While the search for a practical fusion energy source has been pursued for decades, ultimate success remains elusive, and the need is apparent for continued research into alternative experimental fusion techniques. A method that has received fair attention over the past few years is Inertial Electrostatic Confinement (IEC) fusion, a system in which a convergent ion focus is obtained solely through electrostatic fields. During device operation where the electrostatic field is supported by very high voltages (over 20,000V), the resulting ion focus sustains a dense plasma capable of generating a high rate of fusion reactions and neutron production. However, present limited theoretical knowledge and engineering issues prevent the capacity ofIEC systems to produce net power. Rather, intermediate applications center on using the device as a portable neutron source. The work performed here involves an IEC device using spherical geometry, and includes the introduction of a new variable, the addition of high frequency electromagnetic (EM) fields into its operation. The goal is to predict theoretically, observe and explain any beneficial compressive effects of added microwave EM fields on the potential fusion reaction rate in an experimental reactor. An optical determination of the enhancement is performed while using lower voltages under 1 000V, and is based on the relative intensity of the confined plasma during glow discharge operation. It is hypothesized that imposing EM fields will enhance the potential fusion reaction rate conservatively by a factor of two. Presently, IEC systems operate just under neutron production levels needed for practical applications such as landmine detection and medical isotope production, and any enhancement from EM fields should prove highly beneficial.

Current emissions targets have created a strong need for introducing more renewable energy sources into the energy mixture. The oscillating-foil turbine (OFT) has gained interest in recent years for renewable energy extraction. Experimental and numerical studies on the OFT experience different levels of wall confinement than what may be experienced at a natural site. Walls in close proximity will direct the flow at the turbine, causing a greater perceived velocity by the turbine, and thus a higher theoretical performance. This work aims to increase understanding of flow confinement on the fully-passive OFT. This is motivated by (1) enabling comparison between turbine performance operating at different confinement levels, and (2) potentially providing a means to enhance performance by designing a turbine which uses confinement to its advantage. The experiments were performed using a NACA0015 foil with an aspect ratio of 7.5 in a water tunnel equipped with adjustable lateral walls. The foil was undergoing passive oscillations in pitch and heave degrees of freedom. The kinematic parameters of the foil oscillations and its energy harvesting performance were measured at eight blockage ratios, ranging from 22% to 60%, for two structural configurations of the turbine. Quantitative flow imaging was performed using particle image velocimetry (PIV), at three confinement levels, to observe the timing of the leading-edge vortex (LEV) formation and shedding throughout the foil oscillation cycle. Loading on the foil was related to the flow structure by calculating the moments of vorticity with respect to the pitching axis of the foil. The results showed that the efficiency and the power coefficient increased with increasing confinement. This was expected due to the higher incident velocity on the foil in the presence of the confining walls. At the highest level of confinement, the close proximity of the foil to the walls during parts of the oscillation cycle resulted in a change in the phase lag between the pitching and the heaving components of the foil motion. In turn, this shift in the kinematic parameters led to a sharp decrease in the energy-extraction performance of the turbine. / Graduate

Fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) is a composite material made of fibers that carry tensile loads embedded in a polymeric matrix. Externally bonded FRP retrofits of reinforced concrete elements provide an efficient, economical, and accepted method of mitigating deficiencies related to seismic and blast loads, as well as addressing corrosion-related issues. FRPs retrofits are widely regarded as cost effective as the cost associated with retrofit installation and facility down-time are usually less than similar retrofit systems. Besides issues of bond and anchorage between the FRP and the substrate, the main disadvantage of FRP materials is that they behave in a brittle, linear elastic manner. As a result, strengthening concrete structures with FRP may introduce new and undesirable behaviors that are mitigated by design codes through strict strain limits. Because FRP is designed for very low strain levels to prevent brittle rupture and unpredictable debonding, buildings and bridges are strengthened in such a way that restricts their energy dissipation capacity at the ultimate limit state. This runs counter to the structural design philosophy of new buildings where the design objective is to develop significant plastic deformation to dissipate energy. An ideal composite material for infrastructure strengthening is one that combines the ease of application of FRP rehabilitation systems with the ability of ductile metals to yield under relatively large strains to provide energy dissipation and ensure ductile behavior. Known as a fiber metal laminate (FML), the aerospace industry has successfully developed a composite consisting of thin metal sheets alternatively bonded to epoxy saturated fiber fabric that is widely used to construct aircraft fuselages and wings. Unlike FRP, FML composites possess a well-defined yield point and exhibit inelastic behavior. However, aerospace grade FML composites cannot