Full instability behavior of N-dimensional dynamical systems with a one-directional nonlinear vector field

We show how certain N-dimensional dynamical systems are able to exploit the full instability capabilities of their fixed points to do Hopf bifurcations and how such a behavior produces complex time evolutions based on the nonlinear combination of the oscillation modes that emerged from these bifurcations. For really different oscillation frequencies, the evolutions describe robust wave form structures, usually periodic, in which selfsimilarity with respect to both the time scale and system dimension is clearly appreciated. For closer frequencies, the evolution signals usually appear irregular but are still based on the repetition of complex wave form structures. The study is developed by considering vector fields with a scalar-valued nonlinear function of a single variable that is a linear combination of the N dynamical variables. In this case, the linear stability analysis can be used to design N-dimensional systems in which the fixed points of a saddle-node pair experience up to N21 Hopf bifurcations with preselected oscillation frequencies. The secondary processes occurring in the phase region where the variety of limit cycles appear may be rather complex and difficult to characterize, but they produce the nonlinear mixing of oscillation modes with relatively generic features

Um estudo teórico relativo à não-linearidade da ligação de hidrogênio em sistemas heterocíclicos C2H4O-C2H2 e C2H4S-C2H2

B3LYP/6-31G(d,p) calculations were used to determine the optimized geometries of the C2H4O-C2H2 and C2H4S-C2H2 heterocyclic hydrogen-bonded complexes. Results of structural, rotational, electronic and vibrational parameters indicate that the hydrogen bonding is non-linear due to the pi bond of the acetylene interacting with the hydrogen atoms of the methyl groups of the three-membered rings. Moreover, the theoretical investigation showed that the non-linearity is much more intriguing, since there is a structural disjunction on the acetylene within the heterocyclic system.

Simulação de espectros de ressonância paramagnética eletrônica (RPE) através do programa NLSL

EPR users often face the problem of extracting information from frequently low-resolution and complex EPR spectra. Simulation programs that provide a series of parameters, characteristic of the investigated system, have been used to achieve this goal. This work describes the general aspects of one of those programs, the NLSL program, used to fit EPR spectra applying a nonlinear least squares method. Several motion regimes of the probes are included in this computational tool, covering a broad range of spectral changes. The meanings of the different parameters and rotational diffusion models are discussed. The anisotropic case is also treated by including an orienting potential and order parameters. Some examples are presented in order to show its applicability in different systems.

O efeito de Coriolis: de pêndulos a moléculas

Coriolis force is an effect which arises in rotating reference frames such as the Earth. This force influences large oceanic motions, atmospheric inertial circles, horizontal and vertical deviations in moving bodies. The Foucault's pendulum is another special case about the Coriolis force influence on macroscopic processes. This pendulum is an example of how experimental sciences can be essential for philosophical and social changes, since it was crucial to prove the Earth's rotation. The Coriolis force has an important role also at microscopic level; it couples vibrational and rotational molecular motions and this fact has consequences in spectroscopic and energetic molecular processes. These points are discussed in this paper.

Estudo das ligações de hidrogênio para dímeros formados pelas moléculas de H2O, NH3, HF, HCl e HBr através de cálculos baseados em primeiros princípios

Hydrogen bond energies of fifteen dimers were calculated using the large basis set 6-311++G(3df,3pd), at Hartree-Fock (HF) level including Møller-Plesset (MP2) calculations. The procedure for obtaining such energies were based on the dimer's energy rise provoked by increasing in intermolecular distance of the system component units. Deviations from a strictly linear hydrogen bond were investigated and rotational barriers were also computed allowing the calculation of the second order attractive interactions. In order to provide a more objective definition of hydrogen bond, a lower energy limit was proposed in place of the merely empirical parameters employed in the classical definition

Imobilização de lacase de Aspergillus sp. em quitosana e sua aplicação na bioconversão de fenóis em reatores de leito fixo

The immobilization of laccase on chitosan by cross-linking and application of the immobilized laccase in the bioconversion of phenolic compounds in batch and fixed bed reactors were studied. The process for immobilization of enzyme was optimized using a rotational central composite design. The optimized conditions to generate immobilized laccase with maximal activity were determined to be a glutaraldehyde concentration of 1.0% (v/v), a pH of 6.0, an immobilization time of 5.0 hours and an enzyme concentration of 5.2 g L-1. In packed bed reactors, the activity of the immobilized enzyme is maintained for a longer time in the bioconversion of 2,6-dimethoxyphenol than in the bioconversion of syringaldazine.

