Dans cette thèse, on présente une notion de courbure géodésique pour les courbes lisses horizontales dans une variété sous-Riemannienne de contact, qui indique dans quelle mesure une courbe est différente d'une géodésique. Cette courbure géodésique se présente sous la forme de deux fonctions qui sont toutes deux identiquement nulles le long d'une courbe lisse horizontale si et seulement si cette dernière courbe est une géodésique. Le résultat principal de cette thèse réside dans l'interprétation métrique que l'on donne de ces fonctions de courbure. Cette interprétation consiste à extraire la courbure géodésique des premiers termes de correction dans le développement limité de la distance sous-Riemannienne entre deux points proches le long de la courbe. / We present a notion of geodesic curvature for smooth horizontal curves in a contact sub-Riemannian manifold, measuring how far a horizontal curve is from being a geodesic. This geodesic curvature consists in two functions that both vanish along a smooth horizontal curve if and only if this curve is a geodesic. The main result of this thesis is the metric interpretation of these geodesic curvature functions. This interpretation consists in seeing the geodesic curvature functions as the first corrective coefficients in the Taylor expansion of the sub-Riemannian distance between two close points on the curve.

The development of 5G and 6G entails new demandson antennas. This includes fast and reliable connections to a largenumber of devices. A wider area of coverage, and thus moreantennas are also expected, which is problematic for the expensiveantennas used today. To meet those demands, a geodesic lensantenna has been proposed. The antenna utilises several feedingports for beam forming. It is designed to operate at a frequencyof 8 to 12 GHz and is optimised to have an even coverage in thefar-field. The design is modulated with one fold to reduce theheight of the antenna. A prototype of the antenna is 3D printedwith PLA and coated with aluminium tape. The design has asimulated realised gain of 13.5 dBi and beam width of around30°. The 3D printed antenna could not be tested due to technicalproblems with the testing facilities, but is expected to have similarresults. / Med utvecklingen av 5G och 6G kommer stora krav på antenner. Flera enheter skall kunna vara uppkopplade och samtidigt krävs högre hastigheter med stabil uppkoppling. Utöver det ställs det även krav på en bred täckning vilket innebär att fler antenner behöver kopplas upp, vilka har höga kostnader idag. För att möta dessa krav har en design för en geodetisk linsantenn lagts fram. Antennen använder flera ingångar för att skapa en riktbar stråle. Den är designad för att operera inom frekvenserna 8 till 12 GHz och är optimerad för att få en jämn täckning i fjärrfältet. Designen nyttjar en vikning för att minska antennens höjd. En prototyp av antennen tillverkas med hjälp av 3D printad plast som beläggs med aluminiumtejp. Designen har en simulerad förstärking av 13.5 dBi och en strålbredd runt 30°. Den 3D printade antennen kunde inte testas på grund av tekniska problem med testutrustningen men förväntas ha liknande resultat som den simulerade. / Kandidatexjobb i elektroteknik 2022, KTH, Stockholm

Vários métodos tradicionais de segmentação de imagens, como a transformada de watershed de marcado- res e métodos de conexidade fuzzy (Relative Fuzzy Connectedness- RFC, Iterative Relative Fuzzy Connected- ness - IRFC), podem ser implementados de modo eficiente utilizando o método em grafos da Transformada Imagem-Floresta (Image Foresting Transform - IFT). No entanto, a carência de termos de regularização de fronteira em sua formulação fazem com que a borda do objeto segmentado possa ser altamente irregular. Um modo de contornar isto é por meio do uso de restrições de forma do objeto, que favoreçam formas mais regulares, como na recente restrição de convexidade geodésica em estrela (Geodesic Star Convexity - GSC). Neste trabalho, apresentamos uma nova restrição de forma, chamada de Faixa de Restrição Geodésica (Geodesic Band Constraint - GBC), que pode ser incorporada eficientemente em uma sub-classe do fra- mework de corte em grafos generalizado (Generalized Graph Cut - GGC), que inclui