Les lymphocytes T sont une composante essentielle du système immunitaire de l'organisme. Ils peuvent reconnaître et répondre à un antigène étranger en vertu de leur récepteur d'antigène. En effet, les cellules T qui n'ont pas encore rencontrées des antigènes, sont appelées "naïves". Lors d'un premier contact antigénique, l'expansion clonale des lymphocytes T spécifiques a un antigène augmente fortement leur fréquence, et déséquilibre transitoirement de façon plus ou moins intense le compartiment lymphocytaire T périphérique. Cet équilibre doit être rétabli pour ne pas menacer à terme le bon fonctionnement du système immunitaire. Outre le risque de réponse explosive lors d'une réexposition à l'antigène, l'accumulation de clones T de taille disproportionnée gênerait considérablement le recrutement de lymphocytes T spécifiques de nouveaux antigènes. Ainsi, après élimination de l'antigène ou son confinement dans l'organisme, différents mécanismes interviennent. Il faut en effet d'une part assurer le maintien d'un compartiment de cellules T naïves de taille suffisante pour faire face à de nouvelles stimulations antigéniques. D'autre part, la constitution d'un panel de cellules T mémoires est nécessaire pour permettre une réponse immunitaire plus rapide et plus efficace lors de réexpositions antigéniques. Donc les mécanismes d'homéostasie des cellules T sont essentielles pour maintenir le nombre de cellules T à un niveau à peu près constant en contrôlant la division cellulaire et la mortalité des cellules. [...] / T lymphocytes are a fundamental component of the immune system that can recognise and respond to foreign antigens by virtue of their clonally expressed T cell antigen receptor (TCR). T cells that have yet to encounter the antigen they recognise are termed 'naive' as they have not been activated to respond. Homeostatic mechanisms maintain the number of T cells at an approximately constant level by controling cell division and death. In normal replete hosts, cell turnover within the naive compartment is very low and naive cells are maintained in a resting state.However, disruption of the homeostatic balance can arise from a wide variety of causes (viral infection (e.g. HIV), or drugs used in peritransplant induction therapy or cancer chemotherapy) and can result in T cell deciency or T lymphopenia. Under conditions of T lymphopenia, naive T cells undergo cell division with a subtle change in the cell surface phenotype (CD44 expression), termed homeostatic proliferation or lymphopenia induced proliferation (LIP). In this thesis, our purpose is to understand the process of T cell homeostatic through mathematical approach. At first, we build a new model that describes the proliferation of T cells in vitro under lymphopenic conditions. Our nonlinear model is composed of ordinary differential equations and partial differential equations structured by age (maturity of cell) and CD44 expression. To better understand the homeostasis of T cells, we identify the parameters that define T cell division by using experimental data. Next, we consider an age-structured model system describing the T cell homeostatic in vivo, and we investigate its asymptotic behaviour. Finally, an optimal strategy is applied in the in vivo model to rebuild immunity under conditions of T lympopenia.

The performance of radar detection and imaging systems strongly depends on the characteristics of radar clutter. In order to improve the radar signal processing algorithms, successful analysis and modeling of radar clutter are required. For a successful model of radar clutter, both the spectral and statistical characteristics of the clutter should be revealed. Within the scope of this study, an experimental radar data acquisition system is established to analyze radar clutter. The hardware and the data processing system are first verified using generic signals and then a set of measurements is taken in the open terrain. In this thesis, the limitations and problems encountered during the establishment of the system are explained in detail. The spectral and statistical analyses performed on the recorded data are examined. The temporal and spatial behavior of the measured clutter data are explored. The hypothetical models proposed so far in the literature are tested on the experimental data and the fitting of models to the experimental data is confirmed using various goodness-of-fit tests. Finally, the results of the analyses are interpreted in the light of the radar system parameters and the characteristics of the illuminated terrain.

