Modern mobile devices incorporate several transmit and receive antennas in highly constrained volumes. As miniaturized antennas impinge upon fundamental physical limits on efficiency, new design approaches are required to support ever-smaller devices with more varied and robust communication performance. We take an unconventional design approach in which an arbitrary metallic structure and its components can be modified to act as efficient radiators. Using eigenmode analysis and the theory of characteristic modes (TCM), we develop algorithms that allow for effective integration of antennas with mechanical structures and enable structure reuse, helping meet stringent space and weight constraints without sacrificing electromagnetic performance. We derive TCM-based objectives for effective exploration of the design space in the electromagnetic (EM) domain. The procedure includes a feed placement technique that identifies viable excitation points on the structure without running full EM analysis. In addition to computational advantages, this provides a point of comparison among a variety of antenna shapes. Empirical evaluation shows that the estimates of radiated power from TCM can effectively guide optimization toward structures with improved radiating properties. Automated feed placement increases the proportion of good-quality designs among the explored candidates by consistently selecting the most promising feed positions. The ability of the TCM-based algorithm to direct the search is further validated on two real-world applications: integration of a GPS antenna with the frame of a mobile phone and integration of an S-band antenna with the frame of a small spacecraft. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first work that applies TCM to automated optimization of antennas. We investigate how to leverage domain-specific methods and solution representations in the coupled optimization of antennas. We develop a novel multiobjective optimization framework based on local search in each domain. In this procedure, the local optima in each objective are obtained and modified to create a new population of candidate designs. On a number of benchmark problems, the proposed technique is competitive with leading multi-objective algorithms: while it finds a less uniform distribution along the Pareto front, it shows better performance in locating solutions at the boundaries of the tradeoff curve. The local search algorithm is successfully applied to topology optimization of an antenna for a CubeSat, a small low-cost satellite platform.

The aim of the PhD thesis has been the development of two multi-physics models based on common theoretical basis, but applied to two very different areas: i) the study of the behavior of concrete at early age, essentially for the prevention of early cracking and related issues- ii) the analysis of physical, chemical and biological processes that govern growth and development of cancer. The development of a numerical tool to model concrete at early age is of great importance for the design of durable and sustainable structures. The model has been implemented on the finite element code CAST3M (developed by CEA), also it was validated and nowadays allows multiple applications: study of stresses and cracking phenomena in young concrete, thermal and hygral gradients, autogenous and drying shrinkage, inhibition of hydration caused by drying, creep, stress redistribution, study repairs, etc.. In the fight against cancer, it is clear that the advance of medical strategies based on numerical analysis have a critical scientific interest and can have a great social impact. The equations which govern the thermo-hydro-chemo-mechanical behavior of concrete at early age have may formal analogies with those used to model tumor growth. Hence, these equations have been readapted and a novel mathematical model for tumor growth has been developed. The model was implemented in Cast3M and the first numerical results have been encouraging since very close to the experimental data present in the literature.

La semi-perméation à haute température dans les matériaux conducteurs mixtes introduit des sollicitations chimiques. Ces matériaux sont donc sujets à des déformations d’origine thermique et d’origine chimique qui entraînent des contraintes thermo-chimio-mécaniques dont il convient de tenir compte pour anticiper leur tenue mécanique en service. Ce travail de modélisation en science pour l’ingénieur, intrinsèquement multiphysique, a pour but d’ouvrir la voie au calcul de structures de dimensions industrielles en adoptant une modélisation fonction des paramètres directement mesurables. Il s’articule principalement autour du développement d’un modèle macroscopique de déformation chimique. La modélisation proposée tient compte du transport de l’oxygène en transitoire. Les cinétiques d’échanges de matière à la surface du matériau avec leur conséquence en termes de chocs chimio-mécaniques sont évaluées. Pour simuler le comportement de structures complexes en trois dimensions, en régimes stationnaire et transitoire, les modèles ont été implémentés dans le code de calcul par éléments finis Abaqus. L’application porte sur un réacteur catalytique membranaire pour l’oxydation partielle du méthane en gaz de synthèse. L’histoire des sollicitations thermiques, chimiques et mécaniques rencontrée au cours du cycle de fonctionnement de la structure est prise en compte. La modélisation permet d’évaluer l’impact des conditions opératoires sur la tenue mécanique de la structure. / Technologies using high temperature oxygen transport through mixed conductor materials undergo thermal andchemical expansions. The industrial structures suffer from thermo-chemo-mechanical stresses which may be modeled to predict their mechanical reliability. This work is a step toward the development of design tools for mechanics of structure made of mixed conductor. The goal is to deal with measurable parameters such as temperature and oxygen partial pressure. The first aim is to provide a realistic macroscopic modelling of chemical expansion. The second one is to model the coupling between mechanics, oxygen transport and heat transfer. The oxygen bulk diffusion is described following the Wagner theory. The kinetics of surface exchange and their consequences in terms of chemo-mechanical shocks have been explored. In order to conduct computation of complex structures in three dimensions with steady and transient state, the models have been implemented in finite element analysis software (Abaqus). Comparison with analytical results is also reported. Finally, a semi-industrial catalytic membrane reactor for partial oxidation of methane to syngas is computed. The modelling helps to analysed the impact of operating conditions on the mechanical reliability of the whole structure.