directly be applied to building and bridges because they: (i) were developed for low-stress fatigue resistance rather than performance near ultimate stress; (ii) are precisely manufactured to unnecessarily tight tolerances by civil construction standards; and (iii) are not economical compared with current FRP strengthening techniques. Therefore, developing a multifunctional civil engineering composite material based on FML theory would unlock opportunities related to plastic design, energy dissipation, and other mechanisms not currently possible with FRP. This dissertation presents a comprehensive study on the use FML jackets to enhance the strength and ductility of concrete cylinders. The confinement effect and failure mechanisms of FML confined concrete were analyzed for a range of experimental parameters, including the effect of the number of layers, the fiber orientation, and fabric architecture of the FML jackets. The experimental program was divided into two phases. The first phase consisted of a series of uniaxial tension coupon tests to investigate how the stacking arrangement of various E-glass fabrics and aluminum sheets could be tuned to control the yield strength, post-yield stiffness, and ductility characteristics of the FML lay-ups. Mechanical roughening of aluminum sheets and the addition of a bond enhancement agent to the resin system was found to enhance the interlayer bonding and splice capacity of metal and fiber layers. The results demonstrated that FML coupons with [±45°] glass fabrics exhibited pseudo-elastic-plastic stress-strain response, while coupons with [0°] and [0°/90°] fabrics exhibited strain hardening after yielding of aluminum layers. Furthermore, the ratio of the relative contribution of composite layers to the total elastic stiffness of the FML composites was found to be a good indicator of the mechanical properties and shape of the uniaxial stress-strain response of the FML lay-ups. An analytical model based on the Rule of Mixtures (ROM) was used to predict the tensile behavior of the FML coupons. The second phase consisted of axial compression testing of concrete cylinders confined by FML jackets to investigate the influence of various lay-up schemes on the strength and ductility of the confined concrete. Cylinders jacketed with FML showed a significant increase in their strength and ductility. The degree of strain-softening response, maximum strength, peak strain, ultimate deformation, and energy dissipation capacity of the FML confined concrete was found to be controlled by the pseudo-ductile stress-strain response of the FML jackets. FML lay-ups which exhibited strain hardening uniaxial behavior tended to produce greater enhancements in confined concrete strength and steeper strain softening response than FML lay-ups which exhibited pseudo-elastic-plastic uniaxial behavior. Furthermore, FML confined concrete showed improved performance, compared to FRP confined concrete, in terms of confined concrete behavior and failure mode. Finally, the project also demonstrated that an in-situ, hand lay-up preparation procedure for FML jackets provided a level of performance and construction tolerance suitable for use in civil infrastructure applications. Although the results of this study encourage the use of FML as a viable substitute to FRP for retrofitting deficient concrete members, further research is recommended on large-scale columns to verify the feasibility of this innovative retrofit technique. / Doctor of Philosophy / Glass fiber fabrics infused with epoxy resin can be wrapped around concrete cylinders to create a form of confinement jacket that enhances the strength and ductility of the concrete. The cured fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) composite will resist the lateral expansion of the cylinder when it is subject to axial compression. The resistance action works in the form of an external confining pressure developed by jacket and applied to the surface of the cylinder. The increase in confinement pressure is proportional to the lateral expansion of the cylinder which creates hoop strains in the jacket material. The FRP jacket will rupture suddenly when the jacket reaches its ultimate strain capacity, causing the confined cylinder to fail in an explosive manner. FRP composites are often used to repair and strengthen structures suffering from performance deficiencies. However, the brittle mode of failure of FRP is undesirable because it can occur suddenly and without warning. An ideal composite for infrastructure strengthening applications is one that combines the ease of application of FRP rehabilitation systems with the ability of ductile metals to yield under large strains to provide energy dissipation and ensure ductile behavior. The objective of this research was to investigate the strength and ductility of concrete cylinders confined by fiber metal laminates (FML), a composite material consisting of thin aluminum sheets alternatively bonded to layers of glass fiber fabrics. Axial compression testing of concrete cylinders confined by FML jackets was performed to investigate the influence of various FML lay-up schemes on the strength and ductility of the confined cylinders. Concrete cylinders jacketed with FML showed a significant increase in strength and ductility. FML lay-ups which exhibited strain hardening uniaxial behavior tended to produce greater enhancements in confined concrete strength and steeper strain softening response than FML lay-ups which exhibited pseudo-elastic-plastic uniaxial behavior. Furthermore, FML confined concrete showed improved performance, compared to FRP confined concrete, in terms of confined concrete behavior and failure mode. Although the results of this study encourage the use of FML as a viable substitute to FRP for retrofitting deficient concrete members, further research is recommended on large-scale columns to verify the feasibility of this innovative retrofit technique.

