A direct and rigid algorithm approach based on Equivalent Current Injection (ECI) for large-scale distribution power flow analysis is proposed in this dissertation. This algorithm used two primary matrices: BI and ZV-BC. Two matrices, which are built from the topological characteristics of distribution networks, are used to achieve the power flow solutions. BI matrix is the bus injection to branch current matrix and the ZV-BC matrix describes the relationship between the bus voltage mismatches and the branch current. The building algorithm is easily programmable and can be accomplished by a simple search technique with the two proposed matrices. Four connected cases are considered in this dissertation. The proposed algorithm is robust and accurate. Test results demonstrate the potential and validity of the proposed algorithm in distribution applications. Secondly, this thesis also presents a fault analysis with hybrid compensation for unbalanced distribution systems is proposed. The method employs the unbalanced three-phase model to analyze faults. BI and ZV-BC matrices containing information of the topological characteristics of distribution networks were built along with the proposed hybrid compensation method for analysis. Appropriate boundary conditions can be obtained for a fault to solve various types of single or simultaneous faults. The time-consuming LU decompositions, the Jacobian matrix, or the Y admittance matrix, required in the traditional algorithms, are not needed in the new development. Test results show that the proposed method is efficient, easy to program, also with advantages of high speed, robustness, improved accuracy, and lower memory requirements. This thesis also presents a hybrid programming (HP) technique to solve the reconfiguration problem for loss reduction and service restoration in Smart Grid application.

Flat slab-column connections are common elements in reinforced concrete (RC) structures such as parking garages. In cold weather regions, these structures are exposed to de-icing salts and aggressive environments. Using fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) bars instead of steel in such structures will overcome the corrosion problems associated with steel reinforcement. However, the available literature shows few studies to evaluate the behaviour of FRP-RC interior slab-column connections tested mainly under concentric loads, which seldom occurs in a real building. The main objectives of this research are to deal with this gap by investigating the behaviour of full-scale glass (G) FRP-RC interior slab-column connections subjected to eccentric load and to provide design recommendations for such type of connections. This study consisted of two phases, experimental and analytical. The experimental phase included the construction and testing of ten full-scale interior slab-column connections. The parameters investigated in the experimental phase were flexural reinforcement ratio, concrete compressive strength, type of the reinforcement, moment-to-shear ratio and the spacing between the shear stud reinforcement. Test results revealed that increasing the GFRP reinforcement ratio or the concrete strength increased the connection capacity. Moreover, compared to the control steel-RC specimen, the GFRP-RC connection with similar reinforcement rigidity showed comparable capacity and deflection at failure. Also, increasing the moment-to-shear ratio resulted in a reduction in the vertical load capacity, while using the shear stud reinforcement enhanced the strength up to 23%. In the analytical phase, a 3-D finite element model (FEM) was constructed using specialized software. The constructed FEM was able to predict the experimental results within a reasonable accuracy. The verified FEM was then used to conduct a parametric study to evaluate the effects of perimeter-to-depth ratio, column aspect ratio, slab thickness and a wide range of flexural reinforcement ratio. The numerical results showed that increasing the reinforcement ratio increased the connection capacity. In addition, increasing the perimeter-to-depth ratio and slab thickness reduced the punching shear stresses at failure, while, the effect of the column rectangularity diminished for a ratio greater than three. Moreover, the results showed prominent agreement with the experimental results from literature. / October 2015