The knowledge of phase equilibrium is essential for the planning and realisation of separation processes in chemical engineering. In this work an equipment for measurement of precise isothermal vapour–liquid equilibria (VLE) using the dynamic method was developed. The pool of experimental data for cyclohexylamine was extended significantly. Isothermal VLE were measured in 3 binary and 4 ternary systems, liquid-liquid equilibria (LLE) were measured in 4 ternary systems and in one quarternary system, in each case for two temperatures, whereas in 2 ternary systems and in the quarternary system even liquid-liquid-liquid equilibria (LLLE) occur. Furthermore, activity coefficients at infinite dilution in 4 binary systems and excess molar volumes in 7 binary systems have been estimated. Binary VLE and LLE data of the components water, octane, cyclohexylamine and aniline of this work and data from literature were fitted with the activity coefficient models NRTL and UNIQUAC, as well as with the equations of state Elliott-Suresh-Donohue (ESD) and Perturbed-Chain-Statistical Associating Fluid Theory (PC-SAFT) which contain both a term to consider explicit hydrogen bonds. In addition, the predictive capabilities of the equations of state (EoS) were investigated. With parameters obtained by simultaneous fitting of VLE and, if available, LLE data similar results with the models NRTL and UNIQUAC could be obtained. Each time the deviations for the vapour pressure were lower than 3 % and lower than 2 % in vapour phase composition. The deviations, in three out of the six systems for vapour pressure and vapour phase composition, were larger with the ESD-EoS than with the activity coefficient models. NRTL, UNIQUAC and ESD delivered similar results with the simultaneously fitted parameters for the LLE, whereas the deviations were lower than 5 %. Comparable results were delivered by the ESD-EoS and PC-SAFT for the fitting and the prediction in the investigated binary systems. Also a fitting for NRTL, UNIQUAC and ESD was carried out, but only to one data set. The intention was to show the effect of parameterization on prediction in ternary systems. Predictions were made for VLE and LLE in ternary systems of the above mentioned components, solely with interaction parameters fitted to binary data. For the models NRTL, UNIQUAC und ESD predictions of simultaneously and separately fitted parameters are presented. It is shown that with parameters simultaneously fitted to several data sets significantly better results could be obtained compared to the parameters separately fitted to a single data set. Additionally, for the equations of state ESD and PC-SAFT predictions for the LL(L)E in ternary systems are compared, but here only with separately fitted parameters. For three out of the four investigated ternary systems a too large miscibility gap is calculated with the models NRTL, UNIQUAC and ESD. In the system water+octane+aniline good results could be obtained for the prediction of the LLLE. In summary the equations of state deliver similar results. In the systems water+octane+CHA and octane+CHA+aniline also too large two phase regions were delivered. Better predictions could be obtained in the systems water+octane+aniline and water+CHA+aniline. The forecasts of the VLE in the ternary systems are good with the simultaneously fitted parameters. The deviations for the vapour phase compositions are as for the vapour pressures under 6 %. Larger deviations occur for the system water+octane+aniline only. As evaluation result for the thermodynamic models can be mentioned that the activity coefficient models NRTL and UNIQUAC deliver somewhat better results for the fitting of the binary data than the equations of state ESD and PC-SAFT however, with a larger number of adjustable parameters. The prediction of the VLE is satisfactorily in the ternary systems and with similar quality of all considered models. Larger deviations occur for the prediction of the LL(L)E in the ternary systems. The results of the ESD-EoS were, with one exception, each time better than those of the activity coefficient models. There is no significant difference between the prediction of the ternary systems for the ESD-EoS and the PC-SAFT.

Hydrogen is currently considered by many as the “fuel of the future”. It is particularly favoured as a replacement for fossil fuels due to its clean-burning properties; the waste product of combustion being water. While hydrogen is relatively easy to produce, there is currently a lack of practical storage methods for molecular H2, and this is greatly hindering the use of hydrogen as a fuel. Gases are normally stored in vessels under only moderate pressures and in liquid form where possible, which yields the highest energy density. However, to store reasonable quantities of hydrogen in similar volume containers, cryogenic temperatures or extreme pressure are required. Many potential hydrogen storage technologies are currently under investigation, including adsorption on metal hydrides, nanotubes and glass microspheres, and the chemical breakdown of compounds containing hydrogen to release H2. Recent studies have sparked interest in hydrates as a potential hydrogen storage material. The molecular storage of hydrogen in clathrate hydrates could offer significant benefits with regard to ease of formation/regeneration, cost and safety, as compared to other storage materials currently under investigation. Here, we present new experimental hydrate stability data for sII forming hydrogen–water (up to pressures of 180 MPa) and hydrogen–water–tetrahydrofuran systems, the structure-H forming hydrogen–water–methyclycohexane system, and semi-clathrate forming hydrogen–water–tetra-n-butyl ammonium bromide/tetra–n-butyl ammonium fluoride systems.

