Calcific aortic valve disease (CAVD) is associated with significant cardiovascular morbidity. While late-stage valve disease is well-described, there remains an unmet scientific need to elucidate early pathobiological processes. In CAVD, pathological differentiation of valvular interstitial cells (VICs) and lesion formation occur focally in the fibrosa layer. This VIC pathological differentiation has been shown to be influenced by matrix stiffness in vitro. However, little is known about the focal layer specific mechanical properties of the aortic valve in health and disease and how these changes in matrix moduli may influence VIC pathological differentiation in vivo. In this thesis, micropipette aspiration (MA) was shown to be capable of measuring the mechanical properties of a single layer in multilayered biomaterial or tissue such as the aortic valve, if the pipette inner diameter was less than the top layer thickness. With MA, the fibrosa of normal porcine aortic valves was significantly stiffer than the ventricularis; stiffer locations found only within the fibrosa were comparable to stiffnesses shown in vitro to be permissive to VIC pathological differentiation. Early CAVD was induced in a porcine model, which developed human-like early CAVD lesion onlays. Extracellular matrix remodeling occurred in the absence of lipid deposition, macrophages, osteoblasts, or myofibroblasts, but with significant proteoglycan-rich onlays and chondrogenic cell presence. These early onlays were softer than the collagen-rich normal fibrosa, and their proteoglycan content was positively correlated with Sox9 chondrogenic expression, suggesting that soft proteoglycan-rich matrix may be permissive to chondrogenic VIC differentiation. The findings from this thesis shed new light on early disease pathogenesis and improve the fundamental understanding of aortic valve mechanics in health and disease.

Au cours de ce travail, nous nous sommes attachés à prédire les caractéristiques rhéologiques de suspensions de particules dans des situations non newtoniennes. Nous avons tout d'abord étudié expérimentalement le comportement rhéologique de suspensions bidisperses de particules non colloïdales et non browniennes immergées dans un fluide à seuil dans les situations où les interactions entre particules sont hydrodynamiques (mécaniques). Nous avons montré que l'influence de la polydispersité des particules sur le module élastique et le seuil de contrainte de la suspension pouvait être décrit en utilisant un modèle d'empilement développé pour les matériaux granulaires secs. Deux relations analytiques simples permettant d'estimer le module élastique et la contrainte seuil d'une suspension non newtonienne polydisperse en fonction des caractéristiques des constituants ont alors été proposées et validées. Nous nous sommes ensuite intéressés à la prédiction des caractéristiques globales de suspensions contenant une forte concentration de particules de taille différente dans le cadre d'une approche par changement d'échelle. Pour cela, nous avons mis en uvre une approche par motifs morphologiques permettant la prise en compte de paramètres géométriques tels que la distribution de tailles des inclusions ou les distances entre particules voisines. Les résultats de ce modèle ont été validés par comparaison avec des données expérimentales de la littérature. Nous avons ensuite montré que les modèles morphologiques permettaient également de décrire l'évolution des modules complexes d'un matériau thixotrope subissant une transition de phase liquide-solide due à la croissance et la percolation d'un réseau de particules attractives. Dans la dernière partie de cette étude, nous avons étudié expérimentalement l'influence de l'histoire de cisaillement sur la structuration et la déstructuration d'une suspension colloïdale thixotrope / In this work, we aimed to predict the rheological properties of suspensions of particles in non-Newtonian fluids. We first studied experimentally the rheological behaviour of bidisperse suspensions of non colloidal particles and non-Brownian immersed in a yield stress fluid in situations where interactions between particles are hydrodynamic (mechanical). We showed that the influence of the polydispersity on the elastic modulus and yield stress of the suspension could be described using a packing model developed for dry granular materials.Two simple closed form estimates for both the elastic modulus and the yield stress of non-Newtonian polydisperse suspension as a function of the characteristics of the constituents were proposed and validated. This study was then extended in a micromechanical analytical framework to predict the macroscopic characteristics of suspensions containing highly concentration of particles with different size. Our ne w model, called a "Morphologically Representative Pattern - Based Approach" (MRP-based approach), successfully predicts the behaviour of such materials by taking into account some geometrical parameters such as the particle size distribution or the distance between the nearest-neighbour particles. This model has been validated by a comparison with the experimental data in the literature. We then showed that the MRP-based approach also allowed describing the evolution of complex modules of a thixotropic material undergoing a liquid-solid transition due to the growth and the percolation of an attractive particle network. In the last part of this work, we studied experimentally the influence of the flow history on the structure of a thixotropic colloidal suspension

