Mid Sweden University

Ett vanligt förekommande problem med produktionsutrustning på Eberspächer är driftstopp där grundorsaken är svår att identifiera. Användning av sofistikerade system som isolerar felkällan kan minska avhjälpningstiden och därför vara till stor nytta för produktiviteten samt operatörens arbetsmiljö. Följande rapport undersöker möjligheterna kring att automatisera en återställning av en maskin fokuserad på mät- och kvalitetskontroll, till ett ursprungsläge där driftpersonal kan återuppta produktion efter ett driftstopp. Inledningsvis började arbetet med en litteraturstudie från vilket information inhämtades om de olika automatiserade delarna i mätcellen. Vidare studerades även maskinens PLC-program för att försöka förstå vad koden i de olika programmerade blocken gör. Programmeringen av den automatiserade återställningen gjordes i enighet med Eberspächers riktlinjer och kravspecifikation. Utifrån insamlad information om maskinens funktion har ett program med önskad funktionalitet kunnat skapas. Slutsatsen som kan dras av detta arbete är att det finns stora fördelar med att automatisera funktioner som kan vara svåra och kräva mycket av användaren. Den automatiserade återställningen är ett bra exempel på en funktion där det finns ekonomisk, ekologisk och ergonomisk vinning av att göra en komplicerad aktion lätthanterlig. 

With the emergence of the Internet and rapid development of science and technology over the past few decades, many individuals worldwide now rely on the Internet to conduct daily activities ranging from education, business and creativity to communication and shopping. As we tend to spend more and more time on the Internet and engage less in physical activities, this persistent behaviour could result in some health-related issues within a relatively short period of time. This behaviour, known as sedentary lifestyle, may be related to a higher risk of cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, obesity, anxiety, pressure ulcers and many other illnesses. As a consequence, there has been great interest in developing non-invasive and unobtrusive measurement techniques for a variety of health care-monitoring applications, such as for blood oxygen saturation, stress levels, electrocardiograms and glucose monitoring. In such systems, wearable and flexible electronics technologies may enable monitoring of vital signs, offering significant potential for early screening as well as long-term behaviour modelling.

In this thesis, large area pressure sensors based on non-conventional materials are proposed and realised by screen printing technique for monitoring sitting postures. The developed pressure sensing system measures distributed pressure when an individual sits on a chair equipped with a pressure sensor array. This technology could provide grounding for the advancement of health-related monitoring systems for both able-bodied and disabled individuals and inform them of their sitting time and sitting posture, and this could be used to establish a sitting pattern. To accomplish this, pressure sensors have been designed using non-conventional flexible electronics. A blend of non-conductive and low-resistance ink is used as pressure-sensitive material to enable the realization of screen-printed sensors. To characterise the performance of the suggested pressure sensor, several tests, such as repeatability, drift and flexibility, are conducted. The sensor has also been exposed to different humidity and temperature conditions in a climate chamber to examine its functionalities.

A graphical user interface was developed for real-time demonstration of data from distributed pressure points in the form of a pressure map to display the pressure values. Four sitting postures are identified: forward, backward, left, and right leaning. Furthermore, a stretchable pressure sensor is proposed that could follow slight stretching with regard to changes in the shape of the human skin. Machine learning algorithms have been employed to further enhance the sitting posture identification, and accuracy of 99.03% is attained. A standalone embedded system capable of illustrating real-time pressure data has been developed with the potential to be used in portable health monitoring systems. In summary, this work provides a promising framework for measuring pressure distribution and identifying irregular sitting postures that may help to reduce the potential risks of developing health-related issues associated with prolonged sitting time.

Prolonged sitting inadequacies cause pressure ulcer to many individuals, especially to disadvantaged with reduced mobility. The measurement of distributed pressure and detection of irregular sitting postures is essential for preventing the risk of developing pressure ulcer. In this paper, a pressure sensing system capable of recognizing sitting postures by means of measuring interface pressure through printed pressure sensors is presented. A thin and flexible large area sensor is screen-printed using silver flake and carbon particle inks and comprises 16 sensing elements. For the evaluation of practical usability, the sensor characterization is carried out by conducting stability, repeatability, drift and bending tests. The performance of the sensor is checked under varying environmental conditions. Sitting posture detection accuracy above 80 % is achieved using a classification algorithm for four different sitting postures. Pressure distribution is monitored at a scanning rate of 10 Hz. A low power and small form factor of read-out electronics enables a compact packaging inside the seat cushion. The presented sensor design targets smart wheelchairs, but it is extendable to much larger areas, for example to be used in beds. The proposed sensing system would be of a great assistance for caregivers and health professionals.

In the biomedical sector, pressure sensors exhibit an important role towards monitoring and recognition of sitting posture for wheelchair users, which is helpful for pressure ulcer prevention and cure.  In this paper, a flexible and inexpensive screen printed large area pressure sensing system is presented. The large area sensor comprise three layers, is able to cancel-out false pressure detection, and achieves a sitting classification accuracy over 80 percent. The sensor matrix contains 16 sensors distributed over an area of 23.5 cm × 21.5 cm and the pressure points are monitored at a scanning rate of 77 Hz. The sensor system provides wireless communication and a Windows based GUI is developed that allows real-time presentation of pressure data by means of a pressure map. The presented sensor design targets smart wheelchairs but is suitable for any low cost and high throughput pressure distribution monitoring systems. 

The power supply designers choose flyback topology due to its promising features of design simplicity, cost effectiveness and multiple outputs handling capability. The designed product based on flyback topology should be smaller in size, cost effective and energy efficient. Similarly, designers focus on reducing the circuit losses while operating at high frequencies that affect the converter efficiency and performance. Based on the above circumstances, an energy efficient open loop high frequency flyback converter is designed and operated in MHz frequency region using step down multilayer PCB planar transformer. The maximum efficiency of 84.75% is observed and maximum output power level reached is 22.8W. To overcome the switching losses, quasi-resonant soft switching technique is adopted and a high voltage CoolMOS power transistor is used.

Power line communication (PLC) connects energy producers with energy consumers. In the European Union stricter guidelines are under development to limit disturbances in the 2-150 kHz frequency range, because devices utilising PLC do not work. This study measured voltage transients in 22 locations and identified sources for noise. Home environments and public buildings were measured. Measurements were conducted in the frequency range of 150 kHz-500 kHz (according to EN 55011 to EN 55022) and in the lower frequency range of 3 kHz to 95 kHz. Results indicate that voltage transients are generated mostly by switching mode power supplies, pumps, rectifiers, inverters and even low quality smart meters. Several of these devices exceeded PLC standard level, 122 dBμV. Additionally we demonstrate that basic power quality recordings do not provide enough information to mitigate PLC problems occurring within microseconds and frequency specific voltage transient measurements are needed.

This thesis explores the development and performance of semiconducting metal oxide (SMOX)-based gas sensors prepared by different methods, specifically targeting hazardous gases like hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) and in some cases methyl mercaptan (CH₃SH). These gases pose significant risks to human health and the environment, even at low concentrations. Therefore, developing sensitive, reliable, and cost-effective sensors is crucial for industrial safety, environmental monitoring, and healthcare. 

