Gegenstand der Dissertation ist die Entwicklung eines Stoffmodells für duktile Salzgesteine, mit dem alle drei Kriechphasen, abhängig von einem inneren Zustandsparameter, beschrieben werden können. Die Modellierung der Schädigungs- bzw. Dilatanzentwicklung und deren Rückkopplung auf das Kriechverhalten ist das Kernstück der Stoffmodellentwicklung. Es wird eine Beziehung abgeleitet, die die Dilatanzentwicklung abhängig vom Manteldruck und der spezifischen Formänderungsarbeit beschreibt. Durch diese Formulierung und deren Verknüpfung mit dem o. g. Zustandsparameter lassen sich tertiäres Kriechen, Kriechbruch, Nachbruchverhalten und Restfestigkeit geschwindigkeitsabhängig beschreiben. Es erfolgte eine Validierung des Modells anhand von Laboruntersuchungen. Weiter wurden Parametersätze für zwei unterschiedliche Steinsalztypen abgeleitet. Anhand von drei realen Problemstellungen konnte gezeigt werden, dass das gemessene In-situ-Verhalten mit dem Modell berechnet werden kann und Prognoseberechnungen zu plausiblen Ergebnissen führen.

Este trabalho apresenta uma estratégia numérica desenvolvida usando o método dos elementos finitos para simular o processo de falha de compósitos cimentícios reforçados com fibras de aço. O material é descrito como um compósito composto por três fases: matriz cimentícia (pasta, argamassa ou concreto), fibras descontínuas discretas, e interface fibra-matriz. Um novo esquema de acoplamento para malhas de elementos finitos não-conformes foi desenvolvido para acoplar as malhas geradas independentes, da matriz cimentícia e de uma nuvem de fibras de aço, baseado na utilização de novos elementos finitos desenvolvidos, denominados elementos finitos de acoplamento. Utilizando este esquema de acoplamento, um procedimento não-rígido é proposto para a modelagem do complexo comportamento não linear da interface fibra-matriz, utilizando um modelo constitutivo de dano apropriado para descrever a relação entre a tensão de cisalhamento (tensão de aderência) e deslizamento relativo entre a matriz e cada fibra de aço individualmente. Este esquema também foi adotado para considerar a presença de barras de aço para as análises de estruturas de concreto armado. As fibras de aço são modeladas usando elementos finitos lineares com dois nós (elementos de treliça) com modelo material elastoplástico. As fibras são posicionadas usando uma distribuição randômica uniforme isotrópica, considerando o efeito parede. Uma abordagem contínua e outra descontínua são investigadas para a modelagem do comportamento frágil da matriz cimentícia. Para a primeira, é utilizado um modelo de dano isotrópico com duas variáveis de dano para descrever o comportamento de dano à tração e à compressão. A segunda emprega uma técnica de fragmentação de malha que utiliza elementos finitos degenerados, posicionados entre todos os elementos finitos que formam a matriz cimentícia. Para esta técnica é proposto um modelo constitutivo à tração, compatível com a abordagem descontínua forte contínua, para prever a propagação de fissura. Para acelerar o cálculo e aumentar a robustez dos modelos de dano contínuos para simular o processamento de falhas, um esquema de integração implícito-explícito é utilizado. Exemplos numéricos são apresentados ao longo do desenvolvimento desta tese. Inicialmente, exemplos numéricos com um único reforço são apresentados para validar a técnica desenvolvida e para investigar à influência das propriedades geométricas 7 das fibras e sua posição em relação à superfície de falha. Posteriormente, exemplos mais complexos são considerados envolvendo uma nuvem de fibras. Nestes casos, atenção especial é dada à influência da distribuição das fibras no comportamento do compósito relacionado ao processo de fissuração. Comparações com resultados experimentais demonstram que a aplicação da ferramenta numérica para modelar o comportamento de compósitos cimentícios reforçados com fibras de aço é muito promissora e pode ser utilizada como uma importante ferramenta para melhor entender os efeitos dos diferentes aspectos envolvidos no processo de falha deste material. / This work presents a numerical strategy developed using the Finite Element Method (FEM) to simulate the failure process of Steel Fiber Reinforced Cementitious Composites (SFRCCs). The material is described as a composite made up by three phases: a cementitious matrix (paste, mortar or concrete), discrete discontinuous fibers, and a fiber-matrix interface. A novel coupling scheme for non-matching finite element meshes has been developed to couple the independent generated meshes of the bulk cementitious matrix and a cloud of discrete discontinuous fibers based on the use of special finite elements developed, termed Coupling Finite Elements (CFEs). Using this approach, a nonrigid coupling procedure is proposed for modeling the complex nonlinear behavior of the fiber-matrix interface by adopting an appropriate constitutive