Le verrou de l'intégration de la simulation multi-physique dans la conception des systèmes mécatroniques est lié, entre autres, aux problèmes d'interopérabilité entre les outils de simulation. Ces problèmes engendrent des difficultés pour assurer des optimisations multidisciplinaires. Dans cette thèse, nous avons développé une approche de conception intégrée permettant de franchir cet obstacle. Cette approche s'appuie sur l'utilisation d'une plateforme d'intégration permettant de coupler divers outils de modélisation et de simulation. La modélisation du comportement multi-physique des composants au niveau détaillé est assurée par les méta-modèles, également utilisés pour l'optimisation multidisciplinaire des composants du système mécatronique. Ces méta-modèles permettent aussi d'intégrer le comportement multi-physique des composants et des modules mécatroniques pour la simulation au niveau système. Cette approche a été validée avec une modélisation d'un véhicule électrique. Ainsi, le niveau conceptuel de modélisation a été effectué avec le langage de modélisation des systèmes SysML et la véri_cation d'un test de performance d'accélération a été réalisée avec le langage de modélisation Modelica. Le module de conversion de puissance électrique du véhicule avec les fils de bonding a été modélisé avec la CAO 3D et son comportement multi-physique a été vérifié avec la méthode des éléments finis. Des méta-modèles sont ainsi élaborés en utilisant les techniques de surfaces de réponse et les réseaux de neurones de fonctions à base radiale. Ces méta-modèles ont permis ensuite d'effectuer des optimisations géométriques bi-niveaux du convertisseur de puissance et des fils de bonding. Le comportement électro-thermique du convertisseur de puissance et celui thermo-mécanique des fils de bonding ont été alors intégrés au niveau système à travers les méta-modèles. Les résultats montrent la flexibilité de l'approche du point de vue échange des méta-modèles et optimisation multidisciplinaire. Cette approche permet ainsi un gain très important du temps de conception, tout en respectant la précision souhaitée. / Difficulty of integrating multi-physics simulation in mechatronic system design is related, among others, to issues of interoperability between design tools, which lead to difficulties to ensure multidisciplinary optimizations. In this thesis, we have developed an integrated design approach to overcome this obstacle. This approach relies on the use of integrating platforms for coupling various design tools. Capture of multi-physics behaviour of components at detailed level is provided by meta-models which are also used for multidisciplinary optimization. These meta-models are therefore used to integrate multi-physics behaviour of mechatronic components and modules in system-level simulations. This approach has been validated with a design case of an electric vehicle. Conceptual design level has been performed with the Systems Modeling Language SysML and a verification of an acceleration performance test has been achieved with modeling language Modelica. Electric power converter with wire bondings has been modeled using 3D CAD and the multi-physics behaviour has been verified with finite elements method. Meta-models have then been developed for the power converter and wire bondings using techniques of response surfaces and neuronal networks of radial basis functions. These meta-models have been used to perform geometric bi-level optimizations of the components. Electro-thermal behavior of the power converter and thermo-mechanical behavior of the wire bondings have been integrated at system level through meta-models. Results show flexibility of the approach used in terms of exchange of meta-models and multidisciplinary optimization. Thus, this approach allows an important gain of design time while maintaining the desired accuracy.

abstract: Mechanical behavior of metallic thin films at room temperature (RT) is relatively well characterized. However, measuring the high temperature mechanical properties of thin films poses several challenges. These include ensuring uniformity in sample temperature and minimizing temporal fluctuations due to ambient heat loss, in addition to difficulties involved in mechanical testing of microscale samples. To address these issues, we designed and analyzed a MEMS-based high temperature tensile testing stage made from single crystal silicon. The freestanding thin film specimens were co-fabricated with the stage to ensure uniaxial loading. Multi-physics simulations of Joule heating, incorporating both radiation and convection heat transfer, were carried out using COMSOL to map the temperature distribution across the stage and the specimen. The simulations were validated using temperature measurements from a thermoreflectance microscope. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Materials Science and Engineering 2016