The compact SnO₂ layers prepared by Ultrasonic Spray Pyrolysis (USP) demonstrated effective H₂S detection at an optimal operating temperature of 450°C. This method resulted in uniform, dense layers with high crystallinity and minimal impurities, ensuring a reliable sensor response. However, the sensor’s selectivity was limited by the presence of other interference gases, especially in humid environments. To enhance performance, ZnO/SnO₂ heterostructures were incorporated, fabricated by controlling precursor ratios during the USP process. These heterostructures showed improved sensor response and selectivity for detecting H₂S compared to pure SnO₂. 

The Flame Spray Pyrolysis (FSP) method successfully produced porous SnO₂ structures, which excelled in detecting low concentrations of H₂S and CH₃SH at an optimal operating temperature of 250°C. The highly porous morphology increased the surface area, yielding a remarkable gas response down to 20 ppb and enabling efficient gas diffusion, making it suitable for detecting sub-ppb levels of toxic gases.

Additionally, screen printing was employed to create ZnO/SnO₂ porous heterostructure sensors. The sensor with a 3:4 SnO₂/ZnO ratio achieved a limit of detection (LOD) of 140 ppt at an optimal operating temperature of 325°C, outperforming single-component sensors and demonstrating the effectiveness of the simple screen-printing method in producing scalable, high-performance gas sensors.

In summary, this thesis underscores the significance of material design and fabrication techniques in enhancing the performance of SMOX-based gas sensors. The findings highlight that utilizing porous structures and heterojunction engineering offers substantial advantages in sensor response and selectivity, making these sensors well-suited for real-world applications in hazardous gas detection.

Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) is a highly toxic and corrosive gas commonly found in industrial emissions and natural gas processing, posing serious risks to human health and environmental safety even at low concentrations. The early detection of H2S is therefore critical for preventing accidents and ensuring compliance with safety regulations. This study presents the development of porous ZnO/SnO2-nanocomposite gas sensors tailored for the ultrasensitive detection of H2S at sub-ppb levels. Utilizing a screen-printing method, we fabricated five different sensor compositions—ranging from pure SnO2 to pure ZnO—and characterized their structural and morphological properties through X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Among these, the SnO2/ZnO sensor with a composition-weight ratio of 3:4 demonstrated the highest response at 325 °C, achieving a low detection limit of 0.14 ppb. The sensor was evaluated for detecting H2S concentrations ranging from 5 ppb to 500 ppb under dry, humid air and N2 conditions. The relative concentration error was carefully calculated based on analytical sensitivity, confirming the sensor’s precision in measuring gas concentrations. Our findings underscore the significant advantages of mixture nanocomposites in enhancing gas sensitivity, offering promising applications in environmental monitoring and industrial safety. This research paves the way for the advancement of highly effective gas sensors capable of operating under diverse conditions with high accuracy. 

The unique electronic properties of semiconductor nanowires, in particular silicon nanowires (SiNWs), are attractive for the label-free, real-time, and sensitive detection of various gases. Therefore, over the past two decades, extensive efforts have been made to study the gas sensing function of NWs. This review article presents the recent developments related to the applications of SiNWs for gas sensing. The content begins with the two basic synthesis approaches (top-down and bottom-up) whereby the advantages and disadvantages of each approach have been discussed. Afterwards, the basic sensing mechanism of SiNWs for both resistor and field effect transistor designs have been briefly described whereby the sensitivity and selectivity to gases after different functionalization methods have been further presented. In the final words, the challenges and future opportunities of SiNWs for gas sensing have been discussed.

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has established exposure limits for sulfur-based volatile components, particularly hydrogen sulfide (H2S), at 20 ppm for an 8-hour exposure and 50 ppm for durations under 10 minutes. Detecting such toxic gases at low levels necessitates innovative sensor fabrication. This study introduces a unique sensor design, involving the direct thermophoretic deposition of SnO2 aerosol streams on one side and densely compacted SnO2 thick films via ultrasonic spray pyrolysis (UPS) on the other side, acting as a heater. Analyzing flame-made SnO2 particles using BET, XRD, and TEM techniques revealed highly crystalline particles approximately 8 nm in size. Methyl mercaptan (CH3SH) and H2S were employed as analyte gases, ranging from 20 ppb to 25 ppm and 20 ppb to 50 ppm, respectively. The results indicate that the flame-made SnO2 exhibits significant potential for developing gas sensors that are highly sensitive to CH3SH and H2S gases across a broad concentration range. The sensor demonstrates a linear increase in response at lower concentrations, saturating at concentrations exceeding 20 ppm. Consequently, highly sensitive gas sensors capable of detecting very low levels can be manufactured, suitable for machine learning applications in environmental monitoring, healthcare, and industrial safety. 

Discrete silicon carbide (SiC) power devices have unique characteristics that outpace those of silicon (Si) counterparts. The improved physical features have provided better faster switching, greater current densities, lower on-resistance, and temperature performances. However, there is lack of suitable commercial gate drivers that are compatible for high-voltage, and high-speed devices. There has been a great research effort required for the advancement of gate drivers for high voltage SiC transistors. A drive circuit for a SiC MOSFET needs to be optimized in normal operation to give best efficiency and same drive circuit should secure the MOSFET under unsuitable conditions. To ensure the rapid switching of these advanced SiC MOSFETs, a gate driver capable of providing the high current capability is required. In this work, three different high-power-density, high-speed, and high-noise-immunity gate driver modules for 10 kV SiC MOSFET were built and optimized.  Double-pulse test was developed for the dynamic characterization of SiC MOSFETs and gate drivers. This setup provided clean measurements of DUT voltage and current under well-defined conditions and correlated to simulation results. Designed gate drivers have thoroughly investigated to test and compare it with our future design. The influential parameters such as dV/dt, dI/dt, and gate driving capability of gate driver were adjusted according to the requirements. The short circuit protection test was performed to check the reliability of driver modules in worst conditions. Furthermore, a DC-DC converter was designed and tested with the advanced gate drivers. The driver modules were tested in designed converter under different load conditions and influential parameters were successfully demonstrated. The driver modules effectively helped in reducing the EMI and switching losses. These designed gate drivers and prototype converter provide all the attractive features and can be widely implemented in industrial applications for energy efficient systems.

För att veta om ett batteri behöver ersättas är det viktigt att kunna mäta temperaturen i det. Denna studie testar om en fiberoptisk sensor täckt med grafenoxid kan stå emot de skadliga kemikalier som finns i ett batteri. En surface plasmon resonance-sensor täcktes med grafenoxid och sedan mättes transmissionen och absorptionen av ljus för att se om känsligheten förändrades när fler lager lades till. Därefter doppades fibrerna i ett etsmedel för att se ifall grafenoxidlagren kunde skydda sensorn. Resultaten visade att känsligheten inte påverkas av upp till tio lager grafenoxid och att fem till tio lager ger bäst skydd mot etsmedlet.

For digital circuits with ultra-low power consumption,floating-gate circuits have been considered to be a techniquepotentially better than standard static CMOS circuits.By having a DC offset on the floating gates, theeffective threshold voltage of the floating-gate transistoris adjusted and the speed and power performance can bealtered. In this paper the basic performance related propertiessuch as power, delay, power-delay product (PDP),and energy-delay product (EDP) for floating-gate circuitsoperating in subthreshold are investigated. Based on circuitsimulations in a 120nm process technology, it isshown that for the best case, the power can be reducedapproximately by one order of magnitude at the expenseof increased delay, while the PDP is more or less constantin comparison to static CMOS. The EDP can be reducedby two orders of magnitude at the expense of reducednoise margins.