In the present research a highway twin tunnel project completed in Japan in 1998 is used as a case study to verify results of numerical analyses with measurement data. Each of the tunnels had approximately 1.1 km of length. For this project a wide geometry of approximately 18.0 m was selected by the designers to facilitate three lanes per tunnel. A sequential tunneling technique known in Japan as the "TBM pilot and enlargement method" was used along with NATM principles. The tunnel was used as a reference project, involving performance testing and extensive monitoring in order to verify and standardize support requirements for other tunnels excavated under similar geologic conditions in the Tomei II expressway. The tunnel was excavated in a region consisting mainly of soft sedimentary rocks, such as locally weathered sandstone, underlain by interbedded sandstone and mudstone. Due to observed non symmetric deformations and loads in the tunnel, the distinct element and the convergence-confinement methods were used during the numerical simulations. A parametric analysis was performed initially in a pseudo-continuum approach to study the behavior of the wide tunnel geometry under various conditions. The effects of rock mass elastic modulus, in situ Ko ratio and boundary conditions are discussed. More complex parametric studies were performed in a stochastically generated model by using joint spatial data from geotechnical investigations. The Barton-Bandis constitutive law was assumed for the behavior of the joints. The sensitivity of the ground "characteristic curves" was examined by statistical variation of the joint shear strength parameters. A final simulation using the code UDEC and the convergence-confinement method yields interesting results which are comparable to the monitored data. / Master of Science

Cette thèse, réalisée dans l'équipe OPTO-PV du laboratoire IM2NP, porte sur l'étude des propriétés particulières des nanostructures de petites dimensions pour des application optoélectroniques. Pour le solaire photovoltaïque, leur utilisation permet d'augmenter l'efficacité et de réduire les coûts. Après avoir étudié les différentes technologies et phénomènes photovoltaïques, nous avons choisi les cellules hybrides organiques - nanosphères semiconductrices comme structures d'étude. Nous avons alors développé une approche numérique de détermination des propriétés intrinsèques des boîtes quantiques. Notre méthode est rapide et nécessite peu de paramètres pour une utilisation à la fois prédictive et explicative. Nous déterminons les propriétés électronique avec l'approximation de la masse effective en la modifiant pour tenir compte de la non-parabolicité des bandes électroniques. Nous utilisons ces résultats pour évaluer les propriétés optiques, particulièrement l'absorption qui joue un rôle important dans le processus photovoltaïque. Nous prenons en compte des effets de couplages diélectriques sur ces propriétés ainsi que des aspects thermodynamiques. Ces outils nous permettent d'étudier l'effet du confinement quantique des charges sur le comportement optoélectroniques de nanostructures de différents types: multipuits couplés, fils de section circulaire et boîtes sphériques. La réalisation et la caractérisation de couches minces de PMMA incorporant des nanosphères homogènes et (cœur)coquille composées de différents semiconducteurs valident notre approche et posent les bases de l'étude de couches actives hybrides pour la réalisation de cellules solaires performantes. / This thesis was conducted in the OPTO-PV team of the IM2NP laboratory. Its aim is to study the peculiar properties of low-dimensional nanostructures for use in optoelectronic applications. For photovoltaics in particular, they can be used for the realization of innovative devices with theoretical hight efficiencies at low costs. After we evaluated the various technologies and phenomena that can be used in nanostructured photovoltaics, we decided to choose an hybrid organic polymer - inorganic quantum dots solar cell as study structure. We then developed a numerical approach to determine the intrinsic properties of quantum dots. Our method is fast and requires few parameters so that we can conduct predictive and explicative studies. We start with the evaluation of the electronic properties under the effective mass approximation that we modify to take into account the non-parabolicity of the energy bands. We use the results to derive the optical properties with emphasis on absorption that plays an important role in the photovoltaic process. We take dielectric coupling effects and also thermodynamic effects into account. Those tools allow the study of the effect of quantum confinement on the optoelectronic behavior of various nanostructures: coupled quantum wells, circular cross-section quantum wires and spherical dots. The fabrication and characterization of PMMA thin-films containing homogeneous and (core)shell quantum dots of different semiconductors, validate our approach and constitute the first step towards the study of hybrid active layers for efficient solar cells.

