Les tubes des générateurs de vapeur des centrales nucléaires vibrent sous l'effet d'écoulement eau/vapeur. Pour appréhender ce phénomène et le comprendre, des expériences à échelles réduites sont réalisées. La simulation numérique a montré son habilité à reproduire l'interaction fluide-structure sur ce type de géométrie pour des écoulements monophasiques. L'objectif est désormais de faire de même en écoulement diphasique et de caractériser les propriétés physiques du mélange liquide/gaz influant sur la vibration.Pour se faire, un code CFD avec une approche bi-fluide est utilisé. Une méthode dite de "Discrete forcing" est implémentée pour permettre le mouvement imposé de corps solides au sein d'un écoulement à plusieurs phases. Celle-ci est alros validée sur des cas simples et intégraux avec une comparaison systématique à des résultats expérimentaux ou théoriques.En se basant sur un algorithme implicite existant dans la littérature, un couplage fluide-structure utilisant cette méthode de suivi d'interface est implémenté. Validé sur des cas monophasiques et diphasiques, ce couplage offre désormais la possibilité de déplacer un solide en fonction des forces fluides diphasiques qui lui sont appliquées.Les différentes méthodes numériques présentes dans NEPTUNE_CFD sont ensuite évaluées pour un écoulement fréon/fréon au travers d'un faisceau de tubes inclinés. La nécessité d'utiliser des modèles dit "multi-régime" est mis en avant.Afin de déterminer l'influence sur l'écoulement des différentes propriétés physiques d'un mélange diphasique, plusieurs cas simples sont réalisés.Finalement, l'application industrielle cible, un écoulement eau/fréon dans un faisceau de tubes à pas carré, est simulée et comparée à un écoulement en conditions réelles (eau/vapeur à 70 bar). Les vibrations induites par écoulement monophasique puis diphasique sont correctement reproduites sur des cas dit de "faisabilité". / In nuclear power plants, steam generator tubes vibrate because of steam/water cross-flows. In order to understant this phenomenon, reduced-scale experiments are performed. Numerical simulations have shown their ability to accurately reproduce the vibration induced by a single phase flow in a tube bundle. The aim of the present work is to do the same with two-phase flow and to characterize the effect of the mixture physical properties on vibration.To do so, a CFD code based on a two-fluid approach is used. A "discrete forcing" method is implemented in order to allow solid body motion in a two-phase flow. The validation is performed with simple and industrial cases using experimental and theoretical results.Using an existing implicit algorithm, a fluid-structure coupling based on the developed interface tracking method is implemented. Validated for single and two-phase flows, it is now possible to have solid motion induced by fluid forces.The different numerical models dedicated to two-phase flows are then evaluated on a freon/freon flow across an inclined tube bundle. The use of a multi-regime model is required. In order to investigate the role of the different physical properties on the vibration, three simple studies are performed.Finally, the industrial application, a freon/water flow across a square pitch tube bundle, is performed. First, it is compared to a steam/water flow in order to characterize the discrepancies when we are using a modeling mixture. Then, the vibration induced by single- and two-phase flows is reproduced by the developed method on feasibility test cases.

