Des modèles géométriques ont été proposés pour reconstruire la géométrie de plis associés aux rampes (par exemple pli sur flexure de faille), en identifiant en particulier la profondeur de niveau de décollement et le déplacement total sur la rampe. Ces méthodes de reconstruction géométrique sont appliquées pour des plis partiellement érodés. Au cours de l'érosion, le cut-off de la rampe peut être érodé et, par conséquent, le déplacement sur la rampe est difficile à quantifier. Dans cette thèse, nous développons onze modèles thermo-géométriques. Les modèles combinent les données géométriques et les données d’enfouissement pour proposer une évolution cinématique d’un pli avec cut-off érodé. Nous supposons que la mise en place d'une unité tectonique produit une anomalie thermique dans le mur de la faille, et que cette anomalie thermique pourrait indiquer une épaisseur de bloc chevauchant. Les modèles fournissent une estimation de la profondeur de décollement et le déplacement total sur une rampe érodée, qui ne dépend pas de taux d’érosion. Dans le cas de chevauchements actifs, les modèles proposent un taux de déplacement et un âge de l'initiation de la faille en fonction de taux d'érosion. Ces données sont utilisées pour proposer un développement cinématique de coupes érodées. Nous appliquons les modèles sur les plis érodés et actif à Taiwan dans les zones de Choshui et Miaoli. On propose des coupes régionales équilibrées en utilisant la technique de modélisation directe. Dans la section Choshui, nous proposons un niveau de détachement de ~5 km à ~14 km, marquée par deux sauts successifs de rampes de ~5 km and ~4 km. En supposant un taux d'érosion à 4 mm/an, l'âge de l’initiation de chevauchement active est entre 3,3 Ma dans la partie intérieure de prisme (Chevauchement de Tili) à 0,9 Ma dans la partie extérieur (Chevauchement de Chelungpu). Le raccourcissement totale sur la coupe de Choshui est ~100 km et le taux de déplacement calculé est ~1 cm/an. Pour tester nos modèles thermo-géométriques dans une chaîne plissée inactive, on applique nos modèles sur les plis érodés associés aux failles de Pine Mountain et Jones Valley dans la chaîne plissée des Appalaches. L'application des modèles thermo-géométriques nous permet d’estimer une quantité de déplacement sur les deux failles et expliquer de manière satisfaisante l'anomalie thermique dans le mur des failles de Pine Mountain et Jones Valley. Afin d'améliorer la description de l’anomalie thermique qui se développe dans le soubassement des failles, on a étudié l'évolution des minéraux magnétiques des roches argileuses le long de quatre sections dans la chaîne plissée à Taiwan. On a remarqué que la greigite (Fe3S4) domine l'assemblage magnétique dans les roches enfouies à moins à moins de de 70°C. La magnétite (Fe3O4) se développe pour des températures d’enfouissement de ~50°C et domine l’assemblage magnétique jusqu'à ~350° C. A partir ~300°C, la pyrrhotite monoclinique (Fe7S8) se développe aux dépens de la magnétite, et à ~350°C, la magnétite n'est plus détecté. Ces résultats peuvent être utilisés en complément d'autres géothermomètres pour identifier les anomalies thermiques dans une gamme de de 50-70°C et de 300-350°C où les caractéristiques des minéraux magnétiques sont identifiées / Geometric models have been proposed to account satisfactorily for ramp-related folds (e.g. fault-bend fold), identifying in particular detachment depth and total shortening. These methods of geometric reconstruction are applied on partially eroded folds. During erosion, the fault cut-off may be removed and as a result, the displacement is difficult to quantify. In this thesis, we develop 11 thermo-geometric models combining geometric description of folds and burial data to propose kinematic evolution of folds with eroded cut-offs. We assume that the emplacement of a tectonic unit will result in a thermal anomaly in the footwall, and that this thermal anomaly might indicate a thickness of the overriding unit. The models provide an estimation of the detachment depth and the total shortening on an eroded ramp, independent of the erosion rate. In the case of active thrusts, the models provide an estimation of the slip rate and the age of the initiation of the thrust as a function of the erosion rate. These data are used to unravel the kinematic development of eroded cross-sections. We apply the models on eroded folds from Taiwan underlined by active thrusts in the Choshui and Miaoli sections. We propose regional balanced cross-sections using forward modeling technique. In the Choshui section, we propose a detachment profile with a depth between ~ 5 km and ~ 14 km, marked by two steps of ~ 5 km. Assuming erosion rate at 4 mm/a, the age of initiation of the active