La circulation routière toujours croissante est à l’origine d’un nombre grandissant de collisions entre les véhicules et les piliers de ponts. Pourtant, les impacts causés par les camions sur les ponts ont fait état de très peu d’études et les normes de dimensionnement comportent donc de nombreuses lacunes à leur égard. Des solutions visant à prévenir et réparer les dommages causés par ces charges d’impact sont actuellement à l’étude dont le confinement des piles par des polymères renforcés de fibres (PRF). L’objectif de ce projet est de déterminer les effets d’un tel recouvrement sur le comportement des piles de ponts lorsqu’elles sont préalablement soumises à des charges d’impact. L’effet doit être déterminé tant sur la capacité de la pile que sur sa détérioration à long terme. Afin d’atteindre cet objectif, des essais dynamiques sont effectués, en laboratoire, sur des piles avec et sans recouvrement de PRF. Ces résultats expérimentaux permettent de créer un modèle d’éléments finis à l’aide du logiciel LS-Dyna. Grâce à ce modèle, les avantages et inconvénients d’utiliser le recouvrement de PRF sont évalués. La méthode par sous-structure est utilisée afin d’analyser les effets sur l’ensemble du pont et non seulement sur la pile elle-même. Il faut s’attendre à obtenir de nombreux avantages sur le comportement des piles à suite de la pose d’un recouvrement de PRF. Toutefois, il est difficile de prévoir si ces avantages sont suffisants pour justifier le coût de construction engendré. Ce projet est donc hautement pertinent afin de quantifier les bienfaits d’une solution possible à une cause majeure d’effondrement des ponts. À plus grande échelle, cette recherche contribuera à perfectionner la norme canadienne de calculs des ponts routiers.

Natural fibres are increasingly being considered as the reinforcement for polymer matrix composites as they are perceived to be sustainable being a renewable resource. However, they suffer from higher variability in mechanical properties and concerns about their long-term durability in a moist environment. In this study the physical properties of the jute fibres were characterised, the fibre length distribution was determined and the fibre cross-section was analysed using digital images. It was observed that the true fibre area followed a log-normal distribution. The fibre area distribution for different geometrical shapes was estimated and the error in the estimated area of assumed fibre cross-section was also determined to assess the applicability of the assumed cross-section. The mechanical properties of the jute technical fibres from a single batch from South Asia were determined; fibre tensile tests were carried out at ten different gauge lengths between 6 mm and 300 mm and the Young’s modulus, strain to failure and ultimate tensile strengths were determined individually. A strong correlation was observed between the fibre strength/fracture strain and fibre gauge length. It was found as the gauge length increases the fibre strength/fracture strain drops. The fibre failure (Strength/Strain) was modelled using Weibull distribution and three statistical models were developed to relate the fibre strength/fracture strain to the fibre gauge length. Examination of tensile test data reveals that the coefficient of variation (CoV) for failure strain is consistently lower than the CoV for fracture stress (strength), as the failure strain is weakly influenced by the fibre cross-section. Hence, failure strain is the more consistent failure criterion and it is recommended to use failure strain as the key design criterion for natural fibre composites in order to improve reliability in the design of these materials. Different authors have tried to model natural fibre reinforced polymer elastic modulus using micromechanical models and have suggested that further study should include fibre angle and length distribution factors to improve the micromechanical prediction. This thesis further seeks to validate a novel methodology for the prediction of the tensile modulus and strength of natural fibre composites through careful consideration of each of the parameters in the rule of mixtures along with consideration of the statistical variation inherent in reinforcements extracted from plants. The tensile modulus and strength of jute fibre reinforced composites manufactured from well characterised fibres was measured experimentally. Six well established micromechanical models were used to predict the composite elastic modulus. Two micromechanical models were used to predict composite strength. For both mechanical properties, the inclusion of a fibre area correction factor to account for the non-circular cross-section of the fibre resulted in an improved prediction of the respective mechanical properties.

