Interlocking Cross Laminated Timber (ICLT) wall panels are a new wood construction product similar to Cross Laminated Timber panels. Besides being an innovative structural system, they also utilize beetle killed timber from many of the forests that have been devastated by the Mountain Pine Beetle. Three tests were performed on three ply ICLT panels measuring 8 feet (2.44m) wide, 8 feet (2.44m) tall and 8.5 inches (21.6cm) thick to determine the racking, flexural and axial strengths of the wall panels. After each test was performed the walls were disassembled and investigated for cause of failure. Using the data from the tests as a benchmark, simple analytical models to predict the design capacities of the walls for racking, flexural, and axial strengths were established. The analytical models for racking strength, flexural strength and axial strength predicted reasonably well the measured strength values. Additional testing is necessary to increase the available database, further validate the analytical models developed, better understand the structural performance of ICLT panels, and establish acceptable design methodology for ICLT wall panels.

Tire, or in its primitive form, Wheel, an important invention for the transportation sector, has evolved from a circular block of hard and durable material to one of the most complex and influential components of an automobile. It is the only means of contact between the vehicle and the road and is responsible for generating forces and moments that impact vehicle performance, stability, and control. Tire tribology is the study of interacting surfaces in relative motion which includes friction and wear. Tire friction is an essential concept for estimating the tractive effort/ traction at the tire-road interface that further helps to determine the control and stability of the vehicle. In contrary, it also results in rolling resistance and wear. Tire and vehicle engineers are henceforth interested in a robust and efficient approach towards estimation of friction and wear. Past experimental observations using tread compound samples have revealed the different factors influencing the friction at the contacting interface. In addition, different mechanisms or components resulting in frictional losses, being Hysteretic, Adhesive and Viscous, and wear being abrasive, fatigue, adhesive and corrosive were also observed. Although experimental and empirical observations have provided us with an accurate estimation of friction and wear parameters, it is very tedious and expensive approach. Recent developments in the computational power encouraged researchers and engineers towards evolution of analytical and numerical models considering the underlying physical mechanisms at the contact interface. Past research studies developed multiscale techniques for estimation of friction coefficient due to hysteretic losses from internal damping of the rubber material because of oscillation from surface undulations. Later, contact mechanics models developed using Hertzian technique or stochastic approach were considered in conjunction with frictional losses to obtain the hysteretic component of friction to consider the effect of surface roughness. Previous studies at CenTiRe focused on surface characterization techniques and estimation of friction for dry surfaces using Persson and Klüppel's approach. Comparative studies unveiled the importance of considering pressure/ normal load towards friction estimation. In addition, it was found that effect of adhesion for estimation of contact mechanics parameters must be considered. The present work focusses on obtaining a conceptual framework to model a comprehensive friction model considering the effect of surface roughness, substrate condition and asperity interaction. A finite element simulation of rubber block sliding on a rough substrate is performed using a multiscale technique for estimation of friction and contact mechanics under dry condition. The estimated contact mechanics and friction is compared with analytical models and experimental measurements obtained using Linear sliding friction tester developed in collaboration with other members of the group. In addition, a FE model is developed to measure the wear properties of rubber material based on continuum damage mechanics and further obtain the wear profile of a rubber block sliding on a rough substrate. / Doctor of Philosophy / Tribology, a recent terminology for an age-old concept of friction, wear, and lubrication. the study of interacting surfaces in relative motion which includes friction and wear. Friction is the resisting force at the contact interface leading to heat build-up and material loss at the contact interface which is known as flash temperature and wear respectively. Tire is one of the most complex and influential components of a vehicle that helps in optimizing its performance for better stability and control. Knowledge of tire friction and wear is important for tire engineering and vehicle dynamics engineers as it helps in characterizing the handling characteristics of the vehicle, characterizing the tire material compounds to understand the tire durability. Rubber is a viscoelastic material, the friction and wear in rubber is intricate as opposed to other elastic materials. Based on experimental observations in the past, friction and wear are influenced by factors like material properties, normal load/ pressure, sliding velocity, temperature, surface characteristics, and environmental conditions. In addition, the frictional losses at the contact interface are considered to compose of adhesion, hysteresis and viscous components and wear is categorized as – adhesive, abrasive, fatigue, corrosive and erosive. Recent developments in computational power encouraged researchers and engineers in developing analytical and computational models that consider the physical mechanisms occurring at the contact interface. The present research focuses on obtaining a comprehensive friction and contact mechanics model considering the effect of surface roughness at different length scales, surface condition (dry/ wet) and asperity interaction. In addition, the developed model in conjunction with a brush model is considered for estimating the tire traction characteristics such as the forces and moments. A finite element simulation of rubber block sliding on a rough substrate is performed using a multiscale technique for estimation of friction, contact mechanics and abrasion parameters under dry condition. The results thus obtained are compared with the analytical model that is developed for wet conditions. Experimental validation of the friction estimated using the analytical and numerical methods will be performed using a linear sliding friction tester developed in collaboration with other members of the group.