thrusts is ranging from 3.3 Ma inward (Tili thrust) to 0.9 Ma outward (Chelungpu thrust). The total shortening from the whole section is ~100 km and the calculated slip rate is about 1 cm/a. To test our models in a non-active fold-and-thrust belt, we study eroded folds associated to the Pine Mountain thrust and Jones Valley thrust from the Appalachian belt. The application of the thermo-geometric models provides a value of the total shortening and explains satisfactorily the thermal anomaly in the footwall of the Jones Valley thrust. In order to improve the description of the thermal anomaly, we have studied the evolution of magnetic minerals of argillaceous rocks in four sections from the Taiwan thrust belt. We found that the iron sulfide greigite (Fe3S4) is dominating the magnetic assemblage in the less buried rocks (<70°C). The magnetite (Fe3O4) develops at burial temperature of ~50°C and is dominating the magnetic assemblage up to ~350°C. By ~300°C, the monoclinic pyrrhotite (Fe7S8) develops at the expense of magnetite, and at ~350°C, the magnetite is no longer detected. These results can be used complementary to other geothermometers to identify thermal anomalies in the range 50-70°C and 300-350°C where characteristic magnetic minerals are identified

This thesis was most concerned with the mechanical response to irradiation of two in-house produced oxide dispersion strengthened (ODS) steels and two non-ODS coun- terparts. The steels, manufactured by Dr. M. J. Gorley (University of Oxford), were me- chanically alloyed from gas-atomised Fe-14Cr-3W-0.2Ti, with the addition of 0.25Y₂O₃ powder in the case of the ODS variants. The powders were hot isostatic pressed at consolidation temperatures of 950 &deg;C and 1150 &deg;C. The four steels were designated 14WT 950 (non-ODS), 14YWT 950 (ODS), 14WT 1150 (non-ODS) and 14YWT 1150 (ODS), and were used in the as-produced condition. Initially, the macroscale elastic modulus and yield stress were determined using a four-point flexure test, employing digital image correlation (DIC) as a strain gauge. The microcantilever size eects were then characterised, and it was determined that the yield stress signicantly diverged from macroscale values at microcantilever beam depths of &LT; 4.5 &mu;m. Using knowledge of this, the in-house produced alloys were irradiated with 2 MeV protons at the Surrey Ion Beam Centre (University of Surrey, UK) to a displacement damage of &Tilde; 0.02 dpa and 0.2 dpa (Bragg peak). This was to produce a deep irradiated layer for the fabrication of large microcantilevers with reduced size effects. The cross-sectional surface of the irradiated layer was then exposed and inclined linear arrays of 250 nm deep indents were placed across the damage prole. 14WT 1150 (non-ODS) revealed a clear proton damage prole in plots of hardness against irradiation depth, 14WT 950 (non-ODS) also showed modest hardening in the region of the Bragg peak. No appreciable hardening was observed in either 14YWT specimens, attributed to the fine dispersion of nanoscale oxides providing a high number density of defect sink sites. However, a large bimodal variation in hardness was measured in both ODS variants. This was investigated using EBSD and EDX, and was determined to be caused by a pronounced heterogeneity of the microstructure. While Hall-Petch strengthening and changes in the local chemistry had some effect on the measured hardness, the most likely cause of the large variation in local hardness was heterogeneity in the nanoscale oxide population. Microcantilevers were fabricated out of the irradiated layer cross-section in 14WT 1150 and 14YWT 1150. Larger microcantilevers, with &Tilde; 5 &mu;m beam depth, were placed with their beam centre at &Tilde; 0.026 dpa. Smaller microcantilevers, with &Tilde; 1.5 &mu;m beam depth, were placed with their beam centre at the Bragg peak, 0.2 dpa. Both the large and the small microcantilevers fabricated in 14WT 1150 (non-ODS) displayed significant irradiation hardening. In the ODS variant, 14YWT 1150, irradiation hardening appeared to be reduced. The work in this thesis successfully showed that it was possible to extract a close approximation of the macroscale yield stress from shallow irradiated layers, providing that the irradiation condition is carefully chosen in response to known size dependent behaviour. This thesis also investigated the size dependent behaviour of microcantilevers using a lengthscale dependent crystal plasticity UMAT, developed by Dunne et al. and implemented within ABAQUS 6.14-2 commercially available nite element software. The simulation of the GND density evolution with increasing plastic strain allowed their contribution to the microcantilever size effect, through mobile