A Mecânica do Dano Contínuo (MDC) teve importante desenvolvimento desde os trabalhos iniciais de Kachanov e Rabotnov sendo uma ferramenta prática para considerar processos de danificação em materiais e estruturas em nível de contínuo macroscópico. Neste trabalho, apresenta-se uma aplicação da teoria do dano anisotrópico baseada em teorias desenvolvidas a partir dos trabalhos de Murakami. Nas formulações apresentadas, o tensor de dano de quarta ordem M (que relaciona tensões aplicadas e tensões efetivas) é determinado com base no tensor Ω (densidade de área tridimensional devida ao dano) que, por sua vez, pode ser determinado com base em dados experimentais. São propostas três formulações teóricas que são transformadas em formulações incrementais e incorporadas em um programa computacional de elementos finitos (para placas e cascas laminadas em material compósito) que considera efeitos geométricos não-lineares. A primeira e segunda formulação são casos particulares da terceira formulação que é um modelo termodinâmico tridimensional. As forças termodinâmicas associadas à evolução do tensor de dano são deduzidas a partir da expressão da dissipação intrínseca. Um critério fenomenológico para o dano é proposto. Em consistência com a positividade da dissipação intrínseca é adotada uma regra de normalidade para a evolução da força termodinâmica. Também é proposta, baseada em dados experimentais, uma lei para o encruamento associada ao processo de dano. Os modelos são validados comparando resultados numéricos a soluções analíticas ou a resultados experimentais. A formulação viscoelástica é definida do dano elástico e por componentes viscoelásticas representadas no formato de variáveis de estado e, posteriormente, validadas através de resultados experimentais. / The Continuum Damage Mechanics (CDM) had important development since the initial works of Kachanov and Rabotnov and constitutes now a practical tool to account for macroscopic damage in materials and structures. In this work, an application of an anisotropic damage theory based in Murakami theory is presented. In the formulations presented here, the fourth order damage tensor M (that relates Cauchy stress and effective stress) is determined on the basis of the tensor Ω (damaged three-dimensional area density) that, can be determined through experimental data. The three theoretical formulations presented here are transformed into incremental formulations and implemented in a finite element program (for plates and shell structures in composite material) taking account of geometrically non-linear effects. The first and second formulations are particular cases of the third formularization that is a tridimensional model for continuous damage formulated. The thermodynamic force associated with the evolution of the damage tensor is deduced from the expression of the intrinsic dissipation. A phenomenological criterion for damage yielding is proposed. In consistence with the positivity of the intrinsic dissipation, a normality rule is adopted for the evolution of the thermodynamic force. In addition, a hardening law associated with the damage process is identified from available experiment results. The models are validated by comparison with closed-form solutions or with experiment results. The viscoelastic formulation is defined through damage elastic and viscous components and set in a state variables format and then validated by comparison with experimental creep tests.

Mechanical surface treatments using an elastic-plastic cold working process can develop residual stresses on the surface of a workpiece. Compressive residual stresses on the surface increase resistance against surface crack propagation, so the overall mechanical performance can be improved by this technique. Compressive residual stresses can be created by different methods such as hammering, rolling, and shot peening. Shot peening is a well-established method to induce compressive residual stresses in the metallic components using cold working, and often ascribed to being beneficial to fatigue life in the aerospace and automobile industries. In this method, the surface is bombarded by high-velocity spherical balls which cause plastic deformation of the substrate, leading to a residual compressive stress after shot peening on the surface of the part. Computational modeling is an appropriate and effective way which can predict the amount of produced residual stresses and plastic deformation to obtain surface roughness after shot peening simulation. Finally, an experimental method to measure the magnitude of the residual stress using a nanoindentation technique was developed. The experimental indentation method was compared to both computational predictions (in aluminum) and with x-ray diffraction measurements of stress (in an alloy steel). The current study validates the relation between the nanoindentation method and numerical simulation for assessing the surface residual stresses resulting from single or multiple shot peening processes.

