<p>Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS) is a promising rapid consolidation technique that allows a better understanding and manipulating of sintering kinetics and therefore makes it possible to obtain Si₃N₄-based ceramics with tailored microstructures, consisting of grains with either equiaxed or elongated morphology.</p><p> The presence of an extra liquid phase is necessary for forming tough interlocking microstructures in Yb/Y-stabilised α-sialon by HP. The liquid is introduced by a new method, namely by increasing the O/N ratio in the general formula RE_xSi_12-(3x+n)Al_3x+nO_nN_16-n while keeping the cation ratios of RE, Si and Al constant. </p><p>Monophasic α-sialon ceramics with tailored microstructures, consisting of either fine equiaxed or elongated grains, have been obtained by using SPS, whether or not such an extra liquid phase is involved. The three processes, namely densification, phase transformation and grain growth, which usually occur simultaneously during conventional HP consolidation of Si₃N₄-based ceramics, have been precisely followed and separately investigated in the SPS process.</p><p>The enhanced densification is attributed to the non-equilibrium nature of the liquid phase formed during heating. The dominating mechanism during densification is the enhanced grain boundary sliding accompanied by diffusion- and/or reaction-controlled processes. The rapid grain growth is ascribed to a <i>dynamic ripening</i> mechanism based on the formation of a liquid phase that is grossly out of equilibrium, which in turn generates an extra chemical driving force for mass transfer. Monophasic α-sialon ceramics with interlocking microstructures exhibit improved damage tolerance. Y/Yb- stabilised monophasic α-sialon ceramics containing approximately 3 vol% liquid with refined interlocking microstructures have excellent thermal-shock resistance, comparable to the best β-sialon ceramics with 20 vol% additional liquid phase prepared by HP. </p><p>The obtained sialon ceramics with fine-grained microstructure show formidably improved <i>superplasticity</i> in the presence of an electric field. The compressive strain rate reaches the order of 10^-2 s^-1 at temperatures above 1500oC, that is, two orders of magnitude higher than that has been realised so far by any other conventional approaches. The high deformation rate recorded in this work opens up possibilities for making ceramic components with complex shapes through super-plastic forming. </p>

Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS) is a promising rapid consolidation technique that allows a better understanding and manipulating of sintering kinetics and therefore makes it possible to obtain Si3N4-based ceramics with tailored microstructures, consisting of grains with either equiaxed or elongated morphology. The presence of an extra liquid phase is necessary for forming tough interlocking microstructures in Yb/Y-stabilised α-sialon by HP. The liquid is introduced by a new method, namely by increasing the O/N ratio in the general formula RExSi12-(3x+n)Al3x+nOnN16-n while keeping the cation ratios of RE, Si and Al constant. Monophasic α-sialon ceramics with tailored microstructures, consisting of either fine equiaxed or elongated grains, have been obtained by using SPS, whether or not such an extra liquid phase is involved. The three processes, namely densification, phase transformation and grain growth, which usually occur simultaneously during conventional HP consolidation of Si3N4-based ceramics, have been precisely followed and separately investigated in the SPS process. The enhanced densification is attributed to the non-equilibrium nature of the liquid phase formed during heating. The dominating mechanism during densification is the enhanced grain boundary sliding accompanied by diffusion- and/or reaction-controlled processes. The rapid grain growth is ascribed to a dynamic ripening mechanism based on the formation of a liquid phase that is grossly out of equilibrium, which in turn generates an extra chemical driving force for mass transfer. Monophasic α-sialon ceramics with interlocking microstructures exhibit improved damage tolerance. Y/Yb- stabilised monophasic α-sialon ceramics containing approximately 3 vol% liquid with refined interlocking microstructures have excellent thermal-shock resistance, comparable to the best β-sialon ceramics with 20 vol% additional liquid phase prepared by HP. The obtained sialon ceramics with fine-grained microstructure show formidably improved superplasticity in the presence of an electric field. The compressive strain rate reaches the order of 10-2 s-1 at temperatures above 1500oC, that is, two orders of magnitude higher than that has been realised so far by any other conventional approaches. The high deformation rate recorded in this work opens up possibilities for making ceramic components with complex shapes through super-plastic forming.

