DC-Link Capacitor State-of-Health (SOH) Monitoring and Lifetime Extension for EV Applications

Electric vehicles offer the benefit of eliminating tailpipe emissions, which emit greenhouse gases (GHG) into the atmosphere, lead to diminished air quality, and contribute to global warming. Therefore, plenty of research has gone into the development and improvement of EV technologies to create more effective and reliable vehicles in comparison to traditional internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles. The electric traction drive, or powertrain, is the fundamental system responsible for controlling the output response of the electric motor within an EV. High efficiency and reliability are extremely desirable traits for the electric drive to extend the range of the EV to reduce driver anxiety, as well as to extend the vehicle’s lifetime for a more cost-effective product. Condition monitoring of fragile components allows for the prediction of device failure before it occurs so that catastrophic failure can be avoided, system downtime is reduced, and system reliability can be enhanced. This thesis aims to develop an existing condition monitoring strategy for the most fragile electrical component within the drive, the DC-Link capacitor. The functionality of the DC-Link capacitor is discussed and power loss modelling for the device is presented. A DC-Link capacitor condition monitoring scheme that employs two state-of-health (SOH) determination strategies is presented for improved reliability of the DC-Link capacitor, and overall motor drive system. This scheme features an online degradation calculation method and a quasi-online parameter estimation method for determining the SOH of the device. An analysis of the impact of sensor tolerance, sampling frequency and ambient temperature on parameter estimation accuracy is also performed, and the minimal sampling frequency required for reliable condition monitoring is identified as 50 kHz through simulation and experimental results. This thesis also proposes a novel LUT based PWM selection strategy with the aim of prolonging the lifetime of the DC-Link capacitor without significantly sacrificing the performance of the permanent magnet synchronous machine (PMSM) drive compared to conventional control methods. The total capacitance degradation over a drive-cycle based analysis is compared under the proposed PWM selection strategy and under conventional space vector PWM control in order to validate the ability of the proposed strategy to extend the lifetime of the DC-Link capacitor. In the simulation study, over a nine load point load profile the degradation of the dc-link capacitor was reduced by 3.994% under the proposed strategy, validating the ability to extend the lifetime of the dc-link capacitor

Quantifying the Relative Importance of Boat Wakes in Fetch-Limited Environments

Wind waves and wind-generated currents are known to contribute to shoreline change, but there is increasing evidence that vessel-generated waves (i.e., boat wakes) can cause erosion in fetch-limited environments and narrow waterways. Depending on vessel type and speed of operation boat wakes can resuspend sediment leading to shoreline erosion, habitat loss, degradation of water quality and damage to shoreline infrastructure. The number of cottages and recreational boats on inland lakes has been steadily increasing in Ontario in recent decades, which has resulted in a growing awareness of boat wake impacts and the need for research focused on their impact to shorelines. The Muskoka Lakes region (Lake Joseph, Lake Rosseau, and Lake Muskoka) is known as “Canadian Cottage Country,†with approximately 7,000 cottages along 480 km of shoreline. The impact of boat wakes on shoreline morphology, habitat, and infrastructure has resulted in the establishment of advocacy groups such as “Safe Quiet Lakes†and the need for additional data on the potential impacts of boat wakes to inform new and amended vessel restrictions and local education programs in the region and across Ontario. Using low-cost wave and water level sensors developed and built at the University of Windsor, the purpose of this study is to assess the erosive potential of boat wakes relative to wind waves at ten sites across Lakes Joseph, Rosseau, and Muskoka. These sites represent a range of different shoreline types, orientations, wave fetch lengths and vessel activity, to allow for a lake-wide assessment of the relative importance of boat wakes and wind waves to the shoreline. Results collected from the regular ice-free cottage season of 2022 (June - October) will be used for community education, inform coastal management and policy reform, and the assessment of additional monitoring needed on boat wake impacts on Ontario’s inland lakes

