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- Waters, Rafael, 1978-
(author)
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Energy from Ocean Waves : Full Scale Experimental Verification of a Wave Energy Converter
- 2008
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- A wave energy converter has been constructed and its function and operational characteristics have been thoroughly investigated and published. The wave energy converter was installed in March of 2006 approximately two kilometers off the Swedish west coast in the proximity of the town Lysekil. Since then the converter has been submerged at the research site for over two and a half years and in operation during three time periods for a total of 12 months, the latest being during five months of 2008. Throughout this time the generated electricity has been transmitted to shore and operational data has been recorded. The wave energy converter and its connected electrical system has been continually upgraded and each of the three operational periods have investigated more advanced stages in the progression toward grid connection. The wave energy system has faced the challenges of the ocean and initial results and insights have been reached, most important being that the overall wave energy concept has been verified. Experiments have shown that slowly varying power generation from ocean waves is possible.Apart from the wave energy converter, three shorter studies have been performed. A sensor was designed for measuring the air gap width of the linear generator used in the wave energy converter. The sensor consists of an etched coil, a search coil, that functions passively through induction. Theory and experiment showed good agreement.The Swedish west coast wave climate has been studied in detail. The study used eight years of wave data from 13 sites in the Skagerrak and Kattegatt, and data from a wave measurement buoy located at the wave energy research site. The study resulted in scatter diagrams, hundred year extreme wave estimations, and a mapping of the energy flux in the area. The average energy flux was found to be approximately 5.2 kW/m in the offshore Skagerrak, 2.8 kW/m in the near shore Skagerrak, and 2.4 kW/m in the Kattegat.A method for evaluating renewable energy technologies in terms of economy and engineering solutions has been investigated. The match between the technologies and the fundamental physics of renewable energy sources can be given in terms of the technology’s utilization. It is argued that engineers should strive for a high utilization if competitive technologies are to be developed.
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| 2. |
- Wåhlin Larsson, Britta, 1959-
(author)
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Skeletal muscle in Restless legs syndrome (RLS) and Obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome (OSAS)
- 2009
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Restless legs syndrome (RLS) and Obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome (OSAS) are two sleep disorders that affect daily life with symptoms such as sleepiness and fatigue. It was therefore hypothesised that the skeletal muscle could be affected as symptoms from skeletal muscle are common. The overall aim of the thesis was to investigate aerobic capacity and structure of skeletal muscle in patients with OSAS and RLS and an age matched control group to provide information regarding the underlying mechanisms. The specific aims were to investigate muscle fibre composition, capillary network, capillary proliferation and sings of local inflammation in musculus tibialis anterior of RLS and OSAS.OSAS and RLS patients had a significantly lower predicted VO2 max expressed in ml/min/kg compared with the control group and in the OSAS group apnoes-hyponea index (AHI) was inversely correlated to maximal oxygen uptake Fibre type composition and muscle fibre cross sectional area in the tibialis anterior muscle was equal in all groups with a predominant proportion of slow type I fibres and a smaller fibre area in slow type I fibres compared to fast type II fibres. The distribution of fast fibres (I/IIA, IIA) did not differ except for the group IIX and IIA/IIX where OSAS and RLS had a significantly higher percentage. OSAS patients had a significantly higher number of capillaries per fibre (CAF) for slow type I fibres and CAF per fibre area (CAFA) for fast type II fibres. CFPE- index (capillary to fibre perimeter exchange) and LC/PF-index (length of capillary/perimeter of fibre) were higher in both patient groups. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and proliferating endothelial cells were analysed by double-immunofluorescence staining and were presented to a greater extent in the patient groups compared with the healthy controls. Based on normal amounts of T-cells and macrophages in the histological picture it was also demonstrated that local inflammation was not present in the tibialis anterior muscle of RLS and OSAS whish was also supported by the absence of expression of major histocompatibility complex class I molecules (MHC class I) on the surface of the tibialis anterior muscle fibres.In conclusion, the low predicted VO2 max together with higher percentage of type IIX and IIA/IIX muscle fibres indicates a low central capacity in the patient groups. The increased capillary network and the absence of inflammation indicate the occurrence of local hypoxia in tibialis anterior muscle in patients OSAS and RLS.
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