Este trabalho propõe uma avaliação quantitativa do efeito do desequilíbrio nos índices de operação do sistema de distribuição de energia elétrica. Os cenários apresentados contemplam os desequilíbrios existentes nos circuitos de média tensão e, também, os desequilíbrios na carga. Os desequilíbrios da rede consideram os efeitos da assimetria dos circuitos que provocam acoplamentos diferenciados entre os condutores. Para tanto, foram empregados dois sistemas, sendo um deles teórico e constituído por apenas um circuito e outro uma rede de distribuição padrão do IEEE. A primeira etapa da avaliação é realizada utilizando um modelo que reproduz um trecho fictício de linha de distribuição aérea trifásica com geometria e condutores típicos de redes de distribuição de energia de média tensão a cinco condutores, sendo um deles o condutor fictício de retorno pela terra. Os desequilíbrios de carga foram gerados aleatoriamente através do método de Monte Carlo, considerando variados índices de desequilíbrio. O desequilíbrio das correntes e as perdas do sistema foram determinados com o objetivo de quantificar o impacto das variações realizadas no trecho de linha. Para o sistema teste IEEE 34 Node Test Feeder, foram avaliados os erros decorrentes da consideração do acoplamento médio no cálculo das perdas de potência ativa e reativa, bem como os desequilíbrios de corrente, com o uso do software OpenDSS. Chega-se à conclusão de que o modelo que considera o acoplamento médio é capaz de determinar com muita fidelidade o desequilíbrio das correntes e das perdas para um circuito típico de distribuição em média tensão, não sendo necessária a representação exata das assimetrias dos condutores. / This Master Thesis proposes a quantitative evaluation of the effect of unbalance in the operational indexes of distribution networks. The scenarios comprehend the unbalance of medium voltage circuits and the unbalance in the load. The unbalances consider the effects of the asymmetry of circuits, that cause different couplings between the conductors. Therefore, two systems were implemented, one theoretical and the other a distribution network following the IEEE standard. The first stage of the evaluation is performed using a model that reproduces a fictitious section of a three-phase aerial distribution power line with five conductors considering earth return path, with geometry and typical conductors used in medium voltage energy distribution. The load unbalances were randomly produced using the Monte Carlo method, considering different unbalance rates. The current unbalance factor and the system losses were determined to quantify the impact of the variations in the line section. For the IEEE 34 Node Test Feeder system, the errors from considering the average coupling in the calculation of active and reactive power losses were evaluated, as well as the current unbalance factor. In conclusion, the model that considers the average coupling can successfully determine with a high degree of accuracy the imbalance of currents and the losses for a typical medium-voltage distribution circuit without the need of an exact representation of the asymmetries of the conductors.

La première partie est consacrée à l'étude d'attaques génériques sur des schémas de Feistel dissymétriques. Ces attaques sont en fait des distingueurs qui calculent sur une partie des clairs-chiffrés le nombre de paires vérifiant un système d'égalités et de non-égalités sur un groupe fini. La recherche de ce type d'attaques a été automatisée et améliorée, notamment en tenant compte de goulots d'étranglement. Plus généralement, des travaux sur ce type de systèmes, que l'on désigne par les termes << théorie du miroir >> sont exposés dans cette partie. En particulier, on décrit le problème de la somme de deux bijections sur un groupe fini.La deuxième partie décrit un des candidats à la compétition SHA-3 : la fonction de hachage CRUNCH. Cette fonction reprend un schéma de Feistel dissymétrique et utilise la somme de deux bijections. De plus, un nouveau mode d'enchaînement a été utilisé.Dans la dernière partie on traite de problème d'authentification à divulgation nulle de connaissance. D'abord avec les polynômes à plusieurs variables, puis avec un problème difficile lié aux groupes symétriques. Une illustration est donnée avec le groupe du Rubik's Cube.Enfin une méthode originale pour tenter de trouver une solution aux équations de Brent est donnée en annexe. / The first part is dedicated to the study of generic attacks in unbalanced Feistel schemes. All these attacks are distinguishers that counts how many number of couples (plain text, cipher text) verify a system of equalities and non-equalities on a finite groupe. With the help of algorithms we have found all the possible attacks, and some attacks with a neck bottle have been rejected automatically. More generally, we describe some works about the "mirror theory" that deals about that kind of systems. We specially describe the problem of the sum of two bijections in a finite group.The second part describes one of the candidate of the SHA-3 competition : the hash function called CRUNCH. This function includes the sum of two bijections, and each bijection is an unbalanced Feistel Scheme. A new chaining process for long messages is given.In the last part we deal with zero-knowledge authentication problems. The first protocol is based on multivariate polynomials. The second is linked to a difficult problem in symmetric groups. We take the example of the Rubik's cube group.Finally, we reveal some works on Brent equations. We build an algorithm that may find one solution.

