being computationally expensive and excessively time consuming, with commercial software prices being financially restrictive to the average designer. The electronics cooling community has subsequently identified the need for so-called "compact models" to assist in the design of electronic enclosures. Compact models use available empirical relations to solve the flow field around a typical heat sink. Current models require significantly less computational power and time compared to CFD analysis, but have the drawback of reduced accuracy over a wide range of heat sink geometries and Reynolds numbers. This is one of the reasons that compact modelling of heat sinks remain an international research topic today. This study has focused on the CFD modelling of a variety of forced flow longitudinal fin heat sinks with tip clearance. Tip clearance allows the flow to bypass the heat sink and downgrade its thermal performance. The flow bypass phenomenon, general flow behaviour, and pressure loss characteristics were investigated in detail. Thermal modelling of the heat sinks was left for future study. The flow information provided by the CFD analysis was combined with data available from literature to develop an improved compact flow model for use in a variety of practical longitudinal fin heat sinks. The new compact model leads to a 4.6 % improvement in accuracy compared to another leading compact model in the industry, and also provides more localised flow information than was previously available from compact modelling. <p The study therefore contributed significantly towards the general understanding and prediction of forced flow behaviour in longitudinal fin heat sinks with tip bypass, using both CFD analysis and the compact modelling approach. The new improved compact model may now be extended and incorporated together with the relevant flow details from the CFD analysis in a total package, solving for the flow and heat fields of forced flow longitudinal fin heat sinks. The study therefore assists in the global effort of making the confident and accurate use of compact modelling in modem electronic systems design and optimisation a practical reality. / Dissertation (M Eng (Mechanical Engineering))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering / unrestricted

The master's thesis focuses on creating a numerical model of a polymeric heat sink with emphasis on its significant thermal conductivity anisotropy. This anisotropy is caused by highly thermally conductive graphite filler. Its final orientation is given by the melt flow inside the mould cavity during injection molding. The numerical model is created on the basis of a heat sink prototype subjected to experimental measurements, whose physical conditions are reliably replicated by the model. The determination of anisotropy is divided into two parts. The qualitative part is based on the fracture analysis of the heat sink prototype and determines the principal directions of the conductivity tensor in individual sections of the geometry. The computation of principal conductivities falls into the quantitative part, in which this task is formulated as an inverse heat conduction problem. The input data for the proposed task are experimentally obtained temperatures at different places of the geometry. The values of principal conductivities are optimized to minimize the difference between the measured and simulated temperatures.

Atmospheric CO₂ is projected to increase for the foreseeable future. The amount of CO₂ that remains in the atmosphere is regulated, in large part, by the ocean. As the long-term response to the changing atmospheric pCO₂ unfolds, the ocean sink will continue to be modified on seasonal to decadal timescales by climate variability and change. The magnitude of this variability is an active area of research. Accurately quantifying this variability is a challenge given the paucity of direct in-situ observations. In order calculate the global air-sea CO₂ sink, ocean pCO₂ needs to be known, or at least accurately estimated, at all locations at regular intervals. Two approaches to estimate air-sea CO₂ flux are, 1) from simulations of the Earth system and 2) data gap-filling mapping techniques. The goals of this thesis are to 1) rigorously quantify errors in a leading pCO₂ and ocean CO₂ sink mapping technique and 2) to evaluate the efficacy of adding Earth system model based estimates of ocean pCO₂ as a first guess into machine learning based mapping techniques. To meet the first goal, we use a suite of Large Ensemble model members as a testbed to evaluate a leading pCO₂ gap-filling approach (SOM-FFN). We find that the SOM-FFN performs well when sufficient data is available, but overestimates Southern Ocean decadal variability by about 39%. To meet our second goal, we incorporate Earth system model pCO₂ output into machine learning techniques either by adding the output as an additional feature or by post-processing the model output by learning the misfit (misfit=observation-model) and correcting for it. We find that blending model output and observations using machine learning marginally improves prediction accuracy. In addition, we discuss the potential of the learned misfits as a new model diagnostic tool, which can be used to visualize spatiotemporal pCO₂ estimates. Taken together, this study has significant implications in the development of carbon monitoring systems, in turn aiding policy making and improving our understanding of the evolution of the air-sea CO₂ sink.