Les récentes avancées dans les micros et nanotechnologies ont nécessité le développement de nouvelles techniques de synthèse de films minces de nouveaux matériaux. Parmi eux, les polymères possèdent des propriétés intéressantes, notamment pour des domaines comme la microélectronique ou le biomédical. Pour pallier ce besoin, les techniques de dépôt de vapeur chimique (Chemical Vapor Deposition, CVD) se sont multipliées. Ces travaux portent sur la synthèse de couches minces de poly(méthacrylates) par un une nouvelle méthode de dépôt chimique en phase vapeur par une polymérisation amorcée in-situ ou initiated Chemical Vapor Deposition (iCVD). Cette technique possède de nombreux avantages parmi lesquels se trouvent ses conditions opératoires douces (absence de solvant, emploi de faibles températures), sa versatilité et sa conformité. Afin de mieux comprendre le procédé de synthèse des films minces de polymères par iCVD, une partie de ces travaux de thèse concerne l’étude de la cinétique de croissance des poly(méthacrylates). Une cinétique en deux régimes a été identifiée pour les deux polymères. Les analyses microscopiques et macroscopiques de couches minces issues des deux régimes ont permis la proposition d’un modèle de croissance. Le premier régime, au début de la croissance, est caractérisé par une faible vitesse de dépôt et des polymères de faibles masses molaires. Lorsque le second régime est atteint, la vitesse de dépôt est plus importante et devient constante. Les chaînes synthétisées possèdent des masses molaires plus élevées. Ce changement a pu être expliqué en mettant en avant la capacité du film en formation à se gorger de monomères, ce qui augmente la concentration locale de monomères. La cinétique de croissance des poly(méthacrylates) a aussi été étudiée sur des sous-couches de polymères et d’organosiliciés poreux. L’iCVD s’est révélée être une méthode capable de remplir de manière quasiment instantanée les pores nanométriques d’une couche mince. De plus, pour obtenir un meilleur contrôle des polymères synthétisés par iCVD au niveau de leur architecture macromoléculaire ou de leur masse molaire, la mise en place d’une technique de polymérisation radicalaire contrôlée est discutée. La dernière parte de cette thèse concerne l’application du procédé de polymérisation RAFT (polymérisation radicalaire par transfert de chaînes réversible par addition/fragmentation) en iCVD à l’aide de coupons de silicium fonctionnalisés au préalable avec des agents RAFT / Recent progress in micro and nanotechnologies require the development of new synthesis process for various material thin films. Polymers, thanks to their properties, are very interesting for fields like microelectronic or biomedical. To respond to this need, many Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) technologies are studied. This work focuses on a new method called initied Chemical Vapor Deposition (iCVD). This deposition method gives many advantages as its soft operational conditions (solvent free, low temperature), versatility and conformity. In order to improve the understanding of synthesis mechanism in iCVD, the first part of this work is about the poly(methacrylates) thin films growth kinetic. The study reveals two-regime growth kinetics. A model for the growth mechanism based on the microscopic and macroscopic analysis of thin layers from the two regimes is proposed. The first regime, at the early stage of the growth, is characterized by a slow deposition rate and polymers with low molecular mass. When the second regime appears, the deposition rate is higher and constant and polymers have higher molecular mass. These evolutions could to be explain by the growth film ability to stock monomers and thus increase the local monomer concentration. Poly(methacryaltes) growth kinetics are also investigated on polymeric and porous organosilicate layers. It appears than iCVD is a deposition method that can fill nanometrics pores with polymer really quickly. Moreover, to have a better control on polymer synthesized by iCVD (molecular weight, macromolecular architecture), the possibility to used a Reversible-Deactivation Radical Polymerization (RDRP) method with iCVD process is discussed. The last part of this work concerns the use of Reversible Addition Fragmentation chain Transfer (RAFT) polymerization with the iCVD process thanks to silicon samples pre-functionalized with RAFT agent