Abstract : Natural materials have received a full attention in many applications because they are degradable and derived directly from earth. In addition to these benefits, natural materials can be obtained from renewable resources such as plants (i.e. cellulosic fibers like flax, hemp, jute, and etc). Being cheap and light in weight, the cellulosic natural fiber is a good candidate for reinforcing bio-based polymer composites. However, the hydrophilic nature -resulted from the presence of hydroxyl groups in the structure of these fibers- restricts the application of these fibers in the polymeric matrices. This is because of weak interfacial adhesion, and difficulties in mixing due to poor wettability of the fibers within the matrices. Many attempts have been done to modify surface properties of natural fibers including physical, chemical, and physico-chemical treatments but on the one hand, these treatments are unable to cure the intrinsic defects of the surface of the fibers and on the other hand they cannot improve moisture, and alkali resistance of the fibers. However, the creation of a thin film on the fibers would achieve the mentioned objectives. This study aims firstly to functionalize the flax fibers by using selective oxidation of hydroxyl groups existed in cellulose structure to pave the way for better adhesion of subsequent amphiphilic TiO[subscript 2] thin films created by Sol-Gel technique. This method is capable of creating a very thin layer of metallic oxide on a substrate. In the next step, the effect of oxidation on the interfacial adhesion between the TiO[subscript 2] film and the fiber and thus on the physical and mechanical properties of the fiber was characterized. Eventually, the TiO[subscript 2] grafted fibers with and without oxidation were used to reinforce poly lactic acid (PLA). Tensile, impact, and short beam shear tests were performed to characterize the mechanical properties while Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), Dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), and moisture absorption were used to show the physical properties of the composites. Results showed a significant increase in physical and mechanical properties of flax fibers when the fibers were oxidized prior to TiO[subscript 2] grafting. Moreover, the TiO[subscript 2] grafted oxidized fiber caused significant changes when they were used as reinforcements in PLA. A higher interfacial strength and less amount of water absorption were obtained in comparison with the reference samples. / Résumé : Les matériaux naturels retiennent actuellement toute l’attention dans de nombreuses applications et ceci, car ils sont biodégradables et proviennent de ressources renouvelables telles que les plantes (le lin, le chanvre, le jute, etc.). De plus, du fait de leur faible coût et de leur faible densité, les fibres naturelles cellulosiques sont d’excellents candidats pour le renforcement des composites polymères bio-sourcés. Cependant, malgré leurs nombreux avantages, leur caractère hydrophile - résultant de la présence de fonctions hydroxyle dans leur structure - limite leur application dans les matrices polymères. Ceci est dû à la faible mouillabilité existant entre les fibres cellulosiques et les matrices polymériques (généralement hydrophobes) causant une faible adhésion et une mauvaise dispersion des fibres dans la matrice. De nombreuses tentatives de modification des propriétés de surface des fibres naturelles par des traitements physiques, chimiques, ainsi que physico-chimiques ont été effectuées. Cependant, ces traitements se sont révélés incapables de guérir les défauts intrinsèques présents à la surface des fibres et d’améliorer leur résistance à l'humidité et aux alcalis. Une solution permettant d’atteindre les objectifs mentionnés serait la création d’un film mince à la surface des fibres. Cette étude vise tout d'abord à fonctionnaliser les fibres de lin par une oxydation sélective des fonctions hydroxyle présentes sur la cellulose. Cette oxydation permet la création d’une meilleure adhésion entre la surface des fibres et les couches minces amphiphiles de TiO[indice inférieur 2] créées par la technique sol-gel. En effet, le procédé sol-gel est une méthode dite douce capable de créer une fine couche d'oxydes métalliques à la surface d’un substrat. Dans l'étape suivante, l'effet de l'oxydation sur l'adhésion interfaciale entre la couche de TiO[indice inférieur 2] et la fibre, et donc sur les propriétés physiques et mécaniques de la fibre, a été caractérisé. Enfin, les fibres recouvertes de TiO[indice inférieur 2] avec et sans oxydation préalable ont été utilisées pour renforcer l’acide polylactique (PLA). Des tests de traction, d’impact et de cisaillement ont été réalisés afin de caractériser les propriétés mécaniques des composites. De plus, de la calorimétrie différentielle à balayage (DSC), des mesures d'absorption d'humidité ainsi que des analyses thermogravimétrique (ATG) et mécanique dynamique (DMA) ont été effectuées dans le but de déterminer les propriétés physiques des composites. Les résultats ont montré une augmentation significative des propriétés physiques et mécaniques des fibres de lin recouvertes de TiO[indice inférieur 2], en particulier lorsque les fibres ont été préalablement oxydées. De plus, ces fibres à la fois oxydées et greffées de TiO[indice inférieur 2] ont causé de grands changements lorsque utilisées dans le renforcement du PLA. En effet, une meilleure résistance au cisaillement interlaminaire et une diminution de la quantité d’eau absorbée est obtenue en comparaison avec les échantillons de référence.

