Design and Implementation of a Reconfigurable Phase Shift Full-Bridge Converter for Wide Voltage Range EV Charging Application

This article analyzes, designs, and tests a reconfigurable phase shift full-bridge (r-PSFB) isolated dc/dc converter well suited for a wide voltage operating range. By controlling the auxiliary switches, a series or parallel connection can be realized on the secondary side of the converter. As a result, the r-PSFB converter can operate in an...

Increased backing softness of planar smooth dry adhesives enhances contact area and frictional load capacity on a cylindrical substrate: With bio-inspired backings: Solid, Sponge & Inflatable

Dry adhesives can reattach to surfaces due to the reversible bond made by Van der Waals forces. These adhesives can therefore be used as gripping surface that has a high frictional load capacity, independent of the grasping force. In many grippers, the adhesive surface is often pressed into contact with another surface (’substrate’) in an open...

Design and Functional Assessment of a Versatile Gripper for a Care-Robot

The Netherlands has a severe shortage of care workers. The shortage is expected to increase in the coming years. Care-robots could provide a solution, by taking work out of the hands of the care workers. The potential utility of the care-robot is dependent on the functionality of the gripper. The goal of this study was to design and develop a...

The Next Mugshot: Designing the next identity enrolment facility for the Dutch National Police

Pushed by technology and international regulations the world of identities is rapidly changing. Among others, the Dutch government is obliged to keep up. In line with these developments, a special facility for execution of identification processes for crime and migration purposes was nationally commissioned in 2015, called the ‘’Basisvoorziening...

Circular building foundations: A structural exploration of the possibilities for making building foundations contribute to a circular economy

This research investigated how traditional foundations of buildings can become circular and thus contribute to a circular economy. The current linear take-make-dispose economy results in waste, exhaustion of finite natural resources and environmental degradation. A circular economy is one way to cope with these trends. This type of economy is...

Flexible framework for the development of versatile MAV systems for multi-disciplinary applications

MAV (Micro Aerial Vehicle) systems have proven useful in multiple applications (e.g. aerial photogrammetry, aerial inspections,...). For each application different sensors and even different airframes are often needed. Having a flexible UAS (Unmanned Aircraft System) devices (specifically an autopilot, a payload manager and a ground control...

Engineering a fungal peroxidase that degrades lignin at very acidic pH

Background Ligninolytic peroxidases are divided into three families: manganese peroxidases (MnPs), lignin peroxidases (LiPs), and versatile peroxidases (VPs). The latter two are able to degrade intact lignins, as shown using nonphenolic lignin model compounds, with VP oxidizing the widest range of recalcitrant substrates. One of the main...

The design of a composite indoor kart chassis

This master thesis shows the development and design of a composite indoor kart chassis. The development went through six phases from the analysis into an evaluated chassis design, called Vulture. The other phases in between were idea generation, concept development, embodiment design and prototype building. Main focus points were: easy...

Near field optical data storage

This thesis describes research done at Philips Research on near-field optical data storage systems with a solid immersion lens.