No description available.

No description available.

The fully softened shear strength was defined by Skempton (1970) as the peak drained shear strength of a clay in a normally consolidated state. All the experience available on the applicability of the fully softened shear strength for slopes is based on back-analyses. Back-analyses of first-time failures in cuts in stiff-fissured clays and embankments constructed of fat clays have shown that, over a long period of time, the shear strength gets reduced from what is measured in the laboratory using undisturbed samples to the fully softened shear strength. These back-analyses require knowledge or assumption of pore pressures in the slope, which will have a significant influence on the shear strength obtained. Karl Terzaghi, in 1936, was the first person that qualitatively explained the behavior of cut slopes in stiff-fissured clays. According to Terzaghi (1936), a softening process is initiated by the water percolating into the fissures causing swelling and decreasing the overall shear strength of the clay mass. Investigations presented later by Skempton and his colleagues showed that the controlling shear strength for cuts in stiff-fissured clays was equal to the fully softened shear strength and recommended this shear strength to be used for design (Skempton 1970; Chandler and Skempton 1974; Chandler 1974; Skempton 1977). Skempton (1977) concluded that displacements caused by progressive failure decrease the shear strength of stiff clays toward the fully softened shear strength. At first, it was believed that only stiff-fissured clays were subjected to softening and that intact clays should be designed using the peak shear strength measured using undisturbed samples (Skempton and Brown 1961; Skempton 1964, 1970). Recent publications have showed that the likelihood of a clay experiencing softening is more dependent on the plasticity of the clay rather than the fissures (Bjerrum 1967; Chandler 1984a; Mesri and Abdel-Ghaffar 1993). Fat clays, when compared to lean clays, tend to be more brittle. This means that fat clays have a more pronounced decrease in shear strength after the peak shear strength is achieved and for this reason are more susceptible to progressive failure. First-time failures in stiff clays usually occur a long period of time after construction. For this reason, steady state seepage was used in the back-analyses of the case histories presented by Skempton and his colleagues. They found that a pore pressure ratio of 0.3 was applicable to first-time failures in cuts in stiff-fissured clays (James 1970; Vaughan and Walbancke 1973; Chandler 1974; Skempton 1977). Investigations presented by Professor Steve Wright and his colleagues of the University of Texas at Austin showed, based on back-analyses, that the fully softened shear strength is also the controlling shear strength of compacted embankments constructed of highly plastic clays (Green and Wright 1986; Kayyal and Wright 1991; Wright 2005; Wright et al. 2007). Steve Wright and his colleagues concluded that weathering, expressed in cycles of wetting and drying, was the main mechanism decreasing the shear strength of compacted clay embankments toward the fully softened shear strength. Failures in this type of projects were found to be shallow (less than 10 ft deep) and to occur numerous years after construction (USACE 1983; Stauffer and Wright 1984; Kayyal and Wright 1991; Wright et al. 2007). A pore pressure ratio ranging from 0.4 to 0.6 was found to be applicable for the case histories analyzed by Wright and his colleagues. Day and Axten (1989) recommended the use of the infinite slope method with seepage parallel to the slope face for slope stability analyses. This same recommendation was presented by Lade (2010). A seepage parallel to the slope face corresponds to a pore pressure ratio ranging from 0.4 to 0.5 for slopes with ratios of 2H:1V to 5H:1V. Failures on compacted clay embankments related to softening have been reported in Texas (Stauffer and Wright 1984; Kayyal and Wright 1991; Wright 2005; Wright et al. 2007), and Mississippi (USACE 1983). According to McCook (2012), softening of this type of structures also occur in Louisiana To perform slope stability analyses using fully softened shear strength parameter, the type of soils, type of projects, and depths where this shear strength is applicable, and the pore pressures and factor of safety to be used in design should be determined. As stated above, the fully softened shear strength has been found to be the controlling shear strength of cuts in stiff clays and compacted embankments constructed of highly plastic clays. Steady state seepage conditions should be used to design cuts in stiff clays, and a pore pressure ratio ranging from 0.4 to 0.6 or a phreatic surface at the surface of the slope should be used to design compacted embankments made of fat clays. In cuts in stiff clays, both shallow and deep failures related to fully softened shear strength have been observed. For this type of project, the recommended methodology for design is to assign a curved fully softened failure envelope to the whole slope, search for the critical failure surface, and obtain the factor of safety. This approach will provide the correct factor of safety but the critical surface obtained might not be what is expected to occur in situ. Pore pressures corresponding to steady state seepage should be used for design. It should be emphasized that the recommendation to use fully softened shear strength in first-time failures in stiff clays is based on the back-analyses of case histories. Research is required to better understand progressive failure and its influence on the shear strength mobilized in situ. In compacted embankments constructed of fat clays, only shallow failures related to fully softened shear strength have been observed. For this type of projects, the recommended methodology for design is to assign a curved fully softened failure envelope to the whole embankment, search for the critical failure surface, and obtain the factor of safety. If for any reason deep failures are to be considered in designing compacted embankments constructed of fat clays, based on the fact that failures in this type of projects are usually shallow, the first 10 ft below the surface of the slope should be assumed to have a shear strength equal to the fully softened shear strength. Pore pressures should be calculated based on a water table coincident with the slope face. The fully softened shear strength should not be used in the foundation soil. If any softening occurred in the foundation soil, this should be reflected in the shear strength measured using undisturbed samples. Softening of the foundation soil is not expected to occur after the embankment is constructed. The consequences of shallow and a deep failures are usually not the same. For this reason, is reasonable that the same factor of safety should not be required for both cases. A shallow failure may be considered by some agencies solely as a maintenance issue. The factor of safety should be based on the uncertainties in the parameters being used for design and the consequences of failure of the structure (Duncan and Wright 2005). The parameters that have more impact on the factor of safety obtained for slope stability are shear strength and pore pressures. The fully softened shear strength is the lowest shear strength expected to be mobilized in first-time slides. This shear strength, coupled with a conservative assumption of pore pressure gives a low uncertainty in the parameters that have the most influence in the factor of safety. For shallow failures, the consequences of failure are very low. For this reason, if the fully softened shear strength is used, coupled with a water table corresponding to the worst case scenario possible, a factor of safety as low as 1.25 can be used. For deep failures, the consequences of failure will vary depending on the structure. The pore pressure for this type of analyses should be based on the worst seepage condition expected throughout the life of the project. In this case, for structures with low to mid consequences of failure, a factor of safety of 1.35 can be used. For structures with a high consequence of failure, a factor of safety of 1.50 can be used. These factors of safety are based on the recommendations presented by Duncan and Wright (2005) for factors of safety based on uncertainties in the parameters and consequences of failures. The fully softened shear strength should be measured using normally consolidated remolded specimens as recommended by Skempton (1977). Soil samples should be hydrated for two days using distilled or site-specific water. The soil sample should then be washed or pushed through a No. 40 (425 µm) sieve. To achieve the desired water content, the soil sample cab be air-dried or more water should be added. Water contents equal to or higher than the liquid limit should be used to prepare test specimens for fully softened shear strength measurements. The direct shear device is recommended for fully softened shear strength measurements. The Bromhead ring shear device does not provide accurate values of fully softened shear strength. The triaxial device requires more time and effort to measure the fully softened shear strength and provides about the same fully softened shear strength as the direct shear device. The fully softened shear strength failure envelope can be estimated using the correlation presented in Figure 6.59 for the parameters required for Equation 4.1. This correlation is only intended to be used in preliminary design or if better information is not available. Laboratory determination of fully softened shear strength is always recommended for final designs. If this is not possible, the confidence limits presented in Figure 6.59 should be used to determine the fully softened shear strength parameters. / Ph. D.