Dentate microcircuitry is thought to be involved in filtering, integrating, and relaying extrinsic hippocampal inputs to the hippocampus proper, which contributes to memory formation and retrieval. The axons of granule cells are called mossy fibres (MFs), and contain multiple terminal types that form characteristic synaptic connections with their postsynaptic targets. This diversity of presynaptic release sites that exists on the same MF provides an extremely interesting axonal type to study the organizing principles of presynaptic release regulation. A remarkable set of neurotransmitters and receptors present at the MF synaptic complex allow diverse computational modification of information from the dentate gyrus to the hippocampus. There are several types of glutamate receptors expressed at MF, such as group II/III mGluRs and kainate receptors (KARs). Presynaptic KARs modulate transmission at MF-CA3 pyramidal cell synapses; however, it is not known whether presynaptic KARs affect other synapses made by MFs. The aim of the first part of this thesis was to establish the principles of synapse-specific actions of presynaptic KARs in MFs. Combining electrophysiology and calcium imaging, this study provides compelling evidence that presynaptic KARs and Ca²⁺ stores can be activated by glutamate release from a single action potential in a single MF axon. This contributes to short-term, use-dependent facilitation of presynaptic Ca²⁺ entry and glutamate release exclusively at MF-CA3 pyramidal cell synaps, but not at other MF synapses, on hilar mossy cells or interneurons. Thus, our findings indicate that the presynaptic KARs, coupled with intracellular stores, exist in a synapse-specific autoreceptor mechanism. Activation of KARs strengthened MF-CA3 pyramidal cell synapses by increasing the Ca²⁺ influx at giant boutons, which might also contribute to the KAR-dependent hyper-excitability of the MF circuitry related to the mechanisms of temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). This makes KARs good potential targets for therapies in CNS disorders such as epilepsy and other neurological and psychiatric disorders. The second part of this thesis was to explore the actions on the hippocampus of purified antibodies from a limbic encephalitis (LE) patient. LE is a CNS disease characterized by subacute onset of memory loss and temporal lobe seizures. The serum of these patients strongly labels MFs apparently co-localizing with the VGKC. The patients improve with immunotherapies that reduce the VGKC antibody levels in the serum, thus, strongly suggesting that these antibodies cause the condition. We found that LE serum IgGs enhance CA3 pyramidal cell excitability by blocking α-DTX sensitive VGKCs, which results in the increased release of glutamate. This, in turn, strengthens and desynchronizes MF and CA3 pyramidal cells synaptic transmission. However, these effects were occluded by α-DTX, a Kv1.1, Kv1.2 and Kv1.6 antagonist which, when applied alone, mimicked the action of the LE IgG, suggesting that they may share similar mechanisms of action. In contrast serum taken from healthy control patients had no significant effect under same recording conditions. Thus, this study provides the first evidence that the LE IgG functionally affects VGKC containing Kv1.1, Kv1.2 and/or Kv1.6 at both presynaptic MF axon terminals as well as the postsynaptic somatodendritic domain of CA3 pyramidal cells. Whatever defines the exact nature of LE IgG action, our results suggest that drugs acting specifically as openers of VGKC might help to protect the hippocampus from immune-mediated damage. In conclusion my data is consistent with the increasingly documented idea that MFs play a critical role in regulating the excitability of the hippocampal circuits and the dysfunction of MF transmission profoundly impairs hippocampal function.