Flourish Farms - Flourishing Sustainable Futures

The project Flourish Farms intends to help flourish sustainable futures for vulnerable populations. The farm was developed as a shelter for survivors of domestic violence and is transferable in part or as a whole to other interventions designed to help during the housing crisis. There are many reasons that it is so hard to escape homelessness. Martha Nussbaum\u27s capabilities approach helps work against some barriers for women trying to escape homelessness due to domestic violence and gain capabilities as a sustainable approach to human welfare. In partnership with the 17 sustainability goals laid out by the United Nations, Flourish farms works towards good health and well-being for people and the planet. The farm takes climate action through affordable and clean energy and responsible consumption and production, aiming to protect life on land. Using life on land, the farm aims to reduce hunger with yearlong farming. The farming system works to reduce poverty through support for all basic living needs from farm sales. The farm promotes gender equality and reduces inequalities through quality education, access to decent work, peace, justice and a strong institution to support women escaping domestic violence holistically so they can achieve maximal well-being and sustain it after they depart

INVESTIGATING THE NEUROPROTECTIVE EFFICACY OF ASHWAGANDHA ROOT EXTRACT AND UBISOL-Q10 AS TREATMENT FOR MECHANISMS OF ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE IN DOUBLE TRANSGENIC MOUSE MODELS

Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia and one of the most prevalent neurodegenerative disorders. Due to the rapid aging of today’s population, the disorder is drastically increasing in prevalence. Among other symptoms, AD causes severe deficits in cognition and behaviour, as well as a progressive loss in memory. The disease manifests itself through oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, inflammation, and a decrease in autophagy and cellular senescence. At present, there is no treatment for AD that can halt its progression or reverse its effects, only medications for treatment of AD associated symptoms. These medications can cause many adverse side effects. Natural Health Products (NHPs) are compounds that avoid detrimental side effects while being advantageous in the treatment of many disorders. Two in particular, Ashwagandha Root Extract (ASH) and Ubisol-Q10 have been shown separately to aid in the reduction of the negative effects of AD and the restoration of healthy neurological mechanisms. The current study utilizes ethanolic ASH and Ubiol-Q10 in combination, to determine its efficacy of treatment in double transgenic mouse models of AD. Mice with two transgenes, PSEN1 and APP, were subjected to one of 5 treatment groups which were stained with immunofluorescent antibodies. Oxidative stress, autophagy, inflammation, and activation of neurotrophic growth factors were observed with fluorescent microscope imaging. Results demonstrate that ASH and Ubisol-Q10 have neuroprotective effects which are depicted through each of the aforementioned processes. Future research in this area should conduct a quantitative analysis of the mechanisms

Developing Taqman Open Array Assays to test circadian clock gene expression

Circadian rhythms are internal mechanisms present in nearly all animals that time behaviour and physiology to occur in 24-hour oscillation periods. We attempted to develop TaqMan Open Array assays to detect conserved regions of clock genes. We initially targeted 13 circadian clock genes and 3 control genes. Primers were designed for regions of homology in Salmonids and Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha), and following their design were tested using Chinook cDNA by SYBR Green qPCR. It was possible to design primers targeting Salmonid cDNA for all genes; these were used to construct TaqMan Open Array chips successfully. To test whether these were able to detect circadian gene expression, we investigated Chinook muscle tissues of fish in four environmental conditions. We examined Chinook salmon parr entrained in 4 different photoperiods: 12-hour Light:12-hour Darkness (12:12 LD), 8:16 LD, 16:8 LD, and 24 DD (complete darkness). The final condition is a test of circadian rhythmicity which will persist in the absence of photoperiod. As expected, circadian clock genes oscillated in a 24-hour manner in the 12:12 LD condition, but these are altered in 8:16 LD, and 16:8 LD, in a gene-specific manner. Importantly, these genes persisted in DD conditions, demonstrating that the circadian clock is functional, and gene expression observed is not due to stochastic changes. Our ongoing work includes deeper analysis on the changes in clock genes’ expression between these different photoperiod conditions tested, and how these influence muscle tissue growth and morphology. Using these parameters, overall Chinook health will also be assessed

The Reallocation of Funding and the Integration of Support Programs in Dementia Caregiving: Improving the Dementia Epidemic

Canada’s current dementia epidemic is worsening due to a lack of accessible, dementia caregiver-specific funding, and social support. Implementation of focused funding and community support programs have made significant, positive impacts on many global issues. Thus, we propose a reallocation of current federal health funding and the integration of accessible support programs in dementia caregiving

Peer-mediated social skill interventions for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A systematic review