damage model to describe the relation between the shear stress (adherence stress) and the relative sliding between the matrix and each fiber individually. This scheme has also been adopted to account for the presence of regular reinforcing bars in the analysis of reinforced concrete structural elements. The steel fibers are modeled using two-node finite elements (truss elements) with a one-dimensional elastoplastic constitutive model. They are positioned using an isotropic uniform random distribution, considering the wall effect of the mold. Continuous and discontinuous approaches are developed to model the brittle behavior of the bulk cementitious matrix. For the former, an isotropic damage model including two independent scalar damage variables for describing the composite behavior under tension and compression is considered. The discontinuous approach is based on a mesh fragmentation technique that employs degenerated solid finite elements in between all regular (bulk) elements. In this case, a tensile damage constitutive model, compatible with the Continuum Strong Discontinuity Approach (CSDA), is proposed to predict crack propagation. To increase the computability and robustness of the continuum damage models used to simulate the failure processes in both of the strategies, an implicit-explicit integration scheme is used. Numerical analyses are performed throughout the presentation of the work. Initially, numerical examples with a single reinforcement are presented to validate the technique and to investigate the influence of the fibers geometrical properties and its position relative to the crack surface. Then, more complex examples involving a cloud of steel fibers are considered. In these cases, special attention is given to the analysis of the influence of the fiber distribution on the composite behavior relative to the cracking process. Comparisons with experimental results demonstrate that the application of the numerical tool for modeling the behavior of SFRCCs is very promising and may constitute an important tool for better understanding the effects of the different aspects involved in the failure process of this material.

Em geral, as formulações disponíveis na literatura para a análise de cascas laminadas reforçadas com fibras substituem o meio original heterogêneo por um homogêneo equivalente, que dificulta a identificação das tensões fibra-matriz, ou requerem que a malha de elementos finitos seja disposta de modo que os nós dos elementos finitos de fibra coincidam com os nós dos elementos finitos de casca, que é uma exigência bastante restritiva e que aumenta o número de graus de liberdade do sistema de equações resultante. Neste sentido, o objetivo geral desta tese consiste em desenvolver uma formulação para a inclusão de fibras longas e curtas aleatórias nas diversas lâminas de cascas laminadas anisotrópicas com não linearidade geométrica utilizando o método dos elementos finitos sem aumentar o número de graus de liberdade do sistema de equações resultante e sem a necessidade de coincidência de nós na discretização das fibras e da matriz. Nesta formulação, o elemento finito triangular de casca laminada utilizado para discretizar a matriz possui dez nós e sete graus de liberdade por nó, sendo três translações, três componentes do vetor generalizado e a taxa de variação linear da deformação ao longo da espessura. As fibras curvas, curtas aleatórias ou longas, são introduzidas, em qualquer camada do laminado, por meio de relações cinemáticas que garantem sua aderência à matriz sem a introdução de novos graus de liberdade no sistema de equações resultante. Para discretizá-las são utilizados elementos finitos unidimensionais de ordem qualquer com três graus de liberdade por nó e que consideram consistentemente a não linearidade geométrica. Todas as grandezas envolvidas são escritas em relação à configuração inicial do corpo, caracterizando a descrição Lagrangeana total ou material do movimento. Para modelar o comportamento do material adota-se a Lei Constitutiva de Saint-Venant-Kirchhoff que relaciona de forma linear o tensor de tensões de Piolla-Kirchhoff de segunda espécie e o tensor de deformações de Green-Lagrange. O equilíbrio é encontrado a partir do Princípio da Mínima Energia Potencial Total e o sistema não linear de equações resultante é resolvido utilizando-se o procedimento iterativo de Newton-Raphson. As ações externas podem ser introduzidas ao sistema de forma total ou incremental e a contribuição das fibras para a energia do sistema é adicionada na matriz global do problema. Os exemplos numéricos testados validam e demonstram as potencialidades da formulação proposta. / In general, the Finite Element (FE) formulations available in the literature for the analysis of fibre reinforced laminated shells replace the original heterogeneous medium by an equivalent homogeneous one, which makes difficult the identification of fiber-matrix