Pour déterminer la vulnérabilité sismique des structures en béton armé, des méthodes de calcul numérique à l’échelle structurelle, effiaces et suffisamment précises, sont nécessaires. Des formulations d’éléments finis bidimensionnels ou tridimensionnels, largement utilisées, fournissent des résultats fiables. Cependant, ces types de méthodes impliquent un grand nombre de degrés de liberté et des lois de comportement robustes 3D pour le béton et l’acier, afin de capturer avec précision les non-linéarités dans les éléments élancés de structure en béton armé. Une autre méthode plus pratique dans le domaine de l’ingénierie des structures est l’utilisation des éléments de poutres multifibres. C’est la méthode adoptée dans ce travail de thèse.Les éléments poutres multifibres permettent de discrétiser la structure à l’aide d’éléments linéiques qui portent une section discrétisée dans le sens transversal en faisant l’hypothèse de cinématique d’Euler Bernoulli ou Timoshenko. La discrétisation de la section permet d’utiliser simplement des lois de comportement non linéaires et de modéliser des sections composites comme le béton armé. Néanmoins, il existe des limitations à ce genre de modèle. Ainsi, plusieurs recherches ont été menées, ces dernières années pour enrichir les éléments poutres afin de reproduire correctement les effets de cisaillement surtout dans le cas de poutres peu élancées où l’effet de cisaillement est non négligeable. Comme l’approche proposée par [VEC 88] adéquate pour les chargements bidimensionnels mais ne reproduisant pas l’effet de torsion, celle présentée par [LEC 12], mais dont le modèle ne peut pas être appliqué aux éléments en béton armé, et la formulation numérique de [MOH 10] qui est adaptée aux applications en béton armé mais ne fonctionne qu’en 2D. Plus récemment ([CAP 16b]; [CAP 16a]) et son équipe ont développé une technique adaptée au béton armé, qui prend en compte le gauchissement de la section et permet de calculer un état de déformation dans les fibres de béton sous des sollicitations 3D. Dans les travaux cités plus haut, soit les cadres d’armatures transversales ne sont pas du tout pris en compte, soit ils le sont de manière trop approximative. Cependant, comme le montrent certains essais expérimentaux menés par [CUS 95], la quantité de ferraillage transversal déclenche de manière significative le comportement des éléments structuraux, notamment sous chargement cyclique.Basé sur les travaux de [LEC 12] et [CAP 16a], ce travail de thèse vise à modéliser l’effet des armatures transversales sur le comportement du béton. La démarche proposée est d’enrichir les éléments finis poutres multifibres pour prise en compte de la distorsion de la section. Pour cela, des déplacements transversaux additionnels sont introduits. L’application du principe des puissances virtuelles sur le champ de vitesse virtuel associé permet de projeter les équations d’équilibre de l’élément et ainsi d’obtenir l’équation d’équilibre classique de l’élément mais aussi l’équilibre de la section. Cette dernière permet donc de tenir compte de l’effet des armatures transversales et de calculer correctement les contraintes latérales appliquées à chaque fibre de béton. En outre, afin de pouvoir reproduire l’effet de confinement des fibres de béton par les cadres, une loi de comportement dilatante doit être attribuée au béton. Dans ce contexte, la loi de comportement du µ modèle a été choisie. Celle-ci est dépourvue du comportement dilatant. Pour cette raison, une méthode d’introduction de la dilatance au niveau du coefficient de poisson est présentée dans ce mémoire. Les éléments poutres multifibres enrichis 2D et 3D sont formulés en déplacement et sont basés sur le modèle poutre de Caillerie [CAI 15] avec des fonctions de formes d’ordre supérieur. La pertinence de ces deux approches est finalement démontrée en confrontant la réponse du modèle numérique à différents résultats expérimentaux de la littérature. / In order to determine the seismic vulnerability of reinforced concrete structures, effective and sufficiently accurate numerical methods are required. Two-dimensional or three-dimensional finite element methods, widely used, provide reliable results. However, these types of methods involve a large number of degrees of freedom and robust 3D behavioral laws for concrete and steel to accurately capture the non-linearities in slender reinforced concrete elements. Another more practical method, in the field of structural engineering, is the use of multifiber beam elements.By using multifiber beam elements, the structure can be discretized with linear elements that carry a section discretized in the transversal direction based on the kinematic assumption of Euler Bernoulli or Timoshenko. The discretization of the section makes it possible to simply use nonlinear behavior laws and to model composite sections such as reinforced concrete. Nevertheless, there are limitations to this kind of model. Therefore, several researches have been conducted in the past few years to enhance