In this thesis we study efficient parallel iterative solution algorithms for multi-physics problems. In particular, we consider fluid structure interaction (FSI) problems, a type of multi-physics problem in which a fluid and a deformable solid interact. All computations were performed in Oomph-Lib, a finite element library for the simulation of multi-physics problems. In Oomph-Lib, the constituent problems in a multi-physics problem are coupled monolithically, and the resulting system of non-linear equations solved with Newton's method. This requires the solution of sequences of large, sparse linear systems, for which optimal solvers are essential. The linear systems arising from the monolithic discretisation of multi-physics problems are natural candidates for solution with block-preconditioned Krylov subspace methods.We developed a generic framework for the implementation of block preconditioners within Oomph-Lib. Furthermore the framework is parallelised to facilitate the efficient solution of very large problems. This framework enables the reuse of all of Oomph-Lib's existing linear algebra infrastructure and preconditioners (including block preconditioners). We will demonstrate that a wide range of block preconditioners can be seamlessly implemented in this framework, leading to optimal iterative solvers with good parallel scaling.We concentrate on the development of an effective preconditioner for a FSI problem formulated in an arbitrary Lagrangian Eulerian (ALE) framework with pseudo-solid node updates (for the deforming fluid mesh). We begin by considering the pseudo-solid subsidiary problem; the deformation of a solid governed by equations of large displacement elasticity, subject to a prescribed boundary displacement imposed with Lagrange multiplier. We present a robust, optimal, augmented-Lagrangian type preconditioner for the resulting saddle-point linear system and prove analytically tight bounds for the spectrum of the preconditioned operator with respect to the discrete problem size.This pseudo-solid preconditioner is incorporated into a block preconditioner for the full FSI problem. One key feature of the FSI preconditioner is that existing optimal single physics preconditioners (such as the well known Navier-Stokes Least Squares Commutator preconditioner) can be employed to approximately solve the linear systems associated with the constituent sub-problems. We evaluate its performance on selected 2D and 3D problems. The preconditioner is optimal for most problems considered. In cases when sub-optimality is detected, we explain the reasons for such behavior and suggest potential improvements.

京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(工学) / 甲第22047号 / 工博第4628号 / 新制||工||1722(附属図書館) / 京都大学大学院工学研究科社会基盤工学専攻 / (主査)教授 後藤 仁志, 教授 細田 尚, 准教授 KHAYYER,Abbas / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Philosophy (Engineering) / Kyoto University / DGAM

No description available.