dislocation pinning, to be determined. This novel approach to modelling size effects in three dimensional finite element microcantilever models demonstrated that while it was possible to simulate a lengthscale-dependent response in finite element microcantilever models, the constitutive equation for the plastic velocity gradient needs to be more physically based in order the match the experimentally derived results; for example, a lengthscale-dependent term relating to the dislocation source density of the material. Although the apparent reduction of irradiation hardening in ODS in-house produced alloys showed great promise, these alloys also displayed a large amount of scatter in measured hardness and yield stress, attributed to the pronounced heterogeneity in the microstructure. Alloys with such signicant microstructural heterogeneity are not suitable for engineering or commercial use.

Ce projet de thèse se situe dans le cadre de l'étude de la fiabilité prédictive de nouveaux concepts d'assemblages microélectroniques de type « system in package » SiP. L'objectif est de développer une méthodologie de fiabilité prédictive adaptée aux nouveaux concepts d'assemblage qui permet d'optimiser et de prédire les performances dès la phase de conception. Elle est ensuite appliquée sur des projets concrets. Cette méthodologie de fiabilité prédictive fait intervenir des études expérimentales, des simulations thermomécaniques et des analyses statistiques pour traiter les données et évaluer la fiabilité et les risques de défaillance. L'utilisation d'outils de simulation des composants électroniques est bien adaptée pour aider à l'évaluation des zones les plus fragiles, la mise en place des règles de conception et la détermination des paramètres les plus influents avec une réduction du temps de mise en marché d'un produit fiable et une optimisation des performances. Les études réalisées sur le silicium avec deux tests : bille sur anneau et test trois points montrent que le rodage et l'épaisseur ont une influence sur la variation de la contrainte et la déflexion du silicium à la rupture. Avec le test trois points, le déclenchement des fissures est lié à la qualité de sciage et de rodage. Cependant avec le test bille sur anneau, seule la qualité de surface influence le déclenchement des fissures. Le test bille sur anneau est bien adapté pour évaluer la qualité de surface du silicium. Avec les techniques chimiques de réduction de contraintes, comme la gravure humide et plasma, la résistance à la rupture a été considérablement améliorée. Ces tests de rupture sur le silicium ont permis de caractériser la rupture du silicium sous une contrainte de flexion et de compléter les résultats de simulation. Ces travaux démontrent, le besoin et l'utilité du prototypage virtuel des composants électroniques et de l'utilisation d'une méthodologie prédictive dans l'évaluation de la fiabilité en l’appliquant sur des composants réels. / This thesis project is a study of the predictive reliability of new microelectronic package concepts such as "system in package" SiP. The objective is to develop a reliable predictive methodology adapted to the new assembly concepts to optimize and to predict the performance at the design phase. Then, the methodology is applied to concrete projects. This methodology of predictive reliability involves the use of experimental studies, thermomechanical simulations and statistical analysis to process the data and assess the reliability and risks of failure. The use of simulation tools for electronic components is well suited to assist in the evaluation of the most fragile areas, the setting up of design rules and the determination of the most influential parameters with a reduction in the setup time market for a reliable and optimized performance. Studies on silicon strength are conducted with two tests: ball on ring test and on three-point bend test show that the grinding and the thickness influence the variation of the stress and deflection of the silicon at break. With the three points bend test, the onset of crack is linked to defects in sawing and grinding zone. However, with the ball on ring test, only the surface quality influences the initiation of cracks. The ball on ring test is well suited for evaluating the quality of the silicon surface. Chemical techniques of stress release, such as wet etching and plasma etching, improve significantly the strength of silicon samples. These tests on silicon dies are used to characterize the breakdown of silicon under bending test and to complete the simulation results. We have demonstrated in this work, the need and the usefulness of the virtual prototyping of electronic components and the use of a predictive methodology in assessing reliability.