Cette thèse est consacrée à l'étude approfondie de formes exotiques de matériaux nano-structurés qui pourraient conduire à une avancée significative dans les nano-composants. Deux thèmes distincts ont été ainsi abordés. Le premier concerne les nano-clusters aromatiques de silicium synthétisés par plasma (SiNCs), tandis que le second est dédié aux structures silicium et germanium bi-dimensionnelles. Grâce à des simulations de type dynamique moléculaire et des calculs ab initio, ainsi que sur des recherches expérimentales, nous nous proposons d’explorer les propriétés intrigantes, mais à fort potentiel, de ces matériaux exotiques.Dans la première partie, nous commençons par des études théoriques et montrons qu'il est possible d'obtenir un comportement aromatique pour des SiNCs hydrogénés ayant une taille de ~1nm. Nous démontrons que les plasmas silane/hydrogène à basse température, proches de la formation de particules de poussière, présentent l'environnement idéal pour exploiter la tendance naturelle du silicium à la sur-coordination et donc pour la synthèse de structures à liaisons déficitaires en électrons. Ces nano-clusters qui se forment spontanément par auto-assemblage dans le plasma, ne possèdent pas de structure tétraédrique, sont plus stables que tous les autres SiNCs connus de cette taille et ont de fortes propriétés aromatiques dues à leur forte délocalisation électronique. Nous montrons également que les SiNCs non tétraédriques, présentent des modes de liaison à caractère métallique qui ressemblent fortement à celui d'un gaz d'électrons homogène dans des nano-clusters de métaux. Les SiNCs tétraédriques standards de cette taille ne peuvent absorber que dans l'ultraviolet, alors que nos calculs ont montré que des SiNCs purs, mais sur-coordonnés, absorbent dans la région spectrale ultraviolette, mais aussi dans le visible et l’infrarouge. Nous présentons ensuite une première preuve expérimentale pour nos prédictions théoriques. Nous avons mesuré in situ, dans un réacteur plasma l'absorption de la lumière visible des SiNCs. De plus, nos mesures réalisées en présence d'un champ électrique ont prouvées clairement que les SiNCs aromatiques possèdent un moment dipolaire permanent, que nous avons estimé entre 2 et 2,5 Debye, en excellent accord avec les calculs ab initio. Enfin, nos images de microscopie électronique à transmission des SiNCs, déposés dans des conditions de plasma optimisées, ont révélé la présence d'une autre forme exotique de silicium à structure hexagonale. Une telle structure se forme habituellement à des pressions extrêmement élevées appliquées sur des structures cubiques (diamant) de silicium. Nous souhaitons affirmer que c’est grâce à la «chimie au marteau» que ces conditions ont été atteintes.Dans la seconde partie, nous avons entrepris des études théoriques et expérimentales approfondies sur la croissance d'une nouvelle forme allotropique de silicium et de germanium: le silicène et le germanène, à savoir, une mono-couche d'atomes intégrée dans un réseau hexagonal qui ressemble fortement au graphène. Afin d'exclure tout mélange entre les atomes de silicium ou de germanium avec le substrat et de conserver leurs caractéristiques prometteuses comme de nouveaux matériaux de Dirac, nous avons effectué nos dépôts, sur un substrat de graphite chimiquement inerte. Une de nos découvertes cruciales est que les mono-couches de silicène ou de germanène interagissent avec le substrat de graphite uniquement via des forces de van der Waals. Cette interaction est suffisamment forte pour stabiliser les mono-couches, déposées même au-dessus de la température ambiante, mais suffisamment faible pour empêcher toute hybridation ou alliage entre le silicium ou le germanium et les atomes de carbone du substrat. Par conséquent, les propriétés électroniques exceptionnelles du silicène et du germanène, tels que les cônes de Dirac et les électrons sans masse, sont préservées même après leur dépôt sur les surfaces de graphite. / This thesis is devoted to the study of advanced, exotic forms of nanostructured materials that could lead to the next big advance for nanodevices. Two distinct topics have been considered. The first one is related to plasma-born aromatic silicon nanoclusters (SiNCs), while the second is dedicated to two-dimensional silicon and germanium materials. Based on molecular dynamics simulations and ab initio calculations, as well as, on experimental investigations, we explore a variety of intriguing properties of those exotic materials that are expected to be far superior to those of their conventional counterparts.In the first part of the thesis, we begin with theoretical studies and show that it is possible to obtain aromatic behavior in simple hydrogenated SiNCs with size of ~1nm. We demonstrate that low-temperature silane/hydrogen plasmas close to dust formation present the ideal environment to exploit the natural tendency of silicon to over-coordination for the construction of structures with electron-deficient