Novas demandas de aplicação tem sido a principal motivação para a produção de materiais estruturais associando boas propriedades mecânicas e baixo custo de fabricação. A indústria aeroespacial vem desenvolvendo estudos com titânio e suas ligas, devido, a sua elevada resistência mecânica e baixa massa específica. Alguns estudos afirmam que, em temperaturas acima de 500°C as ligas de titânio possuem baixa resistência à oxidação restringindo a sua aplicabilidade. Localizada na parte inferior das turbinas em aviões comerciais, a liga Ti ?-21S tem mostrado bom desempenho em até 700°C com grande potencial para substituir alguns componentes, diminuindo os gastos com manutenção e aumentando a autonomia das turbinas a gás. Diante desse cenário, o objetivo deste trabalho foi desenvolvimento de revestimentos visando o aumento da resistência a oxidação na liga Ti ?-21S mantendo as suas características iniciais. O processo de revestimento foi feito em diferentes condições de temperatura × tempo via HAPC (CVD in situ). A faixa de temperatura analisada foi de 560 à 760°C entre 1 à 25h. A microestrutura de todos os coupons (não revestidos, revestidos e oxidados) foram caracterizados por difração de raios X (DRX) e microscopia eletrônica de varredura (MEV). A cinética de crescimento aparente da camada de revestimento foi feita medindo a espessura de revestimento nas condições analisadas e a cinética de oxidação foi feita através da variação de massa superficial dos coupons. Os resultados do DRX e MEV mostraram que os revestimentos produzidos foram monofásicos com composição química TiAl3. A cinética de crescimento entre 660 à 760°C apresentou energia de ativação de 108 kJ/mol e constante pré-exponencial de 1,21 × 10-3 cm²/s, esses resultados sugerem que a cinética de crescimento é controlada pela difusão dos átomos de alumínio no volume da liga Ti ?-21S formando a camada de TiAl3. Os coupons revestidos foram oxidados à 750 e 850°C por 100, 200 e 300h, os resultados da caracterização microestrutural mostrou que nos coupons revestidos foi formada uma camada de Al2O3 e a variação de massa superficial após 300h à 850°C foi de 0,60 mg/cm². Portanto, após a oxidação dos coupons revestidos, foi observado que o revestimento promoveu a formação de óxidos protetores como Al2O3 aumentando a resistência a oxidação da liga Ti ?-21S revestida. / New application demands have been the main motivation for the production of structural materials associating good mechanical properties and low manufacturing cost. The aerospace industry has been developing studies with titanium and its alloys, due to its high mechanical strength and low specific mass. Some studies report that, at temperatures above 500°C, titanium alloys have low oxidation resistance, restricting their applicability. Located at the bottom of turbines in commercial aircraft, the Ti ?-21S alloy has shown good performance up to 700°C with great potential to replace some components, reducing maintenance costs and increasing the autonomy of gas turbines. In view of this scenario, the objective of this work was the development of coatings aiming at increasing the resistance to oxidation in the Ti ?-21S alloy while maintaining its initial characteristics. The coating process was done at different temperature × time conditions via Pack Cementation (CVD in situ). The temperature range analyzed was 560 - 760°C between 1 - 25h. The microstructure of all coupons (uncoated, coated and oxidized) were characterized by XRD and SEM. The kinetics of apparent growth of the coating layer were made by measuring the coating thickness under the analyzed conditions and the oxidation kinetics was done by varying the surface mass of the coupons. The results of the DRX and MEV showed that the coatings produced were monophasic with TiAl3 chemical composition. The kinetics of growth between 660 - 760°C showed activation energy of 108 kJ/mol and pre-exponential constant of 1.21 × 10-3 cm²/s, these results suggest that the kinetics of growth is controlled by the diffusion of atoms of aluminum in the volume of the Ti ?-21S alloy forming the TiAl3 layer. The coated coupons were oxidized at 750 and 850°C for 100, 200 and 300h, the results of the microstructural characterization showed that in the coated coupons an Al2O3 layer was formed and the surface mass variation after 300h at 850°C was 0.60 mg/cm². Therefore, after oxidation of the coated coupons, it was observed that the coating promoted the formation of protective oxides like Al2O3 increasing the oxidation resistance of the coated Ti ?-21S alloy.