PtNiAl bond coats are diffusion aluminide coatings deposited on superalloy based turbine blades for oxidation resistance and improved adhesion between the substrate and the YSZ thermal barrier coating on top. They are deposited by pack aluminisation, which makes their microstructure inherently graded and heterogeneous as well as replete with a variety of precipitates and second phase particles. The microstructure also continuously evolves during thermal cycling, because of interdiffusion with the substrate and the continuous loss of Al to the thermally grown oxide scale on top. During service, the bond coats are exposed to impact, thermal expansion mismatch, thermo-mechanical fatigue and inter-diffusion accompanied by phase transformation, which become leading causes of their failure. The bond coats being B2 crystal structures are known to be brittle at room temperature, due to which they are expected to fail during cooling, although they undergo plastic relaxation by creep above the BDTT. Little attention has been paid to the mechanical response of the bond coats, while a number of studies focus on optimizing their composition for oxidation resistance. The fracture properties of these coatings, in particular, are not very well understood due to the several different length scales of their complex microstructure playing a part. In this context, there is an interest in determination of the fracture toughness of bond coats under different loading and temperature conditions. In the present work, the fracture properties of bond coats is measured with micron-scale resolution using edge notched doubly clamped microbeam structures positioned at individual zones of the graded bond coat, subjected to bending. In order to extract the stress intensity factor for this new configuration and to determine the stress distribution and stability of this geometry under different loading conditions, extended finite element analysis (XFEM) is carried out. After establishing the microbeam geometry as a viable fracture toughness testing configuration, the contribution of different microstructural variables to toughening at room temperature is studied using SEM based in-situ testing. Since the exact composition and structure of the coating depends principally on the elements constituting the matrix-Pt, Ni and Al content, which themselves depend on the deposition parameters, we have examined in detail, coatings aluminised at different temperatures (increasing coating thickness), varying Al content in the pack mixture and starting Pt thicknesses during electro-deposition. These parameters are by no means exhaustive and there is wide scope to investigate the effect of other processing variables as well as their synergistic effects on the mechanical behavior of these coatings. Following this, the high temperature fracture behavior of the stand-alone coatings in tension is also studied to determine their brittle to ductile transition mechanism in the presence of a notch. While this covers the average behavior of the entire coating cross-section, such a study is important to establish the BDTT unambiguously since there are chances of under-estimation of these temperatures in the absence of a notch. Also free¬standing coatings without the underlying substrate offer respite from residual stresses influencing the results of such tests. The present study essentially consists of two distinct parts, one focused on the development of the testing technique to cover multiple length scales of any graded thin film or coating and the other on the determination of fracture properties of the bond coat using these methods. The thesis reads in the following way: Chapter 1 gives an introduction to the diffusion aluminised bond coats, with a focus on the failure mechanisms associated with them while underlying the need for small scale testing in these systems. The conditions driving failure in bond coats can be vast and varied and it is extremely difficult to pin-point a single important cause and also to develop predictive capabilities regarding their failure. This is described as the motivation for the present work, with an objective of finding the variation in fracture toughness values for PtNiAl bond coats of different coating thicknesses and Pt content across the temperature range spanning the BDTT of the sample. Chapter 2 describes in detail all the available literature on thermal barrier coatings in general, and diffusion aluminide bond coats in particular, while specifically highlighting its mechanical response to loads during service. The deposition parameters during pack aluminizing and the graded microstructure which develops as a consequence of the diffusion process are described. The material’s microstructure dictates its properties, but there has been limited work on the mechanical behavior of the coatings themselves due to the difficulty in preparation and testing of free-standing films of the same. Since the base matrix is that of β¬NiAl, and there has been extensive work reported on bulk NiAl in the literature, which is discussed next. This would serve as a benchmark for comparison with the properties of the bond coats themselves, which are expected to respond differently due to their continuously evolving and complex microstructure. A summary of the known mechanical properties of the coatings themselves is given next along with the failure mechanisms that have been proposed. Since the study deals with fracture properties, a short introduction of linear elastic fracture mechanics follows before elaborating on the various small scale fracture testing geometries that have been developed. There are specific differences