bonds. Those nanoclusters form spontaneously by self-assembly in plasmas, do not possess tetrahedral structures, are more stable than any other known SiNCs of this size, and have strong aromatic-like properties due to their high electron delocalization. We demonstrate that non-tetrahedral SiNCs exhibit metallic-like bonding schemes that strongly resemble the one of a homogeneous electron gas in small metal clusters. Standard tetrahedral SiNCs of this size can absorb light only in the ultraviolet, while our calculations have shown that pure, but over-coordinated SiNCs absorb light in the ultraviolet, visible, and infrared spectral region. In this thesis, we present first experimental evidence that supports our theoretical predictions. Using incoherent broadband cavity enhanced absorption spectroscopy, we have measured the absorption of SiNCs, in situ, in a plasma reactor and found that they do absorb light in the visible region. In addition, our absorption measurements in the presence of an applied electric field have provided clear evidence that aromatic SiNCs possess a permanent dipole moment, and we have measured it to be between 2 and 2.5 Debye, in excellent agreement to prior ab initio calculations. Finally, our transmission electron microscopy images of such SiNCs, after their deposition under optimized plasma conditions, have revealed the presence of another exotic form of silicon with a primitive hexagonal structure. Such a structure usually forms after exposing diamond-cubic silicon to extremely high pressures. We tentatively claim that those conditions were, actually, achieved in our experiments due to the “chemistry with a hammer”.In the second part of the thesis, we have undertaken in-depth theoretical and experimental studies on the growth of a new allotropic form of silicon and germanium: a single layer of silicon or germanium atoms, only one atom thick and packed in a hexagonal lattice that closely resembles the lattice of graphene, namely silicene and germanene. In order to rule out any intermixing between silicon or germanium atoms and the underneath substrate atoms, as it was the case for metallic substrates, and to maintain their promising features to be new Dirac materials, we have performed our depositions on a chemically inert graphite substrate. One of our crucial findings is that the silicene or germanene monolayers interact with the graphite substrate via van der Waals forces only. The van der Waals interaction is strong enough to stabilize the deposited monolayers even above room temperature, but weak enough to prevent any hybridization or alloying between silicon or germanium and carbon atoms. Consequently, the outstanding electronic properties of free-standing silicene and germanene, such as Dirac cones and massless electrons, are preserved even after their deposition on graphite surfaces.

This ethnography is a study of the cultural scene at one store of a chain of twenty-eight retail "discount department stores"--the Bi Mart Company, a subsidiary of the Pay 'n Save Corporation. It is an exercise of an ethnographic method developed by James Spradley that is used to uncover and describe the cultural grammar of acquired knowledge which Bi Mart employees use to define and interpret their situation and to generate and understand their work. The method is based on the assumption that culture is best learned and best described (as much as possible) from the "native" point of view.

En raison de leurs excellentes propriétés, les polyoléfines telles que le polypropylène et le polyéthylène sont largement utilisées dans des applications d'emballage alimentaire. Cependant, tout au long de leur cycle de vie ou de la première utilisation, les polyoléfines peuvent être exposées à des milieux contaminés qui limitent leur recyclabilité en contact alimentaire. Par conséquence, le recyclage de polyoléfines au contact alimentaire nécessite des niveaux de décontamination rigoureux et donc une technologie de décontamination avancée. L’objectif de ce travail consiste dans un premier temps à étudier la faisabilité et la potentialité de l’extraction par CO2 supercritique en mode batch pour la purification de polyoléfines (extraction d’additifs et de contaminants modèles). On s’est plus particulièrement attaché à étudier l’effet des paramètres du procédé sur la cinétique de l’extraction ainsi que l’influence de l’extraction supercritique sur les comportements rhéologique et thermique des matériaux purifiés. Dans un deuxième temps, on s’est intéressé au développement d’un nouveau procédé continu d’extraction par couplage de l’extraction supercritique et l’extrusion bi-vis. Les résultats les plus importants ont montré la potentialité de l’extraction par CO2 supercritique en mode batch pour la purification de polyoléfines sans influencer significativement les propriétés de la matrice / Due to their excellent properties, polyolefins such as polypropylene and polyethylene are widely used in food packaging applications to preserve and protect