Wide-bandgap (WBG) semiconductor materials such as silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium-nitride (GaN) allow higher voltage ratings, lower on-state voltage drops, higher switching frequencies, and higher maximum temperatures. All these advantages make them an attractive choice when high-power density and high-efficiency converters are targeted. Two different gate-driver designs for SiC power devices are presented. First, a dual-function gate-driver for a power module populated with SiC junction field-effect transistors that finds a trade-off between fast switching speeds and a low oscillative performance has been presented and experimentally verified. Second, a gate-driver for SiC metal-oxide semiconductor field-effect transistors with a short-circuit protection scheme that is able to protect the converter against short-circuit conditions without compromising the switching performance during normal operation is presented and experimentally validated. The benefits and issues of using parallel-connection as the design strategy for high-efficiency and high-power converters have been presented. In order to evaluate parallel connection, a 312 kVA three-phase SiC inverter with an efficiency of 99.3 % has been designed, built, and experimentally verified. If parallel connection is chosen as design direction, an undesired trade-off between reliability and efficiency is introduced. A reliability analysis has been performed, which has shown that the gate-source voltage stress determines the reliability of the entire system. Decreasing the positive gate-source voltage could increase the reliability without significantly affecting the efficiency. If high-temperature applications are considered, relatively little attention has been paid to passive components for harsh environments. This thesis also addresses high-temperature operation. The high-temperature performance of two different designs of inductors have been tested up to 600_C. Finally, a GaN power field-effect transistor was characterized down to cryogenic temperatures. An 85 % reduction of the on-state resistance was measured at −195_C. Finally, an experimental evaluation of a 1 kW singlephase inverter at low temperatures was performed. A 33 % reduction in losses compared to room temperature was achieved at rated power. / <p>QC 20160922</p>