between testing geometries, stress states as well as in the instrumentation between small scale and bulk fracture toughness tests, which are highlighted. Since these configurations are material and device specific, each group has worked out its own instrument capabilities and mechanics required to extract the mechanical properties of interest from these testing techniques. Due to these differences in addition to the differences in the size scales of the samples tested, the reported properties show a wide variation. Lack of standards add to the difficulty in interpretation of the data; moreover add to the controversy on whether a size effect exists for fracture, as it does for strength. All the non-standard small scale testing configurations require modeling and simulation to extract the desired properties from them, and the present study applies the XFEM to determine the stress distribution and calculate the stress intensity factors corresponding to the fracture loads recorded from experiments. An introduction to the XFEM method is given in the last part. Chapter 3 gives all the experimental and simulation procedures that were carried out in the present work. Since the bond coat properties need to be compared with their bulk counterparts, both the samples are characterized. The exact material compositions chosen for the study were plain NiAl, 2PtAl and 5PtAl among the pack aluminized coatings and bulk arc-melted PtNiAl samples with varying concentrations of Ni and Pt which matched the bond coat matrix compositions. The choice of the three coatings was made depending on the previously known information regarding their microstructure. The deposition conditions, temperature and times of annealing are listed, followed by a brief summary of the general characterization techniques used to study the microstructure of the bond coats before and after fracture testing. Since the micro-beams under bending were fabricated using a focused ion beam, and the micro-tensile specimen were machined by electro-discharge machining, both the micro-machining procedures are described. At such small length scales, conventional testing methods cannot be used and several modifications were incorporated to the testing geometries which are described in the next section which covers two principal fracture testing methods-microbeam bending and mini-tensile testing, along with the advantages and limitations of each. Modeling is an indispensable tool for determining stress distributions in such new geometric configurations involving material property variations, and details of the exact XFEM procedure that was implemented in ABAQUS is given in the last part of this chapter. Chapter 4 summarises the microstructure and indentation properties of the bond coat and bulk NiAl samples characterised using X-ray diffraction, electron microscopy and nanoindentation. XRD was used for phase identification, texture and determination of lattice parameters of the specimen, which confirmed β-NiAl (with no texture) as the matrix with the lattice parameter varying as a function of composition. The SEM-EPMA combination was used for probing the compositional and microstructural gradients, grain size and precipitate distribution across the coating cross-sections. The bond coat was found to have 4 distinct zones with the Ni:Al ratio gradually rising across its thickness. In addition to this, the four zones had very different grain sizes, precipitate type and distributions. Hardness and modulus values were reported from nanoindentation measurements across the coating thickness over a temperature range from 25 to 400˚C and were seen to follow the composition gradients in different ways based on the effect of the off-stoichiometric defects on these properties. The hardness was found to be a minimum for the zone with stoichiometric composition, as was the case in the bulk sample, while the modulus dropped continuously with increasing Ni content in the matrix. These are important to develop a one-to-one correlation with the fracture properties and to understand the micro-mechanisms of the same. Chapter 5 gets on with the specifics of the testing geometry. Since most of the variables of the testing technique were studied using simulation procedures, a large part of this chapter deals with the results from the modeling technique using XFEM. The XFEM is introduced in detail and its applicability in modeling of cracks and discontinuities and advantages over conventional FEM are explained. The material properties are taken from the nanoindentation data and the modeling assumes linear elastic fracture mechanics. As a validation measurement, a conventional three point beam is modeled in bending and the results compared with analytical solutions of the same. The three point beam bending geometry is also used as a benchmark to study the stability of the new geometry, now with fixed boundaries in place of a free ends. This is followed by the results from the modeling for different variables like mesh density, notch root radius, loading offsets, beam dimensions and crack length (a)/specimen width (W) ratios where both the stress distribution as well as KI are captured in 3-D for stationary cracks while crack trajectories are obtained for propagating cracks. The notch root radius is seen to not affect KI below ~300 nm and such notch radii are easily machinable in the FIB at lower currents. The crack trajectory from the experiments is seen to follow the direction of maximum tangential stress, which is also modeled very well in the XFEM. The contribution of KII to the measured stress intensity factor with increasing offsets is also calculated from the