foodstuffs. However, throughout their lifecycle or first use, polyolefins can be exposed to contaminated media which limit their recyclability in food contact applications. Therefore, the recycling of polyolefins into direct food contact applications requires rigorous decontamination levels and thus effective and advanced recycling technology. The objective of this work is, at first hand, to study the feasibility and the potential of supercritical CO2 extraction in batch process for the purification of polyolefins (extraction of additives and model contaminants). In the whole, we investigated the effects of process parameters and contaminant structure on the extraction kinetic, and the influence of the supercritical CO2 extraction on the rheological and thermal behaviors of the purified materials. On the other hand, we aimed at the development of a novel continuous extraction process by coupling supercritical extraction technique and twin-screw extrusion. The most significant results showed the potential of supercritical CO2 extraction in batch mode for the purification of polyolefins without influence significantly the matrix properties

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Topology Optimization is an optimization technique used to synthesize models without any preconceived shape. These structures are synthesized keeping in mind the minimum compliance problems. With the rapid improvement in advanced manufacturing technology and increased need for lightweight high strength designs topology optimization is being used more than ever. There exist a number of commercially available software's that can be used for optimizing a product. These software have a robust Finite Element Solver and can produce good results. However, these software offers little to no choice to the user when it comes to selecting the type of optimization method used. It is possible to use a programming language like MATLAB to develop algorithms that use a specific type of optimization method but the user himself will be responsible for writing the FEA algorithms too. This leads to a situation where the flexibility over the optimization method is achieved but the robust FEA of the commercial FEA tool is lost. There have been works done in the past that links ABAQUS with MATLAB but they are primarily used as a tool for finite element post-processing. Through this thesis, the aim is to develop an interface that can be used for solving optimization problems using different methods like hard-kill as well as the material penalization (SIMP) method. By doing so it's possible to harness the potential of a commercial FEA software and gives the user the requires flexibility to write or modify the codes to have an optimization method of his or her choice. Also, by implementing this interface, it can also be potentially used to unlock the capabilities of other Dassault Systèmes software's as the firm is implementing a tighter integration between all its products using the 3DExperience platform. This thesis as described uses this interface to implement BESO and HCA based topology optimization. Since hybrid cellular atomata is the only other method other than equivalent static load method that can be used for crashworthiness optimization this work suits well for the role when extended into a non-linear region.

This thesis presents the design, layout, and measurements of a bi-directional amplifier with variable vector (in-phase / quadrature) gain control that will be part of an electronically steered phased array system. The electronically steered phased array has many advantages over the conventional mechanically steered antennas including rapid scanning of the beam and adaptively creating nulls in desired locations. The 10-bit bi-directional Vector Variable Gain Amplifier (VVGA) is part of the transmit and receive module of each antenna element where transmit and receive functionality is determined through a simple switch. The VVGA performs amplification of the IF IQ pair by an adjustable complex coefficient. At receive, the VVGA functions as a Vector Variable Gain Current Amplifier (VVGCA) and at transmit, the VVGA functions as a Vector Variable Gain Transadmittance Amplifier (VVGTA). Design procedure, layout entry, schematic and parasitic extracted simulation results, and measurements are presented in this thesis.

Die Umweltfernerkundung hat in den vergangenen zwei Jahrzehnten enorme Fortschritte erzielt und bietet Potenzial zur Erweiterung behördlicher Geodatenbestände und vielfältiger Anwendung. Insbesondere abbildende Hyperspektraldaten und Thermaldaten bieten die Möglichkeit für die Bereitstellung neuer thematische Informationen (GIS-Layer). Ein zentrales Einsatzgebiet ist die Analyse, Visualisierung und Bereitstellung von Informationen zu den Wirkungsketten grüner und blauer Infrastruktur in Landschaften und Siedlungen. Der Beitrag vermittelt einen Überblick zu Anwendungen, Aspekten und Anforderungen an die Akquise von Hyperspektraldaten und Thermaldaten.

