The two main themes in this thesis are the implementation of interference methods with optically trapped particles for measurements of position and optical phase (optical interferometric metrology) and the optical manipulation of nanoparticles for studies in the assembly of nanostructures, nanoscale heating and nonlinear optics (nanophotonics). The first part of the thesis (chapter 1, 2) provides an introductory overview to optical trapping and describes the basic experimental instrument used in the thesis respectively. The second part of the thesis (chapters 3 to 5) investigates the use of optical interferometric patterns of the diffracting light fields from optically trapped microparticles for three types of measurements: calibrating particle positions in an optical trap, determining the stiffness of an optical trap and measuring the change in phase or coherence of a given light field. The third part of the thesis (chapters 6 to 8) studies the interactions between optical traps and nanoparticles in three separate experiments: the optical manipulation of dielectric enhanced semiconductor nanoparticles, heating of optically trapped gold nanoparticles and collective optical response from an ensemble of optically trapped dielectric nanoparticles.

The pavement system is subjected to complex stress states under vehicular loading. A combination of axial and shear stress has been identified as a potential cause of top down cracking (or more precisely near surface cracking) in asphalt surface. Therefore, in terms of modeling the material response a pertinent question is whether the typical one-dimensional viscoelastic properties of the material are affected by a multi-axial stress state. Such changes are referred to as interaction non-linearity. The objective of this study was to evaluate whether or not asphalt composites are susceptible to such interaction effects. The study was conducted using fine aggregate matrix (FAM), which comprises graded sand and asphalt binder. To provide multi-modal loading, the rectangular prismatic FAM specimens were used with the Arcan apparatus. This apparatus ensures low bending stress and offers adjustments in the setup to provide different proportions of axial and shear stress. Finite element modeling was done to evaluate the stress state for different orientations of the sample in the Arcan apparatus. For measurement of strain, the study used digital image correlation (DIC), which is an optical, non-contact measurement technology. The strain thus measured was used to compute shear compliance. Fitting parameters of the shear compliances were estimated for power-law and Prony series for different loading orientations. When compared, the measured shear compliances do not show perceivable variation with respect to different proportion of axial stress applied in conjunction. However, further testing with different temperatures and other magnitudes of shear stress is necessary. This study is the first step to allow modeling of stress and crack propagation behavior near the pavement surface where complex stress state is present. / text

This thesis examines second-order optical nonlinear wave mixing processes in domain-disordered quasi-phase matching waveguides and evaluates their potential use in compact, monolithically integrated wavelength conversion devices. The devices are based on a GaAs/AlGaAs superlattice-core waveguide structure with an improved design over previous generations. Quantum-well intermixing by ion-implantation is used to create the quasi-phase matching gratings in which the nonlinear susceptibility is periodically suppressed. Photoluminescence experiments showed a large band gap energy blue shift around 70 nm after intermixing. Measured two-photon absorption coefficients showed a significant polarization dependence and suppression of up to 80% after intermixing. Similar polarization dependencies and suppression were observed in three-photon absorption and nonlinear refraction. Advanced modeling of second-harmonic generation showed reductions of over 50% in efficiency due to linear losses alone. Self-phase modulation was found to be the dominant parasitic nonlinear effect on the conversion efficiency, with reductions of over 60%. Simulations of group velocity mismatch showed modest reductions in efficiency of less than 10%. Experiments on second-harmonic generation showed improvements in efficiency over previous generations due to low linear loss and improved intermixing. The improvements permitted demonstration of continuous wave second-harmonic generation for the first time in such structures with output power exceeding 1 µW. Also, Type-II phase matching was demonstrated for the first time. Saturation was observed as the power was increased, which, as predicted, was the result of self-phase modulation when using 2 ps pulses. By using 20 ps pulses instead, saturation effects were avoided. Thermo-optically induced bistability was observed in continuous wave experiments. Difference frequency generation was demonstrated with wavelengths from the optical C-band being converted to the L- and U-bands with continuous waves. Conversion for Type-I phase matching was demonstrated over 20 nm with signal and idler wavelengths being separated by over 100 nm. Type-II phase matched conversion was also observed. Using the experimental data for analysis, self-pumped conversion devices were found to require external amplification to reach practical output powers. Threshold pump powers for optical parametric oscillators were calculated to be impractically large. Proposed improvements to the device design are predicted to allow more practical operation of integrated conversion devices based on quasi-phase matching superlattice waveguides.

