In the study, the micro fuel cells were designed and fabricated in-house through a deep UV lithography technique, and a metal-organic chemical vapor deposition technique was used as microstructure material for fuel cell flow field plates. The conductive and insulating flow field plates include interdigitated, serpentine, parallel, and mesh. The experiments with several operation condition include of different cell operating temperatures, different reactant flow rates, and different operating times. This study of various operating parameters shows the physical phenomenon in the current density distribution in fuel cell reaction area and water accumulation in flow channel, and results are represented by VI curve and PI curve. The relationship of physics phenomenon between fuel cell¡¦s power production and water production rates from the current density distribution and water accumulation, can be found through visualization.

A sequence of autonomous underwater glider deployments were used to characterize the spatial-temporal variability of the region over an eight month period from late September to May. Strongly stratified system was found in early fall with significant gradients in both temperature (T) and salinity (S), during winter T < 23°C and minimum S of 40.3 psu was observed and resulting in weakened stratification that enables deep convective mixing and upwelling of deep water by cyclonic circulations in the region leading to significant biomass increase. Throughout the entire observational period the slope of the 28 and 28.5 kg/m3 isopycnals remained sloping downward from offshore toward the coast reflected a persistent northward geostrophic flow. The depth of the 180 μmol/kg isopleth of oxygen, indicative of the top of the nutricline, paralleled the depth of the 28 kg/m3, but remained slightly deeper than the isopycnal. The deep winter mixing did not penetrate the nutricline where the mixed layer was deeper near the coast. However, because of the cyclonic signature the 28 kg/m3 rose to the surface offshore, injecting nutrients into the surface layer and promoting increased biomass in the central Red Sea. With the presence of cyclonic eddies, there was evidence of subduction associated with the cross-eddy circulation. This subducted flow was toward the coast within the domain of the glider observations. During this period, increases in the particulate backscatter were associated with increased chlorophyll indicating that the suspended particles were primarily phytoplankton particles. Within the mean northward flow there is a cross-basin flow wherein water is upwelled near the center of the Red Sea, there is a eastward component to the northward flow, and subsequent downwelling near the coasts. Within the surface flow subductive processes lead not only to a horizontal flow, but also a downward component toward the coast. Overall transport is very 3-dimensional in the northern Red Sea, such that northward transport and its associated embedded circulations are northward, while southward transport occurs on the western side of the Red Sea, in contrast to some of the descriptions of flow provided in earlier papers.

Deep-water formation supplies oxygen-rich water to the deep sea, spreading throughout the ocean via the global thermohaline circulation. Models suggest that gases in newly formed deep-water do not come to equilibrium with the atmosphere. However, direct measurements during wintertime convection are scarce, and the controls over the extent of this disequilibria are poorly quantified. Here we show that oxygen is consistently undersaturated at -6.3% to -7.6% in the Labrador Sea at the end of convection, when convection reaches deeper than 800 m. Deeper convection resulted in greater undersaturation while convection lasting later in the year resulted in values closer to equilibrium, from which we produce a predictive relationship. We use dissolved oxygen data from six profiling Argo floats in the Labrador Sea between 2003 to 2016, allowing direct observations of wintertime convection. Four of the six optode oxygen sensors displayed in situ drift of -2.98 μmol O2 kg-1 year-1 on average, which we corrected to stable deep-water oxygen values from repeat hydrography. Observations of low oxygen intrusions during restratification and a simple mixing calculation demonstrate that lateral processes act to lower the oxygen inventory of the central Labrador Sea. This suggests that the Labrador Sea is a net sink for atmospheric oxygen, but uncertainties in parameterizing gas exchange limit our ability to quantify the net uptake. Our results constrain the initial oxygen concentration of Labrador Sea Water and allow more precise estimates of oxygen utilization and nutrient regeneration in this water mass. / Graduate