L'émergence et le développement des systèmes électriques de ces vingt dernières années nous ont conduits à l'élaboration d'architectures de plus en plus complexes. Nous les retrouvons notamment au niveau d'applications embarquées ainsi qu'au cœur de réseaux de distribution isolés. L'intégration de nombreux équipements de différentes natures soulève la problématique de la stabilité. C'est dans ce contexte que s'insèrent ces travaux de thèse, qui aboutissent sur la mise en œuvre de méthodes d'analyse de la stabilité et de la qualité des réseaux distribués de puissance. Les études menées au cours de ces travaux reposent sur des expressions analytiques représentant le comportement fréquentiel de réseaux continus. Ces modèles sont ensuite associés au critère de Routh-Hurwitz, afin de permettre les études de stabilité selon les évolutions de leurs paramètres. L'analyse des résultats obtenus au niveau d'architectures présentant plusieurs équipements permet d'affiner nos connaissances sur le fonctionnement de ces systèmes. Les phénomènes de couplage, la disposition d'un réseau en fonction du nombre et de la puissance des charges, du point de vue de la stabilité, sont notamment développés. Les recherches de dimensionnements optimaux de plusieurs éléments indéterminés, combinant les notions de stabilité et de qualité et réalisées à l'aide d'algorithmes d'optimisation, sont également présentées. Enfin, les parties fondamentales de ces travaux, que constituent la modélisation ainsi que l'étude de la stabilité, sont validés par une approche expérimentale. / The emergence and the development of electrical systems during these last twenty years have led us to the elaboration of more and more complex architectures. They can be particularly found on embedded applications as well as in the heart of isolated distribution networks. The integration of several equipments with various natures raises the problem of stability. Thesis work presented here fits in with this context, leading to the implementation of stability and quality analysis methods, applied to distributed power networks. Studies led during this work are based on analytical expressions representing the continuous networks frequency behaviour. These models are then associated to the Routh-Hurwitz criterion in order to allow stability studies, according to their parameter values evolution. Analysis of results obtained on networks architectures using several equipments allows the refinement of our knowledge on these systems operation. Coupling phenomena, network layout according the loads number and power from a stability point of view, are particularly developed. Optimal sizing research for several undetermined elements, merging stability and quality criteria and carried out using optimization algorithms, is also presented. Finally, fundamental parts of this work which correspond to models building as well as stability studies are validated by an experimental approach.

Since the field of computer networks has rapidly grown in the last two decades, congestion control of traffic loads within networks has become a high priority. Congestion occurs in network routers when the number of incoming packets exceeds the available network resources, such as buffer space and bandwidth allocation. This may result in a poor network performance with reference to average packet queueing delay, packet loss rate and throughput. To enhance the performance when the network becomes congested, several different active queue management (AQM) methods have been proposed and some of these are discussed in this thesis. Specifically, these AQM methods are surveyed in detail and their strengths and limitations are highlighted. A comparison is conducted between five known AQM methods, Random Early Detection (RED), Gentle Random Early Detection (GRED), Adaptive Random Early Detection (ARED), Dynamic Random Early Drop (DRED) and BLUE, based on several performance measures, including mean queue length, throughput, average queueing delay, overflow packet loss probability, packet dropping probability and the total of overflow loss and dropping probabilities for packets, with the aim of identifying which AQM method gives the most satisfactory results of the performance measures. This thesis presents a new AQM approach based on the RED algorithm that determines and controls the congested router buffers in an early stage. This approach is called Dynamic RED (REDD), which stabilises the average queue length between minimum and maximum threshold positions at a certain level called the target level to prevent building up the queues in the router buffers. A comparison is made between the proposed REDD, RED and ARED approaches regarding the above performance measures. Moreover, three methods based on RED and fuzzy logic are proposed to control the congested router buffers incipiently. These methods are named REDD1, REDD2, and REDD3 and their performances are also compared with RED using the above performance measures to identify which method achieves the most satisfactory results. Furthermore, a set of discrete-time queue analytical models are developed based on the following approaches: RED, GRED, DRED and BLUE, to detect the congestion at router buffers in an early stage. The proposed analytical models use the instantaneous queue length as a congestion measure to capture short term changes in the input and prevent packet loss due to overflow. The proposed analytical models are experimentally compared with their corresponding AQM simulations with reference to the above performance measures to identify which approach gives the most satisfactory results. The simulations for RED, GRED, ARED, DRED, BLUE, REDD, REDD1, REDD2 and REDD3 are run ten times, each time with a change of seed and the results of each run are used to obtain mean values, variance, standard deviation and 95% confidence intervals. The performance measures are calculated based on data collected only after the system has reached a steady state. After extensive experimentation, the results show that the proposed REDD, REDD1, REDD2 and REDD3 algorithms and some of the proposed analytical models such as DRED-Alpha, RED and GRED models offer somewhat better results of mean queue length and average queueing delay than these achieved by RED and its variants when the values of packet arrival probability are greater than the value of packet departure probability, i.e. in a congestion situation. This suggests that when traffic is largely of a non bursty nature, instantaneous queue length might be a better congestion measure to use rather than the average queue length as in the more traditional models.