Oceanic waves registered by satellite observations often have curvilinear fronts and propagate over various currents. In this thesis, we study long linear and weakly-nonlinear ring waves in a stratified fluid in the presence of a depth-dependent horizontal shear flow. It is shown that despite the clashing geometries of the waves and the shear flow, there exists a linear modal decomposition, which can be used to describe distortion of the wavefronts of surface and internal waves, and systematically derive a 2+1-dimensional cylindrical Korteweg-de Vries (cKdV)-type equation for the amplitudes of the waves. The general theory is applied to the case of the waves in a two-layer fluid with a piecewise-constant shear flow, with an emphasis on the effect of the shear flow on the geometry of the wavefronts. The distortion of the wavefronts is described by the singular solution (envelope of the general solution) of the nonlinear first order differential equation, constituting generalisation of the dispersion relation in this curvilinear geometry. There exists a striking difference in the shape of the wavefronts: the wavefront of the surface wave is elongated in the shear flow direction while the wavefront of the interfacial wave is squeezed in this direction. We solve the derived 2+1-dimensional cKdV-type equation numerically using a finite-difference scheme. The effects of nonlinearity and dispersion are studied by considering numerical results for surface and interfacial ring waves generated from a localised source with and without shear flow and the 2D dam break problem. In these examples, the linear and nonlinear surface waves are faster than interfacial waves, the wave height decreases faster at the surface, the shear flow leads to the wave height decreasing slower downstream and faster upstream, and the effect becomes more prominent as the shear flow strengthens.

Neste trabalho estudam-se diversos aspectos conceituais relativos à modelagem mecânico-matemática para a descrição do comportamento estrutural não-linear geométrico. Apresenta-se, inicialmente, a aplicação do Princípio dos Trabalhos Virtuais na caracterização do equilíbrio na posição deslocada. Em seguida, a partir do emprego do Método dos Elementos Finitos, analisam-se as formas discretizadas Lagrangiana e Euleriana da expressão do equilíbrio, que resultam em função da descrição adotada para o movimento. A questão da estabilidade estrutural é tratada, abordando-se os conceitos de ponto limite e de bifurcação. Estudam-se, finalmente, os procedimentos incrementais, em combinação com o Método de Newton, para a solução do sistema não-linear de equações e para a caracterização de pontos singulares de equilíbrio. Exemplos consistindo na análise do comportamento de estruturas reticulares compõem as aplicações numéricas. / In this work, several conceptual aspects related to the mechanic-mathematical modeling for description of the geometrical nonlinear stuctural behavior are studied. First of all the Principle of Virtual Work is presented in order to characterize the equilibrium in the displaced position. Then, from the use of finite element method one analyses the Lagrangian and Eulerian forms which result from the adopted description of the motion. Stability of the structural response is treated by discussing the concepts of limit and bifurcation points. Finally, the incremental procedures in combination with the Newton schemes for solution of nonlinear equations and characterization of the singular points of equilibrium are studied. The numerical applications are related to the analysis of simple linear structures.

In this thesis we study Schrödinger-Poisson systems and we look for positive solutions. Our work consists in three chapters. Chapter 1 includes some basic facts on critical point theory. In Chapter 2 we consider a fractional Schrödinger-Poisson system in the whole space R^N in presence of a positive potential and depending on a small positive parameter . We show that, for suitably small (i.e. in the \"semiclassical limit\") the number of positive solutions is estimated below by the Ljusternick-Schnirelmann category of the set of minima of the potential. Finally, in Chapter 3, we analyze a Schrödinger-Poisson system in R^3 under an asymptotically cubic nonlinearity. We prove the existence of positive, radial solutions inside a ball and in an exterior domain. / Nesta tese nós estudamos sistemas de Schrödinger-Poisson e procuramos soluções positivas. Nosso trabalho consiste em três capítulos. O Capítulo 1 contém alguns fatos básicos sobre a teoria de pontos críticos. No Capítulo 2 nós consideramos um sistema fracionário de Schrödinger-Poisson em todo o espaço R^N em presença de um potencial positivo e que depende de um pequeno parâmetro positivo . Nós mostramos que, para suficentemente pequeno (i.e. no limite semiclássico) o número de soluções positivas é estimado por abaixo pela categoria de Ljusternick-Schnirelmann dos conjuntos onde o potencial é mínimo. Finalmente, no Capítulo 3 nós analisamos um sistema Schrödinger-Poisson em R^3 sob a não linearidade assintoticamente cúbica. Mostramos a existência de soluções radiais positivas dentro de uma bola e em um domínio exterior.