stress distribution, or require that the finite element mesh is arranged in a way that the fibre finite element nodes coincide with the shell finite element ones, which is a very restrictive requirement and increases the number of degrees of freedom of the resulting system of equations. In this sense, the objective of this thesis is to develop a formulation for the inclusion of long and random short fibres in any layer of FE laminated anisotropic shells developing large displacement and rotations without increasing the number of degrees of freedom and the necessity of matching nodes in the discretization of the fibre and the matrix. In this formulation, the triangular laminated shell finite element used to discretize the matrix has ten nodes and seven degrees of freedom per node, that are, three translations, three components of a generalized vector and the linear rate of strain variation along the thickness. The curved fibres, long or random short, are introduced in any layer of the laminate shell by means of kinematic relation to ensure its adherence to the matrix without introducing new degrees of freedom in the resulting system of equations. To discretize them, any order one-dimensional finite elements with three degrees of freedom per node are used. These fibres elements are consistently considered by Geometric nonlinearity. All involved variables are written with respect to the initial configuration of the body, characterizing the Total Lagrangian description. To model the behavior of the material we use the Saint-VenantKirchhoff Constitutive Law that relates linearly the second Piolla-Kirchhoff stress tensor and Green-Lagrange strain tensor. The equilibrium is achieved from the Principle of Minimum Potential Energy and the non-linear system of equations is solved by the Newton-Raphson iterative procedure. External loads may be introduced to the system by one or various steps and the contribution of fibres to the energy of the system is added to the global matrix of the problem. The numerical examples validate and demonstrate the potential of the proposed formulation.

Durch die beanspruchungsgerechte Anordnung von Fasermaterialien wie Glas oder Carbon mit hervorragenden Trageigenschaften entstehen technische Textilien, die in eine Betonmatrix eingebracht werden können, so daß ein neuer, innovativer Verbundwerkstoff entsteht, der sowohl bei der Herstellung neuer Betonbauteile verwendet werden kann als auch für den Einsatz in der Instandsetzung und Verstärkung bestehender Bauwerke geeignet ist. Da die verwendeten Materialien im Gegensatz zum Stahl nicht korrosionsempfindlich sind und gleichzeitig hohe Festigkeiten aufweisen, können Verstärkungen aus textilbewehrtem Beton mit sehr geringen Abmessungen ausgeführt werden. Bei Holzkonstruktionen können textile Verstärkungen die durch die Anisotropie bedingten Festigkeits- und Steifigkeitsunterschiede kompensieren und die Dauerhaftigkeit erhöhen. Bei Verzicht auf Knotenbleche aus Stahl und durch Applikation von textilen Strukturen können beachtliche Steigerungen der Tragfähigkeit und der Duktilität von Verbindungen erreicht werden. In den fünf Projektbereichen werden in theoretischen und experimentellen Untersuchungen die Grundlagen für die Werkstoffe, die mechanische Beschreibung, die konstruktive Durchbildung und die Bemessung, die technologische Aufbringung, bautechnische Umsetzung und die Langzeiteigenschaften und damit für die Sicherheit und die Lebensdauer bei der Verwendung textiler Bewehrungen für die Instandsetzung und Verstärkung geschaffen. / The stress-oriented arrangement of fibre materials, such as glass or carbon, which have an excellent load-bearing capacity, leads to technical textiles that may be incorporated into a concrete matrix. So a new, innovative composite material is produced, which can be used for the production of new concrete members and also for the restoration and strengthening of existing structures. As the materials used are noncorrosive compared to steel and as they show great strength at the same time, textile-reinforced concrete can be used for strengthening tasks of small dimensions. With regard to timber structures, textile reinforcement can compensate the strength and stiffness differences caused by anisotropy and can increase durability. If textile structures are used instead of steel gussets this may lead to a considerable increase in the ultimate strength and the ductility of joints. The five fields of the project are designed that theoretical and experimental investigations are carried out to provide the fundamentals of the materials. Additionally information will be obtained about the mechanical description, the detailing and the dimensioning, the techniques of applying, the realisation on the site and the long-term behaviour. All leading to a safety concept and also a service life concept for the use of textile reinforcements for restoration and strengthening.