La variété de l'offre alimentaire actuelle incite à l'hyperphagie qui est en partie responsable de la prise de poids corporel. Réduire la consommation est ainsi devenu une contrainte pour une certaine partie de la population. Dans ce contexte, les fibres, qui sont des glucides non-digestibles dans l'intestin grêle, permettent de réduire la prise alimentaire, d'atténuer les sensations de faim et/ou d'augmenter les sensations de satiété. Cependant, les mécanismes comportementaux, périphériques et centraux à l'origine de ces effets sont mal-connus. Leur capacité à maintenir cet effet anorexigène en présence d'autres nutriments comme les lipides et les protéines a également été très peu étudiée.L'étude de ces mécanismes est l'objet de cette thèse. Des fibres telles que la gomme de guar (GG) fortement viscosifiante et le fructo-oligosaccharide (FOS) très fermentescible ont été administrées, en début de journée, aux souris sous forme de solution à raison de 700 µL et à une dose de 3%, 5% et 14% via un gavage intra-gastrique. Cette étude a montré que les solutions fortement visqueuses, notamment le GG 5% et le mélange GG-FOS 14% étaient les seules capables d'exercer un effet anorexigène à court terme comparées aux solutions moins visqueuses comme l'eau, le GG 3%, le FOS 14% et les solutions de nutriments comme les protéines (peptides de caséine) et les lipides (huile de colza) qui fournissent 10% de l'ingéré calorique quotidien des animaux (1.2 kcal). Pour le cas du mélange visqueux GG-FOS 14%, la baisse de la prise alimentaire est due au rassasiement (réduction de 50% de la taille et de la durée du repas dans les 30 premières minutes post-ingestion). Cette baisse, non compensée jusqu'à la fin de la journée, n'est pas associée à une aversion gustative conditionnée. Ce rassasiement est dû à l'intégration au niveau du centre de contrôle de la taille du repas (NTS), des signaux vagaux de distension gastrique et de la cholecystokinine (CCK). Quand les fibres visqueuses GG 5% et GG-FOS 14% sont mélangées avec des protéines, elles perdent leur effet anorexigène. L'action de les mélanger avec les lipides a par contre montré que seul le mélange visqueux GG-FOS 14% est capable d'exercer un effet anorexigène. L'effet anorexigène du mélange lipide et GG-FOS 14% est dû au niveau de chaque repas aux signaux mécaniques gastriques et CCK vagaux, et à l'axe PYY- système mélanocortique hypothalamique pour le maintien de l'effet sur la journée.En conclusion, les fibres visqueuses sont des nutriments qui peuvent participer au contrôle de la prise alimentaire en stimulant le rassasiement. Elles sont capables de maintenir cet effet en milieu lipidique. Elles pourraient ainsi être ajoutées aux aliments riches en lipides pour mieux contrôler la prise alimentaire et le poids corporel. / The various types of food currently marketed encourage people to eat more, thus leading to weight gain, and reducing food intake has become challenging. To help deal with this, it was shown that dietary fibers decreased food intake and/or feelings of hunger while increasing those of satiety. However, the behavioral, peripheral and central mechanisms underlying this phenomenon are not well known. This study was undertaken in order to characterize these mechanisms. Dietary fibers such as the highly viscous guar gum (GG) and the highly fermentable fructo-oligosaccharide (FOS), in doses of 3%, 5% and 14%, were given to mice by intra-gastric gavage of 700 µL volume. It appeared that highly viscous fibers such as GG 5% and the mixture GG-FOS 14% were able to decrease food intake compared to less viscous preloads such as water, FOS and nutrient solutions (protein solution with casein peptides, lipid solution with rapeseed oil supplying 1.2 kcal or 10% of daily energy intake in mice). Specifically, the mixture GG-FOS 14% induced satiation by reducing the size and duration of meals during the first 30 min post-treatment. This effect was neither compensated for by the end of the day, nor was it associated with conditioned taste aversion. The GG-FOS 14% -induced satiation was due to gastric distension and vagal CCK signaling which were integrated at the level of the NTS, a nucleus controlling meal size. Moreover, mixing GG 5% and GG-FOS 14% with protein abolished their food intake inhibitory effect. In contrast, when mixed with lipid, GG-FOS 14% maintained its anorexigenic effect. The mixture of lipid and GG-FOS 14% stimulated satiation which involved vagal CCK signaling, gastric distension and the NTS. Additionally, the communication between systemic PYY and melanocortic neurons at the level of the hypothalamus was implicated in the anorexigenic effect of this mixtureIn conclusion, viscous dietary fibers can control food intake by stimulating satiation. They are able to maintain their anorexigenic effect in lipid media such that they can be added to foods containing more fat in order to control food intake and body weight.