This paper presents a novel situation-based power and battery health management strategy for fuel cell vehicles. In such hybrid powertrains, the synergy role of batteries is essential to minimize overall power consumption and maintain higher electrical efficiency of the fuel cell. On the other hand, lifetime degradation of the battery is associated with the recurrent charging / discharging cycles. The proposed power management strategy addresses the trade-off between these contradictory objectives. Vehicle states in each situation are defined in terms of driver-related identification parameters (power demand and speed) corporately with powertrain related ones (on-board battery's state of charge). Optimal power handling solution for each situation is searched offline considering different optimization criteria: range extension, lifetime maximization, or power consumption minimization. A weighted fusion of these optimized solutions can be implemented online based on desired driving strategy, leading to situation-based optimized solution. This contribution aims to provide flexible power handling options meeting performance requirements (energy efficiency and driveability) without scarifying battery life. Simulation tests using different driving cycles are conducted for evaluation purpose.

This paper presents a high step-up DC-DC converter which is appropriate for Photovoltaic systems. This topology has been combined from an extended switched-capacitor and a common SEPIC converter. Low components and high-voltage-gain are the main benefits of the introduced topology. Low rate current ripple, easy control and continuous input current are other advantages of the presented structure. Integrating the switched-capacitor with the SEPIC converter leads to increase the output voltage with variable conversion ratio which can be used for a wide range of loads. The switched-capacitor converter provides a constant dc output voltage while the SEPIC converter extracts maximum power of PV panels because it operates under control of duty cycle. Continuous input current is highly suitable for PV applications. The operating principles and steady-state analysis of the suggested topology are discussed in detail. In order to assess the effectiveness of the presented topology, it has been simulated on PSCAD/EMTDC software.

Unlike surface surveillance, volumetric monitoring deals with three-dimensional target space and moving objects within it. In sky monitoring, objects fly within outdoor and often remote volumes, such as wind farms and airport runways. Therefore, multiple cameras should be implemented to monitor these volumes and analyze flying activities.

Due to that, challenges in designing and deploying volumetric surveillance systems for these applications arise. These include configuring the multi-camera node placement, coverage, cost, and the system's ability to detect and position flying objects.

The research in this dissertation focuses on three aspects to optimize volumetric surveillance systems in sky monitoring applications. First, the node placement and coverage should be considered in accordance with the monitoring constraints. Also, the node architecture should be configured to minimize the design cost and maximize the coverage. Last, the system should detect small flying objects with good accuracy.

Placing the multi-camera nodes in a hexagonal pattern while allowing overlap between adjacent nodes optimizes the placement. The inclusion of monitoring constraints like monitoring altitude and detection pixel resolution influences the node design. Furthermore, presented results show that modeling the multi-camera nodes as a cylinder rather than a hemisphere minimizes the cost of each node. The design exploration in this thesis provides a method to minimize the node cost based on defined design constraints. It also maximizes the coverage in terms of the number of square meters per dollar. 

Surveillance systems for sky monitoring should be able to detect and position flying objects. Therefore, two new annotated datasets were introduced that can be used for developing in-flight birds detection methods. The datasets were collected by Mid Sweden University at two locations in Denmark. A YOLOv4-based model for birds detection in 4k grayscale videos captured in wind farms is developed. The model overcomes the problem of detecting small objects in dynamic background, and it improves detection accuracy through tiling and temporal information incorporation, compared to the standard YOLOv4 and background subtraction.

Multi-camera dome is composed of a number of cameras arranged to monitor a half sphere of the sky. Designing a network of multi-camera domes can be used to monitor flying activities in open large area, such as birds' activities in wind parks. In this paper, we present a method for evaluating the coverage effectiveness of the multi-camera domes placement in such areas. We used GPS trajectories of free flying birds over an area of 9 km2 to analyze coverage effectiveness of randomly placed domes. The analysis is based on three criteria namely, detection, positioning and the maximum resolution captured. The developed method can be used to evaluate results of designing and optimizing dome placement algorithms for volumetric monitoring systems in order to achieve maximum coverage.

Increasing the power density of power electronic converters while reducing or maintaining the same cost, offers a higher potential to meet the current trend inrelation to various power electronic applications. High power density converters can be achieved by increasing the switching frequency, due to which the bulkiest parts, such as transformer, inductors and the capacitor's size in the convertercircuit can be drastically reduced. In this regard, highly integrated planar magnetics are considered as an effective approach compared to the conventional wire wound transformers in modern switch mode power supplies (SMPS). However, as the operating frequency of the transformers increase from several hundred kHz to MHz, numerous problems arise such as skin and proximity effects due to the induced eddy currents in the windings, leakage inductance and unbalanced magnetic flux distribution. In addition to this, the core losses whichare functional dependent on frequency gets elevated as the operating frequency increases. Therefore, this thesis provides an insight towards the problems related to the high frequency magnetics and proposes a solution with regards to different aspects in relation to designing high power density, energy efficient transformers.The first part of the thesis concentrates on the investigation of high power density and highly energy efficient coreless printed circuit board (PCB) step-down transformers useful for stringent height DC-DC converter applications, where the core losses are being completely eliminated. These transformers also maintain the advantages offered by existing core based transformers such as, high coupling coefficient, sufficient input impedance, high energy efficiency and wide frequencyband width with the assistance of a resonant technique. In this regard, several coreless PCB step down transformers of different turn’s ratio for power transfer applications have been designed and evaluated. The designed multilayered coreless PCB transformers for telecom and PoE applications of 8,15 and 30W show that the volume reduction of approximately 40 - 90% is possible when compared to its existing core based counterparts while maintaining the energy efficiency of the transformers in the range of 90 - 97%. The estimation of EMI emissions from the designed transformers for the given power transfer application proves that the amount of radiated EMI from a multilayered transformer is lessthan that of the two layered transformer because of the decreased radius for thesame amount of inductance.The design guidelines for the multilayered coreless PCB step-down transformer for the given power transfer application has been proposed. The designed transformer of 10mm radius has been characterized up to the power level of 50Wand possesses a record power density of 107W/cm³ with a peak energy efficiency of 96%. In addition to this, the design guidelines of the signal transformer fordriving the high side MOSFET in double ended converter topologies have been proposed. The measured power consumption of the high side gate drive circuitvitogether with the designed signal transformer is 0.37W. Both these signal andpower transformers have been successfully implemented in a resonant converter topology in the switching frequency range of 2.4 – 2.75MHz for the maximum load power of 34.5W resulting in the peak energy efficiency of converter as 86.5%.This thesis also investigates the indirect effect of the dielectric laminate on the magnetic field intensity and current density distribution in the planar power transformers with the assistance of finite element analysis (FEA). The significanceof the high frequency dielectric laminate compared to FR-4 laminate in terms of energy efficiency of planar power transformers in MHz frequency region is also explored.The investigations were also conducted on different winding strategies such as conventional solid winding and the parallel winding strategies, which play an important role in the design and development of a high frequency transformer and suggested a better choice in the case of transformers operating in the MHz frequency region.In the second part of the thesis, a novel planar power transformer with hybrid core structure has been designed and evaluated in the MHz frequency region. The design guidelines of the energy efficient high frequency planar power transformerfor the given power transfer application have been proposed. The designed corebased planar transformer has been characterized up to the power level of 50W and possess a power density of 47W/cm3 with maximum energy efficiency of 97%. This transformer has been evaluated successfully in the resonant converter topology within the switching frequency range of 3 – 4.5MHz. The peak energy efficiency ofthe converter is reported to be 92% and the converter has been tested for the maximum power level of 45W, which is suitable for consumer applications such as laptop adapters. In addition to this, a record power density transformer has been designed with a custom made pot core and has been characterized in thefrequency range of 1 - 10MHz. The power density of this custom core transformer operating at 6.78MHz frequency is 67W/cm³ and with the peak energy efficiency of 98%.In conclusion, the research in this dissertation proposed a solution for obtaining high power density converters by designing the highly integrated, high frequency(1 - 10MHz) coreless and core based planar magnetics with energy efficiencies inthe range of 92 - 97%. This solution together with the latest semiconductor GaN/SiC switching devices provides an excellent choice to meet the requirements of the next generation ultra flat low profile switch mode power supplies (SMPS).

