Peridynamics is an emerging nonlocal continuum theory which allows governing field equations to be applicable at discontinuities. This applicability at discontinuities is achieved by replacing the spatial derivatives, which lose meaning at discontinuities, with integrals that are valid regardless of the existence of a discontinuity. Within the realm of solid mechanics, the peridynamic theory is one of the techniques that has been employed to model material fracture. In this work, the peridynamic theory is used to investigate different fracture problems in order to establish its fidelity for predicting crack growth. Various fracture experiments are modeled and analyzed. The peridynamic predictions are made and compared against experimental findings along with predictions from other commonly used numerical fracture techniques. Additionally, this work applies the peridynamic framework to model heat transfer. Generalized peridynamic heat transfer equation is formulated using the Lagrangian formalism. Peridynamic heat conduction quantites are related to quanties from the classical theory. A numerical procedure based on an explicit time stepping scheme is adopted to solve the peridynamic heat transfer equation and various benchmark problems are considered for verification of the model. This paves the way for the coupling of thermal and structural fields within the framework of peridynamics. The fully coupled peridynamic thermomechanical equations are derived based on thermodynamic considerations, and a nondimensional form of the coupled thermomechanical peridynamic equations is also presented. An explicit staggered algorithm is implemented in order to numerically approximate the solution to these coupled equations. The coupled thermal and structural responses of a thermoelastic semi-infinite bar and a thermoelastic vibrating bar are subsequently investigated.

The micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) industry has grown incredibly fast over the past few years, due to the irresistible character and properties of MEMS. MEMS devices have been widely used in various fields such as aerospace, microelectronics, and the automobile industry. Increasing prominence is given to the development and research of MEMS; this is largely driven by the market requirements. Multi-physics coupled fields are often present in MEMS. This makes the modelling and analysis o such devices difficult and sometimes costly. The coupling between electrostatic and mechanical fields in MEMS is one of the most common and fundamental phenomena in MEMS; it is this configuration that is studied in this thesis. The following issues are addressed: 1. Due to the complexity in the structural geometry, as well as the difficulty to analyze the behaviour in the presence of coupled fields, simple analytical solutions are normally not available for MEMS. The finite element method (FEM) is therefore used to model electrostaticmechanical coupled MEMS. In this thesis, this avenue is followed. 2. In order to capture the configuration of the system accurately, with relatively little computational effort, a geometric non-linear mixed assumed stress element is developed and used in the FE analyses. It is shown that the developed geometrically non-linear mixed assumed stress element can produce an accuracy level comparable to that of the Q8 element, while the number of the degrees of freedom is that of the Q4 element. 3. Selected algorithms for solving highly non-linear coupled systems are evaluated. It is concluded that the simple, accurate and quadratic convergent Newton-Raphson algorithm remains best. To reduce the single most frustrating disadvantage of the Newton method, namely the computational cost of constructing the gradients, analytical gradients are evaluated and implemented. It is shown the CPU time is significantly reduced when the analytical gradients are used. 4. Finally, a practical engineering MEMS problem is studied. The developed geometric nonlinear mixed element is used to model the structural part of a fixed-fixed beam that experiences large axial stress due to an applied electrostatic force. The Newton method with analytical gradients is used to solve this geometrically nonlinear coupled MEMS problem. / Dissertation (MEng (Mechanical))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering / unrestricted

Orientador: Jose Antonio Roversi / Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Fisica Gleb Wataghin / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-11T05:38:26Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Nohama_FabianoKenji_D.pdf: 1986556 bytes, checksum: dce935416c59935cf9e7d868f74c5653 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008 / Resumo: Nesta tese estudamos um sistema de duas cavidades acopladas e sua interação com átomos de dois níveis bem como com íons aprisionados. Para o acoplamento entre as cavidades consideramos dois mecanismos distintos: (1) acoplamento pela sobreposição dos campos e; (2) acoplamento via fibra óptica. Considerando a interação dos campos acoplados com átomos de dois níveis nós observamos o emaranhamento em um sistema tripartite (quando as cavidades estão interagindo com apenas um átomo). Também foi possível obter a transferência do estado quântico entre dois átomos localizado em cavidades diferentes. Além disso elaboramos uma proposta relativamente simples para a geração de estados maximamente emaranhados (estados de Bell) entre dois átomos utilizando as duas cavidades acopladas. Por último, estudamos dois íons aprisionados, cada um deles localizado no interior de cavidades diferentes. As duas cavidades sendo conectadas por uma fibra óptica. Neste caso foi possível observar a transferência de um conjunto de estados de dois-qubits a partir dos graus de liberdade (de movimento e dos estados internos) de um dos íons para o outro, localizado em uma cavidade diferente. Nas propostas envolvendo a transferência de estados quânticos e a geração de estados de Bell foram incluídos os efeitos de dissipação devido à presença de um reservatório de temperatura T = 0K. Com isso pudemos concluir que as propostas são confiáveis para as reais taxas de dissipação observadas em experimentos / Abstract: In this thesis we studied a system of two coupled cavities and its interaction with two-level atoms and trapped ions. For the coupling between the cavities we considered two situations: (1) coupling due the overlap between the fields and; (2) coupling by optical fiber. Considering the interaction of the coupled fields with two-level atoms we observed the entanglement in a tripartite system (when the cavities are interacting with only one atom). When both cavities are interacting with an atom it was possible to obtain the quantum state transfer between two atoms located in different cavities. Besides, we conceived a relatively simple proposal to the generation of maximally entangled states (EPR states) between two atoms using the two coupled cavities. At last we studied two trapped ions, each one located inside different cavities. The two cavities are connected by an optical fiber, where it was possible to observe the transfer of a two-qubits set from the movement and internal states degrees of freedom of one of the ions to the other one, located in a different cavity. In the proposals involving the quantum state transfer and the EPR state genera-tion we included the dissipation effects due the presence of a reservoir at temperature T = 0. With this we concluded that the proposals are reliable considering dissipation rates observed in experiments / Doutorado / Física Geral / Doutor em Ciências