Nosturin kuormauselimen liitynnän suunnittelu

Paperiteollisuuden prosessituotteista paperia varastoidaan erikokoisina rullina esim. pystyrullavarastoihin. Tämän diplomityön tavoitteena oli kehittää Konecranesin prosessinosturille liityntä paperirullia käsittelevän kuormauselimen ja nosturin välille. Tavoitteena oli löytää kiinnitysmenetelmä, joka mahdollistaa nosturien joustavan käytön mahdollisimman pienin muutoksin itse nosturin standardoituun rakenteeseen. Pääasiallisena syventymisen kohteena oli alipaineella paperirullia nostettavan kuormauselimen liityntä. Liitynnän on kyettävä joustamaan ja vaimentamaan paperirullia nostavaan kuormauselimeen nosturin liikkeelle lähdöstä ja pysähtymisestä syntyvät herätteet ja voimat. Nosturin liikenopeus on kyettävä pitämään mahdollisimman suurena lyhyen rullienkäsittelyajan saavuttamiseksi. Liitynnältä vaaditaan kykyä ottaa kuormauselin vastaan mahdollisimman suurella nostonopeudella. Lisäksi kuorman ja kuormauselimen oskillaatio on vaimennettava mahdollisimman nopeasti samalla rajoittaen heilunnasta aiheutuvaa maksimi siirtymää. Liitynnän suunnittelu pohjautuu nosturin, kuormauselimen ja paperirullan muodostaman systeemin teoreettiseen tarkasteluun. Systeemistä laadittiin dynaaminen malli, jonka avulla tutkittiin oskillaation ja syntyvien kiihtyvyyksien suuruutta. Näiden teoriaan perustuvien tuloksien pohjalta suunniteltiin vaimennukseen tarvittavat vaimennuselementit ja liitynnän rakenne. Suunnittelutyön tuloksena saatiin liitynnälle alustava rakenne, joka mahdollistaa käytettävien vaimennuselementtien vaihtamisen ja siten tehokkaan heilunnan vaimmennuksen. Suunnittelutyön lähtökohtana oleva teoreettinen tarkastelu vaatii tuekseen esim. prototyypin kokeellisten tulosten saamiseksi ennen lopullisen tuotteen valmistamista. Suunnitteluprosessissa noudatettiin järjestelmällisen tuotesuunnittelun vaiheita ja menetelmiä.

Multilevel converter modulation: implementation and analysis

Multilevel converters provide an attractive solution to bring the benefits of speed-controlled rotational movement to high-power applications. Therefore, multilevel inverters have attracted wide interest in both the academic community and in the industry for the past two decades. In this doctoral thesis, modulation methods suitable especially for series connected H-bridge multilevel inverters are discussed. A concept of duty cycle modulation is presented and its modification is proposed. These methods are compared with other well-known modulation schemes, such as space-vector pulse width modulation and carrier-based modulation schemes. The advantage of the modified duty-cycle modulation is its algorithmic simplicity. A similar mathematical formulation for the original duty cycle modulation is proposed. The modified duty cycle modulation is shown to produce well-formed phase-to-neutral voltages that have lower total harmonic distortion than the space-vector pulse width modulation and the duty cycle modulation. The space-vector-based solution and the duty cycle modulation, on the other hand, result in a better-quality line-to-line voltage and current waveform. The voltage of the DC links in the modules of the series-connected H-bridge inverter are shown to fluctuate while they are under load. The fluctuation causes inaccuracies in the voltage production, which may result in a failure of the flux estimator in the controller. An extension for upper-level modulation schemes, which changes the switching instants of the inverter so that the output voltage meets the reference voltage accurately regardless of the DC link voltages, is proposed. The method is shown to reduce the error to a very low level when a sufficient switching frequency is used. An appropriate way to organize the switching instants of the multilevel inverter is to make only one-level steps at a time. This causes restrictions on the dynamical features of the modulation schemes. The produced voltage vector cannot be rotated several tens of degrees in a single switching period without violating the above-mentioned one-level-step rule. The dynamical capabilities of multilevel inverters are analyzed in this doctoral thesis, and it is shown that the multilevel inverters are capable of operating even in dynamically demanding metal industry applications. In addition to the discussion on modulation schemes, an overvoltage in multilevel converter drives caused by cable reflection is addressed. The voltage reflection phenomenon in drives with long feeder cables causes premature insulation deterioration and also affects the commonmode voltage, which is one of the main reasons for bearing currents. Bearing currents, on the other hand, cause fluting in the bearings, which results in premature bearing failure. The reflection phenomenon is traditionally prevented by filtering, but in this thesis, a modulationbased filterless method to mitigate the overvoltage in multilevel drives is proposed. Moreover, the mitigation method can be implemented as an extension for upper-level modulation schemes. The method exploits the oscillations caused by two consecutive voltage edges so that the sum of the oscillations results in a mitigated peak of the overvoltage. The applicability of the method is verified by simulations together with experiments with a full-scale prototype.