Ce travail constitue une contribution à l'étude de l'influence de la déformation libre des fibres textiles sous l'effet des contraintes hydriques sur la structure globale d'un tricot Jersey et d'un tissu Toile en coton, ayant subi les mêmes traitements de finition. Une comparaison entre les capacités de sorption du Jersey et des fils défilés de leur structure montre que le serrage géométrique limite les capacités de sorption du Jersey. Les coefficients du tenseur déformation plane du Jersey sous l'effet d'un cycle d'adsorption/désorption montre un gonflement croissant en fonction de l'humidité au moment de l'adsorption et un rétrécissement presque linéaire au moment de la désorption pour reprendre ses valeurs initiales marquant ainsi l'effet mémoire de l'état relaxé de la structure. L'influence du repassage sur le comportement de la Toile en coton sous l'effet de deux cycles continus successifs d'adsorption/désorption est étudiée. Les résultats montrent que l'aplatissement des fils dans la structure génère une amplification de la déformation plane résultante. Un deuxième cycle d'adsorption successif montre l'annulation complète de l'effet de repassage. Une comparaison entre les isothermes d'adsorption et de désorption d'un tissu Toile repassé et non repassé montre que les isothermes de sorption de la Toile repassée et non repassée se collent dés la troisième zone de l'isotherme du premier cycle d'adsorption, ce qui explique que l'encombrement stérique des molécules d'eau dans la structure de la Toile repassée génère un réarrangement stéréochimique de la structure supramoléculaire pour reprendre une forme similaire à la Toile non repassée. / The 2D deformation of bleached plain weave and Jersey cotton ready to wear clothing was measured during adsorption and desorption cycles. The strain along warp and weft directions and the shear deformation were evaluated by image correlation process. The dimensional variations are explained by geometrical consideration of the structure at microscopic (fibers scale) and macroscopic levels (yarns scale). Indeed, the reaction between water vapor molecules and material enlightens two steps. At first, the swelling fibers fill the micro pores inside the yarns. Then, the yarns swell and push on their neighbors to fill up the macro pores and cause the macroscopic swelling of the overall structure. During the desorption phase, the fibers shrink to create a free space inside the plain weave structure that will be relaxed to find its initial state. The shear deformation is related to the cohesion by twist between cotton fibers. The ironing generates flattened yarns and increases their friction which amplifies the deformation during the first adsorption cycle. However, this effect is cancelled at the end of the first adsorption / desorption cycle with no memory effect of the ironing process. These results are confirmed by comparison between sorption isotherms of ironed and not ironed plain weave samples. A comparison between the sorption capacity of Jersey and yarn made of the same structure shows that the geometric form decreases the sorption capacity of jersey especially at high humidity. Then knitting infects the swelling of yarns and decreases their sorption capacity.

Natural fibre composites (NFCs), which are polymers reinforced with cellulosic bast fibres, have the potential to be applied into a range of building products. They are seen as an alternative to glass fibre reinforced plastics (GFRP) in some applications, because of natural fibres (NF) relatively high strength and low density. Moreover, natural fibres have a set of beneficial traits, such as thermal insulation, thermal stability, biodegradability, and are inherently renewable. Those characteristics are of importance when NF are used as reinforcements in polymer composites, but developments in mechanical performance, reliability and economic viability are still required in order to be adopted fully by industry. The goal of this thesis was the development of a processing methodology for NFC laminate and subsequent material characterisation to assess the developed material suitability for building applications. Research objectives included materials selection, processing route development for laminates and tubes, manufacture of NFC laminates and analysis of mechanical properties in order to find an optimal composition. Hemp and flax fibres were selected as the reinforcement, because both have high mechanical properties and are important bast fibre crops in the European region with established cultivation and processing methods. As a matrix, fossil-fuel based and partially bio-derived thermoset resin systems were used. Handling and processing methodologies were developed for laminates and composite tubes based on filament winding and compression moulding techniques. The effects of the selected factors, namely material composition, volume fraction, processing parameters, reinforcement linear density, yarn twist, lamination sequence, yarn waviness and hybrid hemp-wool reinforcement were subsequently described in mechanical properties analysis of laminates. The influence of weathering conditions on the mechanical performance of the NFCs was examined. Furthermore, a study of NFC tubes under compression was performed. Results showed that the developed laminates reinforced with NF yarns have sufficient mechanical properties to be utilised in sandwich panels and/or tubes. However, a low resistance to moisture-related weathering restricts the developed NFCs for indoor applications.