We investigate power graphs of quasigroups. The power graph of a quasigroup takes the elements of the quasigroup as its vertices, and there is an edge from one element to a second distinct element when the second is a left power of the first. We first compute the power graphs of small quasigroups (up to four elements). Next we describe quasigroups whose power graphs are directed paths, directed cycles, in-stars, out-stars, and empty. We do so by specifying partial Cayley tables, which cannot always be completed in small examples. We then consider sinks in the power graph of a quasigroup, as subquasigroups give rise to sinks. We show that certain structures cannot occur as sinks in the power graph of a quasigroup. More generally, we show that certain highly connected substructures must have edges leading out of the substructure. We briefly comment on power graphs of Bol loops.

Symbiotic nitrogen fixation is the greatest potential input of nitrogen into terrestrial ecosystems. As a result, nitrogen fixation is critical to the functioning of the land carbon sink and its capacity to offset anthropogenic CO2 emissions and climate change. However, our understanding of the controls over nitrogen fixation rates and nitrogen fixing tree abundance is limited, resulting in paradoxes such as the relative absence of nitrogen fixing trees at high latitudes (where nitrogen is most limiting and it seems that nitrogen fixation should be most beneficial) and tropical forest nitrogen saturation, a mechanistically poor representation of nitrogen fixation in terrestrial biosphere models, and incomplete theory for variation in the successional trajectories of nitrogen fixing trees. This dissertation consists of four chapters that examine the drivers of symbiotic nitrogen fixation rates and the abundance of nitrogen fixing trees as they pertain to latitude, climate, and nitrogen fixation strategies. In chapter 1, I develop a method to measure coupled nitrogen fixation and plant carbon exchange in real-time, non-destructively, continuously, and at the whole plant scale. This permits a study of the controls of nitrogen fixation rates over timescales that range from seconds to months. In chapter 2 and 3, I apply the method developed in chapter 1 to determine the temperature response of nitrogen fixation rates and the timescales over which nitrogen fixation is regulated. For chapter 2 and 3, I grew nitrogen fixing tree species of tropical and temperate origin and representing the two types of nitrogen fixing symbioses (rhizobial and actinorhizal) across a 10 °C gradient of growing temperatures. In chapter 2, I show that nitrogen fixation depends on growing temperature and geographic origin and peaks at 30-38 °C, which is 5-13 °C higher than previous estimates based on other nitrogen fixing symbioses and 3-7 °C higher than net photosynthesis. These findings have direct implications for how nitrogen fixation is represented in terrestrial biosphere models and are in direct contrast to terrestrial biosphere model predictions of a decline in tropical nitrogen fixation with warming associated with climate change. In chapter 3, I show that nitrogen fixation takes 1-3 weeks to be down-regulated by 50% following an alleviation of nitrogen limitation, 1-5 weeks to be up-regulated by 50% following the initiation of nitrogen fixation when nitrogen becomes limiting, and up to 4 months for nitrogen fixation to start following a drastic reduction in soil nitrogen supply. Theory says that time-lags in regulating nitrogen fixation start becoming important for plant competition and losses of available nitrogen from ecosystems if they are between 1 day and 1 week. Thus, time-lags on the order of multiple weeks are a significant cost of a facultative nitrogen fixation strategy and resolve the tropical nitrogen forest nitrogen paradox characterized by high losses of available nitrogen at the ecosystem scale in spite of down-regulation of nitrogen fixation at the individual scale. In chapter 4, I show that nitrogen fixing tree abundance is bimodal in all regions of the contiguous United States except the Northeast and that founder effects can explain this pattern and the persistence of nitrogen fixing trees in old forests. Using theory, I show that founder effects are most probable at intermediate soil nitrogen supply, when nitrogen fixers have a high relative capacity to uptake available nitrogen, and when nitrogen fixing trees are facultative in their nitrogen fixation strategy. These chapters provide a new tool for studying nitrogen fixation, critical data for improving terrestrial biosphere models and our understanding of how nitrogen fixation and nitrogen cycling varies across latitude and how it will change with climate change, and new theory for the successional trajectories of nitrogen fixers.