métodos pela IFT. É apresentada uma prova da otimalidade do novo algoritmo em termos de um mínimo global de uma função de energia sujeita às novas restrições de borda. A faixa de restrição geodésica nos ajuda a regularizar a borda dos objetos, consequentemente melhorando a segmentação de objetos com formas mais regulares, mantendo o baixo custo computacional da IFT. A GBC pode também ser usada conjuntamente com um mapa de custos pré estabelecido, baseado em um modelo de forma, de modo a direcionar a segmentação a seguir uma dada forma desejada, com grau de liberdade de escala e demais deformações controladas por um parâmetro único. Essa nova restrição também pode ser combinada com a GSC e com as restrições de polaridade de borda sem custo adicional. O método é demonstrado em imagens naturais, sintéticas e médicas, sendo estas provenientes de tomografias computadorizadas e de ressonância magnética. / In this work, we present a novel boundary constraint, which we denote as the Geodesic Band Constraint (GBC), and we show how it can be efficiently incorporated into a subclass of the Generalized Graph Cut framework (GGC). We include a proof of the optimality of the new algorithm in terms of a global minimum of an energy function subject to the new boundary constraints. The Geodesic Band Constraint helps regularizing the boundary, and consequently, improves the segmentation of objects with more regular shape, while keeping the low computational costs of the Image Foresting Transform (IFT). It can also be combined with the Geodesic Star Convexity prior, and with polarity constraints, at no additional cost.

Vários métodos tradicionais de segmentação de imagens, como a transformada de watershed de marcado- res e métodos de conexidade fuzzy (Relative Fuzzy Connectedness- RFC, Iterative Relative Fuzzy Connected- ness - IRFC), podem ser implementados de modo eficiente utilizando o método em grafos da Transformada Imagem-Floresta (Image Foresting Transform - IFT). No entanto, a carência de termos de regularização de fronteira em sua formulação fazem com que a borda do objeto segmentado possa ser altamente irregular. Um modo de contornar isto é por meio do uso de restrições de forma do objeto, que favoreçam formas mais regulares, como na recente restrição de convexidade geodésica em estrela (Geodesic Star Convexity - GSC). Neste trabalho, apresentamos uma nova restrição de forma, chamada de Faixa de Restrição Geodésica (Geodesic Band Constraint - GBC), que pode ser incorporada eficientemente em uma sub-classe do fra- mework de corte em grafos generalizado (Generalized Graph Cut - GGC), que inclui métodos pela IFT. É apresentada uma prova da otimalidade do novo algoritmo em termos de um mínimo global de uma função de energia sujeita às novas restrições de borda. A faixa de restrição geodésica nos ajuda a regularizar a borda dos objetos, consequentemente melhorando a segmentação de objetos com formas mais regulares, mantendo o baixo custo computacional da IFT. A GBC pode também ser usada conjuntamente com um mapa de custos pré estabelecido, baseado em um modelo de forma, de modo a direcionar a segmentação a seguir uma dada forma desejada, com grau de liberdade de escala e demais deformações controladas por um parâmetro único. Essa nova restrição também pode ser combinada com a GSC e com as restrições de polaridade de borda sem custo adicional. O método é demonstrado em imagens naturais, sintéticas e médicas, sendo estas provenientes de tomografias computadorizadas e de ressonância magnética. / In this work, we present a novel boundary constraint, which we denote as the Geodesic Band Constraint (GBC), and we show how it can be efficiently incorporated into a subclass of the Generalized Graph Cut framework (GGC). We include a proof of the optimality of the new algorithm in terms of a global minimum of an energy function subject to the new boundary constraints. The Geodesic Band Constraint helps regularizing the boundary, and consequently, improves the segmentation of objects with more regular shape, while keeping the low computational costs of the Image Foresting Transform (IFT). It can also be combined with the Geodesic Star Convexity prior, and with polarity constraints, at no additional cost.