Gegenstand der Dissertation ist die Entwicklung eines Stoffmodells für duktile Salzgesteine, mit dem alle drei Kriechphasen, abhängig von einem inneren Zustandsparameter, beschrieben werden können. Die Modellierung der Schädigungs- bzw. Dilatanzentwicklung und deren Rückkopplung auf das Kriechverhalten ist das Kernstück der Stoffmodellentwicklung. Es wird eine Beziehung abgeleitet, die die Dilatanzentwicklung abhängig vom Manteldruck und der spezifischen Formänderungsarbeit beschreibt. Durch diese Formulierung und deren Verknüpfung mit dem o. g. Zustandsparameter lassen sich tertiäres Kriechen, Kriechbruch, Nachbruchverhalten und Restfestigkeit geschwindigkeitsabhängig beschreiben. Es erfolgte eine Validierung des Modells anhand von Laboruntersuchungen. Weiter wurden Parametersätze für zwei unterschiedliche Steinsalztypen abgeleitet. Anhand von drei realen Problemstellungen konnte gezeigt werden, dass das gemessene In-situ-Verhalten mit dem Modell berechnet werden kann und Prognoseberechnungen zu plausiblen Ergebnissen führen.

Tragwerke aus Stahlbeton weisen infolge des Kriechens und Schwindens des Betons ein zeitveränderliches Materialverhalten auf. Die Folge sind Umlagerungen der im Querschnittsinneren wirkende Kräfte und im Zeitverlauf zunehmende Verformungen. Zur Beurteilung dieses Langzeitverhaltens sind geeignete Berechnungsmodelle erforderlich, die im Planungsstadium eine zuverlässige Prognose ermöglichen. Dabei spielen nicht nur reine Stahlbetonkonstruktionen eine Rolle, sondern im Zuge von Ertüchtigungsmaßnahmen werden zur Erhöhung der Tragfähigkeit zunehmend auch textile Bewehrungen aus Carbon- und AR-Glasfasern eingesetzt. Durch die beanspruchungsgerecht aufzubringenden Bewehrungsstrukturen und einen speziellen Feinbeton können sehr geringe Betonschichtdicken realisiert werden. Es entsteht ein Verbundquerschnitt mit unterschiedlichen Betonrezepturen, gleichfalls unterschiedlichem Betonalter und mit mehreren verschiedenen Bewehrungskomponenten. Um Aussagen zum Langzeitverhalten derartiger Konstruktionen treffen zu können, ist eine ganzheitliche Betrachtung über alle diese im Verbund liegenden Komponenten mit ihren jeweiligen Materialeigenschaften erforderlich. Im Rahmen der vorliegenden Arbeit sind in einem ersten Schritt die Stoffgesetze für die beteiligten Materialien Beton, Stahl- und Textilfaserbewehrung zu formulieren. Im Mittelpunkt steht dabei das viskoelastische Verhalten des Betons, für dessen baumechanische Beschreibung ein geeignetes rheologisches Modell in Form einer Feder-Dämpfer-Kombination dargestellt und die zugehörige Spannungs-Dehnungs-Zeit-Beziehung hergeleitet wird. Ferner wird aufgezeigt, wie die erforderlichen Materialparameter mit Hilfe üblicher Berechnungsansätze für Kriechen und Schwinden (z.B. nach EUROCODE 2) kalibriert werden können. Die betrachteten Textilfasern werden zunächst mit linear-elastischem Verhalten in Rechnung gestellt. Auf alternative Ansätze, die auch hier viskoelastische Eigenschaften berücksichtigen, wird hingewiesen, und das Berechnungsmodell ist dahingehend erweiterbar gestaltet. In einem zweiten Schritt werden die Materialmodelle der Einzelkomponenten nach den mechanischen Grundprinzipien von Gleichgewicht und Verträglichkeit und unter der BERNOULLIschen Annahme eines eben bleibenden Querschnittes miteinander in Beziehung gesetzt. Hierfür ist eine inkrementelle Vorgehensweise erforderlich, die mit dem Zeitpunkt der ersten Lastaufbringung beginnt und schrittweise den darauffolgenden Zustand berechnet. Im Ergebnis entsteht ein Algorithmus, der die am Querschnitt stattfindenden Veränderungen im Spannungs- und Dehnungsverhalten unter Einbeziehung der Stahlbewehrung sowie einer ggf. vorhandenen Textilbetonschicht wirklichkeitsnah erfaßt. Für statisch bestimmte Systeme mit bekanntem Schnittkraftverlauf wird gezeigt, wie sich so zu jeder Zeit an jeder Stelle der vorliegende Dehnungszustand und aus diesem über die Krümmung die Durchbiegung berechnen läßt. Der dritte und für viele praktische Anwendungen wichtigste Schritt besteht darin, die am Querschnitt hergeleiteten Beziehungen in ein finites Balkenelement zu überführen und dieses in ein FE-Programm zu implementieren. Auch das gelingt auf inkrementellem Wege, wobei für jedes Zeitinkrement