model. Stable cracking is seen for the clamped beam geometry, with KI dropping off beyond a critical a/W ratio. This was true even for a model assuming homogeneous, elastic properties with a flat R-curve under load control. This makes the clamped beam structure require higher loads for continued propagation of cracks. This critical ratio is dimension dependent, making a shorter thicker beam stable in comparison to a longer, slender one. This is unusual, especially in comparison to the three point bend geometry which shows stable cracking only in displacement control, specifically for large a/W ratios alone. Also superimposition of the load-displacement curves from simulations with those of experiments gives a good-fit. The experimental results are shown next to back¬up the claims made on geometric stability of such clamped structures. Digital Image Correlation is introduced as a means for direct measurement of crack opening displacements (COD) and fracture toughness without the aid of KI formulations. This also served as a cross¬check on the assumptions of linear elastic fracture mechanics (LEFM) made in the simulation and a good correlation is seen between the CODs measured experimentally and that obtained from the FEM analysis. Fracture toughness measurements of brittle materials with known KIC values, like fused silica glass and single crystal Si film from this proposed geometry are reported as additional validation of this geometry. Further the capabilities of in-situ testing using this geometry to measure R-curve and fatigue properties along with the initiation KIC values are shown via results from monotonic and cyclic loading under different conditions. Chapter 6 returns to address bond coat fracture at room temperature, which is the main objective of the present study. Fracture toughness is evaluated both ex-situ and in-situ, using clamped microbeam bending experiments across individual zones of the 5PtAl bond coat and for different initial Pt contents in the zone 2. KIC is seen to rise sharply with increasing Ni content of the matrix in the former case, from 5 to 15 MPam1/2 which is attributed to the change in defect chemistry with changing stoichiometry. Al rich NiAl is found to be more brittle due to vacancy hardening while Ni rich NiAl is known to increase the metallic character of the NiAl bond. Both Ni rich and Pt rich (Pt,Ni)Al give higher toughnesses among the coatings studied while the crack trajectories and toughening mechanisms distinctly depend on the precipitate morphology in individual zones. Alloying additions are seen to add to the complexity of the fracture behavior of bond coats by strengthening the matrix or by improving its ductility. Micro-kinking, grain boundary and precipitate bridging are seen in the crack wake as contributing factors to partial closure of the crack on unload. The influence of each of the microstructural variable on the fracture mode is dissected in detail before coming to an overall conclusion. The microbeams show controlled, stable cracking, which enable following of the crack trajectories across micron-length scales and make R-curve measurements possible. Both 2PtAl and 5PtAl compositions show a rising R-curve within the length scale of an individual microbeam tested. Size and geometric effects on real vs apparent R-curve behavior are discussed at the end of the chapter. Chapter 7 addresses a different area of high temperature fracture of bond coats, which becomes relevant in terms of determination of brittle to ductile transition temperature (BDTT) in notched specimen and in evaluating topography after failure across this temperature range. This set of tests is designed to measure fracture toughness and study the fracture mode along the temperature scale to exactly identify the BDTT for a given bond coat composition and strain rate, below which the coating undergoes brittle catastrophic fracture and beyond which it creeps and relaxes plastically at very low stresses. Notched free¬standing bond coat specimens are pulled in uni-axial tension to fracture and the stress at failure is used to calculate the average fracture toughness of the bond coat. The stress-strain curve shows linear elastic behavior upto the BDTT of the bond coat as expected, beyond which it becomes increasingly plastic. The KIC is seen to rise marginally upto 750˚C beyond which it showed a significant increase, from which the BDTT was calculated to be ~775˚C for notched samples. The KIC is not reported beyond the BDTT due to irrelevance of LEFM after macroscopic plasticity sets in. Fracture mode is seen to change from transgranular cleavage below the BDTT to void coalescence and ductile rupture beyond it. The experimental challenges, differences in the through thickness KIC’s obtained from tensile tests vis a vi bend tests (due to changing stress states and size scales), as well as mechanisms of ductile to brittle transition in the context of previously available literature are discussed. Chapter 8 gives the closure and important conclusions from the present work. It summarises the key results from the testing technique and highlights the proposed mechanisms which bring about a rising fracture toughness with both increasing Ni:Al ratio across the bond coat cross-section and across individual micro-beams themselves. Some new techniques and geometries which can be adopted for fracture property determination, on which work was initiated but not complete, are also proposed. The last part of the chapter deals with the future implications of the results found and some open threads and challenges on bond coat optimisiation for different properties, which are yet to be dealt with.