abstract: In nature, it is commonly observed that animals and birds perform movement-based thermoregulation activities to regulate their body temperatures. For example, flapping of elephant ears or plumage fluffing in birds. Taking inspiration from nature and to explore the possibilities of such heat transfer enhancements, augmentation of heat transfer rates induced by the vibration of solid and well as novel flexible pinned heatsinks were studied in this research project. Enhancement of natural convection has always been very important in improving the performance of the cooling mechanisms. In this research, flexible heatsinks were developed and they were characterized based on natural convection cooling with moderately vibrating conditions. The vibration of heated surfaces such as motor surfaces, condenser surfaces, robotic arms and exoskeletons led to the motivation of the development of heat sinks having flexible fins with an improved heat transfer capacity. The performance of an inflexible, solid copper pin fin heat sink was considered as the baseline, current industry standard for the thermal performance. It is expected to obtain maximum convective heat transfer at the resonance frequency of the flexible pin fins. Current experimental results with fixed input frequency and varying amplitudes indicate that the vibration provides a moderate improvement in convective heat transfer, however, the flexibility of fins had negligible effects. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Mechanical Engineering 2019

The work presented here represents a number of independent studies that investigated various components of the CH4 budget, namely the sources and sinks. We used a chemical-tracer model and created unique long-term time series of atmospheric CH4, carbon monoxide (CO), molecular hydrogen (H2), and methylchloroform (CH3CCl3) measurements at marine background air to derive histories of atmospheric hydroxyl radical (OH) - the main chemical oxidant of CH4, biomass burning - an important source of CH4 in the tropics, and emissions of CH4 from rice paddies - one of the largest anthropogenic sources of CH4, over decadal scales. Globally gridded inventories of CH4 emissions from rice paddies and terrestrial vegetation were created by synthesizing greenhouse and field CH4 fluxes, satellite-derived biophysical data, and terrestrial geospatial information.

IPCC förespråkar i en rapport från 2018 att kolsänkor måste få en tydligare plats i samhället om vi ska lyckas nå klimatmålen. Grönstruktur är en typ av objekt som passivt tar upp koldioxid genom fotosyntes. Genom att nyttja detta i ett planeringsskede skapas ett verktyg som går att använda för att minska halten koldioxid i atmosfären. Däremot, så värderas ej de urbana grönytor som finns idag med avseende på detta, dock finns det många andra viktiga funktioner de uppfyller inom ramen för ekologisk hållbarhet. Detta examensarbete söker att besvara frågan hur det går att implementera kolsänkor vid värdering av grönytor samtidigt som den existerande värderingen för ekologisk hållbarhet bibehålls. Arbetet är utformat med grund ifrån litteraturstudie. Där ingår även några utvalda modeller som värderar grönytor eller behandlar koldioxid på något sätt. Dessa är Grönytefaktor, Citylab, Miljökonsekvensbeskrivning, BREEAM-SE, Miljöbyggnad, och Trafikverkets Klimatkalkyl. Som ett komplement har tre intervjuer utförts med relevanta praktiker för att ge värdefulla infallsvinklar och diskussionsunderlag. Därtill har även en workshop utförts av en tvärvetenskaplig samling aktörer, med samma huvudsakliga syfte som intervjuerna. Alla modeller har sina styrkor och brister. Med hänsyn till syftet för arbetet är vissa mer relevanta än andra. Exempelvis fungerar Grönytefaktor som ett verktyg för att kvantifiera ekologisk hållbarhet, men misslyckas med att motverka eventuella underliggande problem. Citylab är en av de mer kompletta guiderna, och Miljökonsekvensbeskrivning har visserligen lagstadgat stöd i viss mån, men saknar tydliga riktlinjer för implementeringen. Klimatkalkylen används främst för transportinfrastruktur, men den livscykelmetodik som modellen är baserad på kan ge bra indikationer på hur kolsänkekvalitéer kan beräknas. Livscykelmetodiken får även stöd från BREEAM-SE och Miljöbyggnad, samt att driftfasen för en grönyta måste beaktas eftersom det är där värdet för en kolsänka skapas. Det finns tyvärr inga tydliga svar på vilken väg som är bäst att gå. Det krävs mer forskning på området med en tydligare målbild med vad som ska uppnås, vem som ska använda modellen, samt vidare forskning om till exempel hur stor kolsänkekapacitet olika typer av grönstruktur har. Det finns dock visst stöd för att Citylab i kombination med Grönytefaktor kan vara en lämplig väg att gå, men först och främst krävs det mer forskning kring grönytors potential som kolsänka och vilken kapacitet de kan bidra med. / IPCC advocates in a report from 2018 that carbon sinks must be given a clearer role in society if we are to reach the climate change goals. Green structure is a type of object that passively can absorb carbon dioxide through photosynthesis. By using this in a planning stage, a tool is created that can be used as a way to bring down the levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The urban green areas that exists today are not being valuated with regards to this, although there are many other important functions they fulfill within the framework of ecological sustainability. The master thesis aims to answer the question how carbon sinks can be implemented in the valuation process of green areas simultaneously with ecological sustainability. The foundation of the work is made in the form of a literature study. Included in this are a few selected models that valuates green areas or carbon dioxide in some way. These are Grönytefaktor, Citylab, Miljökonsekvensbeskrivning, BREEAM-SE, Miljöbyggnad, och Trafikverkets Klimatkalkyl. As a complementary method, three interviews have been conducted with relevant practicians to provide valuable approach angles and discussion material. In addition to this, a workshop has been conducted with a gathering of interdisciplinary actors, with the same purpose as the interviews. All models have their own strengths and weaknesses. With regards to the aim of the work, some are more relevant than others. For instance, Grönytefaktor works as a good tool to quantify ecological sustainability but fail to counteract any underlying problems. Citylab is one of the more complete guides, and Miljökonsekvensbeskrivning has statutory support, but fails to include clear guidelines for implementation. Klimatkalkylen is primarily used for transport infrastructure, but its life-cycle methodology that it is based upon could give good indications for how carbon sink qualities can be calculated. The life-cycle methodology is also given support from BREEAM-SE and Miljöbyggnad, as well as the operating phase of a green area must be included since that is when the value of a carbon sink is created. Unfortunately, there are no clear answers which way is the best to go. More research is needed within the field where a clearer purpose of what is to be achieved, whom is supposed to use it, as well as other types of research such as how great the carbon sink capacity different types of green structure inhibits. However, there are certain arguments for using Citylab in combination with Grönytefaktor, but first and foremost there is a need for more research about green areas potential as a carbon sink and with what capacity they can contribute.