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-03-26T13:52:02Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 texto completo.pdf: 445645 bytes, checksum: f448d5a3c851f1c181e95a80994ffb89 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2007-03-16 / Fundação de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Minas Gerais / In order to investigate the stress condition imposed by nitrogen limitation on kinetic of growth and aging of Kluyveromyces lactis, the kinetics constants of K. lactis culture as function of ammonium sulfate concentration were determined. The effect of aging of the culture on its specific initial growth rate was evaluated. Signals of aging such as cell wall chitin concentration and apoptosis markers were analyzed as function of growth rate on continuous culture. K. lactis was cultured in buffered YCB medium supplemented with ammonium sulfate at concentrations of 0.02 to 38.0 mmol.L-1. The growth kinetic followed the model proposed by Monod. The maximum specific growth rate (µmax) and saturation constant (Ks) were 0.44 h-1 and 0.15 mmol.L-1, respectively. The initial specific growth rates decrease as the aging of the culture increases. The cell wall chitin concentration increased with the ammonium concentrate and the aging of the cultures. The cell dimensions raised with aging in all the ammonium sulfate concentration analyzed. Apoptosis markers were only observed in the older cultures, after five days of recycling of the culture on the concentrations of 0.57 mmol.L-1, 3.80 mmol.L-1 and 7.60 mmol.L-1 and after eight days on the concentrations 38.0 mmol.L-1 of ammonium sulfate. Aging signals were investigated at K. lactis cells growing in nitrogen limiting continuous culture at growth rate 0.01, 0.06, 0.18 and 0.35 h-1. Chitin concentration of cell wall of cells growing at 0.01 h-1 and 0.06 h-1 was higher (27µg.mL-1 N-acetylglucosamine and 20µg.mL-1 N-acetylglucosamine) than of cells growing at 0.18 h-1 and 0.35 h-1 (6µg.mL-1 and 5µg.mL-1, respectively). The dimensions of K. lactis cells were largest on the growth rate of 0.01 h-1. It was detected apoptosis markers on the continuous culture under the nitrogen limiting growth rate of 0.01 h-1. The results demonstrate that nitrogen limitation and aging affect growth kinetic and suggest that nitrogen limiteted continuous culture conducted at growth rate 0.01 h-1 can still proven useful to investigate aging response of Kluyveromyces lactis. / Para investigar o estresse imposto por condições limitantes de nitrogênio na cinética de crescimento e na longevidade de culturas de Kluyveromyces lactis, determinaram-se as constantes cinéticas do crescimento de culturas de K. lactis em função da concentração de sulfato de amônio, avaliou-se o efeito da idade das culturas na velocidade específica inicial de crescimento e averiguaram-se os sinais de envelhecimento celular em função de diferentes velocidades de crescimento de culturas conduzidas em regime contínuo sob limitação por nitrogênio. Culturas de K. lactis foram cultivadas em meio YCB tamponado acrescido de sulfato de amônio, nas concentrações 0,02 a 38,0 mmol.L-1. A cinética de crescimento de K. lactis em função da concentração de sulfato de amônio, obedeceu o modelo cinético proposto por Monod. A velocidade específica máxima de crescimento (&#956;máx.) e a constante de saturação (Ks) foram de 0,44 h-1 e 0,15 mmol.L-1, respectivamente. A velocidade específica inicial de crescimento reduziu com a idade da cultura. Concentrações de quitina na parede celular aumentaram com a idade da cultura e com a concentração de sulfato de amônio. Dimensões celulares aumentaram com a idade independente da concentração de sulfato de amônio. A presença de características morfológicas de apoptose foi verificada a partir do quinto dia de transferência da cultura para meio novo nas concentrações de 0,57 mmol.L-1, 3,80 mmol.L-1, 7,60 mmol.L-1 e a partir do oitavo dia de repicagem na concentração de 38,0 mmol.L-1 de [NH4]2SO4. Culturas contínuas sob estresse por nitrogênio foram conduzidas nas velocidades de crescimento de 0,01, 0,06; 0,18 e 0,35 h-1. Culturas com velocidades de crescimento de 0,18 e 0,35 h-1 produziram maior rendimento em etanol e menor rendimento em glicerol. A concentração de quitina na parede celular de culturas de K. lactis conduzidas nas velocidades de crescimento de 0,01 h-1 e 0,06 h-1 foi maior (27 mg.mL-1 e 20 mg.mL-1 de N-acetilglicosamina) comparada com as culturas conduzidas nas velocidades de crescimento de 0,18 h-1 e 0,35 h-1, que apresentaram 6 &#956;g.mL-1 e 5 &#956;g.mL-1 de N-acetilglicosamina, respectivamente. As dimensões das células de K. lactis foram maiores na cultura conduzida com velocidade de crescimento de 0,01 h-1, se comparada com as demais velocidades de crescimento avaliadas: 0,06; 0,18 e 0,35 h-1. Apesar desses sinais de envelhecimento terem sido detectados, características morfológicas de apoptose só foram identificadas nas culturas de K. lactis conduzidas na velocidade de crescimento de 0,01 h-1. Os resultados mostraram que o estresse por nitrogênio e a idade afetam a cinética de crescimento de culturas de K. lactis e sugerem que culturas contínuas de Kluyveromyces lactis sob condições nitrogênio limitantes conduzidas com velocidade de crescimento correspondente a 0,01 h-1 podem ser úteis em estudos sobre sinais de envelhecimento celular.