No description available.

The diploma thesis aim to the design of equipment for ŠKODA JS a.s., which is part of a new inspection stand (N-SIO). This equipment is an inspection column that provides the possibility to inspect spent fuel assemblies at the operation of the Temelín nuclear power plant. This master thesis is also a summary of the whole design of the new inspection stand and a description of the individual inspection components and devices. One of the parts of the thesis is also a basic strength analysis and a drawing of the main assembly of inspection equipment.

Aim of this master's thesis is an optimized design of locally supported ceiling slab of building of social center with account of span of columns and height of slab. Structure must be assessed in terms of limit state and service limit state by ČSN EN 1992-1-1 General rules and rules for buildings after design.

Aim of this diploma thesis is to choose new pattern wax for Fimes a.s. foundry. New wax should substitute old not fully satisfactory pattern wax which caused problems in technological process resulting in increased number of rejects. New pattern wax should eliminate current problems and help foundry with producing large, thin-walled, high-quality castings. Numbers of pattern waxes supplied by world’s leading wax manufacturers were subjected to laboratory tests and pilot study. This diploma thesis is part of project Alfa TA01010766: „Research and development of production technology large, thin and high quality castings of aluminium alloys “

Final thesis describes two variants of computational models to simulate cross-roll leveling of rods, which are based on the Lagrangian approach to describe the continuum. Implementation of both variants was performed in ANSYS software, and their main difference lies in the choice of the type of elements for the discretization. An integral part of this thesis is the description of the principle, which is an evaluation of the curvature of the rod after completion of the simulation leveling. In the other part of the work are presented the results, which are then compared with realized experiment and simulation algorithm for cross-roll leveling based on the Euler approach. The final part is dedicated to the optimal settings of the leveller.

The histories of acoustic ecology, field recording, and soundscape composition are intertwined. This combination of disciplines has lead to the potential for powerful insights, but an over-emphasis on music composition using recorded sound has to led to some problematic tendencies in the study of soundscapes. I begin by tracing the development of acoustic ecology and related disciplines, leading to a proposal for a practice of acoustic ecology that centers the study of all sounds from an ecological perspective and incorporates the insights of creative practices. I include the results and data from my acoustic surveys in Patagonia, Iceland, and Texas. These three locations are varied in their climate, and they are all threatened by noise pollution or human interference from one source or another. Each survey plots out the daily sound activity in a given location and then includes information such as decibel level and the amount of anthropogenic noise. Using the field recordings from my acoustic surveys, I composed a non-linear piece, Resonance Ecology, that generates soundscapes by combining sounds from different locations based on connections such as geography or weather patterns. There is also the option for acoustic performers to perform alongside the electronics, creating an unpredictably evolving soundscape. The structure of the piece mirrors the ecosystems that serve as the foundation and inspiration of the piece. Importantly, the composition is not meant to represent the real ecosystems, but rather serves as an surreal ecosystem portraying my experience in these locations.