Cyclopentane hydrate interparticle adhesion force measurements were performed in pure cyclopentane liquid using a micromechanical force apparatus. Cyclopentane hydrate adhesion force measurements were compared to those of cyclic ethers, tetrahydrofuran and ethylene oxide, which were suspected to be cyclic ether-lean and thus contain a second ice phase. This additional ice phase led to an over-prediction of the hydrate interparticle forces by the capillary bridge theory. The adhesion forces obtained for cyclopentane hydrate at atmospheric pressure over a temperature range from 274-279 K were lower than those obtained for the cyclic ethers at similar subcoolings from the formation temperature of the hydrate. The measured cyclopentane interparticle adhesion forces increased linearly with increasing temperature, and are on the same order of magnitude as those predicted by the Camargo and Palermo rheology model.

Calcific aortic valve disease (CAVD) is associated with significant cardiovascular morbidity. While late-stage valve disease is well-described, there remains an unmet scientific need to elucidate early pathobiological processes. In CAVD, pathological differentiation of valvular interstitial cells (VICs) and lesion formation occur focally in the fibrosa layer. This VIC pathological differentiation has been shown to be influenced by matrix stiffness in vitro. However, little is known about the focal layer specific mechanical properties of the aortic valve in health and disease and how these changes in matrix moduli may influence VIC pathological differentiation in vivo. In this thesis, micropipette aspiration (MA) was shown to be capable of measuring the mechanical properties of a single layer in multilayered biomaterial or tissue such as the aortic valve, if the pipette inner diameter was less than the top layer thickness. With MA, the fibrosa of normal porcine aortic valves was significantly stiffer than the ventricularis; stiffer locations found only within the fibrosa were comparable to stiffnesses shown in vitro to be permissive to VIC pathological differentiation. Early CAVD was induced in a porcine model, which developed human-like early CAVD lesion onlays. Extracellular matrix remodeling occurred in the absence of lipid deposition, macrophages, osteoblasts, or myofibroblasts, but with significant proteoglycan-rich onlays and chondrogenic cell presence. These early onlays were softer than the collagen-rich normal fibrosa, and their proteoglycan content was positively correlated with Sox9 chondrogenic expression, suggesting that soft proteoglycan-rich matrix may be permissive to chondrogenic VIC differentiation. The findings from this thesis shed new light on early disease pathogenesis and improve the fundamental understanding of aortic valve mechanics in health and disease.

Morphotrope PZT-Keramiken sind Festkörperlösungen aus Bleizirkonat und Bleititanat mit chemischen Zusammensetzungen um die 47% Ti-Anteil. Sie weisen im gepolten Zustand die größten piezoelektrischen Koppelkonstanten auf und sind daher von speziellem Interesse. Zur Vorhersage des Polungszustandes und der Bauteilfestigkeit in komplexen Bauteilen werden elektromechanisch gekoppelte Materialmodelle benötigt. In dieser Arbeit wird ein mikromechanischer Modellansatz aus der Literatur aufgegriffen. Ausgangspunkt ist ein dreidimensionales tetragonales Modell, welches ein repräsentatives Volumenelement des Kornverbundes und ein mikroskopisches Kornmodell vereint. Damit gelingt die Beschreibung der Korninteraktionen infolge unterschiedlicher Polungszustände der Körner. Die Domänenstruktur der Körner wird mittels der Volumenanteile der kristallographischen Varianten dargestellt. Ein vereinfachter Satz an mikroskopischen Materialkonstanten wird anhand experimenteller Daten und theoretischer Betrachtungen aus der Literatur abgeleitet. Die für zwei Lastfälle berechneten makroskopischen Materialantworten zeigen explizit, dass das tetragonale Modell nicht in der Lage ist, das Verhalten morphotroper PZT-Keramiken nachzubilden. Aus diesem Grund wird das Modell im Hinblick auf die besondere kristallographische Struktur morphotroper PZT-Keramiken um eine rhomboedrische Phase in veränderlichen Anteilen erweitert. Die somit berechneten makroskopischen Antworten stimmen sowohl quantitativ als auch qualitativ gut mit experimentellen Ergebnissen überein. Der Einfluss der im Modell berücksichtigten Kristallstruktur auf die makroskopische Materialantwort wird in der Arbeit ausführlich analysiert. / Morphotropic PZT ceramics are solid solutions made of lead zirconate and lead titanate with chemical composition around 47% Ti-content. When poled they possess the greatest piezoelectric coupling constants for which they are of special interest. Predicting the poling condition and the strength in complex devices requires electromechanically coupled material models. Within this work, a micromechanical modelling approach is utilised. Starting point is a three-dimensional tetragonal model, which combines a representative volume element of the grain compound together with a microscopic grain model. This allows the consideration of grain interaction due to different poling conditions of the grains. The domain structure of the grains is captured by volume fractions of the crystallographic variants. A simplified set of microscopic material constants is derived from experimental and theoretical data given in the literature. The macroscopic material response, which is computed for two load cases, shows explicitly that the tetragonal model is not capable of reproducing the behaviour of morphotropic PZT ceramics. Therefore, the model is extended by the rhombohedral phase in varying quantity with view of the specific crystallographic structure of morphotropic PZT ceramics. The so computed macroscopic response shows a quantitatively as well as qualitatively good agreement with experimental results. The effect of the crystallographic structure which is considered within the model on the macroscopic material response is extensively analysed.