This purpose of this systematic literature review was to examine current research literature surrounding peer-mediated social skill interventions for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. As a core deficit of Autism Spectrum disorders, social skill impairment impacts the child\u27s ability to interact with their peers, and in the future, interact with their community. This systematic literature review identifies key indicators of effective interventions in current research of social skill interventions for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Interventions are assessed using the Social Skill Intervention Evaluation framework as for their specificity in targeting core deficits of Autism as identified by the American Psychiatric Association’s diagnostic criteria. This research was conducted as a systematic review of the research literature using PRISMA guidelines for systematic literature reviews. The reviewed literature examined peer-mediated interventions that targeted social skills for children between the ages of 3-12. Using Bellini and Hopf’s (2007) study as a framework, social skill interventions were coded according to the criterion of social reciprocity and social participation and corresponding sub criteria. Additionally, studies were examined in alignment with diagnostic criteria of social communication deficit to examine specificity for targeting skills for individuals with ASD. The findings of the systematic review identified the majority of the peer-mediated intervention targets included initiating social exchanges, responding to social interactions, and acknowledging communicative partners. When examining the interventions in relation to the diagnostic criteria of social communication deficits, all the peer-mediated interventions in the review primarily targeted the social initiation and response area

The Role of the Cyclin-like Protein, Spy1, on Cell Cycle Progression and Liver Cancer

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the cause of approximately 1 million deaths per year, and accounts for 85-90% of all primary liver cancers. Its presence has been observed worldwide, survival rates are poor, and many risk factors put individuals at a higher chance of developing this disease. Effective therapies are limited leading to poor 5-year survival. The primary cell type of the liver, hepatocytes, display unique cell growth and proliferation properties. Hepatocytes become polyploid through development, which increases the DNA content in each cell, and they retain the potential to regenerate and proliferate. Increased polyploidy has been shown to be a protective factor in the development and progression of HCC. Misregulation of the cell cycle plays a critical role in the onset of HCC. Spy1 is an atypical cyclin-like protein that can induce progression through the cell cycle by binding to cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs). This binding allowing for unique progression through various cell cycle checkpoints, and Spy1 is known to be elevated in HCC. A transgenic mouse model, MMTV-Spy1, that has decreased hepatocyte ploidy and increased susceptibility to liver tumour formation, will be utilized to study the effects of increased expression of Spy1 on hepatocyte regeneration, susceptibility to tumour formation and response to treatment. Expression of mediators of cell cycle progression, differentiation and metabolism in hepatocytes, such as p53, CCAAT/enhancer binding proteins (C/EBP), cyclin D and p27, will be examined. The results will provide insight into the effects that Spy1 has on cell cycle progression in hepatocytes, and may reveal a novel therapeutic target in the treatment of HCC

The Effect of Fault Detection, Diagnosis, and Recovery on Resilience in Manufacturing Systems

Failures are unwanted but also inevitable part of any manufacturing system. If not handled properly, they will lead to machine breakdown and line stoppage, which can cause a loss of production time and increased operating costs. One of the causes of failures is unattended faults. Faults are any unwanted deviations that can occur in any component of the system, mechanical parts, software, sensors, actuators, etc. To prevent that, manufactures have taken fault detection and diagnosis measures, from simpler knowledge and model-based techniques to more complicated traditional machine learning since the 2010s and to present-day deep learning theories. Another concept that helps manufacturers to continue manufacturing efficiently at a reasonable cost and production time is resilience, which is a system’s capability to withstand and accommodate disruptions and recover back to an acceptable state as soon as possible. Even though resilience is a widely studied concept against sudden high-impact disruptions of the supply chain, it is yet to be studied against fault and lighter disruptions. A disruptive event, such as machine or station failure, will lead to full or partial loss of production in the manufacturing system. Therefore, gaining understanding and evaluation of disruptive events and their impacts will have significant impact on the economic sustainability of the manufacturing system. This research will focus on linking the concept of fault detection and diagnosis with fault recovery and resilience of manufacturing systems. To obtain the results, different types of faults are developed in a manufacturing system, and the time taken to handle (detect, diagnose, and recover) each fault is presumed. This means that the author utilized both empirical research findings from literature and case studies, as well as some conjectural data due to a scarcity of available information. Next, with the help of simulation software, the manufacturing system is modeled, and the impact of each type of fault on the system and its resiliency is studied. Finally, with quantitative measures, the system’s resilience is calculated