Nous proposons l’étude d’une machine supraconductrice à flux axial composée d’un stator bobiné en cuivre et d’un inducteur avec des solénoïdes supraconducteurs à hautes températures critiques (HTc). Ce type de machine est adapté pour des applications de fortes puissances (plusieurs MW) avec de faibles vitesses de rotation (quelques centaines de tr/min), comme la propulsion de navire. Un accouplement magnétique, intégré au moteur, est utilisé pour transmettre le couple de l’inducteur supraconducteur vers la charge à température ambiante sans contact. On peut ainsi se passer des « torques tubes » qui sont habituellement présents dans les moteurs supraconducteurs pour relier mécaniquement l’inducteur à la charge et ainsi réduire les pertes thermiques par conduction. De plus, les accouplements magnétiques offrent une protection naturelle contre les surcharges mécaniques. Pour évaluer les performances de la solution proposée, nous avons développé un modèle analytique en 3D prenant en compte le comportement non linéaire des supraconducteurs en fonction du champ magnétique appliqué et de la température de fonctionnement. Ce modèle est ensuite intégré dans un processus de dimensionnement utilisant un algorithme génétique multi objectifs. Les résultats de cette optimisation montrent un gain en compacité (machine avec accouplement magnétique) 2 à 3,5 fois plus importants par rapport à des machines conventionnelles. Un prototype de machine supraconductrice à flux axial avec accouplement magnétique intégré est aussi réalisé. La conception, la fabrication et les tests sont présentés dans ce manuscrit. Tous les résultats sont validés par des calculs par éléments finis. / The study of an axial-field high temperature superconducting (HTS) motor for applications requiring high torque densities is proposed. The HTS motor consists of a stator with copper winding and an inductor with superconducting coils. A HTS magnetic coupler is used as a part of the system, to transmit the torque from the HTS motor to the load. This solution is a good alternative to the usually used torques tubes as it results in the reduction of conduction thermal losses and offers an intrinsic protection against overloads. To evaluate the performance of the studied device, a 3D electromagnetic analytical model has been developed. This model takes into account the dependence on the applied magnetic field and temperature of the HTS material. Finally, a genetic algorithms optimization of the studied device is carried out to find the optimum geometric dimensions. The results show that the proposed solution (machine with magnetic coupling) is about 2 to 3,5 times more compact than a conventional machine drive solution. An axial-field HTS motor with integrated magnetic coupling has been also designed, constructed and tested. The test results have been checked by 3D finite element computations.