New 3D multi-scale modeling approaches for the structural analysis of native and prosthetic Aortic Valves (AV) are investigated. Three different nonlinear hyperelastic constitutive material models for the mechanical behavior of the AV tissue are introduced. The first is the well-known Holzapfel hyperelastic, anisotropic and homogeneous model. The second model, termed the Collagen Fiber Network (CFN), is a heterogeneous model that recognizes the hyperelastic collagen and elastin layers using different layered finite elements. The third hyperelastic model is implemented using a new nonlinear micromechanical formulation of the High Fidelity Generalized Method of Cells (HFGMC) originally proposed by Aboudi. The latter two material models are heterogeneous and explicitly recognize the in-situ tissue constituents. Initially, a full scale 3D structural model of a polymeric-based prosthetic AV model is studied. This model is verified using deformation metrics obtained from images taken with high speed cameras during in-vitro experiments. The predictions from the proposed polymeric AV model are in good agreement with the test data. Next, the three tissue material models are examined in their ability to predict the anisotropic material behavior of porcine AV leaflet tissue. The Holzapfel model is calibrated from the overall anisotropic uni- and biaxial stress-strain data while the in-situ elastin and collagen constituents in the CFN and HFGMC models are calibrated to match the overall effective responses. Dynamic structural analysis is performed for the porcine AV with applied transvalvular pressure measured from repeated in-vitro tests conducted in this study. Principal stretches are computed from the experimental measurements and compared with the AV material-structural predictions. The proposed multi-scale modeling approach for the native AV is capable of predicting the structural behavior during the entire cardiac cycle without suffering from numerical convergence problems. Finally, new nonlinear micromechanical formulations based on the HFGMC method are developed and applied for various types of tissue materials including the human arterial wall layers and porcine AV leaflets. The proposed hyperelastic HFGMC model is compared to the CFN model and the Holzapfel models. It is shown that the HFGMC is an effective modeling approach for the arteries especially when the collagen fiber network has a periodic microstructure.