die Spannungs- und Verformungszuwächse aller Elemente mit Hilfe des NEWTON-RAPHSON-Verfahrens über die Iteration des Gleichgewichtszustandes am gesamten System bestimmt werden. Hierzu werden einige Beispiele vorgestellt, und es werden die Auswirkungen des Kriechens und Schwindens mit den sich daraus ergebenden Folgen für das jeweilige Tragwerk erläutert. Ferner wird gezeigt, wie textilbewehrte Verstärkungsmaßnahmen gezielt eingesetzt werden können, um das Trag- und Verformungsverhalten bestehender Bauwerke unter Beachtung des zeitveränderlichen Materialverhaltens kontrolliert und bedarfsgerecht zu beeinflussen. / Structures of reinforced concrete show a time-varying material behaviour due to creeping and shrinking of the concrete. This results in the rearrangement of the stresses in the cross-section and time-depending increase of the deformations. Qualified calculation models enabling a reliable prediction during the design process are necessary for the assessment of the long-term behavior. Not only pure reinforced concrete structures play an important role, but within retrofitting actions textile reinforcements of carbon and AR-glass fibres are applied in order to enhance the load-bearing capacity. A small concrete-layer-thickness can be achieved by the load-compatible application of reinforced textile configurations and the usage of a special certain fine-grained concrete. It leads to a composite section of different concrete recipes, different concrete ages and also several components of reinforcement. To give statements for the long-term behaviour of such constructions, a holistic examination considering all this influencing modules with their particular material properties is necessary. Within this dissertation in a first step the material laws of the participated components, as concrete, steel and textile reinforcement, are defined. The focus is layed on the visco-elastic behaviour of the concrete. For its mechanical specification a reliable rheological model in terms of a spring-dashpot-combination is developed and the appropriate stress-strain-time-relation is derived. Furthermore the calibration of the required material parameters considering creep and shrinkage by means of common calculation approaches (e.g. EUROCODE 2) is demonstrated. For the textile fibres a linear-elastic behaviour is assumed within the calculation model. It is also refered to alternative approaches considering a visco-elastic characteristic and the calculation model is configured extendable to that effect. In a second step the material models of the single components are correlated taking into account the mechanical basic principles of equilibrium and compatibility as well as the BERNOULLIan theorem of the plane cross-section. Therefore an incremental calculation procedure is required, which starts at the moment of the first load-application and calculates the subsequent configuration step by step. In the result an algorithm is derived, that realistically captures the occuring changings of stress and strain in the cross-section by considering the steel reinforcement as well as a possibly existing layer of textile concrete. For statically determined systems with known section force status it is demonstrated how to calculate the existing condition of strain and following the deflection via the curvaturve at every time and at each position. The third step - for many practical applications the most important one - is the transformation of the derived relations at the cross-section into a finite beam-element and the implementation of this in a FE-routine. This also takes place in an incremental way, whereat for each time-increment the increase of stress and strain for all elements is identified by using the NEWTON-RAPHSON-method within the iteration process for the equilibrium condition of the whole system. Meaningful numerical examples are presented and the effects of creep and shrinkage are explained by depicting the consequences for the particular bearing structure. Moreover it is shown how the purposeful use of textile reinforcement strengthening methodes can influence and enhance the load-bearing and deflection characteristics of existing building constructions by considering the time-varying material behaviour.