La Méditerranée Nord-Occidentale (MNO) est marquée par un processus de formation d’eau profonde en hiver qui induit une forte floraison phytoplanctonique au printemps. L'objectif de cette thèse a été de caractériser la dynamique de la communauté mesozooplanctonique à l'échelle régionale de la MNO, y compris dans la zone de convection profonde (ZCP), en évaluant ses stocks, sa composition taxonomique, sa structure en taille et ses liens trophiques avec le phytoplancton, en relation avec l'environnement hydro-biogéochimique. Trois campagnes océanographiques ont été menées en saisons contrastées: hiver, printemps et été, fournissant un jeu de données unique à cette échelle régionale. Le zooplancton est caractérisé par de faibles abondances et biomasses en hiver, surtout dans la ZCP, puis par une augmentation générale printanière, en abondance et en biomasse. Des différences spatiales s’observent, la ZCP présentant les plus forts changements de biomasse de l’hiver au printemps. Les valeurs d'été sont similaires aux valeurs hivernales et sont assez homogènes dans la zone d'étude. L'impact du broutage estimé n'est pas suffisant pour contrôler globalement la floraison printanière. Cependant, au printemps, toute la MNO, à l'exception de la ZCP, subit un contrôle top-down du zooplancton sur le phytoplancton, tandis que dans la ZCP, les valeurs de chlorophylle-a restent élevées malgré la forte demande en carbone du zooplancton, ce qui indique un contrôle bottom-up. Cette étude montre que la ZCP est probablement une zone d'intense transfert d'énergie vers les niveaux trophiques supérieurs ainsi que d'export de matière organique en MNO. / The North-Western Mediterranean Sea (NWMS) is characterized by a deep water convection process in winter, which induces a large phytoplankton bloom. The main objective of this thesis was to characterize the dynamics of the mesozooplankton community at the regional scale of NWMS including the deep convection zone (DCZ), by assessing its stocks, taxonomy and size structure, and by evaluating its phytoplankton-zooplankton trophic links in connection to the hydrological and biogeochemical environment. Three oceanographic cruises were conducted to map the NWMS in contrasting seasons: winter, spring, and summer. This represents a unique data set of zooplankton at this regional scale. The NWMS was characterized in winter by low zooplankton abundance and biomass. In spring, a general increase was found. Spatially DCZ was characterized by lowest stocks in winter and the highest in spring. In summer, biomass and abundance were similar to winter values and were quite homogenous over the study area. The estimated zooplankton grazing impact was not sufficient to globally control the spring phytoplankton bloom. However, in spring, all areas except the DCZ incurred top-down control by zooplankton on the phytoplankton stock. In the DCZ, the chlorophyll-a values remained high despite the high zooplankton biomass and carbon demand, indicating a sustained bottom-up control. This study indicates that the deep convection zone is likely an area of both enhanced energy transfer to higher trophic levels and organic matter export in NWMS.

NOx sensors have become salient components in the development of efficient exhaust after treatment system for heavy duty vehicles in the past few years. When the accumulated water inside the silencer splashes on to the NOx sensor, it can cause permanent cracks in the sensor. To protect the sensor from this mode of failure, a dew point strategy is developed at Scania. This is important to predict when it is safe to switch on the NOx sensor without causing any harm to it. But the strategy currently includes only the phase transfer phenomena and neglects the effect of the water blow out phenomena inside the silencer. To investigate the effect of water blow out, an experimental test method is designed and the experiments are conducted at different locations in the silencer. The results from the experiments shows that the effect of water blow out is certainly an important factor to develop a better dew point strategy model. For a selected location, the quantity of water remaining after blow out and the time taken for the blow out phase are collected as data from the experiments. A mathematical model for the water blow out phenomena is developed in MATLAB. The model estimates the maximum amount of water which could be present in all the subvolumes of the silencer considering the effect of water blow out. The model is verified with the experimental data for a Scania CAS1 silencer. Calibration guidelines for the developed blow out model are also documented in this report. / NOx sensorer har blivit viktiga komponenter i utvecklingen av ett effektivt avgassystem för tunga fordon under de senaste åren. När det ackumulerade vattnet i ljuddämparen stänker på NOx-sensorn kan det orsaka permanenta sprickor i sensorn. För att skydda sensorn från detta misslyckande utvecklas en daggpunktsstrategi på Scania. Detta är viktigt att förutsäga när det är säkert att slå på NOx-sensorn utan att skada den. Men strategin innehåller för närvarande endast fasöverföringsfenomenen och försummar effekten av att vatten blåser ut fenomen inuti ljuddämparen. För att undersöka effekten av utblåsning av vatten utformas en experimentell testmetod och experimenten utförs på olika platser i ljuddämparen. Resultaten från experimenten visar att effekten av vattenblåsning verkligen är en viktig faktor för att utveckla en bättre daggpunktsstrategimodell. För en vald plats samlas mängden vatten kvar efter utblåsning och den tid det tar för utblåsningsfasen som data från experimenten. En matematisk modell för fenomen för vattenblåsning utvecklas i MATLAB. Modellen uppskattar den maximala mängden vatten som kan finnas i ljuddämparens undervolymer med tanke på effekten av vatten som blåser ut. Modellen verifieras med experimentdata för en Scania CAS1 ljuddämpare. Kalibreringsriktlinjer för den utvecklade utblåsningsmodellen dokumenteras också i denna rapport.