the kinematics of the beam elements in order to correctly reproduce the shearing effects, especially in the case of short beams where the latter effect is not negligible. Several approaches have been developed in this field, as the one proposed by [VEC 88] adequate for two-dimensional case studies but doesn’t reproduce the torsional effect, the approach presented by [LEC 12], but whose model can not be applied to reinforced concrete elements, and the formulation proposed by [MOH 10] which is suitable for reinforced concrete applications but works only in 2D. More recently ([CAP 16b]; [CAP 16a]) have developed an enhanced multifiber beam model adapted to reinforced concrete elements and takes into account the warping of the section. The combination of this beam element with a concrete behavior model such as the µ model [MAZ 13], provides robust results with interesting computational speed. However, as shown by some experimental tests [CUS 95], the amount of transverse reinforcement triggers significantly the behavior of the beam elements, especially under cyclic loading . In the previous works, these reinforcements are neglected or considered in an approximative manner.Based on the work of [LEC 12] and [CAP 16a], this thesis aims to model the effect of transversal reinforcement. The approach proposed herein is to enhance the multifiber beam elements in order to take into account the distortion of the section. For this purpose, additional transverse displacements are introduced. The application of the principle of virtual powers on the field of associated virtual velocity leads to project the equilibrium equations of the element and thus to obtain the classical equilibrium equation of the element as well as the equilibrium of the section. The latter one allows to take into account the effect of the transverse reinforcements and to correctly calculate the lateral stresses applied to each concrete fiber. Moreover, in order to be able to reproduce the confinement effect due to the presence of stirrups, a dilatant constitutive law has to be attributed to the concrete fibers at the section level. In this context, the Mu model has been chosen even though it’s not a dilatant model. For this reason, a method of introducing dilatancy at the level of the Poisson’s coefficient is presented in this work. The 2D and 3D enhanced multifiber displacement beam models are formulated based on the Caillerie beam element [CAI 15] with higher order interpolation functions. The performance of these two approaches is also demonstrated by comparing the numerical model response to different experimental results of the literature.

Le cytosquelette est un assemblage de protéines intracellulaires qui assure le maintien de la forme des cellules et la production de force. Ce cytosquelette est formé de trois types de polymères, dont les filaments d'actine qui sont impliqués dans des fonctions essentielles telles que la motilité cellulaire, la division cellulaire ou encore la morphogénèse. Les filaments d'actine s'agencent en structures organisées dont la dynamique est assurée par la polymérisation et le désassemblage des filaments, contrôlés spatio-temporellement. La plupart des structures d'actine sont dans un état stationnaire dynamique où l'assemblage est compensé par le désassemblage, ce qui permet de maintenir une concentration de monomères intracellulaire élevée. En effet, le réservoir d'actine in vivo est limité et la formation de nouvelles structures de filaments d'actine est dépendante d'un désassemblage efficace des structures les plus âgées. Le but de ma thèse a été d'étudier comment l'organisation architecturale des structures d'actine influence le désassemblage par la machinerie protéique composée de l'ADF/cofiline et d'un de ses cofacteurs Aip1.J'ai d'abord pu montrer que l'efficacité du désassemblage dépendait de l'agencement des filaments d'actine. Quand les réseaux branchés ne requièrent que l'action de l'ADF/cofiline pour être désassemblés efficacement, les faisceaux de filaments d'actine ont besoin de la présence simultanée de l'ADF/cofiline et de l'Aip1. Une étude à l'échelle moléculaire a ensuite été menée pour comprendre le mécanisme du désassemblage des filaments d'actine par ces deux protéines au niveau du filament individuel.Dans un second temps, j'ai développé un système expérimental composé de micropuits de taille comparable à la cellule. Cette technologie nous a permis de réaliser des expériences en milieu confiné, dans lequel le réservoir d'actine était limité de la même manière que le réservoir d'actine cellulaire. J'ai mis ce système a profit pour reconstituer le turnover d'une comète d'actine, un réseau branché formé à la surface d'une bille recouverte de nucléateurs de l'actine.Ce travail de thèse a permis d’établir des lois fondamentales contrôlant la dynamique de l’actine et plus particulièrement comment l’architecture de l’actine et l’environnement peuvent influencer le désassemblage de structures complexes. / The actin cytoskeleton is a major component of the internal