From a physical perspective biological cells consist of active soft matter that exist in a thermodynamic state far from equilibrium. Not only in muscles but also during cell proliferation, wound healing, embryonic development, and many other physiological tasks, generation of forces on the scale of whole cells is required. To date, cellular contractions have been ascribed to adhesion dependent processes such as myosin driven stress fiber formation and the development of focal adhesion complexes. In this thesis it is shown for the first time that contractions can occur independently of focal adhesions in single suspended cells. To measure mechanical properties of suspended cells the Optical Stretcher – a dualbeam laser trap – was used with phase contrast video microscopy which allowed to extract the deformation of the cell for every single frame. For fluorescence imaging confocal laser scanning microscopy was employed. The ratio of the fluorescence of a temperature sensitive and a temperature insensitive rhodamine dye was utilized to determine the temperatures inside the optical trap during and after Optical Stretching. The rise in temperature at a measuring power of 0.7W turned out to be enough to open a temperature sensitive ion channel transfected into an epithelial cell line. In this way a massive Ca2+ influx was triggered during the Optical Stretcher experiment. A new setup combining Optical Stretching and confocal laser scanning microscopy allowed fluorescence imaging of these Ca2+ signals while the cells were deformed by optically induced surface forces, showing that the Ca2+ influx could be manipulated with adequate drugs. This model system was then employed to investigate the influence of Ca2+ on the observed contractions, revealing that they are partially triggered by Ca2+. A phenomenological mathematical model based on the fundamental constitutive equation for linear viscoelastic materials extended by a term accounting for active contractions allowed to quantify the activity of the measured cells. The skewness and the median of the strain distributions were shown to depend on the activity of the cells. The introduced model reveals that even in measurements, that seemingly are describable by passive viscoelasticity, active contractililty might be superimposed. Ignoring this effect will lead to erroneous material properties and misinterpretation of the data. Taken together, the findings presented in this thesis demonstrate that active processes are an essential part of cellular mechanics and cells can contract even independently of adhesions. The results provide a method that allows to quantify active contractions of suspended cells. As the proposed model is not based on specific assumptions on force generating processes, it paves the way for a thorough investigation of different influences, such as cytoskeletal structures and intra-cellular signaling processes, to cellular contractions. The results present an important contribution for better mechanical classification of cells in future research with possible implications for medical diagnosis and therapy.

This thesis deals with problems of biomechanics of soft tissues, namely of stress-strain analysis of abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA). The introduction describes briefly the possibility of aneurysm occurrence with a focus on an aneurysm in the abdominal aorta.

En tant que type particulier d'organisation religieuse séculaire, les organisations traditionnelles d'arts martiaux chinois (TCMAO) sont peu étudiées en ce qui concerne la manière dont l'autorité est accomplie de manière communicationnelle et le rôle des pratiques corporelles. Fondée sur une vision performative de l'autorité relationnelle dans la perspective de la constitution communicationnelle des organisations (CCO), cette thèse propose de répondre à cette omission dans la littérature actuelle. Convaincue de la valeur de l'utilisation de théories indigènes pour étudier les pratiques locales, cette thèse s'appuie sur le concept de chaxugeju (ou mode d'association différentiel) du sociologue chinois Xiaotong Fei et développe l'idée d'autorité différentielle, qui décrit le phénomène par lequel l'autorité d'une personne peut être étendue à d'autres territoires et d'autres acteurs par le biais d'associations. Ensemble, les pratiques corporelles et l'autorité différentielle constituent le cadre conceptuel de cette thèse. Cette thèse adopte une approche ethnographique en mobilisant des méthodes qualitatives. En analysant les données ethnographiques recueillies auprès d'une TCMAO située à Zhengzhou (Chine), j’identifie cinq pratiques corporelles principales dans une TCMAO: l'instruction incarnée, la pose de photos, le rituel corporel, la performance mise en scène et le concours situé. Chaque type de pratique corporelle joue un rôle unique dans l'établissement d'associations significatives qui aident les individus et les organisations à revendiquer une autorité différentielle. L'instruction incarnée présente d’une manière très efficace les artistes martiaux comme les vecteurs légitimes d'un art martial particulier, prouvant ainsi l’association authentique entre l'héritier et l'art qu’ils représentent. Ces personnes utilisent également le photo-posing pour développer leurs associations positives avec des figures d'autorité (humaines ou non) afin de revendiquer l'autorité différentielle des individus et des organisations. Parallèlement, ils évitent toute forme d'association négative