The pandemic that struck the entire world 2020 caused by the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) virus, will have an enormous interest for statistical and economical analytics for a long time. While the pandemic of 2020 is not the first that struck the entire world, it is the first pandemic in history where the data were gathered to this extent. Most countries have collected and shared its numbers of cases, tests and deaths related to the COVID-19 virus using different storage methods and different data types. Gaining quality data from the COVID-19 pandemic is a problem most countries had during the pandemic, since it is constantly changing not only for the current situation but also because past values have been altered when additional information has surfaced. The importance of having the latest data available for government officials to make an informed decision, leads to the usage of Business Intelligence tools and techniques for data gathering and aggregation being one way of solving the problem. One of the mostly used software to perform Business Intelligence is the Microsoft develop Power BI, designed to be a powerful visualizing and analysing tool, that could gather all data related to the COVID-19 pandemic into one application. The pandemic caused not only millions of deaths, but it also caused one of the largest drops on the stock market since the Great Recession of 2007. To determine if the deaths or other reasons directly caused the drop, the study modelled the volatility from index funds using Generalized Autoregressive Conditional Heteroscedasticity. One question often asked when talking of the COVID-19 virus, is how deadly the virus is. Analysing the effect the pandemic had on the mortality rate is one way of determining how the pandemic not only affected the mortality rate but also how deadly the virus is. The analysis of the mortality rate was preformed using Seasonal Artificial Neural Network. Forecasting deaths from the pandemic using the Seasonal Artificial Neural Network on the COVID-19 daily deaths data.

[pt] Neste trabalho apresenta-se a formulação e implementação de um modelo bidimensional de elementos finitos para análise estática, isotérmica, linear elástica de cascas finas tridimensionais isotrópicas submetidas à carregamentos gerais. A Geometria e o campo associado de deslocamentos do elemento quadrilateral proposto são representados por número variável de 4 a 16 pontos nodais definidos na superfície mediana de casca. O modelo emprega a formulação isoparamétrica, e a cinemática de deformação da casca é representada por três graus-de-liberdade à translação, definidos na superfície mediana do elemento. A partir da condição de que segmentos inicialmente retos e perpendiculares à superfície mediana da casca, permanecem retos, normais e inextensíveis durante e após o processo de deformação – teoria de LOVE para cascas finas – as rotações são definidas nas direções de curvatura principais da casca com os graus-de-liberdade à translação. As condições de contorno de continuidade da rotação da normal à casca entre elementos ou de nulidade da rotação no contorno de um elemento, devido à fixação, são garantidos utilizando-se o Método de Penalidades. No estado plano de deformação considerado os mecanismos de flexão e distensão da casca são associadas às direções das curvaturas principais em cada ponto da superfície mediana, devido à simplicidade da expressão analítica das equações de compatibilidade geométrica. Soluções numéricas para algumas estruturas, utilizando o modelo proposto, são comparadas com outros resultados analíticos e/ou numéricos disponíveis na literatura, demonstrando a aplicabilidade do elemento na representação de cascas finas tridimensionais utilizando apenas graus-de-liberdade à translação. / [en] The formulation of a simple but effective bi dimensional isoparametric displacemnet –based element for 3/D thin shell analysis is presented. The geometry and displacement fields are approximated using cubic interpolation functions defined on the shell mid –surface and represented by three spatial coordinates and three displacements only. The element Kinematics incorporates membrane and bending strain components with the assumption of zero transverse shear deformations being imposed in both shell curvature principal directions. This condition allows formulation of the element without using rotation as an independent degree-of-freedom, but the continuity conditions between two adjoining elements or the fixity condition between an element and a rigid wall are modeled by using a penalty procedure to enforce the boundary conditions on the local coordinate derivatives in the element mid-surface radial displacements. The element formulation has been implemented and the results of various sample analyses are given in order to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed model in handling typical engineering shell analysis.