The Power Supply Unit (PSU) plays a vital role in almost all electronic equipment. The continuous efforts applied to the improvement of semiconductor devices such as MOSFETS, diodes, controllers and MOSFET drivers have led to the increased switching speeds of power supplies. By increasing the switching frequency of the converter, the size of passive elements such as inductors, transformers and capacitors can be reduced. Hence, the high frequency transformer has become the backbone in isolated AC/DC and DC/DC converters. The main features of transformers are to provide isolation for safety purpose, multiple outputs such as in telecom applications, to build step down/step up converters and so on. The core based transformers, when operated at higher frequencies, do have limitations such as core losses which are proportional to the operating frequency. Even though the core materials are available in a few MHz frequency regions, because of the copper losses in the windings of the transformers those which are commercially available were limited from a few hundred kHz to 1MHz. The skin and proximity effects because of induced eddy currents act as major drawbacks while operating these transformers at higher frequencies. Therefore, it is necessary to mitigate these core losses, skin and proximity effects while operating the transformers at very high frequencies. This can be achieved by eliminating the magnetic cores of transformers and by introducing a proper winding structure.

A new multi-layered coreless printed circuit board (PCB) step down transformer for power transfer applications has been designed and this maintains the advantages offered by existing core based transformers such as, high voltage gain, high coupling coefficient, sufficient input impedance and high energy efficiency with the assistance of a resonant technique. In addition, different winding structures have been studied and analysed for higher step down ratios in order to reduce copper losses in the windings and to achieve a higher coupling coefficient. The advantage of increasing the layer for the given power transfer application in terms of the coupling coefficient, resistance and energy efficiency has been reported. The maximum energy efficiency of the designed three layered transformers was found to be within the range of 90%-97% for power transfer applications operated in a few MHz frequency regions. The designed multi-layered coreless PCB transformers for given power applications of 8, 15 and 30W show that the volume reduction of approximately 40-90% is possible when compared to its existing core based counterparts. The estimation of EMI emissions from the designed transformers proves that the amount of radiated EMI from a three layered transformer is less than that of the two layered transformer because of the decreased radius for the same amount of inductance.

Multi-layered coreless PCB gate drive transformers were designed for signal transfer applications and have successfully driven the double ended topologies such as the half bridge, the two switch flyback converter and resonant converters with low gate drive power consumption of about half a watt. The performance characteristics of these transformers have also been evaluated using the high frequency magnetic material made up of NiZn and operated in the 2-4MHz frequency region.

These multi-layered coreless PCB power and signal transformers together with the latest semiconductor switching devices such as SiC and GaN MOSFETs and the SiC schottky diode are an excellent choice for the next generation compact SMPS.

In this paper the comparative results of two layered and three layered coreless Printed Circuit Board (PCB) step down 2:1 power transformers operating in MHz frequency were addressed. The  two different step down transformers approximately having same self inductances, one in two layer and the other in three layer were designed and evaluated for the given power transfer application. The performance characteristics of these transformers under similar conditions were measured and the comparative parameters of these transformers in terms of their resistances, self, leakage, mutual inductances, and coupling coefficient are analyzed. For the given output power, the measured energy efficiency of the three layered transformer is improved by 3% and the area is reduced by 32% compared to two layered transformer. The efficiency of the three layered transformer is 94.5% approximately for an output power level of 25W at an operating frequency of 2.5MHz

In this paper, multilayered coreless printed circuit board (PCB) step-down power transformers for DC-DC converter applications have been designed, manufactured and evaluated. A set of two different circular spiral step-down transformers were fabricated in the four layered PCB. These transformers have been modelled with the assistance of high frequency equivalent circuit and characterized with both sinusoidal and square wave excitation. This paper provides the comparative results of these two different transformers in te rms of their resistances, self, leakage, mutual inductances, coupling coefficient and also their energy efficiencies. The operating regions for optimal performance of these transformers for power transfer applications are determined. These transformers were tested for the output power levels of about 30 Watts within the input voltage range of 12-50 Vrms. The energy efficiency for these step down transformers is observed to be in the range of 90%-97% in MHz frequency region.

A half bridge transformer with novel winding strategy was designed and tested up to the output power level of 50W with a maximum energy efficiency of 98% in 1-6 MHz frequency region. In this paper, the effect of air gap on the performance of the designed transformer for high frequency (MHz) Switch Mode Power Supplies (SMPS) was studied and analyzed. The air gap of the transformer was varied from 0 – 2mm and the effect on self, leakage, mutual inductances, coupling coefficient and power transfer capability was recorded in 1 - 6MHz. The parameters of the transformer with different air gaps were extracted using network analyzer. The transformer was excited with sinusoidal voltages using power amplifier and the performance characteristics such as input impedance, power transfer capability and hence the energy efficiency was measured. At a particular operating frequency of 3MHz, the maximum power transferred for the given excitation voltage with 0mm air gap was found to be 22W whereas it is only 8W with the 2mm air gap . The measured energy efficiency of the transformer at 3MHz with 0mm and 2mm air gap was found to be 93% and 79% respectively. With this study, for the given power transfer application, at a particular high frequency operation of converter, an optimum air gap without sacrificing the energy efficiency and core saturation was proposed

In this paper, the effect of two different dielectric materials in planar printed circuit board (PCB) transformers applicable for power transfer applications in MHz frequency region is discussed. The 2-D model of the planar transformer was developed and the effect of the dielectric material on the magnetic field and the current distribution in the transformer was analyzed. Based on the FEA analysis, the power transformers of two different dielectric materials were designed, manufactured and characterized by using ‘S’ parameters obtained from network analyzer in order to determine the performance of dielectrics at high frequencies. The electrical parameters such as inductances, capacitances and resistances of the transformers were obtained and the changes in these parameters with the variation of the dielectric material were analyzed in the MHz frequency. This paper discusses the effect of dielectric material on the magnetic field distribution and the current density which results in the variation of the coupling coefficient and the eddy current losses of the transformer. By changing the dielectric material from a traditional FR-4 to a Rogers, the coupling coefficient was improved by a maximum of 5% and the copper losses of transformer were also decreased in the MHz frequency region. The power gain/energy efficiency obtained from the network analyzer with a resonant capacitor is verified with those obtained using a power amplifier and the simulations. An overall energy efficiency improvement of about 2-5% was achieved with a Rogers’s material in MHz frequency region compared to traditional FR-4 laminate.