O preço atual do minério de ferro obrigou as empresas a reduzirem os custos operacionais na fase mina. O carregamento e transporte de materiais com utilização de escavadeiras e caminhões grande porte representam grande parcela do custo total, particularmente com pneus, diesel, manutenção e mão de obra. Metas de movimentação anual são divididas durante os meses e as condições climáticas podem influenciar na produtividade e desempenho dos equipamentos. O banco de dados da movimentação mensal está condicionado com a capacidade de cada caminhão. Cada frota possui o payload característico e este representa a capacidade de transporte, sendo o valor da massa transportada o único parâmetro extraído em cada ciclo, sem considerar o posicionamento do material sobre a caçamba dos equipamentos. Forças de cisalhamento e torção são aplicadas constantemente no chassi e pneus dos caminhões e, quando as cargas estão descentralizadas, potencializam estes eventos. O transporte de cargas descentralizadas agride os pneus diminuindo a vida útil causando danos como deslocamento da banda de rodagem e separação do flanco. Este trabalho teve como objetivo diminuir as ocorrências de cargas descentralizadas e os custos operacionais. Para incrementar o posicionamento do material sobre as caçambas, a telemetria foi a ferramenta utilizada. Análises de pressões de suspensões indicam o posicionamento das cargas e através desses valores foi criado um banco de dados. Este banco de dados pode indicar qual operador de carga precisa de reciclagem, contribuindo para a redução de cargas descentralizadas e custos, uma vez que cargas deste perfil sucateiam precocemente pneus e suspensões. O estudo foi realizado em Itabira, em uma mina de minério de ferro a céu aberto. A metodologia comprovou ser capaz diminuir as ocorrências de cargas descentralizadas assim como aumentar a vida útil de pneus. Uma possível economia foi apresentada para ano de 2014, período em que a média das horas trabalhadas de pneus ficou abaixo da meta aumentando os custos fase mina. / The actual iron ore price forces the companies to reduce costs in all production steps of the mining operation. Loading and hauling materials using shovel-truck system represents the highest mining costs, particularly tires, diesel, maintenance and workforce. Annual goals of materials movement are split by months were weather conditions can affect productivity and performance of the fleet. The data file of the monthly material movement is based on the scale of each truck. Every fleet has a payload and it represents the capacity of hauling, being the value of loading a unique input extracted in each duty cycle, without taking into account the position of the material over the truck’s dump. Shear forces and torsion are applied all time at the frames trucks and, when the truckloads are unbalanced, increases the forces over the frame and tires. Transport unbalanced truckloads into long distances attack the tires and decrease its end of life, causing damages like displacement of tread and flank separation. The objective of this study is to propose a methodology to decrease unbalanced truck loads reducing the mining costs. In this mission of incorporating a material position on the truck´s dump, the telemetry was taking into consideration. The analysis of the suspension pressures data values shows the truckloads positions and with this data was created a databank. This databank indicates that the operators need truck load training to reduce unbalanced loads and truck costs in the mining operation, since unbalanced loads leads to early tires and suspensions scrap. The case study was carried out at Itabira Iron Ore Mine Complex, Brazil. This methodology was able to reduce the number of unbalanced truck loads as well as the tires life was increased. An economic saving estimate is presented based on 2014 scrapped tires data bank, in this year the tires life cycle was underneath, burdening operational costs.

Este trabalho propõe uma avaliação quantitativa do efeito do desequilíbrio nos índices de operação do sistema de distribuição de energia elétrica. Os cenários apresentados contemplam os desequilíbrios existentes nos circuitos de média tensão e, também, os desequilíbrios na carga. Os desequilíbrios da rede consideram os efeitos da assimetria dos circuitos que provocam acoplamentos diferenciados entre os condutores. Para tanto, foram empregados dois sistemas, sendo um deles teórico e constituído por apenas um circuito e outro uma rede de distribuição padrão do IEEE. A primeira etapa da avaliação é realizada utilizando um modelo que reproduz um trecho fictício de linha de distribuição aérea trifásica com geometria e condutores típicos de redes de distribuição de energia de média tensão a cinco condutores, sendo um deles o condutor fictício de retorno pela terra. Os desequilíbrios de carga foram gerados aleatoriamente através do método de Monte Carlo, considerando variados índices de desequilíbrio. O desequilíbrio das correntes e as perdas do sistema foram determinados com o objetivo de quantificar o impacto das variações realizadas no trecho de linha. Para o sistema teste IEEE 34 Node Test Feeder, foram avaliados os erros decorrentes da consideração do acoplamento médio no cálculo das perdas de potência ativa e reativa, bem como os desequilíbrios de corrente, com o uso do software OpenDSS. Chega-se à conclusão de que o modelo que considera o acoplamento médio é capaz de determinar com muita fidelidade o desequilíbrio das correntes e das perdas para um circuito típico de distribuição em média tensão, não sendo necessária a representação exata das assimetrias dos condutores. / This Master Thesis proposes a quantitative evaluation of the effect of unbalance in the operational indexes of distribution networks. The scenarios comprehend the unbalance of medium voltage circuits and the unbalance in the load. The unbalances consider the effects of the asymmetry of circuits, that cause different couplings between the conductors. Therefore, two systems were implemented, one theoretical and the other a distribution network following the IEEE standard. The first stage of the evaluation is performed using a model that reproduces a fictitious section of a three-phase aerial distribution power line with five conductors considering earth return path, with geometry and typical conductors used in medium voltage energy distribution. The load unbalances were randomly produced using the Monte Carlo method, considering different unbalance rates. The current unbalance factor and the system losses were determined to quantify the impact of the variations in the line section. For the IEEE 34 Node Test Feeder system, the errors from considering the average coupling in the calculation of active and reactive power losses were evaluated, as well as the current unbalance factor. In conclusion, the model that considers the average coupling can successfully determine with a high degree of accuracy the imbalance of currents and the losses for a typical medium-voltage distribution circuit without the need of an exact representation of the asymmetries of the conductors.