Aerospace structures comprising of metals and composites are exposed to extreme loading and environmental conditions which necessitates regular inspection and maintenance to verify and monitor overall structural integrity. The timely and accurate detection, characterization and monitoring of structural cracking, corrosion, delaminating, material degradation and other types of damage are of major concern in the operational environment. Along with these, stringent requirements of safety and operational reliability have lead to evolutionary methods for evaluation of structural integrity. As a result, conventional nondestructive evaluation methods have moved towards a new concept, Structural Health Monitoring (SHM). SHM provides in-situ information a bout the occurrence of damage if any, location and severity of damage and residual life of the structure and also helps in improving the safety, reliability and confidence levels of critical engineering structures. While the concepts underlying SHM are well understood, development of methods is still in a nascent stage which requires extensive research that is challenging and has been the main motivating factor for undertaking the work reported in the thesis. Under the scope of the investigations carried out in this thesis, an integrated approach using Ultrasonic (active) and Acoustic Emission (passive) methods has been explored for SHM of metallic and composite plate structures using a distributed array of surface bonded circular piezoelectric wafer active sensors(PWAS). In ultrasonic method, PWAS is used for actuation and reception of Lamb waves in plate structures. The damage detection is based on the interaction of waves with defects resulting in reflection, mode conversion and scattering. In acoustic emission (AE) technique, the same sensor is used to pick up the stress waves generated by initiation or growth of defects or damage. Thus, both the active and passive damage detection methods are used in this work for detection, location and characterization of defects and damage in metallic and composite plates with complex geometries and structural discontinuities. And, thus the strategy adopted is to use time-frequency analysis and time reversal technique to extract the information from Lamb wave signals for damage detection and a geodesic based Lamb wave approach for location of the damage in the structure. To start with experiments were conducted on aluminum plates to study the interaction of Lamb waves with cracks oriented at different angles and on a titanium turbine blade of complex geometry with a fine surface crack. Further, the interaction of Lamb wave modes with multiple layer delaminations in glass fiber epoxy composite laminates was studied. The data acquired from these experiments yielded complex sets of signals which were not easily discern able for obtaining the information required regarding the defects and damage. So, to obtain a basic understanding of the wave patterns, Spectral finite element method has been employed for simulation of wave propagation in composite beams with damages like delamination and material degradation. Following this, time-frequency analysis of a number of simulated and experimental signals due to elastic wave scattering from defects and damage were performed using wavelet transform (WT) and Hilbert-Huang transform(HHT).And, a comparison of their performances in the context of quantifying the damages has given detailed insight into the problem of identifying localized damages, dispersion of multi-frequency non-stationary signals after their interaction with different types of defects and damage, finally leading to quantification. Conventional Lamb wave based damage detection methods look for the presence of defects and damage in a structure by comparing the signal obtained with the baseline signal acquired under healthy conditions. The environmental conditions like change in temperature can alter the Lamb wave signals and when compared with baseline signals may lead to false damage prediction. So, in order to make Lamb wave based damage detection baseline free, in the present work, the time reversal technique has been utilized. And, experiments were conducted on metallic and composite plates to study the time reversal behavior ofA0 andS0Lamb wave modes. Damage in the form of a notch was introduced in an aluminum plate to study the changes in the characteristics of the time reversed Lamb wave modes experimentally. This experimental study showed that there is no change in the shape of the time reversed Lamb wave in the presence of defect implying no breakage of time reversibility. Time reversal experiments were further carried out on a carbon/epoxy composite T-pull specimen representing a typical structure. And, the specimen was subjected to a tensile loading in a Universal testing machine. PWAS sensor measurements were carried out at no load as also during different stages of delamination due to tensile loading. Application of time reversed A 0 and S0 modes for both healthy and delaminated specimens and studying the change in shape of the time reversed Lamb wave signals has resulted in successful detection of the presence of delamination. The aim of this study has been to show the effectiveness of Lamb wave time reversal technique for damage detection in health monitoring applications. The next step in SHM is to identify the damage location after the confirmation of presence of damage in the structure. Wave based