The authors report the utilization of the core based transformer for power transfer applications with high power density and high energy efficiency in the MHz frequency region. A custom made POT core center tapped transformer of 4:1:1 turn’s ratio using novel winding strategy with the core diameter of 16mm is designed and evaluated. The designed transformer has been characterized using sinusoidal excitation for a given output power in the frequency range of 1 – 10MHz and determined the operating frequency region of the transformer. The power tests of the transformer has been carried out up to the power level of 62W at an operating frequency of 6.78MHz with a peak energy efficiency of 98.5% resulting in the record power density of ~1100W/in³. The designed transformer has been characterized using class E isolated DC-DC converter topology at an output power of approximately 18W. The simulated energy efficiency of the converter is 88.5% under the full load condition. This work provides the significant step for the development of next generation high power density isolated converters (both AC/DC and DC/DC) in MHz frequency region

This paper addressesradiatedEMI issues in Coreless PCB step-down transformers used for power transfer applications. In case of SMPS circuits, since the waveforms are not sinusoidal in nature, most of theradiatedemissionsare not only from fundamental frequency component but also from harmonic contents. According to antenna theory,radiatedEMI for three different power transformers of different radii were estimated for fundamental frequency of 2MHz to 300MHz. The computations were made for both sinusoidal and square wave excitations and at a load power of 20W. The calculatedradiatedpower obtained for simulated waveforms and for practical measured current waveforms are in good agreement with each other up to certain bandwidth. These computational results confirm thatradiatedpower can be reduced in three layered 2:1 transformer compared to two layered 2:1 transformer. Also theradiatedemissionsare negligible in case of sinusoidal excitations compared to square wave excitations. © 2011 IEEE.

3D printers require a reliable and robust control system to provide the proper quality for printed parts. Dispenser 3D printers are widely used in various fields of scientific research. The goal of this project is to build a disperser 3D printer based on Printrbot 3D printer, design and implement the control system and software. This system was able to control the dispenser, performed the correct operation according to the instructions. The operating system was built by LabVIEW for file reading and printer control.

Heavy metals are well-known environmental pollutants due to its potential impact on associated ecosystems and human health. Thus, it is important to monitor the levels of heavy metals in the environment. X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analysis is a powerful and effective screening tool in measuring the concentration of multi-elements simultaneously.

This thesis provides insight into development and implementation of XRF instruments for environmental monitoring and industrial process control. The XRF method was compared with a commercial scanning electron microscope with energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) for fly ash samples. Qualitative analysis and semi-quantitative analysis of Na, S, Cl, K and Cd in incineration fly ash were performed with these two similar techniques. One of the challenges of using XRF is the scattering background noise from the primary beam, which decreases the detection limit and the sensitivity of the measurement system. Hence, an X-ray beam filter was chosen to suppress the background noise for a specific element, Cr, in leachate. Numerical simulations and experiments were developed to find the proper filter material and thickness by calculating the X-ray fluorescence intensities and the signal-to-noise ratio. The developed system is capable of online monitoring of Cr levels, to certify that the concentration is below the threshold level in leachate. An XRF prototype was built and calibrated for underwater Hg analysis in maritime wet sediment using a radioisotope source. The presented results show that it is possible to detect Hg by K-shell emission thus enabling XRF analysis for sediment underwater.

For non-homogeneous samples, an image revealing the elemental distribution can be achieved by micro-XRF (µ-XRF). XRF mapping of element distributions on a microscopic level was obtained by using scanning XRF microscopy and full-field XRF projection microscopy (FF-XRF). The spatial resolution of the scanning XRF imaging setup using an X-ray tube is in the order of 100 µm, but need to be further improved to measure the homogeneity of S on individual fiber level in pulp and paper industry. For the scanning technique, it is a tradeoff between resolution and measurement time. Another technique is FF-XRF imaging, and a setup was implemented using an energy resolving pixel detector and X-ray optics. The capabilities and limitations of using X-ray optics in XRF imaging systems have been identified. These microscopy measurements can guide further comprehensive environmental and industrial monitoring missions, utilizing elemental distribution information.

The evolution of depth‐perception visualization technologies, emerging format standardization work and research within the field of multi‐view 3D video and imagery addresses the need for flexible 3D video visualization. The wide variety of available 3D‐display types and visualization techniques for multi‐view video, as well as the high throughput requirements for high definition video, addresses the need for a real‐time 3D video playback solution that takes advantage of hardware accelerated graphics, while providing a high degree of flexibility through format configuration and cross‐platform interoperability. A modular component based software solution based on FFmpeg for video demultiplexing and video decoding is proposed,using OpenGL and GLUT for hardware accelerated graphics and POSIX threads for increased CPU utilization. The solution has been verified to have sufficient throughput in order to display 1080p video at the native video frame rate on the experimental system, which is considered as a standard high‐end desktop PC only using commercial hardware. In order to evaluate the performance of the proposed solution a number of throughput evaluation metrics have been introduced measuring average frame rate as a function of: video bit rate, video resolution and number of views. The results obtained have indicated that the GPU constitutes the primary bottleneck in a multi‐view lenticular rendering system and that multi‐view rendering performance is degraded as the number of views is increased. This is a result of the current GPU square matrix texture cache architectures, resulting in texture lookup access times according to random memory access patterns when the number of views is high. The proposed solution has been identified in order to provide low CPU efficiency, i.e. low CPU hardware utilization and it is recommended to increase performance by investigating the gains of scalable multithreading techniques. It is also recommended to investigate the gains of introducing video frame buffering in video memory or to move more calculations to the CPU in order to increase GPU performance.

På grund av den rådande energiomställningen flockar både företag och privatpersoner till mer effektiva och gröna energislag. I många fall är dessa via elnätet, vilket gör det lämpligt att se över hur ett lokalnät påverkas av en sådan ökning av effekt samt om det finns kapacitetsbrist. Syftet är att utreda mängen nya elbilsladdare till 2030, samt undersöka om det finns kapacitetsbrist vid både normalt kopplingsläge samt två reservkopplingslägen. Det ska även undersökas om det finns nyckeltal för olika dimensioneringskriterier.

De metoder som används för att uppskatta en framtida toppeffekt i nätet är olika. Den ena antar en homogen ökning samtidigt som den andra baserar sin väntade ökning på antal hushåll, parkeringsplatser och verksamheter i området runtomkring en nätstation. Det blir ganska stor spridning, samt olika slags resultat för de olika kopplingslägena.