Le travail proposé s’inscrit dans le contexte général de la maîtrise des propriétés des matériaux en relation avec les conditions d’usinage. Cette étude s'intéresse en particulier aux relations entre Microstructure et Usinage. La problématique développée dans ce travail concerne la mise en forme des alliages cuivre-béryllium à usinabilité améliorée (C17300) qui ont la réputation d’être versatiles à l'usinage, en dépit de propriétés mécaniques macroscopiques comparables. La mise en évidence de ces variations d'usinabilité et la recherche des causes et des solutions est l'objectif principal. Après la description du matériau d'étude et des méthodes de caractérisation, l'usinage des alliages C17300 est conduit en réalisant le suivi des efforts et des températures au cours d'une opération de coupe orthogonale stricte. Les résultats expérimentaux, à la fois de la caractérisation multi-échelle et de l'usinage des nuances industrielles dans un état de livraison et de remise en solution, sont présentés. Ils permettent de mettre en œuvre et de valider un modèle analytique de coupe. La question de l'influence de l'usinage sur la microstructure de la pièce usinée est complétée par le développement d'alliages modèles à dureté contrôlée élaborés en interne. Une caractérisation très précise de ces alliages (en surface, en sous-surface et dans les copeaux) permet d’évaluer l’impact de la microstructure initiale sur leur usinabilité. Enfin, une discussion confronte l'ensemble des résultats obtenus. Grâce à l'utilisation du modèle analytique validé, des informations essentielles (temps de contact, temps de transit et température au sein des bandes de cisaillement) permettent de mettre en évidence des phénomènes diffusionnels en cours d'usinage. L'adaptation de différents modèles de diffusion assistée permet d'expliquer les phénomènes observés. Pour clôturer l'étude, de nouveaux chemins de mise en forme des C17300 sont proposés, afin d'assurer l'obtention de propriétés mécaniques excellentes avec une usinabilité améliorée / The document presented hereby study the relationship existing between machining and materials behaviors, especially from a microstructure's perspective. The main purpose of this study is to understand the variability of cutting process of copper-beryllium alloys with improved machining capabilities, despite the fact that their macroscopic mechanical properties are even. After a description of those alloys and the characterization methods used in the present work, the machining of different materials are presented. The stresses and temperatures reached during orthogonal cutting are recorded and will describe the machinability. Experimental results of machining alloys which are in different metallurgical states are then presented. Those results will help the implementation of an analytical model of chips formation. The influence of machining process on work pieces and chips produced by orthogonal cutting of copper-beryllium alloys are then completed by a study of model materials developed in this work. Those alloys presenting well defined microstructure still possess the same hardness despite different thermo-mechanical treatments including mechanical deformation and ageing. A very detailed microstructure analysis of those model materials shows the influence of initial microstructure on their machinability. Diffusion mechanisms are put in light thanks to the information delivered by the analytical model (interaction time, transit time and temperature obtained through the different shear bands). Those assisted diffusion mechanisms explain the material behaviour during the orthogonal cutting. At last, better ways of material forming are exposed in order to have simultaneously excellent mechanical properties and excellent machinability for copper-beryllium alloys

[pt] Existe uma crescente necessidade em transferir energia e comunicar dados entre dispositivos através de paredes metálicas de forma não intrusiva. Os meios de comunicação tradicionais para este fim, em sua maioria, baseiam-se essencialmente no uso de condutores elétricos ou ondas eletromagnéticas. O primeiro necessita de algum mecanismo de penetração e o segundo, apesar de não intrusivo, torna-se limitado devido ao efeito de blindagem de Faraday. Uma alternativa é encontrada no uso de ondas acústicas para transferir os dados e energia através de paredes metálicas. Recentemente, grande esforço tem sido empregado nesse tipo de comunicação, todavia há ainda carência de trabalhos que tratem do canal acústico na presença de multicamadas além de resultados experimentais com paredes metálicas curvas. Possíveis aplicações nestes contextos são encontrados no monitoramento de vasos de pressão com fluido no seu interior ou até mesmo de tubulações metálicas transportando líquidos. A presente dissertação avalia, de forma analítica, numérica e experimental, a transmissão de energia e a comunicação através de um canal acústico composto por camadas metal-líquido-metal com paredes curvilíneas. Para tal, inicialmente, são analisados e comparados dois modelos, existentes na literatura, fundamentados na propagação de ondas ultrassônicas, um analítico e outro numérico, ambos baseados em analogias acustoelétricas. Os dois modelos são estendidos permitindo a inclusão de múltiplas camadas de diferentes materiais. A avaliação da eficiência de energia e a capacidade de transferência de dados é feita com base nos modelos e validada experimentalmente utilizando uma placa reta de alumínio e um par de transdutores piezoelétricos axialmente alinhados e acoplados ao mesmo. Um circuito elétrico é desenvolvido para a transmissão de energia entre as duas faces da placa e para a comunicação de dados digitais por meio de modulação do tipo ASK. O circuito é então simulado utilizando-se um software de simulação de circuitos elétricos, PUC-Rio - Certificação Digital N. 1521906/CA projetado e montado com placas de circuito impresso. Em seguida, é realizado um segundo experimento utilizando uma seção curva metálica com uma camada intermediária de água como canal acústico . Nesse, são estudadas as transferências de energia e dados utilizando o circuito elétrico desenvolvido o qual é conectado a um par de transdutores piezoelétricos acoplados ao canal acústico. Resultados do experimento na placa reta de alumínio revelam boa consonância entre os modelos e o experimento, tanto por uma análise em