acoustic damage detection methods (UT and AE) employing triangulation technique are not suitable for locating damage in a structure which has complicated geometry and contains structural discontinuities. And, the problem further gets compounded if the material of the structure is anisotropic warranting complex analytical velocity models. In this work, a novel geodesic approach using Lamb waves is proposed to locate the AE source/damage in plate like structures. The approach is based on the fact that the wave takes minimum energy path to travel from the source to any other point in the connected domain. The geodesics are computed numerically on the meshed surface of the structure using Dijkstra’s algorithm. By propagating the waves in reverse virtually from these sensors along the geodesic path and by locating the first inter section point of these waves, one can get the AE source/damage location. Experiments have been conducted on metallic and composite plate specimens of simple and complex geometry to validate this approach. And, the results obtained using this approach has demonstrated the advantages for a practicable source location solution with arbitrary surfaces containing finite discontinuities. The drawback of Dijkstra’s algorithm is that the geodesics are allowed to travel along the edges of the triangular mesh and not inside them. To overcome this limitation, the simpler Dijkstra’s algorithm has been replaced by a Fast Marching Method (FMM) which allows geodesic path to travel inside the triangular domain. The results obtained using FMM showed that one can accurately compute the geodesic path taken by the elastic waves in composite plates from the AE source/damage to the sensor array, thus obtaining a more accurate damage location. Finally, a new triangulation technique based on geodesic concept is proposed to locate damage in metallic and composite plates. The performances of triangulaton technique are then compared with the geodesic approach in terms of damage location results and their suitability to health monitoring applications is studied.

Thesis (MSc)--Stellenbosch University, 2013. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: In this thesis I study compact objects described by the Manko-Novikov spacetime. The Manko- Novikov spacetime is an exact solution to the Einstein Field Equations that allows objects to be black hole-like, but with a multipole structure di erent from Kerr black holes. The aim of the research is to investigate whether we will observationally be able to tell these bumpy black holes, if they exist, apart from traditional Kerr black holes. I explore the geodesic motion of a test probe in the Manko-Novikov spacetime. I quantify the motion using Poincar e maps and rotation curves. The Manko-Novikov spacetime admits regions with regular motion as well as regions with chaotic motion. The occurrence of chaos is correlated with orbits for which the characteristic frequencies are resonant. The new result presented in this thesis is a global characterisation of where resonances and thus chaos are likely to occur for all orbits. These calculations are performed in the Kerr spacetime, from which I obtain that low order resonances occur within 20 Schwarzschild radii (or 40M) of the compact object with mass M. By the KAM theorem, the occurrence of chaos is therefore limited to this region for all small perturbations from Kerr. These resonant events will be measurable in the Galactic Centre using eLISA. This con nement of low order resonances indicates that the frequency values of orbits of radii well outside of 20 Schwarzschild radii can be approximated using canonical perturbation theory. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: In hierdie tesis word kompakte voorwerpe bestudeer soos omskryf deur die Manko-Novikov ruimtetyd. Die Manko-Novikov ruimtetyd is 'n eksakte oplossing van die Einstein Veldvergelykings. Die Manko-Novikov ruimtetyd formuleer gravitasiekolk-tipe voorwerpe waarvan die veelpool-struktuur afwyk van die tradisionele Kerr gravitasiekolk-struktuur. Die oogmerk van die navorsing is om vas te stel of ons met behulp van waarnemings hierdie bonkige gravitasiekolke van die tradisionele Kerr gravitasiekolke kan onderskei. Ek ondersoek die geodetiese beweging van 'n toetsmassa in die Manko-Novikov ruimtetyd. Die beweging word gekwanti seer met behulp van Poincar e afbeeldings en rotasiekrommes. In die Manko-Novikov ruimtetyd identi seer ek gebiede waarbinne re elmatige beweging voorkom asook gebiede waarbinne chaotiese bane voorkom. Die ontstaan van chaos word geassosieer met bane waarvan die fundamentele frekwensies resonant is. 'n Nuwe resultaat wat in hierdie tesis voorgehou word behels 'n globale karakterisering wat aandui waar resonansies en dus chaos na alle waarskynlikheid voorkom. Laasgenoemde berekeninge word vir die Kerr ruimtetyd uitgevoer. Hierdeur toon ek alle lae orde resonansies kom voor binne 20 Schwarzschild radii (of 40M) vanaf die kompakte voorwerp met mass M. Die KAM Stelling bepaal dan dat vir alle klein steurings toegepas op die Kerr ruimtetyd die voorkoms van chaos beperk sal wees tot bogenoemde gebied. Die resonansies binne hierdie gebied sal deur eLISA in die sentrum van die melkwegstelsel gemeet kan word. Hierdie beperking van lae orde resonansies tot 'n sekere afstand vanaf die kompakte voorwerp verseker dat die frekwensies van bane wat buite hierdie gebied val, akkuraat deur kanoniese steuringsteorie bepaal kan word.