A análise de compósitos laminados apresenta grandes desafios, pois, diferentemente dos materiais isotrópicos homogêneos, os compósitos laminados são constituídos de materiais heterogêneos e anisotrópicos. Além disso, as distribuições de tensões interlaminares obtidas com as formulações convencionais são descontínuas e imprecisas. Sua melhoria, portanto, é imprescindível para buscar e modelar critérios de falha relacionados às estruturas formadas por compósitos laminados. Diante disso, este trabalho se concentrou no desenvolvimento e implementação computacional de um elemento finito posicional de pórtico plano laminado cuja cinemática é descrita ao longo da espessura do laminado de acordo com a teoria Layerwise. A formulação do elemento considera a não linearidade geométrica, originada pela ocorrência de grandes deslocamentos e rotações, e admite deformações moderadas, em função da lei constitutiva de Saint-Venant-Kirchhoff. O desenvolvimento deste trabalho se iniciou com uma preparação teórica sobre mecânica dos sólidos deformáveis e métodos numéricos para que fossem adquiridos os subsídios teóricos necessários ao desenvolvimento de códigos computacionais, à interpretação dos resultados e à tomada de decisões quando das análises numéricas. A formulação desenvolvida é Lagrangiana total com emprego do método dos elementos finitos baseado em posições. Inicialmente o elemento finito posicional de pórtico plano homogêneo é proposto, uma vez que sua cinemática possibilita uma expansão natural para o caso laminado. Os graus de liberdade são compostos por posições nodais e por vetores generalizados que representam o giro e a variação na altura da seção transversal. A eficiência do elemento é constatada através de análises realizadas em problemas de pórtico sujeitos a grandes deslocamentos e rotações. Os resultados obtidos apresentaram excelente concordância com soluções numéricas e analíticas disponíveis na literatura. Uma expansão natural da cinemática é empregada na formulação do elemento laminado. Os graus de liberdade do elemento são as posições nodais e as componentes de vetores generalizados associados às seções transversais de cada lâmina. Dessa forma, as lâminas têm liberdade para variação de espessura e giro independente das demais, mas com as posições compatibilizadas nas interfaces. Os resultados de análises numéricas realizadas em vários exemplos demonstram a eficiência da formulação proposta, pois as distribuições de deslocamentos e tensões ao longo da espessura do laminado apresentaram excelente concordância com as obtidas a partir de análises numéricas utilizando um elemento finito bidimensional em uma discretização bastante refinada. Os exemplos analisados contemplam problemas com seção laminada fina ou espessa. / The analysis of laminated composites presents challenges because, unlike homogeneous isotropic materials, the laminated composites are made up of heterogeneous and anisotropic materials. Moreover, the distribution of interlaminar stresses obtained with conventional formulations are discontinuous and inaccurate. His improvement is therefore essential to check and modeling failure criteria related to structures formed by laminates. Thus, this work focused on developing and computational implementation of a positional finite element of laminated plane frame whose kinematics is described throughout the thickness of the laminate according to Layerwise theory. The formulation element considers the geometric nonlinearity, caused by the occurrence of large displacements and rotations, and admits moderate deformation, in the constitutive law function of Saint-Venant-Kirchhoff. The development of this work began with a theoretical preparation on mechanics of deformable solids and numerical methods for the acquired of the theoretical support needed for the development of computational codes, interpretation of results and decision-making when of the numerical analyzes. The developed formulation is total Lagrangian with use of the finite element method based on positions. Initially the positional finite element of homogeneous plane frame is proposed, since their kinematic enables a natural expansion for the laminate case. The degrees of freedom are composed of nodal positions and generalized vectors representing the spin and the variation in the height of the cross section. The efficiency of the element is verified through analyzes performed in frame problems subject to large displacements and rotations. The results showed excellent agreement with numerical and analytical solutions available in the literature. A natural expansion of the kinematics is used in the formulation of the laminate element. The degrees of freedom of the element are the nodal positions and components of the generalized vectors associated to cross-sections of each lamina. Thus, the laminas are free for the thickness variation and for independent spin, but with the positions matched in the interfaces. The results of numerical analysis performed in various examples show the effectiveness of the proposed formulation, since the distributions of displacements and stresses through the thickness of the laminate agreed well with those obtained from numerical analysis using a discretization with two-dimensional finite elements in a very refined. The examples discussed include problems with thin or thick laminated section.