Numerical modelling of small supersonic axial flow turbines

Supersonic axial turbine stages typically exhibit lower efficiencies than subsonic axial turbine stages. One reason for the lower efficiency is the occurrence of shock waves. With higher pressure ratios the flow inside the turbine becomes relatively easily supersonic if there is only one turbine stage. Supersonic axial turbines can be designed in smaller physical size compared to subsonic axial turbines of same power. This makes them good candidates for turbochargers in large diesel engines, where space can be a limiting factor. Also the production costs are lower for a supersonic axial turbine stage than for two subsonic stages. Since supersonic axial turbines are typically low reaction turbines, they also create lower axial forces to be compensated with bearings compared to high reaction turbines. The effect of changing the stator-rotor axial gap in a small high (rotational) speed supersonic axial flow turbine is studied in design and off-design conditions. Also the effect of using pulsatile mass flow at the supersonic stator inlet is studied. Five axial gaps (axial space between stator and rotor) are modeled using threedimensional computational fluid dynamics at the design and three axial gaps at the off-design conditions. Numerical reliability is studied in three independent studies. An additional measurement is made with the design turbine geometry at intermediate off-design conditions and is used to increase the reliability of the modelling. All numerical modelling is made with the Navier-Stokes solver Finflo employing Chien’s k ¡ ² turbulence model. The modelling of the turbine at the design and off-design conditions shows that the total-to-static efficiency of the turbine decreases when the axial gap is increased in both design and off-design conditions. The efficiency drops almost linearily at the off-design conditions, whereas the efficiency drop accelerates with increasing axial gap at the design conditions. The modelling of the turbine stator with pulsatile inlet flow reveals that the mass flow pulsation amplitude is decreased at the stator throat. The stator efficiency and pressure ratio have sinusoidal shapes as a function of time. A hysteresis-like behaviour is detected for stator efficiency and pressure ratio as a function of inlet mass flow, over one pulse period. This behaviour arises from the pulsatile inlet flow. It is important to have the smallest possible axial gap in the studied turbine type in order to maximize the efficiency. The results for the whole turbine can also be applied to some extent in similar turbines operating for example in space rocket engines. The use of a supersonic stator in a pulsatile inlet flow is shown to be possible.