Dans cette thèse, nous étudions des problèmes algorithmiques dans les complexes CAT(0) planaires et rectangulaires munis d'une m ́etrique intrinsèque l_2. Nous proposons des algorithmes de calcul du plus court chemin dans les complexes CAT(0) planaires et rectangulaires et de construction de l'enveloppe convexe d'un ensemble fini de points dans les complexes CAT(0) planaires. E ́tant donné un complexe CAT(0) rectangulaire 2-dimensionnel K à n sommets, nous proposons un algorithme qui, pour toute paire de points calcule la distance et le plus court chemin en temps sous-lin ́eaire en nombre de sommets de K, en utilisant une structure de données de taille O(n^2). Le deuxième problème étudié est celui du plus court chemin entre un point-source donné et tout autre point dans un complexe CAT(0) planaire K a n sommets. Pour cela, nous proposons un algorithme qui, pour tout point y de K, étant donnée le point source x et la carte géodésique SPM(x), construit le plus court chemin γ(x,y) en temps O(n), en utilisant une structure de données de taille O(n^2). Enfin, nous nous intéressons au calcul de l'enveloppe convexe d'un ensemble de k points dans un complexe CAT(0) planaire à n sommets. Nous proposons un algorithme qui construit l'enveloppe convexe en temps O(n^2 + nk log k) en utilisant une structure de données de taille O(n^2 + k). / In this thesis, we study algorithmic problems in CAT(0) planar and rectangular complexes with an intrinsic l_2−metric. We present algorithms for some algorithmic problems, such as computing the shortest path and the convex hull of a finite set of points in CAT(0) planar and rectangular complexes. We present an efficient algorithm for answering two-point distance queries in a given CAT(0) rectangular complex K with n vertices. Namely, we show that for a CAT(0) rectangular complex K with n vertices, one can construct a data structure of size O(n^2) so that, given any two points in K, the shortest path can be computed in subliniar time of n. The second problem presented is computing shortest path from a single-source to the query point in a CAT(0) planar complex. We propose an algorithm which computes in O(n) time the shortest path between a given point and the query point in a CAT(0) planar complex with n vertices, using a given shortest path map and data structure of size O(n^2). Finally, we study the problem of computing the convex hull of a set of k points in a CAT(0) planar complex with n vertices. We describe an algorithm which computes the convex hull in O(n^2 + nk log k) time, using a data structure of size O(n^2 + k).