This thesis addresses the metal nanocluster growth process on prepatterned substrates, the development of atomistic simulation method with respect to an acceleration of the atomistic transition states, and the continuum model of the ion-beam inducing semiconductor surface pattern formation mechanism. Experimentally, highly ordered Ag nanocluster structures have been grown on pre-patterned amorphous SiO^2 surfaces by oblique angle physical vapor deposition at room temperature. Despite the small undulation of the rippled surface, the stripe-like Ag nanoclusters are very pronounced, reproducible and well-separated. The first topic is the investigation of this growth process with a continuum theoretical approach to the surface gas condensation as well as an atomistic cluster growth model. The atomistic simulation model is a lattice-based kinetic Monte-Carlo (KMC) method using a combination of a simplified inter-atomic potential and experimental transition barriers taken from the literature. An effective transition event classification method is introduced which allows a boost factor of several thousand compared to a traditional KMC approach, thus allowing experimental time scales to be modeled. The simulation predicts a low sticking probability for the arriving atoms, millisecond order lifetimes for single Ag monomers and ≈1 nm square surface migration ranges of Ag monomers. The simulations give excellent reproduction of the experimentally observed nanocluster growth patterns. The second topic specifies the acceleration scheme utilized in the metallic cluster growth model. Concerning the atomistic movements, a classical harmonic transition state theory is considered and applied in discrete lattice cells with hierarchical transition levels. The model results in an effective reduction of KMC simulation steps by utilizing a classification scheme of transition levels for thermally activated atomistic diffusion processes. Thermally activated atomistic movements are considered as local transition events constrained in potential energy wells over certain local time periods. These processes are represented by Markov chains of multi-dimensional Boolean valued functions in three dimensional lattice space. The events inhibited by the barriers under a certain level are regarded as thermal fluctuations of the canonical ensemble and accepted freely. Consequently, the fluctuating system evolution process is implemented as a Markov chain of equivalence class objects. It is shown that the process can be characterized by the acceptance of metastable local transitions. The method is applied to a problem of Au and Ag cluster growth on a rippled surface. The simulation predicts the existence of a morphology dependent transition time limit from a local metastable to stable state for subsequent cluster growth by accretion. The third topic is the formation of ripple structures on ion bombarded semiconductor surfaces treated in the first topic as the prepatterned substrate of the metallic deposition. This intriguing phenomenon has been known since the 1960\'s and various theoretical approaches have been explored. These previous models are discussed and a new non-linear model is formulated, based on the local atomic flow and associated density change in the near surface region. Within this framework ripple structures are shown to form without the necessity to invoke surface diffusion or large sputtering as important mechanisms. The model can also be extended to the case where sputtering is important and it is shown that in this case, certain \\lq magic\' angles can occur at which the ripple patterns are most clearly defined. The results including some analytic solutions of the nonlinear equation of motions are in very good agreement with experimental observation.

Ce projet de thèse, dans le cadre d’une collaboration entre le LIMOS et le LPC, s’inscrit dans une démarche de recherche permettant la mise en synergie des domaines de la biologie, de la physique et de l’informatique par la proposition d’une démarche de simulation permettant la réalisation d’expériences in silico. Pour cela, nous nous proposons de développer une plateforme logicielle dédiée à la modélisation multiéchelle des systèmes biologiques qui pourra par la suite être interfacée avec les outils de simulation de physique des particules. Nous proposons également un modèle individu-centré de cellule biologique paramétrable à l’aide de données obtenues d’expériences in vitro. Nous présentons l’élaboration de cette plateforme et une démarche de validation de ses fonctionnalités à travers l’implémentation de modèles d’automates cellulaires de la littérature. Nous présentons ensuite la construction du modèle de cellule biologique en prenant le temps d’expliquer comment est pris en compte le système biologique, comment nous le modélisons puis comment nous paramétrons le modèle. Nous modélisons les processus internes de la cellule, dont les caractéristiques sont liées à l’information génétique qu’elle porte. Ce modèle de cellule permet de reproduire le comportement d’une cellule isolée, et à partir de là, d’un ensemble de cellules via l'automate. Le modèle est ensuite utilisé pour retrouver les courbes de croissance d'une population de bactéries Escherichia coli. Des valeurs de données de fluxomique ont été exploitées et ont permis la reproduction in silico des expériences in vitro dont elles étaient issues. / This PhD thesis project is part of a research program in the fields of biology, physics and computer science aiming to propose a simulation approach for performing experiments in silico. For this, we propose to develop a software platform dedicated to multi-scale modeling of biological systems that can be combined with particle physics simulation tools. We also propose a general individual-based model of biological cell in which data obtained from in vitro experiments can be used. We present the development of this platform and the validation process of its functionalities through the implementation of cellular automata from the literature. We then present the design of the biological cell model by giving the hypothesis we made, how we model and how we parameterize the model. Starting from a simple biological system, bacteria, observed in liquid culture, our model uses a multi-scale middle-out approach. We focus on the cell and we model internal processes, assuming that all their properties come from genetic information carried out by the cell’s genome. This model allows to consider the cell behavior, and then to obtain the behavior of a cell population. Data from fluxomic experiments have been used in this model to parameterize the biochemical processes. The results we obtain allow us to consider the model as validated as simulation results match the experimental data.