qui pourrait nuire à leur autorité. Grâce au mécanisme mutuellement bénéfique de l'emprunt de lumière et de l'ajout de gloire, le maître et ses disciples utilisent ces photos comme dispositifs d'auctorialité différentielle de leur association pour établir leur autorité respective par le biais de l'association maître-disciple. De même, les rituels corporels établissent et réaffirment les associations des disciples avec leurs ancêtres, leurs maîtres et les lignées célèbres. Ces rituels sont essentiels pour accomplir l'autorité différentielle de ces disciples et de l'organisation qu'ils représentent. Les performances mises en scène contribuent ainsi à établir leur autorité en associant les artistes martiaux à des étapes importantes investies de prestige et d'influence. Quant aux performances mises en scène au niveau intra-organisationnel, elles permettent de différencier certains membres de l'organisation des autres en affichant publiquement leur statut au sein de l'organisation, ce qui aide ainsi les membres favorisés à accomplir les bases de leur autorité. Enfin, les concours situés établissent l'autorité des artistes martiaux en les différenciant et en les plaçant dans différentes positions dans la hiérarchie de la communauté des arts martiaux. Ces cinq pratiques corporelles se mêlent les unes aux autres et contribuent à l'accomplissement communicatif de l'autorité dans une TCMAO. Cette thèse apporte des contributions significatives à la littérature sur l'intersection entre religion et organisation. Elle étend la recherche en cours sur la dimension matérielle de la communication. Elle fait progresser la discussion sur l'autorité relationnelle dans une perspective communicationnelle, en particulier la discussion du corps et du rôle de la pratique corporelle dans l'accomplissement de l'autorité. / This dissertation aims to address two omissions in current literature. First, current literature has not examined how authority is communicatively accomplished in traditional Chinese martial arts organizations (TCMAOs), which are one special kind of secular religious organization. Second, in the communicative constitution of organizations (CCO) literature, it is unclear what is the role of body practices in the communicative accomplishment of authority. Grounded in the CCO tradition, this dissertation seeks inspirations from Xiaotong Fei’s chaxugeju (or differential mode of association) theory and develops the concept of differential authority, which refers to the phenomenon that authority can be shared and extended to other actors and territories through meaningful associations established in and through communication. Together, body practices and differential authority constitute this dissertation’s conceptual framework to investigate how body practices contribute to the communicative accomplishment of authority in a TCMAO. To answer my research question, this dissertation takes an at-home ethnographic approach to study a TCMAO located in Zhengzhou (China). I developed an organic iterative approach to analyze data collected through participant observation, conducting interviews, and writing a reflective journal. My analysis summarizes five body practices in a TCMAO: embodied instruction, photo-posing, body ritual, staged performance, and contesting. Each body practice plays unique roles in helping individuals and organizations establish meaningful associations with authoritative figures, and thus claim differential authority. They also intermingle and co-act with one another in the communicative accomplishment of authority in a TCMAO. Through embodied instruction, martial artists show themselves as the legitimate vectors of a particular martial art, thus proving their authentic associations between the inheritors and the art. People use photo-posing to develop their positive associations with authoritative figures (human or non-human) to claim the differential authority of individuals and organizations; and they avoid any form of negative associations that might hurt their authority. Through the mutually beneficial mechanism of borrowing light and adding glory, the master and disciples use photos as differential authoring devices of their associations to establish their authority respectively through the master-disciple association. Body rituals establish and reaffirm disciples’ associations with ancestors, masters, and famous lineages. They are critical for accomplishing the differential authority of these disciples and the organizations they represent. Staged performance establishes authority by associating martial artists with important stages invested with prestige and influence. Intraorganizational staged performance differentiates certain organizational members from others by publicly displaying their status within the organization, thus helping the favored members to accomplish authority. Contesting establishes martial artists’ authority by differentiating them and placing them in different positions in the martial arts community hierarchy. This dissertation contributes to the CCO literature by advancing research on the role of body practices in accomplishing authority from a communicative point of view. Besides forwarding ongoing research on the material dimension of communication, it also extends our understanding of relational authority by integrating an indigenous theory of association from China. Furthermore, it expands our understanding of TCMAOs and secular religious organizations at unfamiliar settings.