A Mecânica do Dano Contínuo (MDC) teve importante desenvolvimento desde os trabalhos iniciais de Kachanov e Rabotnov sendo uma ferramenta prática para considerar processos de danificação em materiais e estruturas em nível de contínuo macroscópico. Neste trabalho, apresenta-se uma aplicação da teoria do dano anisotrópico baseada em teorias desenvolvidas a partir dos trabalhos de Murakami. Nas formulações apresentadas, o tensor de dano de quarta ordem M (que relaciona tensões aplicadas e tensões efetivas) é determinado com base no tensor Ω (densidade de área tridimensional devida ao dano) que, por sua vez, pode ser determinado com base em dados experimentais. São propostas três formulações teóricas que são transformadas em formulações incrementais e incorporadas em um programa computacional de elementos finitos (para placas e cascas laminadas em material compósito) que considera efeitos geométricos não-lineares. A primeira e segunda formulação são casos particulares da terceira formulação que é um modelo termodinâmico tridimensional. As forças termodinâmicas associadas à evolução do tensor de dano são deduzidas a partir da expressão da dissipação intrínseca. Um critério fenomenológico para o dano é proposto. Em consistência com a positividade da dissipação intrínseca é adotada uma regra de normalidade para a evolução da força termodinâmica. Também é proposta, baseada em dados experimentais, uma lei para o encruamento associada ao processo de dano. Os modelos são validados comparando resultados numéricos a soluções analíticas ou a resultados experimentais. A formulação viscoelástica é definida do dano elástico e por componentes viscoelásticas representadas no formato de variáveis de estado e, posteriormente, validadas através de resultados experimentais. / The Continuum Damage Mechanics (CDM) had important development since the initial works of Kachanov and Rabotnov and constitutes now a practical tool to account for macroscopic damage in materials and structures. In this work, an application of an anisotropic damage theory based in Murakami theory is presented. In the formulations presented here, the fourth order damage tensor M (that relates Cauchy stress and effective stress) is determined on the basis of the tensor Ω (damaged three-dimensional area density) that, can be determined through experimental data. The three theoretical formulations presented here are transformed into incremental formulations and implemented in a finite element program (for plates and shell structures in composite material) taking account of geometrically non-linear effects. The first and second formulations are particular cases of the third formularization that is a tridimensional model for continuous damage formulated. The thermodynamic force associated with the evolution of the damage tensor is deduced from the expression of the intrinsic dissipation. A phenomenological criterion for damage yielding is proposed. In consistence with the positivity of the intrinsic dissipation, a normality rule is adopted for the evolution of the thermodynamic force. In addition, a hardening law associated with the damage process is identified from available experiment results. The models are validated by comparison with closed-form solutions or with experiment results. The viscoelastic formulation is defined through damage elastic and viscous components and set in a state variables format and then validated by comparison with experimental creep tests.

A Mecânica do Dano Contínuo (MDC) teve importante desenvolvimento desde os trabalhos iniciais de Kachanov e Rabotnov sendo uma ferramenta prática para considerar processos de danificação em materiais e estruturas em nível de contínuo macroscópico. Neste trabalho, apresenta-se uma aplicação da teoria do dano anisotrópico baseada em teorias desenvolvidas a partir dos trabalhos de Murakami. Nas formulações apresentadas, o tensor de dano de quarta ordem M (que relaciona tensões aplicadas e tensões efetivas) é determinado com base no tensor Ω (densidade de área tridimensional devida ao dano) que, por sua vez, pode ser determinado com base em dados experimentais. São propostas três formulações teóricas que são transformadas em formulações incrementais e incorporadas em um programa computacional de elementos finitos (para placas e cascas laminadas em material compósito) que considera efeitos geométricos não-lineares. A primeira e segunda formulação são casos particulares da terceira formulação que é um modelo termodinâmico tridimensional. As forças termodinâmicas associadas à evolução do tensor de dano são deduzidas a partir da expressão da dissipação intrínseca. Um critério fenomenológico para o dano é proposto. Em consistência com a positividade da dissipação intrínseca é adotada uma regra de normalidade para a evolução da força termodinâmica. Também é proposta, baseada em dados experimentais, uma lei para o encruamento associada ao processo de dano. Os modelos são validados comparando resultados numéricos a soluções analíticas ou a resultados experimentais. A formulação viscoelástica é definida do dano elástico e por componentes viscoelásticas representadas no formato de variáveis de estado e, posteriormente, validadas através de resultados experimentais. / The Continuum Damage Mechanics (CDM) had important development since the initial works of Kachanov and Rabotnov and constitutes now a practical tool to account for macroscopic damage in materials and structures. In this work, an application of an anisotropic damage theory based in Murakami theory is presented. In the formulations presented here, the fourth order damage tensor M (that relates Cauchy stress and effective stress) is determined on the basis of the tensor Ω (damaged three-dimensional area density) that, can be determined through experimental data. The three theoretical formulations presented here are transformed into incremental formulations and implemented in a finite element program (for plates and shell structures in composite material) taking account of geometrically non-linear effects. The first and second formulations are particular cases of the third formularization that is a tridimensional model for continuous damage formulated. The thermodynamic force associated with the evolution of the damage tensor is deduced from the expression of the intrinsic dissipation. A phenomenological criterion for damage yielding is proposed. In consistence with the positivity of the intrinsic dissipation, a normality rule is adopted for the evolution of the thermodynamic force. In addition, a hardening law associated with the damage process is identified from available experiment results. The models are validated by comparison with closed-form solutions or with experiment results. The viscoelastic formulation is defined through damage elastic and viscous components and set in a state variables format and then validated by comparison with experimental creep tests.