When subjected to a combination of moment and shear force, a reinforced concrete (RC) beam with either little or no transverse reinforcement can fail in shear before reaching its full flexural strength. This type of failure is sudden in nature and usually disastrous because it does not give sufficient warning prior to collapse. To prevent this type of shear failure, reinforced concrete beams are traditionally reinforced with stirrups. However, the use of stirrups is not always cost effective since it increases labor costs, and can make casting concrete difficult in situations where closely-spaced stirrups are required. The use of steel fiber reinforced concrete (SFRC) could be considered as a potential alternative to the use of traditional shear reinforcement. Concrete is very weak and brittle in tension, SFRC transforms this behaviour and improves the diagonal tension capacity of concrete and thus can result in significant enhancements in shear capacity. However, one of the drawbacks associated with SFRC is that the addition of fibers to a regular concrete mix can cause problems in workability. The use of self-consolidating concrete (SCC) is an innovative solution to this problem and can result in improved workability when fibers are added to the mix. The thesis presents the experimental results from tests on twelve slender self-consolidating fiber reinforced concrete (SCFRC) beams tested under four-point loading. The results demonstrate the combined use of SCC and steel fibers can improve the shear resistance of reinforced concrete beams, enhance crack control and can promote flexural ductility. Despite extensive research, there is a lack of accurate and reliable design guidelines for the use of SFRC in beams. This study presents a rational model which can accurately predict the shear resistance of steel fiber reinforced concrete beams. The thesis also proposes a safe and reliable equation which can be used for the shear design of SFRC beams.

The present thesis offers an innovative perspective analysing the perception of Turkish atrocities against the Ottoman Greek communities during the temporal period May 1919-December 1922 through the Athenian newspapers Estia and Empros, which were committed to the ubiquitous Greek irredentist vision of the Megali Idea. Delving into theories which emphasize on the political nature of nationalism, on national mobilisation and on the exploitation of mass communication by the elite, this thesis attempts to elaborate on the inclusion of the Ottoman Greeks into an expanded Greek nation-state, based on the principle of self-determination. Hence, from the Greek Press' perspective, the presented Turkish atrocities against a part of the Greek nation and potential subjects of a broadened Greek state had been contextualized on the basis of Greek nationalism. The study shows that, despite the widespread and divided Greek communities in the Ottoman Empire/Turkey, Estia and Empros were declaring that their common denominator had been their Greek self-determination and the fact that all these communities were viewing the Greek state and the Greek army as their guarantors for their safety. Adding to the agents of Hellenism also the Ecumenical Patriarchate, Estia and Empros were highlighting the crucial role of these agents towards the endangered Ottoman Greek communities. Thus, the presentation of the respective information in the newspapers was leaning on this theoretical schema.

Le Projet GAP ou «South-East Anatolia Development Project » en Turquie est l'un des vastes projets de développement au monde, consistant en la construction de 21 barrages et de 19 centres hydro-électriques sur les fleuves de l'Euphrate et du Tigre. Toutefois, ce projet pose de nombreuses controverses au cours de la dernière décennie tant au niveau national, avec la question kurde, qu'au niveau régional, en raison de l'enjeu du partage de l'eau avec les pays voisins, notamment la Syrie et l'Irak. Néanmoins, ce sujet fut évoqué dans la plupart des cas sous l'angle exclusif de la question conflictuelle kurde. Les objectifs de mon mémoire cherchent à comprendre l’utilisation du projet GAP par le gouvernement turc dans les constructions nationales et politiques de la Turquie de 1930 et 1980 dans un but de souveraineté et puissance nationale. Cette analyse s’effectue dans un cadre plus général de géopolitique et d’histoire politique. En s'appuyant sur des travaux en matière de géopolitique et de puissance, et surtout sur les théories de construction nationale, ce mémoire se penche sur l'évolution du projet GAP, ainsi que sur son instrumentalisation dans la construction nationale de 1930 et la reconstruction politique et nationale de 1980. / The GAP or “South-Eastern Anatolia Development Project” in Turkey is one of the vast development projects in the world, consisting of the construction of 21 dams and 19 hydroelectric centers on the Euphrates and Tigris rivers. However, this project posed many controversies during the last decade both at the national level, with the Kurdish question, and at the regional level, because of the issue of sharing water with neighboring countries, notably Syria and Iraq. Nevertheless, this subject was debated in most cases exclusively from the perspective of the Kurdish conflict issue. The objectives of my dissertation are to understand the use of the GAP project by the Turkish government in the national and political constructions of Turkey in 1930 and 1980 with the aim of sovereignty and national power. This analysis is carried out in a more general framework of geopolitics and political history. Drawn on work of geopolitics and power, and especially on theories of national construction, this dissertation focuses mainly on the evolution of the GAP project, as well as its instrumentalization in the national construction of 1930 and the political and national reconstruction of 1980.