Static compensators (STATCOM) based on high-power converters are widely used for utilitiesand industrial applications in order to enhance the power system reliability. Nowadays,the Chain-Link Modular Multilevel Converter is the best solution for such applications,providing high eciency and reliability, and good harmonic performance. However, thecurrent delta and wye congurations present diculties in controlling negative sequencein unbalanced networks, as well as high capacitance requirements, which results in bulkySTATCOMs.This thesis aims to analyse a new Chain-Link Modular Multilevel Converter for STATCOMapplications. The main feature of the proposed topology is the presence of a commondc-link that will allow the exchange of energy between phases, facilitating the compensationof negative sequence components. Consequently, the required zero sequence componentinjection for the current Chain-Link congurations are avoided, and thus, also theconsequent over-sizing of the converter. Moreover, it is expected to have lower capacitancerequirements, because of the elimination of the second order harmonic (100 Hz)component in most of the capacitors, as they are charged and discharged by a bi-phasecurrent instead of a single-phase one. Additionally, lower conduction losses are expectedby reducing the number of devices in the conduction path.The layout and operation of the new converter have been analysed in this thesis.A STATCOM Simulink model provided by ABB has been modied to satisfy the newtopology. The theoretical benets of the proposed converter are supported by dierentsimulations carried out in Matlab-Simulink. In particular, it is shown a 50 % of negativesequence capability without any zero sequence component injection. The total capacitanceof the converter can be reduced a 30 % in comparison with the delta Chain-LinkModular Multilevel Converter, which is the preferable topology in the market nowadays.Furthermore, the losses are kept quite low if SiC semiconductors are used.On the other hand, the proposed topology requires the usage of bi-directional switchesto do the commutation and allow the exchange of energy between phases. An in-depthanalysis of the commutation process is shown at the end of this thesis, concluding that BidirectionalControlled Thyristors would be a promising solution for this converter topology. / Reaktiv effektkompensering (STATCOM) baserade på högeffektomvandlare används vidaför samhällsservice och industriella användningar för att förbättra elsystemet pålitliga.Nuförtiden, Chain-Link Modular Multilevel Converter är den bästa lösningen för sådanaanvändningar, vilket ger hög verkningsgrad och mycket pålitliga, samt låg harmonisk distortion.Hursomhelst, den nuvarande delta och wye konfigurationer presentera svårigheteratt kontrollera negativ sekvens i obalanserade nätverk, vilket leder till överdimensioneringav omvandlaren. Vidare, dessa Chain-Link topologier har hög kapacitans kraven, vilketresulterar i skrymmande STATCOMs.Den här avhandlingen syftar till att analysera en ny Chain-Link Modular MultilevelConverter för STATCOM användningar. Det viktigaste kännetecken av den föreslagnatopologi är närvaron av en gemensam likspänningslänk som gör det möjligt utbytet avenergi mellan faserna, som underlättar ersättning av negativ sekvens komponenter. Pådetta sätt, den behövlig noll sekvens komponent injektion i de aktuella konfigurationernaundviks, och således, också den därav följande överdimensioneringen av omvandlaren.Dessutom, förväntas det att ha lägre kapacitans kraven, eftersom den första övertonens(100 Hz) komponent undviks i några av kondensatorerna, såsom de är laddas och urladdasav en bi-fas ström i stället för en enda-fas ett. Vidare, lägre ledningsförluster förväntasgenom att reducera antalet enheter i ledningsvågen.Layouten och drift av den nya omvandlaren beskrivs i denna avhandling. En Simulinkmodell från ABB har modifierats för att tillfredsställa den nya topologin. De teoretiskafördelarna med det föreslagna omvandlare topologi stöds av simuleringsresultat i Matlab-Simulink. I synnerhet, är det visas en 50 % av negativ sekvens kapacitet utan noll sekvenskomponent injektion. Den totala kapacitansen hos omvandlaren kan minskas på ett 30 %jämfört med den delta Chain-Link Modular Multilevel Converter, som är den föredragnatopologin på marknaden idag. Vidare är förlusterna hålls ganska låg om SiC halvledareanvänds.Å andra sidan, kräver den föreslagna topologi användningen av dubbelriktade omkopplareatt göra kommuteringen och möjliggöra utbytet av energi mellan faserna. Enfördjupad analys av kommuteringsförloppet visas i slutet av denna avhandling, slutsatsenatt Bi-directional Controlled Tyristors skulle vara en lovande lösning för topologin.