Utifrån uppskattningarna som gjordes, simulerades den nya högsta effekten för de olika scenarierna och kopplingslägena och därefter beräknades belastningen i kablarna för dessa. Simuleringar visade att det finns kablar i alla scenarierna som inte håller upp till företagets egna mål angående belastning i kablarna. I reservkopplingsläget klarade många kablar heller inte av den högsta strömmen som kan förväntas under högsta lasttimmen utifrån databladet för kablarna. När topplasten ökar, ökar även antalet kablar som blir överbelastade, i scenario 1 blev det många fler jämfört med nuläget och scenario 2. För de normala kopplingsläget gick det nästan alltid att byta ut till grövre kablar för hålla sig under den angivna belastningsgraden av 50$\%$ eller precis ovanför. 

För reservkopplingslägena blir det svårare då kablarna måste ha en belastningsgrad under $100\%$ för att inte överlastskydden ska slå till. Där hittades det att byta till grövre kablar inte alltid var bäst då högsta strömmen var högre än den grövsta kabeln som används. Denna högsta strömmen verkar bero på att en slinga ska reservmata fler än en annan slinga. Det kan då vara lämpligt att bygga fler reservslingor som då kan underlätta vid reservmatningsläget.

Dagens Svenska elnät har ett stort behov av renovering och upprustning vilket ger ett stort investeringsbehov under de närmast kommande åren. Det gör att det är viktigt att finna nya entreprenörer utöver de som idag redan finns. Hitta en väg för att bli mer attraktiv och intressant för dessa entreprenörer. Denna rapport belyser två metoder som uppdragsgivare har att förhålla sig till vid projektering. Det ena är Elektrisk Byggnads Rationalisering (EBR) det andra är Allmän Material- och Arbetsbeskrivning (AMA). Systemet med EBR är ett tryggt system som grundar sig på mångårig statistik över installationer, renoveringar och underhåll. Där har man fördelar med standardiserade komponenter som är kostnadsekonomiska och skapar en kvalitetssäkring av utförda arbeten. AMA är ett referensverk för uppbyggandet av projekt från grunden. AMA är friare i sin struktur när man skall projektera för en anläggning. Man behöver inte förhålla sig till mer strikta arbetssätt. Denna rapport ser till skillnader i EBR/AMA och ser till vad som är bra förändringar för att attrahera nya intressenter på marknaden.  Vad som framöver går att förändra och samtidigt påverka vid projektering och upphandlingsunderlag.

In this thesis the verification of a neural network’s proficiency at labeling ionizing radiation particles from the unsorted output of a timepix3 camera is attempted. Focus is put on labeling single particles in separate data sequences with slightly preprocessed input data. Preprocessing of input data is done to simplify the patterns that should be recognized. Two major choices were available for this project, Elman-network and Jordan-network. A more complicated type was not an option because of the longer time needed to implement them. The network type chosen was Elman because of freedom in context size. The neural network is created and trained with the TensorFlow API in python with labeled data that was not created by hand. The network recognized the length difference between gamma particles and alpha particles. Beta particles were not considered by the network. It is concluded that the Elman-style network is not proficient in labeling the sequences, which were considered short enough and to have simple enough input data. A more modern network type is therefore likely required to solve this problem.

Med höga belastningar inom dagens process- och tillverkningsindustri är det mycket vanligt med automatiserade processer, för att skapa dessa processer används oftast PLC eller SCADA system. System som dessa är ofta dyra varför det kan vara svårt för mindre företag att investera i och hålla systemen löpande uppdaterade. Därför skall det i detta projekt visas att det finns möjlighet att utveckla automatiserade processer till rimliga kostnader. Med hög efterfrågan av automationssystem är det också viktigt att i utbildningsyfte lära ut om denna teknik. För det krävs det enkla system för studenter att kunna konstruera och programmera mindre processer. Detta skall visas genom att i utvecklingsmiljön Codesys konstruera ett sorteringssystem med SoftPLC funktionsblock där programvaran i sin tur skall exekveras i en Raspberry Pi hårdvara. Genom SoftPLC gör man systemet kompatibelt för anslutning av ett stort antal I/O-enheter av olika slag. Detta ger en flexibilitet för företag att till rimlig kostnad löpande vidareutveckla befintliga system. Den utvecklade programvarans huvudsakliga uppgift är att skapa logiska samband och styrningar kopplade till den information som inhämtas från de till CPU-enheten anslutna programerabara distribuerade I/O-enheter. Programvarans funktionalitet konstruerades för att få ett objekt att längs ett löpande band färdas runt och sorteras beroende på dess material och färg utan extern hjälp. Den färdiga konstruktionen gjorde det möjligt för en kloss att ta sig runt utan extern hjälp. Med detta program var det möjligt för processen att kunna sortera svart, vit och metalliska klossar, för att sen placera ut klossarna på specifika löpband. Som slutsats konstateras att det är fullt rimligt att skapa modulära automatiserade processer med god precision till ett rimligt pris. Detta genom användande av open-source programvara som exekverar i på marknaden prisvärda CPU-enheter

Fordonsindustrin är inne i ett skifte, där förbränningsmotorer (ICE) bör-jar fasas ut och det satsas mer på eldrift med hjälp av batterier (BEV). 

I detta arbete, som efterfrågades av Volvo Cars, utvecklades en matema-tisk modell som uppskattar den lägsta temperaturen i en elbils högspän-ningsbatteri. Modellen delades initialt upp i två delar, där den ena delen utgick från hur omgivningstemperaturen samt fordonets hastighet på-verkar eventuell värmeövergång mellan batteri och omgivning. Den andra delen utgick från hur batteriets kylsystem påverkar batteriets temperatur, där kylsystemets temperatur och flöde var de styrande fak-torerna. De styrande variablerna filtrerades med lågpassfilter där olika tidskonstanter användes. Den del som för varje tillfälle visade lägst tem-peratur var gällande. Modellen togs fram med hjälp av mätdata från testkörningar i kallt klimat där testbilens batteri var preparerad med ett antal externa temperatur sensorer, och de preparerade sensorerna an-sågs visa batteriets verkliga temperatur. Tidiga resultat visade att mo-dellen för omgivningstemperatur och hastighet visade relativt bra vär-den men saknade inflytande från kylsystemets dynamik medan mo-dellen för kylsystemet fungerade mindre bra i de flesta fall. Modellen modifierades därför till att ha hastighet och omgivningstemperatur som basfunktion och kylsystemets påverkan adderades. Resultatet visade att den senare modellen hanterade systemets dynamik bättre än tidigare modell. I framtida studier bör batteriets termiska massa samt dess egen-uppvärmning tas i beaktning.