Modeling of water/steam circulation in Circulating Fluidized Bed boiler

A distinctive design feature of steam boiler with natural circulation is the presence of the steam drum which plays a role of the separator of vapor from the flow of water-and-steam mixture coming into steam drum from the furnace tubes. Steam drum with unheated downcomer tubes, deducing from it, and riser (screen/furnace tubes) inside the furnace is a closed circulation loop in which movement of water (downcomer tubes) and water-and-steam mixture (riser tubes) is organized. The movement of the working fluid is appears due to occurrence of the natural pressure, determined by the difference in hydrostatic pressure and the mass of water and water-and-steam mixtures in downcomer and riser tubes and called the driving pressure of the natural circulation: S drive = H steam (ρ down + ρ mix) g where: ρ down - density of water in downcomer tubes; ρ mix - density of water in riser tubes; H steam - height of steam content section; g - acceleration of gravity. In steam boilers with natural circulation the circulation rate is usually between 10 and 30. Thus, consumption of water in the circulation circuit “circulation rate times” more than steam output of the boiler. There are two aspects of the design of natural water circulation loops. One is to ensure a sufficient mass flux of circulating water to avoid burnout of evaporator tubes. The other is to avoid tube wall temperature fluctuation and tube vibration due to oscillation of circulation velocity. The design criteria are therefore reduced, in principle, to those of critical heat flux, critical flow rate for burnout, and flow instability. In practical design, however, the circulation velocity and the void fraction at the evaporator tube outlet are used as the design criteria (Seikan I., et. al., 1999). This study has been made with assumption that the heat flux in the furnace of the boiler even all the time. The target of the study was to define the circulation rate of the boiler, thus average heat flux do not change it. I would like to acknowledge professionals from “Foster Wheeler” company for good and comfortable cooperation.

The Use of Radiostereometric Analysis in Fractures of the Distal Radius: From Phantom Models to Clinical Application

Radiostereometric analysis (RSA) is a highly accurate method for the measurement of in vivo micromotion of orthopaedic implants. Validation of the RSA method is a prerequisite for performing clinical RSA studies. Only a limited number of studies have utilised the RSA method in the evaluation of migration and inducible micromotion during fracture healing. Volar plate fixation of distal radial fractures has increased in popularity. There is still very little prospective randomised evidence supporting the use of these implants over other treatments. The aim of this study was to investigate the precision, accuracy, and feasibility of using RSA in the evaluation of healing in distal radius fractures treated with a volar fixed-angle plate. A physical phantom model was used to validate the RSA method for simple distal radius fractures. A computer simulation model was then used to validate the RSA method for more complex interfragmentary motion in intra-articular fractures. A separate pre-clinical investigation was performed in order to evaluate the possibility of using novel resorbable markers for RSA. Based on the validation studies, a prospective RSA cohort study of fifteen patients with plated AO type-C distal radius fractures with a 1-year follow-up was performed. RSA was shown to be highly accurate and precise in the measurement of fracture micromotion using both physical and computer simulated models of distal radius fractures. Resorbable RSA markers demonstrated potential for use in RSA. The RSA method was found to have a high clinical precision. The fractures underwent significant translational and rotational migration during the first two weeks after surgery, but not thereafter. Maximal grip caused significant translational and rotational interfragmentary micromotion. This inducible micromotion was detectable up to eighteen weeks, even after the achievement of radiographic union. The application of RSA in the measurement of fracture fragment migration and inducible interfragmentary micromotion in AO type-C distal radius fractures is feasible but technically demanding. RSA may be a unique tool in defining the progress of fracture union.

Monitoring of centrifugal pump operation by a frequency converter

Centrifugal pumps are widely used in industrial and municipal applications, and they are an important end-use application of electric energy. However, in many cases centrifugal pumps operate with a significantly lower energy efficiency than they actually could, which typically has an increasing effect on the pump energy consumption and the resulting energy costs. Typical reasons for this are the incorrect dimensioning of the pumping system components and inefficiency of the applied pump control method. Besides the increase in energy costs, an inefficient operation may increase the risk of a pump failure and thereby the maintenance costs. In the worst case, a pump failure may lead to a process shutdown accruing additional costs. Nowadays, centrifugal pumps are often controlled by adjusting their rotational speed, which affects the resulting flow rate and output pressure of the pumped fluid. Typically, the speed control is realised with a frequency converter that allows the control of the rotational speed of an induction motor. Since a frequency converter can estimate the motor rotational speed and shaft torque without external measurement sensors on the motor shaft, it also allows the development and use of sensorless methods for the estimation of the pump operation. Still today, the monitoring of pump operation is based on additional measurements and visual check-ups, which may not be applicable to determine the energy efficiency of the pump operation. This doctoral thesis concentrates on the methods that allow the use of a frequency converter as a monitoring and analysis device for a centrifugal pump. Firstly, the determination of energy-efficiency- and reliability-based limits for the recommendable operating region of a variable-speed-driven centrifugal pump is discussed with a case study for the laboratory pumping system. Then, three model-based estimation methods for the pump operating location are studied, and their accuracy is determined by laboratory tests. In addition, a novel method to detect the occurrence of cavitation or flow recirculation in a centrifugal pump by a frequency converter is introduced. Its sensitivity compared with known cavitation detection methods is evaluated, and its applicability is verified by laboratory measurements for three different pumps and by using two different frequency converters. The main focus of this thesis is on the radial flow end-suction centrifugal pumps, but the studied methods can also be feasible with mixed and axial flow centrifugal pumps, if allowed by their characteristics.