The thesis presents the development and testing of an automated fibre optic test system for the measurement of focal ratio degradation (FRD) in high numerical aperture fibres. In particular, the fibres under examination are being proposed for use in the Maunakea Spectroscopic Explorer (MSE), a new telescope currently being designed for wide-field surveys of the night sky. A critical subsystem of the MSE is the Fiber Transmission System (FiTS) that connects the focal plane to the telescope’s spectrographs. In preparation for MSE-FiTS, a method of characterizing the focal ratio degradation (FRD), between the input and output of every fibre, of candidate multi-mode fibres is highly important. The ultimate goal is the testing of all 4,332 fibres after assembly and prior to installation on MSE. An optical bench has been constructed to test the performance of an automated characterization system; a variation on the collimated beam test. Herein we present the underlying analysis FRD measurement method, the optical design of the test bench, the motion control system and the software for measuring FRD, and controlling the automated test system. The open-source automation software is also introduced; the Big FiTS Fibre Wrapper (Big FFW). The results of tests performed using the Big FFW on samples of candidate fibres are presented and compared with the results in the literature using manual methods. The results suggest that the candidate MSE fibre meets the science requirement of less than 5% focal ratio degradation for an f/2 input beam measured at the fibre output. There is less than 1% disagreement between the automated measurement method and manual methods reported in the literature. The fully automated system can measure the FRD of up to 10 fibres in a typical MSE fibre bundle configuration. / Graduate

ABSTRACT Asbestos has been extensively used to insulate boilers and associated heated pipe work throughout the world. Managing human health risks posed by asbestos during the removal of lagging poses many challenges. For this reason, acquiring a better understanding of factors that lead work tasks to produce high airborne fibre concentrations is important for the development of improved control methods. Aim: The aim of this study was to link observed work tasks and work practices with measured airborne concentrations of fibres in order to identify those factors contributing to high airborne concentrations generated during boiler de-lagging. The investigation was based on a study of two employees working on a boiler de-lagging contract lasting twenty-one days and resulting in a total of 79 measurements of airborne asbestos fibres. The primary form of asbestos dust control for the duration of the contract was the application of non-amended water. Objectives: To definitively identify the presence and type of asbestos lagging as well as quantify airborne fibre concentrations for two work tasks i.e. Stripping (removing lagging) and Bagging (placing removed lagging into bags as well as cleaning spills), in order to demonstrate how they may influence airborne fibre concentrations. Methodology: The type of asbestos was confirmed by Scanning Electron Microscopy. Phase Contrast Microscopy (PCM) was selected as the primary measure of airborne asbestos fibres. A Work Practice Checklist was developed to link observed daily Work Tasks and Work Practices with the concurrent airborne fibre concentrations. The geometric mean was a useful measure of central tendency for the data since it was highly skewed to the right (positively skewed). However, for public health purposes the arithmetic mean was also considered because it provides some idea of health risk where the human respiratory system is assumed to accumulate fibres linearly with concentration. Results: Bulk sample analysis confirmed the presence of both chrysotile and amosite asbestos lagging. Work Practices such as Wetting, Stripping and Bagging asbestos, were undertaken in a relatively uncontrolled manner during the first three days of the project resulting in mean airborne fibre concentrations of 1.171 f/ml for the Stripper, ranging from 0.612 to 1.236 f/ml and 0.315 f/ml for the Bagger, ranging from 0.107 to 0.631f/ml. These means were 4.5 times and 2.3 times respectively, greater than the means calculated for the entire project. The overall mean fibre concentration was approximately five times greater for personal samples, 0.198 f/ml (± 1.647) than for the concurrent static samples, 0.039 f/ml (± 0.129). The analysis of log transformed data revealed several strong tendencies for airborne fibre concentrations when related to Work Tasks and Work Practices. The difference between stripping asbestos in small manageable as opposed to larger unmanageable pieces was highly significant (p < 0.001). Smaller manageable pieces resulted in much lowerconcentrations. The manner with which asbestos was bagged was also highly significant (p < 0.001). Bagging in an uncontrolled manner resulted in much