É um dever dos profissionais que trabalham na área de mensuração discutir os temas que envolvem a manutenção/calibração de instrumentos geodésicos em ambiente laboratorial e o uso de padrões específicos voltados para as áreas de instrumentação e de Sistema de Gestão da Qualidade. Para isso, é importante mencionar as normas ISO 17123:2001, NBR ISO/IEC 17025:2005, ABNT NBR ISO 9001:2000 e os métodos compactos para laboratório voltados para testar estações totais e instrumentos EDM. Neste contexto, o principal objetivo desta pesquisa é discutir os temas relacionados à manutenção/calibração de instrumentos geodésicos em laboratório, mostrando a importância da implantação do Sistema de Gestão da Qualidade (SGQ). Também são discutidas as vantagens decorrentes desta implantação, bem como a organização estrutural e de pessoal para tal sistema, apresentando as normas específicas usadas para a realização de trabalhos em agrimensura. Para compreender melhor a temática da dissertação foram pesquisados alguns laboratórios internacionais que trabalham com a manutenção/calibração de instrumentos geodésicos, que são acreditados pela norma ISO 17025:2005, são certificados pelas normas ISO 9001:2000 e realizam os seus procedimentos de acordo com os requisitos da norma ISO 17123:2001. Dessa forma, as avaliações sobre a estrutura organizacional do laboratório, a estrutura de pessoal e o SGQ implantado, foram realizadas de forma mais segura. Os laboratórios pesquisados realizam suas atividades de acordo com os requisitos das normas ISO 9001:2000, ISO 17025:2005 e ISO 17123, garantindo qualidade aos trabalhos nos laboratórios. A calibração realizada de forma correta e regular contribui para a promoção da qualidade das atividades nos laboratórios. / It is the duty of professionals working in the area of measurement discuss issues involving the maintenance/calibration of geodesic instruments in the laboratory and the use of specific standards directed to the areas of instrumentation and Quality Management System. Therefore, it is important to dimensional standards ISO 17123:2001, ISO/IEC 17025:2005, ISO 9001:2000 and compact laboratory methods aimed at testing EDM instruments and total stations. In this context, the main objective of this research is to discuss issues related to maintenance/calibration of geodetic instruments in the laboratory, showing the importance of implementing the Quality Management System (QMS). Also discussed are advantages of this deployment, as well as the structural organization and personnel for such a system, with specific standards used to perform work in surveying. To better understand the theme of the thesis were searched some international laboratories that work with the maintenance/calibration of geodetic instruments, which are accredited to ISO 17025:2005 are certified by ISO 9001:2000 and realize their procedures in accordance with the requirements of ISO 17123:2001. Thus, the ratings on the organizational structure of the laboratory, the personnel structure and quality management system in place, were held more securely. The laboratories surveyed perform their activities in accordance with the requirements of ISO 9001:2000 and ISO 17025:2005 and ISO 17123, ensuring quality to work in laboratories. The calibration performed correctly and regularly contributes to the promotion of quality activities in the laboratories.

Um dos propósitos deste trabalho foi apresentar a metodologia envolvida na estimação de parâmetros de transformação entre dois Sistemas Geodésicos, em função da implantação do Sistema de Informações Geográficas no Saneamento (SIGNOS) pela SABESP. Este estudo foi desenvolvido no Município de São Paulo, onde foram calculados parâmetros de transformação entre os Sistemas SAD-69 (South American Datum 1969) e Córrego Alegre. Os parâmetros obtidos neste estudo foram comparados com os parâmetros disponíveis atualmente. Outro estudo, deste trabalho, é a proposta para compatibilização do sistema altimétrico da SABESP. O sistema atual é formado por diversas redes altimétricas (IBGE, SABESP, EMPLASA e IGG) que são divergentes entre si. O objetivo final é verificar as diferenças regionais e estabelecer a unificação do sistema altimétrico da SABESP na Região Metropolitana de São Paulo (RMSP). / One of the purposes of this work was introduce the methodology involved in the estimate of the transformation parameters between two Geodetic Systems, in function of the implantation of the Geographical Information System by SABESP. This work has been developed in São Paulo City, where transformation parameters were calculated between systems SAD-69 (South American Datum 1969) and Córrego Alegre. The estimated parameters at this work had been compared with the available parameters nowadays. Another study, of this work, is the proposal for compatibility of the altimetric system of SABESP. The current system is formed by diverse altimetric nets (IBGE, SABESP, EMPLASA and IGG) that are divergent between themselves. The final objective is to verify the regional differences and to establish the unification of the altimetric system in São Paulo Metropolitan Region (RMSP).