A resistência à ruptura de materiais frágeis como o concreto de granulometria fina é fortemente dependente de sua heterogeneidade, do tamanho da amostra e da heterogeneidade das tensões. A partir de uma abordagem probabilista, fundamentada no modelo de Weibull, este trabalho trata da influência de tais efeitos sobre a resistência à tração de painéis compósitos formados por concreto de granulometria fina e telas soldadas. Desde que as armaduras se mantenham em regime elástico, mostra-se que o modelo de Weibull de dois parâmetros pode ser empregado com sucesso na previsão da ruptura dos painéis compósitos em estudo. Os parâmetros foram então identificados com medidas de ensaios de flexão em três e em quatro pontos de barras de concreto de granulometria fina de dois tamanhos diferentes. A utilização do modelo de Weibull confirmou, por outro lado, a validade da teoria de misturas como ferramenta para estimar as resistências de rupturas locais correspondentes a diferentes níveis de formação de fissuras / The rupture strength of brittle materials such as the microconcrete is strongly dependent on the microstructural heterogeneity, the sample size and the stress heterogeneity. Using a probabilistic approach, based on the Weibull distribution, this work deals with the influence of such effects on the tensile strength of composite panels formed by microconcrete and welded wire grids. Provide the reinforcements behaves in elastic regime, it is shown that the model of Weibull of two parameters can be used with success to predict the failure of the composite panels studied. The parameters were then identified from measurements of flexural tests in three and in four points of two different sizes of microconcrete samples. The feasibility of the Weibull model validates, as well, the rule of mixture as a satisfactory tool to estimate local failure strengths of related to different levels of cracking

Die vorliegende Arbeit befasst sich mit einer Reihe von Fragestellungen, die Forschungsfeldern wie rauschinduziertem Verhalten, Strukturbildung in aktiven Medien und Synchronisation nichlinearer Oszillatoren erwachsen. Die verwendeten nichtlinearen Modelle verfügen über erregbare, oszillatorische und bistabile Eigenschaften. Zusätzliche stochastische Fluktuationen tragen wesentlich zur Entstehung komplexer Dynamik bei. Modelliert wird, auf welche Weise sich extrazelluläre Kaliumkonzentration, gespeist von umliegenden Neuronen, auf die Aktivität dieser Neuronen auswirkt. Neben lokaler Dynamik wird die Ausbildung ausgedehnter Strukturen in einem heterogenem Medium analysiert. Die raum-zeitlichen Muster umfassen sowohl Wellenfronten und Spiralen als auch ungewöhnliche Strukturen, wie wandernde Cluster oder invertierte Wellen. Eine wesentliche Rolle bei der Ausprägung solcher Strukturen spielen die Randbedingungen des Systems. Sowohl für diskret gekoppelte bistabile Elemente als auch für kontinuierliche Fronten werden Methoden zur Berechnung von Frontgeschwindigkeiten bei fixierten Rändern vorgestellt. Typische Bifurkationen werden quantifiziert und diskutiert. Der Rückkopplungsmechanismus aus dem Modell neuronaler Einheiten und deren passiver Umgebung kann weiter abstrahiert werden. Ein Zweizustandsmodell wird über zwei Wartezeitverteilungen definiert, welche erregbares Verhalten widerspiegeln. Untersucht wird die instantane und die zeitverzögerte Antwort des Ensembles auf die Rückkopplung. Im Fall von Zeitverzögerung tritt eine Hopf-Bifurkation auf, die zu Oszillationen der mittleren Gesamtaktivität führt. Das letzte Kapitel befasst sich mit Diffusion und Transport von Brownschen Teilchen in einem raum-zeiltich periodischen Potential. Wieder sind es Synchronisationsmechanismen, die nahezu streuungsfreien Transport ermöglichen können. Für eine erhöhte effektiven Diffusion gelangen wir zu einer Abschätzung der maximierenden Parameter. / In this work problems are investigated that arises from resarch fields of noise induced dynamics, pattern formation in active media and synchronisation of self-sustained oscillators. The applied model systems exhibit excitable, oscillatory and bistable behavior as basic modes of nonlinear dynamics. Addition of stochastic fluctuations contribute to the appearance of complex behavior. The extracellular potassium concentration fed by surrounding activated neurons and the feeback to these neurons is modelled. Beside considering the local behavior, nucleation of spatially extended structures is studied. We find typical fronts and spirales as well as unusal patterns such as moving clusters and inverted waves. The boundary conditions of the considered system play an essential role in the formation process of such structures. We present methods to find expressions of the front velocity for discretely coupled bistable units as well as for the countinus front interacting with boundary values. Canonical bifurcation scenarios can be quantified. The feedback mechanism from the model for neuronal units can be generalized further. A two-state model is defined by two waiting time distributions representing excitable dynamics. We analyse the instantaneous and delayed response of the ensemble. In the case of delayed feedback a Hopf-bifurcation occur which lead to oscillations of the mean activity. In the last chapter the transport and diffusion of Brownian particles in a spatio-temporal oscillating potential is discussed. As a cause of nearly dispersionless transport synchronisations mechanisms can be identified. We find an estimation for parameter values which maximizes the effective diiffusion.