O preço atual do minério de ferro obrigou as empresas a reduzirem os custos operacionais na fase mina. O carregamento e transporte de materiais com utilização de escavadeiras e caminhões grande porte representam grande parcela do custo total, particularmente com pneus, diesel, manutenção e mão de obra. Metas de movimentação anual são divididas durante os meses e as condições climáticas podem influenciar na produtividade e desempenho dos equipamentos. O banco de dados da movimentação mensal está condicionado com a capacidade de cada caminhão. Cada frota possui o payload característico e este representa a capacidade de transporte, sendo o valor da massa transportada o único parâmetro extraído em cada ciclo, sem considerar o posicionamento do material sobre a caçamba dos equipamentos. Forças de cisalhamento e torção são aplicadas constantemente no chassi e pneus dos caminhões e, quando as cargas estão descentralizadas, potencializam estes eventos. O transporte de cargas descentralizadas agride os pneus diminuindo a vida útil causando danos como deslocamento da banda de rodagem e separação do flanco. Este trabalho teve como objetivo diminuir as ocorrências de cargas descentralizadas e os custos operacionais. Para incrementar o posicionamento do material sobre as caçambas, a telemetria foi a ferramenta utilizada. Análises de pressões de suspensões indicam o posicionamento das cargas e através desses valores foi criado um banco de dados. Este banco de dados pode indicar qual operador de carga precisa de reciclagem, contribuindo para a redução de cargas descentralizadas e custos, uma vez que cargas deste perfil sucateiam precocemente pneus e suspensões. O estudo foi realizado em Itabira, em uma mina de minério de ferro a céu aberto. A metodologia comprovou ser capaz diminuir as ocorrências de cargas descentralizadas assim como aumentar a vida útil de pneus. Uma possível economia foi apresentada para ano de 2014, período em que a média das horas trabalhadas de pneus ficou abaixo da meta aumentando os custos fase mina. / The actual iron ore price forces the companies to reduce costs in all production steps of the mining operation. Loading and hauling materials using shovel-truck system represents the highest mining costs, particularly tires, diesel, maintenance and workforce. Annual goals of materials movement are split by months were weather conditions can affect productivity and performance of the fleet. The data file of the monthly material movement is based on the scale of each truck. Every fleet has a payload and it represents the capacity of hauling, being the value of loading a unique input extracted in each duty cycle, without taking into account the position of the material over the truck’s dump. Shear forces and torsion are applied all time at the frames trucks and, when the truckloads are unbalanced, increases the forces over the frame and tires. Transport unbalanced truckloads into long distances attack the tires and decrease its end of life, causing damages like displacement of tread and flank separation. The objective of this study is to propose a methodology to decrease unbalanced truck loads reducing the mining costs. In this mission of incorporating a material position on the truck´s dump, the telemetry was taking into consideration. The analysis of the suspension pressures data values shows the truckloads positions and with this data was created a databank. This databank indicates that the operators need truck load training to reduce unbalanced loads and truck costs in the mining operation, since unbalanced loads leads to early tires and suspensions scrap. The case study was carried out at Itabira Iron Ore Mine Complex, Brazil. This methodology was able to reduce the number of unbalanced truck loads as well as the tires life was increased. An economic saving estimate is presented based on 2014 scrapped tires data bank, in this year the tires life cycle was underneath, burdening operational costs.