Kaasun dispergoituminen tehdasmittakaavaisessa keskisakean massan sekoittimessa

Työn tarkoituksena oli selvittää Proto 10 kemikaalisekoittimen kyky dispergoida kaasua keskisakean valkaistun mäntysellun joukkoon. Työssä käytettiin kuvantamistekniikkaa, jonka avulla pystyttiin näkemään sekoittimen ja putkiston sisälle sekoitustapahtuman aikana. Muodostunutta dispersiota tarkasteltiin kolmesta kuvauspisteestä, joista yksi sijaitsi sekoittimen pesässä ja kaksi putkistossa sekoittimen jälkeen. Työssä verrattiin myös laboratoriosekoittimella saatuja tuloksia teollisen mittakaavan sekoittimella saatuihin tuloksiin, sekä määritettiin tarvittava pinta-aktiivisen aineen konsentraatio, jolla saavutettiin ruskeaa massaa vastaava vaahtoaminen. Työn kokeellinen osuus koostui kolmesta osasta. Ensimmäisessä vaiheessa tutkittiin ruskeasta mänty- ja koivumassasta lingotun suodoksen vaahtoamista ja verrattiin sitä vedellä ja pesuaineella saatavaan vaahtoon. Toisessa vaiheessa suoritettiin referenssiajot laboratoriosekoittimen ja teollisen mittakaavan sekoittimen vertailua varten Quantum Mark IV laboratoriosekoittimella. Kolmannessa vaiheessa tutkittiin Proto 10 sekoittimen kykyä dispergoida kaasua mäntysellun joukkoon eri pyörimisnopeuksilla ja virtaamilla. Työn tuloksien perusteella energiankäytön kannalta paras pyörimisnopeus Proto 10 sekoittimelle on 1500 min-1. Nostamalla kierrosnopeutta yli tämän ei saavutettu merkittävää parannusta dispersion laadussa varsinkaan suuremmilla virtaamilla. Virtaamalla todettiin olevan suuri merkitys sekoitustulokseen. Laboratoriosekoittimella tehtyjen kokeiden todettiin vastaavan parhaiten teollisen mittakaavan tuloksia pyörimisnopeudella 1200 min-1.

Teollisuusprosessien signaalien automaattinen analysointi

Diplomityössä kehitettiin menetelmiä teollisuusprosessien signaalien automaattiseen havainnointiin ja luotiin työkalu tulosten esittämiseen. Työn tarkoituksena on nopeuttaa ja helpottaa prosessin ongelmien ratkaisua luokittelemalla signaalit matemaattisten menetelmien avulla. Koska prosessin mittaussignaalit ovat pääasiassa stokastisia, eli niitä ei voida etukäteen ennustaa, käsitellään signaaleita tilastomatemaattisin keinoin. Työstä rajattiin mittaushistorian käyttö, joten värähtelyiden tunnistus toteutettiin taajuusanalyysin avulla. Korrelaation avulla löydetään samankaltaiset signaalit. Testeissä todettiin, että työssä kehitetyt havainnoinnit toimivat eri näytteenottotaajuuksilla ja työkalun suoritusnopeus todettiin hyväksi. Lopuksi esiteltiin todellinen teollisuusprosessin ongelma ja siihen mahdollisia ratkaisuja.