frequência quanto no domínio do tempo. Tendo sido o modelo analítico o que melhor representa o fenômeno físico em questão devido ao maior rigor no tratamento do mecanismo de perdas. Para o segundo experimento, resultados comprovam a possibilidade de comunicação através de múltiplas camadas metálicas e líquidas em paredes curvas, mostrando que o sistema é capaz de transmitir dados de um sensor de temperatura e pressão a uma taxa de 9600 bps. Tanto o sensor quanto os seus circuitos periféricos são integralmente alimentados pela energia que atravessa o canal acústico, num total de aproximadamente 140 mW. / [en] Nonintrusive power transfer and data communication between devices through metallic walls is an increasing need in several sensing systems. Traditional means of communication mainly use electric conductors or electromagnetic waves. The first needs some mechanism for penetration whereas the latter, although nonintrusive, can be extremely limited due to the Faraday shielding effect. An alternative is found in the use of acoustic waves to transfer data and energy through metallic walls. Although great effort has been recently directed towards this type of communication, there still is a shortage of data dealing with the acoustic channel in the presence of multiple layers as well as of experimental results with curved metallic walls. Possible applications in these contexts may be found when monitoring pressure vessels filled with a fluid or pipes conveying liquids. The present dissertation evaluates, analytically, numerically and experimentally, the transmission of energy and data communication through a multi-layered, liquidmetal acoustic channel, composed of two curved metallic walls with a layer of liquid between them. For this, initially, two models based on propagation of ultrasonic waves are analyzed and compared, one analytical and the other numerical, both relying on electric-acoustic analogies. Both are extended to include more than one layer of material. The energy efficiency assessment and data transfer capability are addressed through the models and also experimentally validated using an acoustic channel comprising a flat aluminum plate and two axially aligned piezoelectric transducers coupled to it. In addition, an electric circuit is developed for the transmission of energy from outside to inside and the communication of digital data from the inside to the outside by ASK modulation and demodulation. The circuit is simulated using electrical circuit simulation software, designed and assembled with printed circuit boards. Thereafter, a second experiment where the acoustic channel is composed by a curved metallic section with an intermediate PUC-Rio - Certificação Digital No 1521906/CA fluid layer is implemented. In this, the power and data transfer are studied using the developed electric circuit, which is connected to a pair of piezoelectric transducers coupled to the acoustic channel. Results for the flat aluminum plate reveal good agreement between both models and the experiment, both by frequency and time domain analysis. The analytical model best reproduced the physical phenomenon of interest due to its stricter treatment of loss mechanisms. The second experiment proved the feasibility of multi-layered liquid-metal communication on curved walls and showed that the system is able to transmit data from temperature and pressure sensors at a rate of 9600 bps. The sensor and all its peripheral circuitry were fully powered by the energy flowing through the acoustic channel in total of approximately 140 mW.

Modern wireless communication systems call for ultra wideband operations to meet the continuous growth in the number of users of these systems. Since antenna is an integral part of any wireless communication system (transmitter or receiver), designing antennas with good gain over large bandwidth needs to be considered first. To meet the popular demand, wireless communication systems should be as cheap as possible which require antennas with small size, light weight, low profile and low cost, and that are easy to fabricate and assemble. A type of antenna that satisfies most of these requirements is the microstrip antenna. Most of the wideband techniques for microstrip antennas utilize complicated geometries such as stacked multiple metal/dielectric layers, complicated feed arrangements etc., which elude the primary attraction of microstrip antennas. On the other hand, single layer suspended configurations are considered the best choice as these are simple to fabricate and assemble. The objective of this research is to investigate simple microstrip antennas with large bandwidth. A single layer suspended microstrip configuration was chosen for the purpose. In the first part of the research, the bandwidth was increased to about 50% with linear phase characteristics by optimizing the feed configurations while retaining the overall simplicity. This study has resulted in proposing a criterion for obtaining maximum bandwidth in the suspended microstrip configuration. An analytical model has been developed for such an antenna configuration. Although several analytical tools are available for the microstrip antenna analysis, equivalent circuit based approach proves to be a simple one and offers convincingly accurate results. Another advantage of the proposed equivalent circuit modeling scheme is that it is suitable for computer aided design (CAD). In order to make this approach even more useful, the antenna designed in the first part was modified to meet desired specifications such as reduction in the air gap to make the antenna compact, symmetrical patterns, making antenna circularly polarized (LHCP or RHCP) without changing the feed configuration. Nearly symmetrical patterns were obtained throughout the band of operation by modifying the profile of patch close to the feed strip. Circular polarization (CP) operation has been obtained from the basic antenna by cutting a diagonal slot on the radiator patch. Here the slot orientation decides the type of CP i.e., LHCP or RHCP. In this work obtained of 7.1% axial ratio (3dB) bandwidth with other characteristics unaffected. The overall height of the antenna is reduced by 55% by cutting a slot and re-optimizing the feed strip dimensions. These studies emphasize flexibility offered by the design approach in realizing practical antennas for various applications.