CoordenaÃÃo de AperfeiÃoamento de Pessoal de NÃvel Superior / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento CientÃfico e TecnolÃgico / Esta tese teve dois objetos de estudo: propriedades estocÃsticas em uma variedade Riemanniana, a saber, Completude EstocÃstica, Parabolicidade e propriedade Feller, e a geometria do tensor de Bakry-Emery. Na primeira parte da tese estudamos tais propriedades estocÃsticas no contexto de submersÃes Riemannianas e imersÃes isomÃtricas, tendo como ponto de partida o trabalho de Pigola e Setti [28] sobre a propriedade Feller. No nosso primeiro resultado, provamos que se uma imersÃo isomÃtrica em uma variedade Cartan-Hadamard possui vetor curvatura mÃdia com norma limitada entÃo a imersÃo à Feller. Um anÃlogo desse resultado jà era conhecido para o caso de completude estocÃstica [30]. Em seguida estabelecemos condiÃÃes necessÃrias e suficientes para que uma submersÃo seja estocasticamente completa (respec. parabÃlica), a saber, se uma submersÃo Riemanniana tem fibra mÃnima e o espaÃo total à estocasticamente completo (respec. parabÃlico) entÃo a base à estocasticamente completa (respec. parabÃlica). Reciprocamente, se a submersÃo Riemanniana tem fibra mÃnima e compacta e a base à estocasticamente completa (respec. parabÃlica) entÃo o espaÃo total à estocasticamente completo (respec. parabÃlico). Finalmente provamos que uma submersÃo Riemanniana tem fibra mÃnima e compacta entÃo o espaÃo total Âe Feller, se, e somente se, a base à Feller. Na segunda parte desta tese estudamos o tensor de Bakry-Emery Ricci, Ricf, que à uma extensÃo, no caso de variedades ponderadas, do tensor de Ricci. Estudamos a seguinte situaÃÃo: Ricci ≥ -cG, onde c à uma constante positiva e G ≥ O à uma funÃÃo suave. Esta limitaÃÃo nos permitiu obter algumas consequencias geomÃtricas e topolÃgicas, que passamos a descrever. Seja Mf uma variedade Riemanniana ponderada e po Є Mf fixado. Nosso primeiro resultado à uma estimativa superior, fora da bola geodÃsica de raio ro, para o Laplaciano ponderado da funÃÃo distÃncia r ao ponto po, mf, em termos da integral da funÃÃo G. A primeira consequÃncia dessa estimativa à uma estimativa para o volume ponderado Volf (B(R)) de uma bola geodÃsica de raio R em termos da integral da funÃÃo G. A estimativa de mf, juntamente com a hipÃtese de Æ ser radial e Әr Æ ≥ -a,a ≥ 0 (ou | Æ|≤ k) tambÃm nos permite demonstrar um teorema de comparaÃÃo entre mf e maG, Laplaciano da funÃÃo distÃncia no modelo de curvatura aG, bem como um teorema de comparaÃÃo entre o volume ponderado de uma bola geodÃsica de raio R em Mf, VolÆ(B(R)), e o volume da bola geodÃsica de raio R no modelo MaG, de curvatura aG. Utilizando uma versÃo ponderada da fÃrmula de Bochner provamos que, se Ricci ≥ Gâ entÃo Mf satisfaz o princÃpio do mÃximo de Omori-Yau, onde G à funÃÃo suave, positiva, nÃo decrescente e tal que G-1 nÃo à integrÃvel. Em particular concluÃmos que Mf à estocasticamente completa. O prÃximo resultado que obtivemos estende, para o tensor Ricf, um teorema de Myers devido a Ambrose [1]. Para tanto, uma hipÃtese sobre a funÃÃo Æ foi necessÃria. Como aplicaÃÃo, estendemos um resultado de compacidade de Ricci solitons de Fernando-Lopes e Garcia-Rio [15]. Em 1976, Yau [36] provou uma estimativa para o gradiente de uma funÃÃo u, positiva, harmÃnica em B(2R), no caso de M ser completa e Ricf ≥ -k, k ≥ 0. Tal estimativa depende apenas de R e k e foi estendida, no caso ponderado, para funÃÃes f harmÃnicas positivas, supondo Ricf ≥ -k e Ric ≥ -H, k, H ≥ 0. Bringhton [9] obteve estimativas para o gradiente de uma funÃÃo *-harmÃnica positiva utilizando somente a hipÃtese Ricf ≥ -k. As estimativas que obtivemos estendem as estimativas citas acima e, no caso em que Æ=G=0 resultam na estimativa original de Yau. Finalmente, provamos um teorema de comparaÃÃo entre o primeiro autovalor de Dirichlet da bola geodÃsica de raio R em Mf e o primeiro autovalor de Dirichlet da bola geodÃsica de raio MG. Tal resultado estende, para