architecture of eukaryotic cells. Actin filaments are organized into different structures, the dynamics of which is spatially and temporally controlled by the polymerization and disassembly of filaments. Most actin structures are in a dynamic steady state regime where the assembly is balanced by the disassembly, which maintains a high concentration of intracellular actin monomers. In vivo the pool of actin monomers is limited and the formation of new actin filament structures is dependent on an effective disassembly of the older structures. The goal of my thesis was to study the influence of different architectures of actin by the disassembly machinery made of ADF/cofilin and its cofactor Aip1.Firstly, I showed that the efficiency of the disassembly was dependent on the architecture of actin filaments organizations. Although the branched networks need only ADF/cofilin to be efficiently disassembled, the actin cables require the simultaneous action of ADF/cofilin and Aip1. Further investigations at the molecular scale indicate that the cooperation between ADF/cofilin and Aip1 is optimal above a certain threshold of molecules of ADF/cofilin bound to actin filaments. During my PhD I demonstrated that although ADF/cofilin is able to dismantle selectively branched networks through severing and debranching, the stochastic disassembly of actin filaments by ADF/cofilin and Aip1 represents an efficient alternative pathway for the full disassembly of all actin networks. We propose a model in which the binding of ADF/cofilin is required to trigger a structural change of the actin filaments, as a prerequisite for their disassembly by Aip1.Secondly, I developed an experimental system made of cell-sized microwells. This technology allowed us to develop experiments in a closed environment in which the actin pool is limited in the same way as the cellular environment. I used this experimental system to study how a limited pool of components limits both the assembly and the disassembly of a branched network.This thesis highlights the importance of developing new tools to obtain more “physiological” reconstituted systems in vitro to establish some of the general principles governing actin dynamics.

Understanding of plasma confinement modes is an essential component in development of a fusion reactor. Plasma confinement directly relates to performance of a fusion reactor in terms of energy replacement time requirements on other design parameters. Although a variety of levels of confinement have been achieved under different operating conditions in tokamaks, tokamak confinement is generally identified as being either Low (L-mode--poor confinement) or High (H-mode--good confinement) In operation of a tokamak experiment, the plasma confinement condition generally changes from L-mode to H-mode over a few hundred milliseconds, sometimes quite sharply. Such a difference in transition period seems to be largely due to operating conditions of the plasma. Comparison of experimental data exhibits various distinctions between confinement modes. One noteworthy distinction between confinement modes is development of steep density and temperature gradients of electrons and ions in the plasma edge region of High confinement, H-modes, relative to Low-confinement, L-modes. The fundamental reason for the change for L-mode to H-mode is not understood. Previous studies have suggested i) the development of reduced diffusive transport coefficients that require a steepening of the gradients in a localized region in the edge plasma, the "transport barrier" in H-mode confinement ii) the radial force balance between pressure gradient forces and electromagnetic (radial electric field and VxB) forces require radial particle fluxes to satisfy a pinch-diffusion relation. A recent study suggests that the major difference between L-mode and H-mode are associated with the electromagnetic forces in the "pinch velocity" and the pressure gradient, not in the diffusion coefficients that multiplies the pressure gradient. The research will examine in detail the time evolution of the radial force balance and the particle and energy transport during the L-H transition. For the analysis, DIII-D shot #118897 is selected for transition between L- and H-mode confinements. Plasma conditions in L-mode, near the L-H transition and following the transition are selected for analysis of various parameter profiles. The initial analysis will be based on the four principal equations for plasma: particle balance, momentum balance, force balance and heat conduction. Based on these equations, specific equations have been derived: toroidal and radial momentum balances, diffusion coefficient, pinch velocity and heat conduction relation for calculation of parameters. The analysis of these equations, using the measured data, will establish how various terms in the radial force balance (radial electric field, VXB (electromagnetic) force, and pressure gradient) and the diffusive transport coefficients evolve over the confinement mode transition.