This dissertation presents contributions to the fields of mobility modeling, wireless sensor networks (WSNs) with mobile sinks, and opportunistic communication in theme parks. The two main directions of our contributions are human mobility models and strategies for the mobile sink positioning and communication in wireless networks. The first direction of the dissertation is related to human mobility modeling. Modeling the movement of human subjects is important to improve the performance of wireless networks with human participants and the validation of such networks through simulations. The movements in areas such as theme parks follow specific patterns that are not taken into consideration by the general purpose mobility models. We develop two types of mobility models of theme park visitors. The first model represents the typical movement of visitors as they are visiting various attractions and landmarks of the park. The second model represents the movement of the visitors as they aim to evacuate the park after a natural or man-made disaster. The second direction focuses on the movement patterns of mobile sinks and their communication in responding to various events and incidents within the theme park. When an event occurs, the system needs to determine which mobile sink will respond to the event and its trajectory. The overall objective is to optimize the event coverage by minimizing the time needed for the chosen mobile sink to reach the incident area. We extend this work by considering the positioning problem of mobile sinks and preservation of the connected topology. We propose a new variant of p-center problem for optimal placement and communication of the mobile sinks. We provide a solution to this problem through collaborative event coverage of the WSNs with mobile sinks. Finally, we develop a network model with opportunistic communication for tracking the evacuation of theme park visitors during disasters. This model involves people with smartphones that store and carry messages. The mobile sinks are responsible for communicating with the smartphones and reaching out to the regions of the emergent events.

Heat transfer and flow characteristics of phase change material slurry flow in microchannels with constant heat flux at the base were investigated. The phase change process was included in the energy equation using the effective specific heat method. A parametric study was conducted numerically by varying the base fluid type, particle concentration, particle size, channel dimensions, inlet temperature, base heat flux and melting range of PCM. The particle distribution inside the microchannels was simulated using the diffusive flux model and its effect on the overall thermal performance of microchannels was investigated. Experimental investigation was conducted in microchannels of 101 [micro]m width and 533 [micro]m height with water as base fluid and n-Octadecane as PCM to validate the key conclusions of the numerical model. Since the flow is not fully developed in case of microchannels (specifically manifold microchannels, which are the key focus of the present study), thermal performance is not as obtained in conventional channels where the length of the channel is large (compared to length of microchannels). It was found that the thermal conductivity of the base fluid plays an important role in determining the thermal performance of slurry. The effect of particle distribution can be neglected in the numerical model under some cases. The performance of slurry depends on the heat flux, purity of PCM, inlet temperature of the fluid, and base fluid thermal conductivity. Hence, there is an application dependent optimum condition of these parameters that is required to obtain the maximum thermal performance of PCM slurry flows in microchannels.