1,721,011 research outputs found

    Estimation of electromagnetic material properties with application to high-voltage power cables

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    Efficient design of high-voltage power cables is important to achieve an economical delivery of electric power from wind farms and power plants over the very long distances as well as the overseas electric power. The main focus of this thesis is the investigation of electromagnetic losses in components of high-voltage power cables. The objective of the ongoing research is to develop the theory and optimization techniques as tools to make material choices and geometry designs to minimize the high-frequency attenuation and dispersion for HVDC power cables and the power losses associated with HVAC cables. Physical limitations, dispersion relationships and the application of sum rules as well as convex optimization will be investigated to obtain adequate physical insight and a priori modeling information for these problems. For HVAC power cables, the objectives are addressed by performing measurements and estimation of complex valued permeability of cable armour steel in Papers I and II. Efficient analytical solutions for the electromagnetic field generated by helical structures with applications for HVAC power cables have been obtained in Paper III. For HVDC power cables, estimation of insulation characteristics from dielectric spectroscopy data using Herglotz functions, convex optimization and B-splines, has been investigated in Papers V and VI. The unique solution requirements in waveguide problems have been reviewed in Paper IV

    Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis

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    The present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed

    Modelling and Simulation of Electrostatic Precipitators with a Dust Layer

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    A dust layer, especially based on high-resistivity dust, at the collecting electrodes may cause a back corona discharge in electrostatic precipitators (ESP). It can significantly reduce the ESP efficiency and as a result cause ecological damages. To study the dust layer influence inside ESPs, it is necessary to derive an adequate model of the ESP precipitation process with a dust layer at the collecting electrode. The research of the present thesis is focused on stationary studies of the precipitation process with a dust layer at the collecting electrode in ESPs. Three mathematical models are proposed as a description of the precipitation process with a dust layer at the collecting electrode. The models are based on Maxwell’s equations and the finite element method (FEM). COMSOL Multiphysics software is used for their implementation. In all models the dust layer has constant conductivity and the air region has constant ion mobility. In the first model there are no coupling conditions, which is required in mathematics, are given between the two regions. The solution found by COMSOL Multiphysics does not provide physically acceptable coupling conditions. In the second model, a continuous transition zone is introduced between the two regions so that no coupling conditions are required. With the large derivatives in the transition zone, the nonlinear solver in COMSOL Multiphysics does not converge. Finally, in the third model, the dust layer and the grounded collecting electrode are replaced with a boundary condition for the air region. The properties of the third model are investigated, and these models can be used to study the influence of the dust layer. The results of these investigations are reported and discussed.

    Optimization and Physical Bounds for Passive and Non-passive Systems

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    Physical bounds in electromagnetic field theory have been of interest for more than a decade. Considering electromagnetic structures from the system theory perspective, as systems satisfying linearity, time-invariance, causality and passivity, it is possible to characterize their transfer functions via Herglotz functions. Herglotz functions are useful in modeling of passive systems with applications in mathematical physics, engineering, and modeling of wave phenomena in materials and scattering. Physical bounds on passive systems can be derived in the form of sum rules, which are based on low- and high-frequency asymptotics of the corresponding Herglotz functions. These bounds provide an insight into factors limiting the performance of a given system, as well as the knowledge about possibilities to improve a desired system from a design point of view. However, the asymptotics of the Herglotz functions do not always exist for a given system, and thus a new method for determination of physical bounds is required. In Papers I–II of this thesis, a rigorous mathematical framework for a convex optimization approach based on general weighted Lp-norms, 1≤p≤∞, is introduced. The developed framework is used to approximate a desired system response, and to determine an optimal performance in realization of a system satisfying the target requirement. The approximation is carried out using Herglotz functions, B-splines, and convex optimization.  Papers III–IV of this thesis concern modeling and determination of optimal performance bounds for causal, but not passive systems. To model them, a new class of functions, the quasi-Herglotz functions, is introduced. The new functions are defined as differences of two Herglotz functions and preserve the majority of the properties of Herglotz functions useful for the mathematical framework based on convex optimization. We consider modeling of gain media with desired properties as a causal system, which can be active over certain frequencies or  frequency intervals.  Here, sum rules can also be used under certain assumptions. In Papers V–VII of this thesis, the optical theorem for scatterers immersed in lossy media is revisited. Two versions of the optical theorem are derived: one based on internal equivalent currents and the other based on external fields in terms of a T-matrix formalism, respectively. The theorems are exploited to derive fundamental bounds on absorption by using elementary optimization techniques. The theory has a potential impact in applications where the surrounding losses cannot be neglected, e.g., in medicine, plasmonic photothermal therapy, radio frequency absorption of gold nanoparticle suspensions, etc.  In addition to this, a new method for detection of electrophoretic resonances in a material with Drude-type of dispersion, which is placed in a straight waveguide, is proposed

    Approximation and optimization based on quasi-Herglotz functions

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    The set of quasi-Herglotz functions is introduced as a natural extension of the convex cone of Herglotz functions. The new class of functions consists of differences of Herglotz functions and we demonstrate that it has properties that are useful in the modeling of non-passive systems. The linear space of quasi-Herglotz functions constitutes a natural extension of the convex cone of Herglotz functions and we will illustrate that several of the important properties and modeling perspectives are inherited by the new set of quasi-Herglotz functions. In this presentation, we will focus on the approximation theory and the formulation as a convex optimization problem where the generating measure is modeled by using a finite expansion of B-splines and point masses. Numerical examples are included to demonstrate the modeling of a non-passive gain media.Non UBCUnreviewedAuthor affiliation: Linnaeus UniversityGraduat