higher airborne concentrations. Surprisingly, the degree of wetting was not as important as expected: working dry did not generate significantly more fibres than working with saturated insulation but did generate significantly more fibres (p < 0.005) than working with partially wet insulation (which lead to the highest concentrations). A limitation to interpreting the Wetting work practice was the low number of samples taken within the dry category (n = 5). The difference in mean sample concentrations between personal and static samples for this study demonstrates the importance of spatial and temporal proximity as a determinant for airborne fibre concentrations. It also showed clear associations between what can be described as rushed, reckless Work Practices, and the resulting high levels of airborne fibre concentrations (exceeding the OEL). Within the context of this project, these findings demonstrate the utmost importance of providing the appropriate training and supervision of employees, not only for protecting themselves against airborne asbestos fibres, but for removing asbestos in manner that results in the generation of the least amount of airborne fibres possible

Afin de limiter l'utilisation des ressources fossiles, les composites à fibres naturelles semblent être une alternative prometteuse aux composites à fibres synthétiques. Ainsi cette thèse se propose d'étudier un composite thermoplastique renforcé par des fibres courtes d'origine végétale (polypropylène/chanvre). En effet, la température de mise en forme du PP permet l'incorporation de renforts naturels. De plus la culture du chanvre est relativement aisée en Lorraine. Ces composites ont été élaborés via compoundage - moulage par injection. Ce travail s'appuie sur une démarche de caractérisation du comportement thermomécanique de ces composites dans le domaine quasi-statique en prêtant particulièrement attention à l'influence de la vitesse de déformation, de la fraction volumique de chanvre et de la température. L'endommagement a été mis en évidence par des essais de type charge-décharge-maintien et par un suivi in-situ par thermographie infrarouge. Cette étude a montré une rupture « quasi-fragile » par fissuration de la matrice quelque soit le taux de renfort. Une étude statistique complète de la microstructure en terme de distribution d'orientation et de répartition spatiale des fibres a été conduite par tomographie aux rayons X et a permis de développer un algorithme de génération automatique d'un modèle éléments-finis intégrant les distributions d'orientation et de répartition ainsi que les facteurs géométriques des fibres (L,Ø). Cet algorithme permet de rendre compte, dans la modélisation, de l'interaction complexe entre les fibres supposées élastiques isotropes. Enfin, la modélisation par éléments-finis du comportement du composite PPC est entreprise. Le comportement élastique avec endommagement progressif de la matrice est obtenu suivant un formalisme micromécanique dans lequel celle-ci est considérée comme un solide élastique isotrope affaibli par des microfissures de forme penny-shapped. Ce comportement est implémenté sur abaqus via une routine Fortran. Cette démarche offre de bonnes capacités de prédiction et ouvre des perspectives d'optimisation de ce matériau / Natural fibres are expected to have the ability to replace synthetics fibres as reinforcement for thermoplastics. A short plant fibres reinforced thermoplastics (polypropylene/hemp) is therefore studied in this PhD thesis. The processing temperature of PP allows the use of natural fibres. Moreover the hemp growing is easy in Lorraine. The testing specimens were made by compounding and injection moulding. Experimental characterization of the quasi-static thermomechanical behaviour of hemp composite was carried out with particular emphasis on the effect on strain rate, fibre loading and temperature. The damage is pointed out by load-unload-holding tests and in-situ infrared thermography recorder and revealed a « quasi-brittle » failure by matrix cracking regardless the hemp fibre loading. A complete statistical study in terms of spatial and orientation distribution of fibre was conducted by X-ray tomography and enables the development of an algorithm which generate a finite element model including the spatial reinforcement distribution and orientation distribution as well as geometrical features of fibres (L,Ø) Through this algorithm, the complicated interactions between isotropic elastic fibres are taken into account in the finite element modelling. Finally, finite element modelling of composite behaviour is intended. The elastic - progressive damage behaviour of the matrix is obtained in accordance to the micromechanism frame, in which PP is considered as a solid isotropic body weakened by penny-shaped cracks. This behaviour was implemented through a Fortran routine in abaqus software. This approach shows good prediction capabilities and gives opportunities to optimize this composite material