This essay covers a designed experiment on paperboard where the quality under study is tear strength alongside and across. The objective is to examine what consequences the loss of balance in a designed experiment has on the explanatory power of the proposed empirical model. As did happen, the trial plan didn’t go as planned when the first run caused a disruption of the paperboard in the machine. Decision from the company was to raise the low level of one of the design factors to prevent this from happening again. The consequence of this is an alteration of the design during ongoing experimentation. This in turn affects what analysis approaches are appropriate for the problem. Three different approaches for analyzing the data are presented, each with different propositions on how to deal with the complication that occurred. The answer to the research question is that the ability of the empirical model to discover significant effects is moderately weakened by the loss of one run (out of eight total). The price payed for retrieving less information from the experiment is that the empirical model, for tear strength across, doesn’t deem the effects significant at the same level as for the candidate model with eight runs. Instead of concluding that the main effect of  and the interaction effect  is significant at the 2%- and 4%-level, respectively, we must now settle with deeming them significant at the 6%- and 7%-level.

Billions of dollars of loss are caused every year by fraudulent credit card transactions. The design of efficient fraud detection algorithms is key for reducing these losses, and more and more algorithms rely on advanced machine learning techniques to assist fraud investigators. The design of fraud detection algorithms is however particularly challenging due to the non-stationary distribution of the data, the highly unbalanced classes distributions and the availability of few transactions labeled by fraud investigators. At the same time public data are scarcely available for confidentiality issues, leaving unanswered many questions about what is the best strategy. In this thesis we aim to provide some answers by focusing on crucial issues such as: i) why and how undersampling is useful in the presence of class imbalance (i.e. frauds are a small percentage of the transactions), ii) how to deal with unbalanced and evolving data streams (non-stationarity due to fraud evolution and change of spending behavior), iii) how to assess performances in a way which is relevant for detection and iv) how to use feedbacks provided by investigators on the fraud alerts generated. Finally, we design and assess a prototype of a Fraud Detection System able to meet real-world working conditions and that is able to integrate investigators’ feedback to generate accurate alerts. / Doctorat en Sciences / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

This project is a continuous research of a topic well-known in the literature, namely, the performance study of unbalanced unpaced production system. In the literature, there were many studies that investigated the statistical outputs of an unbalanced production line using simulation. This project focuses on researching the outputs like average buffer level and idle time that are rarely studied in previous research by using optimization tools from discrete event simulation software FACTS.The models used in the article (Shaaban &amp; McNamara, 2009) have been used as a guideline during the development of the simulation models for this project. Two simulation models were created, each using different discrete event simulation software, namely FACTS analyzer and Plant simulation. Those simulation models fulfills its role in verification &amp; validation stage, with their statistical outputs compared to each other and with Shaaban and McNamara’s results. After verification &amp; validation comes optimization of those simulation models, by using optimization tools from FACTS.The research area expanded during the optimization phase. Originally Shaaban et.al analyzed unbalanced production line with one fixed value of coefficient of variation. In order to expand the view on the properties of an unbalanced production line, three more coefficient variation were added with total of four in this project. As a result, 12 optimization results were created at the end of this project. Each optimization has 30 000 iterations to ensure its convergence.The first step of analysis is done by locating all Pareto-optimal solutions with optimization tools in FACTS. The raw data of all solutions are later transferred and converted into EXCEL files. Using scatter graph and putting all outputs against each other in EXCEL, it creates visual graph that can be used to analyze and to investigate interesting behavior in an unbalanced production line.The analysis on the optimization results showed several interesting behaviors from production line with different settings. One being that if a production line possess worse coefficient of variation than its competition. By raising the inter-stage buffer level of the production line with inferior coefficient of variation, it can achieve the same level, if not greater outputs than its competitor who possess better coefficient of variation. The other interesting behavior are optimization results with highest outputs in regard of either idle time or average buffer level, with deep analyzation using optimization tools from FACTS. Certain operation time pattern and inter-stage buffer pattern could be observed from those results.