    Estimation of electromagnetic material properties with application to high-voltage power cables

    No full text
    Efficient design of high-voltage power cables is important to achieve an economical delivery of electric power from wind farms and power plants over the very long distances as well as the overseas electric power. The main focus of this thesis is the investigation of electromagnetic losses in components of high-voltage power cables. The objective of the ongoing research is to develop the theory and optimization techniques as tools to make material choices and geometry designs to minimize the high-frequency attenuation and dispersion for HVDC power cables and the power losses associated with HVAC cables. Physical limitations, dispersion relationships and the application of sum rules as well as convex optimization will be investigated to obtain adequate physical insight and a priori modeling information for these problems. For HVAC power cables, the objectives are addressed by performing measurements and estimation of complex valued permeability of cable armour steel in Papers I and II. Efficient analytical solutions for the electromagnetic field generated by helical structures with applications for HVAC power cables have been obtained in Paper III. For HVDC power cables, estimation of insulation characteristics from dielectric spectroscopy data using Herglotz functions, convex optimization and B-splines, has been investigated in Papers V and VI. The unique solution requirements in waveguide problems have been reviewed in Paper IV

    Optimization and Physical Bounds for Passive and Non-passive Systems

    No full text
    Physical bounds in electromagnetic field theory have been of interest for more than a decade. Considering electromagnetic structures from the system theory perspective, as systems satisfying linearity, time-invariance, causality and passivity, it is possible to characterize their transfer functions via Herglotz functions. Herglotz functions are useful in modeling of passive systems with applications in mathematical physics, engineering, and modeling of wave phenomena in materials and scattering. Physical bounds on passive systems can be derived in the form of sum rules, which are based on low- and high-frequency asymptotics of the corresponding Herglotz functions. These bounds provide an insight into factors limiting the performance of a given system, as well as the knowledge about possibilities to improve a desired system from a design point of view. However, the asymptotics of the Herglotz functions do not always exist for a given system, and thus a new method for determination of physical bounds is required. In Papers I–II of this thesis, a rigorous mathematical framework for a convex optimization approach based on general weighted Lp-norms, 1≤p≤∞, is introduced. The developed framework is used to approximate a desired system response, and to determine an optimal performance in realization of a system satisfying the target requirement. The approximation is carried out using Herglotz functions, B-splines, and convex optimization.  Papers III–IV of this thesis concern modeling and determination of optimal performance bounds for causal, but not passive systems. To model them, a new class of functions, the quasi-Herglotz functions, is introduced. The new functions are defined as differences of two Herglotz functions and preserve the majority of the properties of Herglotz functions useful for the mathematical framework based on convex optimization. We consider modeling of gain media with desired properties as a causal system, which can be active over certain frequencies or  frequency intervals.  Here, sum rules can also be used under certain assumptions. In Papers V–VII of this thesis, the optical theorem for scatterers immersed in lossy media is revisited. Two versions of the optical theorem are derived: one based on internal equivalent currents and the other based on external fields in terms of a T-matrix formalism, respectively. The theorems are exploited to derive fundamental bounds on absorption by using elementary optimization techniques. The theory has a potential impact in applications where the surrounding losses cannot be neglected, e.g., in medicine, plasmonic photothermal therapy, radio frequency absorption of gold nanoparticle suspensions, etc.  In addition to this, a new method for detection of electrophoretic resonances in a material with Drude-type of dispersion, which is placed in a straight waveguide, is proposed

    Modelling and Simulation of Electrostatic Precipitators with a Dust Layer

    No full text
    A dust layer, especially based on high-resistivity dust, at the collecting electrodes may cause a back corona discharge in electrostatic precipitators (ESP). It can significantly reduce the ESP efficiency and as a result cause ecological damages. To study the dust layer influence inside ESPs, it is necessary to derive an adequate model of the ESP precipitation process with a dust layer at the collecting electrode. The research of the present thesis is focused on stationary studies of the precipitation process with a dust layer at the collecting electrode in ESPs. Three mathematical models are proposed as a description of the precipitation process with a dust layer at the collecting electrode. The models are based on Maxwell’s equations and the finite element method (FEM). COMSOL Multiphysics software is used for their implementation. In all models the dust layer has constant conductivity and the air region has constant ion mobility. In the first model there are no coupling conditions, which is required in mathematics, are given between the two regions. The solution found by COMSOL Multiphysics does not provide physically acceptable coupling conditions. In the second model, a continuous transition zone is introduced between the two regions so that no coupling conditions are required. With the large derivatives in the transition zone, the nonlinear solver in COMSOL Multiphysics does not converge. Finally, in the third model, the dust layer and the grounded collecting electrode are replaced with a boundary condition for the air region. The properties of the third model are investigated, and these models can be used to study the influence of the dust layer. The results of these investigations are reported and discussed.

    Variations on the Author

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    “Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
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