Les faisceaux d'aiguilles des assemblages combustibles des réacteurs à neutrons rapides à caloporteur sodium (RNR-Na) se déforment au cours de leur irradiation, ce qui impacte l’écoulement du caloporteur et la distribution de températures dans l’assemblage, dont la connaissance est essentielle pour la démonstration de sûreté. De plus, les mécanismes à l’origine de cette déformation, à savoir le gonflement et le fluage thermique et d’irradiation, dépendent fortement de la température de la gaine du combustible, d'où l'existence d'un couplage entre les évolutions thermo-hydraulique et thermomécanique des assemblages. Par le passé, ce couplage a été négligé dans les simulations numériques, et une approche plus conservative a été privilégiée : les simulations thermo-hydrauliques étaient réalisées sans tenir compte de la déformation géométrique, et les distributions de températures résultantes étaient utilisées comme des données d'entrée pour les simulations thermomécaniques. L'objectif de cette thèse est de définir une méthodologie pour l'évaluation du comportement des assemblages combustibles de type RNR-Na sous irradiation en prenant en compte le couplage entre leurs évolutions thermo-hydraulique et thermomécanique.A cet effet, un nouveau couplage numérique a été développé entre le code industriel de dynamique des fluides numérique (CFD) STAR-CCM+ et DOMAJEUR2, code basé sur la méthode aux éléments finis, développé par le CEA et dédié à la modélisation du comportement thermomécanique des assemblages combustibles RNR-Na sous irradiation. Ce couplage a été réalisé par l'échange de la déformation de la gaine, calculée par DOMAJEUR2, et de son champ de températures, obtenu avec le modèle CFD qui prend en compte de manière explicite la déformation géométrique des aiguilles combustibles. De plus, les conditions aux limites thermo-hydrauliques utilisées dans les simulations CFD, comme le débit massique de sodium dans le faisceau, sont ajustées pour tenir compte de cette déformation.Cette méthodologie a été appliquée à des faisceaux respectivement de 7 et 19 aiguilles combustibles munies de fils espaceurs, avec des caractéristiques géométriques et des conditions aux limites représentatives des RNR-Na de quatrième génération, ont été analysés. Dans le cas des faisceaux combustibles fortement irradiés, les simulations couplées conduisent à une réduction significative de la déformation diamétrale des aiguilles combustibles, par rapport aux simulations non couplées, causée par la prise en compte de l'augmentation de la température de la gaine induite par la déformation. En raison de la déformation plus faible, la contrainte maximale de la gaine a été réduite. De plus, des simulations ont été menées afin de vérifier que, en situation de fonctionnement normal, la dépendance de la neutronique à l’évolution de la thermo-hydraulique et de la thermomécanique est faible. Enfin, une contribution à la validation de cette méthodologie de simulation couplée a été réalisée avec un benchmark numérique basé sur un outil de simulation couplé existant et en simulant l'irradiation d'un assemblage combustible expérimental. Contrairement à l'approche innovante développée dans le cadre de ce travail de thèse, l'outil de simulation existant utilise un modèle thermo-hydraulique simplifié et ne tient pas compte de l'impact de la déformation sur le débit massique du caloporteur, qui, selon les résultats de l'évaluation, a une importance majeure. La simulation de l'irradiation expérimentale a conduit à une déformation maximale de la gaine et un gradient de déformations en accord avec les grandeurs mesurées, bien que des limitations liées aux lois empiriques de gonflement utilisées dans DOMAJEUR2 pour le calcul du gonflement aient été identifiées. La reformulation de ces lois à l'aide de la méthodologie de simulation couplée développée constitue une perspective à ce travail de thèse. / The fuel pin bundles of Sodium-cooled Fast Reactors (SFR) undergo significant geometrical changes during their irradiation, which affect the coolant flow and temperature distributions in the fuel assemblies, the knowledge of which is essential for safety assessments. Moreover, as the mechanisms responsible for the deformation of the fuel bundles, namely the swelling and creep, strongly depend on the fuel cladding temperature, a coupling between the thermal-hydraulic and thermomechanical evolutions of the fuel assemblies exists. In the past, this coupling has been neglected, and a more conservative approach has been preferred. In this conservative approach, the thermal-hydraulic simulations are conducted without considering the geometrical deformation, and the resulting temperature distributions are used as input for the thermomechanical simulations. The objective of this thesis is to define a new methodology for the evaluation of the behavior of SFR fuel bundles under irradiation that considers the coupling between their thermal-hydraulic and thermomechanical evolutions.To this end, a new numerical coupling has been developed between the industrial Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) code STAR-CCM+ and DOMAJEUR2, a finite element code dedicated to the modeling of the thermomechanical behavior of SFR fuel assemblies under irradiation. The coupling has been implemented via the exchange of the cladding deformation, calculated by DOMAJEUR2, and its associated temperature field, obtained with a CFD model implemented in STAR-CCM+ that explicitly considers the geometrical deformation of the fuel pins. In addition, the thermal-hydraulic boundary conditions used in the CFD simulations, such as the sodium mass flow rate through the bundle, are also automatically adjusted to account for the deformation.Study cases consisting of bundles of 7 and 19 wire-wrapped fuel pins, with geometrical characteristics and boundary conditions representative of fourth generation SFRs, were analyzed in order to gain insight on the effects of the coupling. For highly irradiated fuel bundles, the coupled simulations were shown to lead to a significant reduction of the diametral strain of the fuel pins, with respect to non-coupled simulations, caused by the deformation-induced cladding temperature increase. Consequence of the lower deformation, the cladding maximal stress was also significantly reduced. Additionally, neutronic simulations were conducted in order to verify that, in nominal operational conditions, its coupling with thermal-hydraulics and thermomechanics is of minor importance. Finally, a contribution to the validation of the developed coupled simulation methodology was realized by performing a numerical benchmark against a preexisting coupled simulation tool, and by simulating the irradiation of an experimental fuel assembly. Unlike the novel approach developed in this work, the preexisting simulation tool employs a simplified thermal-hydraulic model and does not consider the impact of the deformation on the coolant mass flow rate, which was found to be of major importance. The simulation of the experimental irradiation yielded a maximal cladding deformation and deformation gradient that are in good agreement with the measured values, although limitations related to the empirical swelling laws employed in DOMAJEUR2 to compute the swelling were identified. The reformulation of these laws using the developed coupled simulation methodology constitutes a perspective of this work.

京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(工学) / 甲第19991号 / 工博第4235号 / 新制||工||1655(附属図書館) / 33087 / 京都大学大学院工学研究科機械理工学専攻 / (主査)教授 北村 隆行, 教授 田畑 修, 教授 鈴木 基史 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Philosophy (Engineering) / Kyoto University / DFAM