This paper reports on the fabrication and characterization of a thermopile detector with an integrated mid-infrared absorber structure. The fabricated absorber structure has shown an absorption of more than 95% in the wavelength range of 3.2 – 5.47 μm. The detector was fabricated with standard cleanroom process techniques and equipment. The serial resistance was measured at about 315 kΩ at room temperature. The photosensitivity of the detector was characterized for a signle wavelength (4.26 µm) and a band of wavelength ranging from 2.5 –5.5 µm through two different measurement setups. In the first measurement setup, the photosensitivity was estimated at 57.5 V·mm²·W^-1 through a MEMS-based infrared radiation source and with an optical band-pass filter of wavelength 4.26µm. The following characterization was performed to characterise the photosensitivity of the detector in a broader wavelength range. This measurement was taken using a monochromator setup utilizing a reference photodetector for calculations of the optical power of the infrared source. The photosensitivity and the specific detectivity (D*) of the fabricated detector were measured to values of 30-92 V·W^-1 and 8.0×10⁷-2.4×10⁸ cm·Hz^1/2·W^-1, respectively, in the wavelength range of 2.8 – 5 µm. The time constant was estimated to around 21 ms

This paper reports on design, simulation and fabrication of a multilayered interferometric absorption structure with a broad absorption in the mid-infrared band. This region is used for IR based CH₄ and CO₂ detection. The structure consists of five layers of different thickness. The structure consists of one mirror layer of aluminium, two SU-8 epoxy layers and two thin titanium layers. This structure has been fabricated on a silicon substrate and verified for its absorption properties through Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The fabricated structure has been compared with simulations are performed using transfer matrix theory. The structure shows more than 90% absorption in the wavelength range of 3.20μm - 5.35μm for simulations and 3.13μm - 5.47μm for FT-IR measurements. The transmission and reflection of SU-8 epoxy was measured using FT-IR (that), resulting in a calculated absorption between 10 - 20% in the area of interest (3μm - 6μm). The use of SU-8 epoxy as dielectric medium, allows for direct integration of the structure into the membrane of a SU-8 membrane based thermopile. The integration results in minimum increase of the thermal capacitance and conductance, which results in maximum detector sensitivity and minimum time constant.

Measurements of carbon dioxide levels in the environment are commonly performedby using non-dispersive infrared technology (NDIR). Thermopile detectors are often used in NDIRsystems because of their non-cooling advantages. The infrared absorber has a major influence onthe detector responsivity. In this paper, the fabrication of a SU-8 epoxy membrane based Al/Bithermopile detector and the integration of an interferometric infrared absorber structure of wavelength around 4 µ m into the detector is reported. The membrane of thermopile detector has beenutilized as a dielectric medium in an interferometric absorption structure. By doing so, a reduction in both thermal conductance and capacitance is achieved. In the fabrication of the thermopile,metal evaporation and lift off process had been used for the deposition of serially interconnectedAl/Bi thermocouples. Serial resistance of fabricated thermopile was measured as 220 kΩ. Theresponse of fabricated thermopile detector was measured using a visible to infrared source of radiation flux 3.23 mW mm⁻². The radiation incident on the detector was limited using a band passfilter of wavelength 4.26 µ m in front of the detector. A responsivity of 27.86 V mm²W⁻¹at roomtemperature was achieved using this setup. The fabricated detector was compared to a referencedetector with a broad band absorber. From the comparison it was concluded that the integratedinterferometric absorber is functioning correctly.

Denna rapport utreder på uppdrag av Norrmontage AB hur kostnader som orsakas av belastningsförluster(Pb) och tomgångsförluster(Po) för en transformator som är ansluten till en fjällby vilket har en ganska extrem skillnad mellan effektuttag vid hög och lågsäsong. Det befintliga transformatorn är märkt 800kVA 22/0,420kV.

En teori från Norrmontage AB är att installera ytterligare en transformator som har lägre tomgångsförluster(P0) och belastningsförluster(Pb) jämfört med befintliga transformatorn och att en skiftning mellan dessa kommer att ske beroende på effektuttaget.

Mätdata innehåller effektuttag från den befintliga 800kVA transformatorn under perioden 2013-11-14 och 2016-02-29 för dygnets alla timmar. En utredning på mätdata via Excels stapeldiagram ger som resultat att effekt uttaget är väldig lite under perioden 4 april och 31 oktober(Lågsäsong). Det finns också mindre effektuttag under vissa dagar utöver lågsäsongen. Men förstahand har det tagits hänsyn till förhållandena under lågsäsong.

De transformatorer som är kandidater för det mindre effektuttag under lågsäsong är CTS 315kVA 22/0,42kV och CTS 500kVA 22/0,42kV vilket båda har betydligt lägre tomgångsförluster(P0) och belastningsförluster(Pb) än den befintliga transformatorn.

Investeringskalkylen använder pay-off modellen och denna rapport påvisar att det inte är lönsamt att investera i att installera någon av de kandiderade transformatorer parallellt till den befintliga transformatorn.

Tekniklösning har varit utmaning på detta projekt, vilken gjordes åtanke att

säkra avbrottfri elleverans till konsumenterna.

Models of photovoltaic devices are used to compare the properties of photovoltaic cells and panels, and to predict their I-V characteristics. To a large extent, modeling methods are based on the one-diode equivalent circuit. Although much research exists on the implementation and evaluation of these methods for typical outdoor conditions, their performance at indoor illumination levels is largely unknown. Consequently, this work performs a systematic study of methods for the parameter extraction of one-diode models under indoor conditions. We selected, reviewed and implemented commonly used methods, and compared their performance at different illumination levels. We have shown that most methods can achieve good accuracies with extracted parameters regardless of the illumination condition, but their accuracies vary significantly when the parameters are scaled to other conditions. We conclude that the physical interpretation of extracted parameters at low illumination is to a large extent questionable, which explains errors based on standard scaling approaches. 

With the advent of low-cost and low-power computation, communication and sensor devices, novel instrumentation and measurement applications have been enabled, such as real-time industrial condition monitoring and fine-grained environmental monitoring. In these application scenarios, a lack of available infrastructures for communication and power supply is a common problem. In industrial applications, for example, the machine to be monitored and the monitoring system itself have significantly different technology lifespans, which requires that the monitoring system be retrofitted to machines that are already in use. In environmental monitoring, measurement systems are deployed as standalone devices in potentially remote areas. Consequently, the more autonomous the sensor system can be in terms of required infrastructure, the better it can match application and business needs.

Both scientific interests and industrial applications have stimulated the advance of single-frequency laser technology. The high spatial and temporal coherence of this technology has facilitated many applications such as gravitational wave detection, high-precision fiber sensors, high-resolution spectroscopy, holography, and nonlinear optical conversion. However, this is currently achieved through large footprint lasers with limited portability and mobility. Therefore, there is a need to reduce the size of these lasers into a compact format. Power performance of hundreds of watts in the near-infrared spectrum and tens of watts in the visible and UV spectra for continuous (CW) operation mode and pulse energies up to several tens of mJ in pulsed operation mode are needed. 

An amplification structure for single-frequency lasers that meets these requirements is the master oscillator power amplifier (MOPA). However, compactness imposes several constraints on the MOPA design. The main challenge is the limited output power of the single-frequency fiber MOPA due to the onset of stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) in the amplifier fiber. SBS arises from the interaction of acoustic phonons with the propagating signal wave and is converted into a frequency-shifted, backward-propagating wave. SBS is manifested through high-intensity pulses propagating in the backward direction, which can be very harmful for optical components and the seed laser itself. Hence, the suppression of SBS is crucial to the power optimization of the MOPA. This thesis therefore focuses on investigating different SBS suppression techniques that fit a compact MOPA design. More specifically, this is implemented by studying the efficiency of the strain distribution technique applied to the amplifier fiber and the use of custom and commercial highly Yb- doped fibers both in CW and pulse operating MOPAs. Using highly Yb-doped fibers presents challenges with respect to the composition of the fiber material and in high- power operation that can have undesirable degradational effects, such as photodarkening and thermal load generation, and these have been investigated and discussed in this thesis. 