Prior experimental research clearly reveals that the performance of reinforced concrete frame structures under earthquake loading is closely related to the behavior of beam-to-column connection regions. In order for a reinforced concrete building to have an adequate response under high lateral deformations, beam-to-column connections should be able to preserve their integrity. However, even today beam-to-column connections are assumed to be rigid or elastic, leading to an incorrect estimation of the structural response under earthquake loading. One of the basic reasons for the assumption of rigid joints is the lack of analytical models that adequately represent the seismic behavior of the connection region. In this thesis, an analytical model that realistically represents the beam-to-column connection response is developed, in the light of prior experimental data. The experimental subassemblies used in the generation of the analytical model are later modeled in OpenSees environment in order to verify the accuracy of the model. Throughout the research, utmost attention is paid for the model to be simple enough to be used practically and also to cover a wide range of beam to column connection properties.

Millions of users world-wide are sharing content using Peer-to-Peer (P2P) networks, such as Skype and Bit Torrent. While such new innovations undoubtedly bring benefits, there are nevertheless some associated threats. One of the main hazards is that P2P worms can penetrate the network, even from a single node and then spread rapidly. Understanding the propagation process of such worms has always been a challenge for researchers. Different techniques, such as simulations and analytical models, have been adopted in the literature. While simulations provide results for specific input parameter values, analytical models are rather more general and potentially cover the whole spectrum of given parameter values. Many attempts have been made to model the worm propagation process in P2P networks. However, the reported analytical models to-date have failed to cover the whole spectrum of all relevant parameters and have therefore resulted in high false-positives. This consequently affects the immunization and mitigation strategies that are adopted to cope with an outbreak of worms. The first key contribution of this thesis is the development of a susceptible, exposed, infectious, and Recovered (SEIR) analytical model for the worm propagation process in a P2P network, taking into account different factors such as the configuration diversity of nodes, user behaviour and the infection time-lag. These factors have not been considered in an integrated form previously and have been either ignored or partially addressed in state-of-the-art analytical models. Our proposed SEIR analytical model holistically integrates, for the first time, these key factors in order to capture a more realistic representation of the whole worm propagation process. The second key contribution is the extension of the proposed SEIR model to the mobile M-SEIR model by investigating and incorporating the role of node mobility, the size of the worm and the bandwidth of wireless links in the worm propagation process in mobile P2P networks. The model was designed to be flexible and applicable to both wired and wireless nodes. The third contribution is the exploitation of a promising modelling paradigm, Agent-based Modelling (ABM), in the P2P worm modelling context. Specifically, to exploit the synergies between ABM and P2P, an integrated ABM-Based worm propagation model has been built and trialled in this research for the first time. The introduced model combines the implementation of common, complex P2P protocols, such as Gnutella and GIA, along with the aforementioned analytical models. Moreover, a comparative evaluation between ABM and conventional modelling tools has been carried out, to demonstrate the key benefits of ease of real-time analysis and visualisation. As a fourth contribution, the research was further extended by utilizing the proposed SEIR model to examine and evaluate a real-world data set on one of the most recent worms, namely, the Conficker worm. Verification of the model was achieved using ABM and conventional tools and by then comparing the results on the same data set with those derived from developed benchmark models. Finally, the research concludes that the worm propagation process is to a great extent affected by different factors such as configuration diversity, user-behaviour, the infection time lag and the mobility of nodes. It was found that the infection propagation values derived from state-of-the-art mathematical models are hypothetical and do not actually reflect real-world values. In summary, our comparative research study has shown that infection propagation can be reduced due to the natural immunity against worms that can be provided by a holistic exploitation of the range of factors proposed in this work.