The past decade has witnessed dramatic changes in the oil and gas industry with the drilling and production extending into progressively deeper waters and higher operating pressures, therefore making it essential to gain a better understanding of the behaviour of gas hydrate at high pressure conditions. New experimental 3-phase H−LW−V (Hydrate−Liquid Water−Vapour) equilibrium data for nitrogen and H−LW−V (Hydrate−Liquid Water−Vapour) and H−LW−LHC (Hydrate−Liquid Water−Liquid Hydrocarbon) data for ethane and propane simple clathrate hydrates were generated by a reliable fixed-volume, isochoric, step-heating technique. The accuracy and reliability of the experimental measurements are demonstrated by comparing measurements with reliable literature data from different researchers. Additional experimental data up to high pressure (200 MPa when available) for CH4, C2H6, C3H8, i-C4H10, N2, Ar, Kr, Xe, H2S, O2, CO and CO2 clathrates have been gathered from literature. The Valderrama modification of the Patel-Teja (VPT) equation of state combined with non-density-dependent (NDD) mixing rules is used to model the fluid phases with previously reported binary interaction parameters. The hydrate-forming conditions are modelled by the solid solution theory of van der Waals and Platteeuw. Langmuir constants have been calculated by both Kihara potential as well as direct techniques. Model predictions are validated against independent experimental data and a good agreement between predictions and experimental data is observed, supporting the reliability of the developed model.

In applied research, a lack of understanding of corner stall, i.e. the three-dimensional (3D) separation in the juncture of the endwall and blade corner region, which has limited the efficiency and the stability of compressors. Both Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) and large eddy simulation (LES) still need to be calibrated for turbomachinery applications. In the fundamental research of the turbulent boundary layer (TBL), there are a lot of findings of the effects of curvature and pressure gradients, which also play an important role in physics of corner stall. The purpose of this thesis is (i) to carry out an experiment in a cascade, (ii) to gain a database that could be used to calibrate both RANS and LES, and (iii) to give some basic explanations of corner stall through investigating the TBL on the suction side at the mid-span which is more complex than those in the basic investigations but simpler than those in a real engine. A detailed and accurate experiment of 3D flow field through a linear compressor cascade has been set up. Experimental data were acquired for a Reynolds number of 3.82×10 ^5 based on blade chord and inlet flow conditions. Measurements have been achieved by hot-wire anemometry, pressure taps on blade and endwall, five-hole pressure probe, oil visualization, 2D particle image velocimetry (PIV),and two-component laser Doppler anemometry (LDA). An original and complete database was thus obtained. The TBL on the suction side at mid-span was investigated. The wall-normal negative pressure gradient restrains the separation, on the contrary to its influence in the corner stall. The streamwise adverse pressure gradient can be responsible for the development of Reynolds stresses. The remarkable phenomenon at measurement stations near the trailing edge of blade is that an inflection point occurs in each profile of the mean streamwise velocity. At this inflection point, the magnitudes of the Reynolds stresses reach their maximum values, and the direction of energy diffusion also changes. The velocity field in the corner stall was presented. Bimodal histograms of velocity exist in the experiment. The bimodal points mainly appear in the region around the mean interface of separated flow and non-separated flow. At a bimodal point the local two velocity components are non-independent from each other, due to the aperiodic interplay of two basic modes in the flow field. Two modes were proposed to interpret the physics of bimodal behaviour.

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Made available in DSpace on 2014-10-09T12:51:59Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 / Made available in DSpace on 2014-10-09T13:57:00Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 / Dissertação (Mestrado) / IPEN/D / Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares - IPEN-CNEN/SP