As a result of the different mitigation approaches, output power approaching 100 W in CW mode operation and pulse energies near mJ in pulse mode operation are demonstrated in only one amplification stage, showing the feasibility of a MOPA design with high performance and a small footprint. This may facilitate many applications in the visible and UV spectral ranges that require mobility and portability. 

A fiber laser operating at 1.94μm in pulsed regime has been developed in a MOPA configuration. The seed consists of a custom-developed board hosting a laser diode, whose current is modulated to achieve the desired pulse shape, duration and repetition rate. The pulses are amplified through a thulium-doped fiber amplifier pumped at 793 nm. The design of the amplifier stage has been performed by dynamic simulation of a rate-equations model and compared to the experimental measurements. Simulations and experimental measurements have exhibited comparable results, devising the realization of an effective pulsed laser system whose parameters can be easily tuned through the seed. 

This article presents a review of the empirical core loss models for symmetric flux waveforms. These empirical models are based on Steinmetz and Bertotti loss models. The principles, advantages, and limitations of the existing models are explained and discussed. The models are evaluated based on four main criteria: 1) physics background, 2) complexity, 3) accuracy, and 4) flexibility and generality to include multiple effects. This article also discusses some scientific issues in existing works regarding the characterization of relaxation loss.

Existing empirical core loss models for symmetric trapezoidal flux waveform (TzFW) stillsuffer some issues such as the inaccuracy and the complexity. These issues are mainly due to the lack ofan accurate model of the relaxation loss generated during the off-time. This paper aims to understand therelaxation loss and develop an accurate model using the superposition technique. The developed model givesan accurate prediction of the on-time loss and the relaxation loss and shows the dependency of each on theduty cycle. The research shows that the core loss at low duty cycle is several times the core loss at full dutycycle. The developed model is verified with experimental results and compared to the Improved Steinmetzequation (ISE). The model error is reduced to lower than 15% compared to 50% of the ISE. Finally, an easymethod using multiplication factors with the ISE model is given to simplify the developed model.

This paper proposes a novel approach in order to understand the different kinds of core loss of the trapezoidal flux waveform. The proposed approach is based on the theory of magnetism and assessed with the experimental results to show that the total loss is composed by two terms: the effective triangular loss during the on-time resulting from the flux variation and the relaxation loss during the off-time which is due to the magnetic after-effect phenomenon. The study shows that the relaxation loss depends on the off-time and it has a maximum at a particular off-time-to-on-time ratio which depends on the magnetic material. In addition to that, two models with accuracy higher than 96% and with reduced number of parameters compared to the existing models were developed to predict the relaxation loss. The models are verified with previous experimental results and new experiments performed in this work.

This paper presents a new method to design planar magnetics. Unlike existing magnetics which have a balanced-flux distribution, the proposed method is based on the principle of unbalanced-flux distribution. The Steinmetz model, derived for this design principle, shows that the unbalanced-flux method reduces the core loss by more than 50%. The core loss reduction brings several benefits to planar magnetics such as: high magnetic power factor, better thermal performance and larger safe operating area (SOA). The proposed method is experimentally evaluated and compared with the balanced-flux method. The obtained results confirmed the advantages of the unbalanced-flux method found from the theoretical study. The core loss is decreased by more than 50%, the magnetic power factor is increased by 73% and the SOA is much larger.

Vid byte av luftledningar mot jordkabel kommer kapacitiva felström-mar att genereras. De kapacitiva felströmmarna ökar med större kabel-area. Rapporten behandlar problematiken med för stora bidrag av kapacitiva jordfelströmmar och dess inverkan på hela elnätet.

Arbetetsfrågeställningar kommer att behandla utlokaliserad kompen-sation, oselektiv reläskyddsfunktion och skillnaden mellan långa led-ningar och stora nät. Syftet med uppsatsen är att belysa behovet av att utlokalisera kompensationen, bestämma antal och täthet av spolar som minskar kapacitiva strömmar på Alnön, samt titta på skillnaderna mellan långa och många ledningar både på tätortens och också lands-bygdens nät.

I teoridelen tas teorier om olika typer av jordfelsskydds funktioner upp, lokal kompensering och skillnader mellan korta och långa markkabelns nät.

Projektet är utfört genom utforskning av de metoder som används för att begränsa dem genererade kapacitiva felströmmen vid användning av markkablar.

I slutsatsen kommer jag fram till att för förbättring av ledningsskydds-funktion på landsbygden måste kapacitiva strömmar transporteras genom kabeln i kortare sträckor. Detta kommer att minska spänningsfal-let över kabelns resistans och reaktans, eller att fördela nätet till små fack.

Along with increasingly frequent use of electric and hybrid electric vehicles, the constraints and demands placed on them become stricter. The most noticeable challenge considering Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEVs) is to provide an optimal power flow between multiple electric sources alongside provided as less as possible aging of energy storage components. To provide efficient battery usage with respect to battery life, it becomes unavoidable to develop battery lifetime models, which not only reflect the State-of-Heath (SoH) but also allow battery lifetime prediction. The lifetime-oriented battery models have to be integrated into power management. To be used efficiently and to provide optimal power split ensuring mitigation of battery degradation without sacrificing desired power consumption, accurate modeling of battery degradation is of utmost importance. This implies that gradual battery degradation, which is directly affected by applied loading profiles, has to be monitored and used as additional control input. Moreover, the lifetime model developed in this case has to provide model outputs also in the timeframe of power management. In this contribution, a machine state-based lifetime model for electric battery source was developed. In this particular case, different degradation states as well as machine state transitions are identified in accordance with current operating conditions. Here, the change in charge / discharge rate (C-rate), overcharging / undercharging of the battery (depth-of-discharge), and the temperature are taken into consideration to define machine model states. The End-of-Lifetime (EoL) is defined as the deviation between nominal and current ampere-hour (Ah) throughput. The proposed machine state-based lifetime model is verified based on existing battery lifetime models using simulation setup. The developed lifetime model in this way serves as a prerequisite for its integration into power management with an aim to provide the trade-off between aforementioned conflicting objectives; fuel consumption and battery degradation.

The report is a study of error management and localization in underground cable network with very little overhead line. Error management is treated with the theoretical troubleshooting model and theoretical model with practical feedback. The work relates to the fact that troubleshooting has been complicated when the supply safety in the electricity grid increases. Difficult troubleshooting is followed by a difficult reset work in case of malfunctioning in the network and it leads to longer interruptions.The grid is built with main feed and radial feeds. In the cable stretches, an interval of the short-circuit current occurs with a minimum and a maximum current below the distance. Depending on how the network is built, multiples of same error current is created, that create harder error-handling. The analysis examines which locations in the grid, which help increase the number of alternative malfunctions and if there is any alternative method to solve the problem. The report deals with the connection between currents in main feed and in radial feeds along the line. There appears to be a connection between the emergences of currents with similar current values in several places. A network consisting of a main feed and a plurality of radial feeds, the occurrence of streams in several places is a disadvantage in the troubleshooting task and the work is adversely affected and the troubleshooting work becomes more difficult.