La détection des fissures fermées constitue un verrou important pour les méthodes conventionnelles de CND. En revanche, les méthodes basées sur le principe du contact acoustique non-linéaire (CAN) représentent un outil potentiel capable de détecter et éventuellement de caractériser les fissures fermées. Dans ce travail de thèse, le CAN et la génération du second harmonique sont au centre de l’attention dans le but d’analyser les mécanismes mis en jeu en vue de la détection et la caractérisation de fissures fermées. Notre approche repose sur une analyse numérique de l’interaction entre une interface de contact et une onde longitudinale et une analyse expérimentale du CAN sur une éprouvette contenant une fissure de fatigue.Le CAN est modélisé par une loi de contact unilatéral avec (ou sans) frottement de Coulomb, en considérant l’interaction non-linéaire entre une onde longitudinale et une interface de contact, d’abord dans un milieu unidimensionnel en utilisant la méthode des différences finies, puis dans un milieu bidimensionnel par la méthode des Eléments Finis. Cette analyse a permis d’expliquer la génération des harmoniques supérieurs et de mettre en évidence les principaux paramètres gouvernant le CAN dans un cas unidimensionnel (onde plane/interface de contact plane), et aussi dans un cas bidimensionnel plus complexe considérant une onde non-plane et des morphologies d’interfaces complexes. Afin de valider les résultats numériques et d’apprécier l’applicabilité de la méthode dans un cas réel, des mesures expérimentales du second harmonique dans le cas d’une fissure de fatigue réelle sont effectuées. Les résultats de cette étude sont en accord avec les tendances numériques obtenues.Enfin, dans le but d’exploiter au maximum la méthode de génération d’harmonique, nous proposons également une stratégie numérique/expérimentale de reconstruction des sources acoustiques, basée sur une méthode d’holographie acoustique, permettant ainsi d’accéder à la distribution des sources de génération du second harmonique au niveau de la fissure. Ces résultats sont prometteurs en vue de la caractérisation des fissures fermées. / The detection of closed cracks constitutes an important obstacle for conventional nondestructiftechnics (NDT). However, nonlinear methods based on contact acoustic nonlinearity (CAN)represent a potential tool for the detection of these defects. In this work, a detailed analysis of thecontact acoustic nonlinearity is proposed in view of the characterization of closed crack.Our approach is based on an association between a numerical analysis of the nonlinear interactionbetween a longitudinal wave and a contact interface, as well as an experimental study of the CAN inthe case of a real fatigue crack.Numerically, the CAN is modeled by using a unilateral contact law with (or without) Coulombfriction. The nonlinear interaction between a longitudinal wave and a contact interface is considered,first in a one-dimensional medium by using the Finite Differences method, and then in a twodimensionalmedium by using the Finite Elements method. This analysis explains the generation ofsuper-harmonics and defines the main physical parameters controlling the CAN in a one-dimensionalcase (plane wave / plane contact interface) and also in a more complex two-dimensional caseconsidering a non-planar wave and complex interface morphologies. In order to validate the numericalresults and to test the applicability of the method in a real case, experimental measurements of thesecond harmonic in the case of a real fatigue crack are realized. The results of this study are inagreement with the numerical tendencies obtained.Finally, in order to exploit well the harmonic generation method, a numerical / experimentalstrategy based on acoustic holography principal for the reconstruction of acoustic sources is proposed.This strategy gives access to the distribution of second harmonic sources at the crack. The results ofthis study are promising in view of the characterization of closed cracks.