L'objectif de cette thèse est de caractériser le comportement confiné en cisaillement du béton sous chargement statique et dynamique. La méthode expérimentale reprend le concept de l'essai 'Punch Through Shear' qui consiste dans un premier temps à soumettre une éprouvette de béton à un chargement radial puis à appliquer au cours d'une deuxième étape un chargement axial qui permet de cisailler la partie centrale de l'échantillon.Deux méthodes ont été utilisées pour appliquer la contrainte de confinement à l'éprouvette avant de la soumettre à un chargement de cisaillement. La première méthode consiste à appliquer une pression hydrostatique via un fluide de confinement. Ces essais sont réalisés avec la presse Giga. La deuxième méthode consiste à utiliser une cellule métallique pré-déformée à l'aide d'une presse hydraulique. Durant le déchargement de la cellule, des contraintes de confinement sont transmises à l'éprouvette de béton. Cette cellule est instrumentée avec des jauges de déformation qui permettent de mesurer le niveau de confinement appliqué au béton.Les éprouvettes de béton confinées avec la cellule sont soumises à deux types de chargement : l'un statique avec une presse hydraulique normale et l'autre dynamique avec un système aux barres de Hopkinson. Cela permet d'étudier le comportement du béton en cisaillement confiné sur une large gamme de vitesse de déformation.Les résultats des campagnes d'essais montrent que la contrainte de cisaillement du béton augmente avec la pression de confinement. D'autre part, des échantillons saturés d'eau et d'autres séchés à l'étuve sont testés afin de vérifier l'influence de la teneur d'eau sur la résistance au cisaillement. Une résistance au cisaillement des échantillons de béton R30A7 sec supérieure à celle des échantillons saturés est observée sur la plage de déformation considérée. Une influence modeste de la vitesse de déformation en comparaison de ce qui est observé sous chargement en traction dynamique a été remarquée. De plus, un béton haute performance a été testé pour étudier l'influence de la composition du béton sur sa résistance au cisaillement. Il a été observé que la résistance au cisaillement du béton haute performance dépasse fortement celle du béton ordinaire. Les résultats obtenus sont comparés à ceux de la littérature, pour lesquelles des méthodes expérimentales différentes avaient été utilisées. / This PhD thesis focuses on studying the confined behavior of concrete under shear loading in static and dynamic conditions. An experimental method based on the Punch-Through Shear (PTS) test is used in order to investigate shear behavior in mode II conditions. The concept of this test is to first subject the specimen to a confining pressure and then an axial loading is applied to punch through the central portion of the core.In order to introduce confinement to the concrete sample prior to testing it under shear, two methods have been used. The first one is an active confinement applied by means of a high capacity triaxial press Giga. The second method consists in confining the sample with a pre-stressed metallic cell instrumented with hoop strain gages in order to evaluate the confinement acting in the ligament of the concrete sample.Samples confined with the pre-stressed cell are subjected to two types of loading; static and dynamic. The static tests are carried out by means of a normal hydraulic press while dynamic shear testing are performed using a modified Split Hopkinson Bar setup which allows to determine the shear response of concrete over a wide range of strain-rates.The results of test campaigns show that the shear strength of the concrete increases significantly with an increase of confining pressure. Furthermore, dry and saturated concrete samples have been tested in order to study the influence of saturation ratio on the shear behavior of concrete. The results show a higher shear strength with dry samples than in wet ones. Moreover, a small influence (compared to what was observed in dynamic tension) of the strain rate was observed. A high performance concrete was also studied to investigate the influence of concrete composition on its shear strength. It was observed that its shear strength strongly exceeds that of the ordinary concrete. The obtained results are compared with data from literature obtained with different experimental methods.

No description available.