<p dir="ltr">In structural metallic components, a material’s lifecycle begins with the processing route, to produce a desired structure, which dictates the in-service performance. The variability of microstructural features as a consequence of the processing route has a direct influence on the properties and performance of a material. In order to correlate the influence processing conditions have on material performance, large test matrices are required which tend to be time consuming and expensive. An alternative route to avoid such large test matrices is to incorporate physics-based process modeling and lifing paradigms to better understand the performance of structural materials. By linking microstructural information to the material’s lifecycle, the processing path can be modified without the need to repeat large-scale testing requirements. Additionally, when a materials system is accurately modeled throughout its lifecycle, the performance predictions can be leveraged to improve the design of materials and components.</p><p dir="ltr">Ni-based superalloys are a material class widely used in many critical aerospace components exposed to coupling thermal and mechanical loads due to their increased resistance to creep, corrosion, oxidation, and strength characteristics at elevated temperatures. Many Ni-based superalloys undergo high-temperature forging to produce a desired microstructure, targeting specific strength and fatigue properties in order to perform under thermo-mechanical loads. When in-service, these alloys tend to fail as a consequence of thermo-mechanical fatigue (TMF) from either inclusion- or matrix- driven failure. In order to produce safer, cheaper and more efficient critical aerospace components, the micromechanical deformation and damage mechanisms throughout a Ni-based superalloy’s lifecycle must be understood. This research utilizes process modeling as a tool to understand the damage and deformation of inclusions in a Ni-200 matrix throughout radial forging as a means to optimize the processing conditions for improved fatigue performance. In addition, microstructural sensitive performance modeling for a Ni-based superalloy is leveraged to understand the influence TMF has on damage mechanisms.</p><p dir="ltr">The radial forging processing route requires both high temperatures and large plastic deformation. During this process, non-metallic inclusions (NMIs) can debond from the metallic matrix and break apart, resulting in a linear array of smaller inclusions, known as stringers. The evolution of NMIs into stringers can result in matrix load shedding, localized plasticity, and stress concentrations near the matrix-NMI interface. Due to these factors, stringers can be detrimental to the fatigue life of the final forged component. By performing a finite element model of the forging process with cohesive zones to simulate material debonding, this research contributes to the understanding of processing induced deformation and damage sequences on the onset of stringer formation for Alumina NMIs in a Ni-200 matrix. Through a parametric study, the interactions of forging temperature, strain rate, strain per pass, and interfacial decohesion on the NMI damage evolution metrics are studied, specifically NMI particle separation, rotation, and cavity formation. The parametric study provides a linkage between the various processing conditions parameters influence on detrimental NMI morphology related to material performance.</p><p dir="ltr">The microstructural characteristics of Ni-based superalloys, as a consequence of a particular processing route, creates a variability in TMF performance. The micromechanical failure mechanisms associated with TMF are dependent on various loading parameters, such as temperature, strain range, and strain-temperature phasing. Insights on the complexities of micromechanical TMF damage are studied via a temperature-dependent, dislocation density-based crystal plasticity finite element (CPFE) model with uncertainty quantification. The capabilities of the model’s temperature dependency are examined via direct instantiation and comparison to a high-energy X-ray diffraction microscopy (HEDM) experiment under coupled thermal and mechanical loads. Unique loading states throughout the experiment are investigated with both CPFE predictions and HEDM results to study early indicators of TMF damage mechanisms at the grain scale. The mesoscale validation of the CPFE model to HEDM experimental data provides capabilities for a well-informed TMF performance paradigm under various strain-temperature phase profiles. </p><p dir="ltr">A material’s TMF performance is highly dependent on the temperature-load phase profile as a consequence of path-dependent thermo-mechanical plasticity. To investigate the relationship between microstructural damage and TMF phasing effects, the aforementioned CPFE model investigates in-phase (IP) TMF, out-of-phase (OP) TMF, and iso-thermal (ISO) loading profiles. A microstructural sensitive performance modeling framework with capabilities to isolate phasing (IP, OP, and ISO) effects is presented to locate fatigue damage in a set of statistically equivalent microstructures (SEMs). Location specific plasticity, and grain interactions are studied under the various phasing profiles providing a connection between microstructural material damage and TMF performance.</p>