o caso ponderado, um resultado de Bessa e Montenegro [4]. / In this thesis we studied two objects(?): properties in Riemannian manifolds, more precisely stochastic completeness, parabolicity and the Feller property and geometric properties of Bakry Emery Ricci tensor. First, we studied such stochastic properties on Riemannian and isometric immersions. The initial motivation was the work of Pigola and Setti [30] about the Feller property. In our first result, we proved that if a isometric immersion on a Cartan-Hadamard manifold has bounded mean curvature vector then the immersion is Feller. An analogous result was know for stochastic completeness. After we stabilish necessary and sufficient conditions to a Riemannian submersion be stochastically complete (parabolic). More precisely if a Riemannian submersion has minimal fiber and the total space is stochastically complete (parabolic ) then the basis is also stochastically complete ( parabolic ). Conversely, if the Riemannian submersion has compact minimal fiber and the basis is stochastically complete ( parabolic, Feller ) then the total space also is. We also proved that if a Riemannian submersion has compact minimal fiber then the total space is Feller if, and only if the the basis is Feller. In the second part we studied the Barkry Emery Ricci tensor Ricf, wich is a natural extension of the Ricci tensor in the context of weighted manifolds. We studied the following: suppose that Ricf has a lower bound âcG where G is a smooth nonnegative function and c a positive constant. Such lower bound allow us to obtain some geometric and topological consequences as we describe below. Consider Mf a weighted Riemannian manifold. The first consequence is an upper estimate, outside a geodesic ball of radius r0, for the weighted Laplacian of the Riemannian distance in terms of the function G. Let Mf be a weighted Riemannian manifold and po Є Mf fixed. Our first result is an upper bound, outside of a geodesic ball of radius R centered in po, for the weighted Laplacian os the Riemannian distance function from po in terms od the function G. The first consequence of this estimate is an estimate for the weighted volume Volf (B(R)) of a geodesic ball with radius R in terms of the integral of G. This estimate together the assumption of f be radial and Ә f ≥ - a, a≥ 0 (or | f | ≤k ) allow us to prove a comparison theorem for mf e mag, the Laplacian of distance function of the Riemannian model fo curvature aG, as such as a comparison theoremfor the weighted volume of a geodesic ball with radius R on the Riemannian model MaG, with curvature aG. Using a weighted version of the Bochner formula we proved that Ricf ≥ Gâ then Mf satisfies the Omori-Yau Maximum Principle, where G is a positive, nondecreasing smooth function, such that G-1 does not belong to L1(Mf). In particular we conclude that Mf is stochastically complete. The next result we proved extends, for the tensor Ricf, a type Myers theorem due to Ambrose [1]. For this an additional assumption on f was required. As an aplication of this result we extended a result about compacity of Ricci solitons due to Fernandez-Lopez e GarcÃa-Rio [15]. In 1976, Yau [36] proved an estimate for the gradient of a positive harmonic funcion u, defined on B(2R), when M is complete and Ric ≥ -k, k≥ 0. Such estimate depends only on R and k and was extended, to the weighted, to the case, to f-harmonic positive functions, when Ricf ≥ - k and Ric ≥ - H, k, H ≥ 0. Brighton [9] obtained estimates for the gradient of a positive f-harmonic function assuming only Ricf ≥ -k. We obtained estimates for the case Ricf ≥ -G where G is a smooth nonnegative function and when f= G = 0 we recover the original estimate of Yau. Finally we proved a comparison theorem between the first eigenvalue of the geodesic ball of radius r on Mf and the first eigenvalue of the geodesic ball of radius r of the model MG. Such result extends, to the weighted case, a result due to Bessa e Montenegro [4].