Este trabalho propõe direcionar o estudo de involuções para dois ramos de pesquisa dentro da teoria das Singularidades e de Sistemas Dinâmicos. Mais precisamente, tratamos sua interligação com diagramas divergentes de dobras e seu aparecimento nos sistemas dinâmicos discretos reversíveis. No primeiro, tratamos da importante relação entre a classificação de diagramas divergentes de dobras, digamos de s dobras, e a classificação de s-uplas de involuções associadas a estes diagramas. No segundo contexto, o estudo se volta para a questão sobre condições para a linearização simultânea de uma classe de pares de involuções e a obtenção de formas normais desses pares / This work proposes to address the study of involutions for two branches of research into the theory of Singularities and Dynamical Systems. More precisely, we treat its interconnection with divergent diagrams of folds and their appearance in discrete reversible dynamical systems. First, we treat the important relationship between the classification of divergent diagrams of folds, say s folds, and the classification of s-tuples of involutions associated with these diagrams. In the second context, the study turns to the question of conditions for simultaneous linearization of a class of pairs of involutions and the deduction of the normal forms of these pairs

No description available.

El motivo de la presente investigación parte a raíz de cimentar estructuras en un suelo arcilloso, para lo cual nos enfocaremos en el principal problema del suelo que es enfrentar y evitar que se produzcan asentamientos de gran magnitud que puedan dañar la estructura de manera que dificulte o afecte sus funciones. Ante este problema, la presente investigación tiene como propósito identificar y describir las características físicas del suelo fino de la zona de Sagari – Cuzco, con el fin de determinar del suelo en mención, el esfuerzo de Preconsolidación, asentamiento y tiempo de consolidación. Con estos parámetros obtenidos podremos tomar las medidas correctivas antes de cimentar en la zona en mención. Mediante los ensayos de laboratorio pertinentes se pudo obtener las características físicas del suelo en estudio; asimismo mediante método de grafico de Casagrande, se puedo determinar el esfuerzo de Preconsolidación del suelo; por otro lado, mediante el método de Taylor podremos conocer la velocidad que demorará en suelo en estar totalmente consolidado. En resumen mediante los ensayos de compresibilidad realizados se pudo conocer que el suelo evaluado se encuentra en la condición de normalmente consolidado; asimismo, de acuerdo a las 04 muestras obtenidas en los distintos puntos de la zona, pudimos observar que el comportamiento y características de todas las muestras son similares en toda la área de estudio, por tanto podemos concluir que en área estudiada tiene un suelo homogéneo a lo largo de toda su extensión. Por tal motivo, para los asentamientos obtenidos en las muestras ensayadas, se propone una solución económica que consiste en la construcción de un terraplén en el emplazamiento previsto, con el propósito de que el terreno blando pueda llegar su estado de totalmente consolidado. The reason for this investigation partly because of cement structures in clay soil, for which we will focus on the main problem that is confronting soil and prevent large-scale settlements that could damage the structure so that difficult or occur affecting their functions. Faced with this problem, this research aims to identify and describe the physical characteristics of fine soil in the area of Sagari - Cuzco, in order to determine the soil in question, the pre-consolidation effort, settlement and consolidation time. With these parameters obtained we can take corrective action before cementing in the area in question. By appropriate laboratory tests were able to obtain the physical characteristics of the soil under study; also by Casagrande method chart it is I can determine the soil preconsolidation effort; on the other hand, by the method of Taylor we know the speed it will take to be fully consolidated soil. In short compressibility by the tests we conducted it was known that the soil is evaluated in the condition of normally consolidated; Also, according to the 04 samples taken at various points in the area, we found that the behavior and characteristics of all samples are similar throughout the study area, so we can conclude that in the study area has a homogeneous soil along its entire length. Therefore, for the settlements obtained in the samples tested, an economical solution that involves the construction of an embankment on the intended location, in order that the soft ground can reach its fully funded status it is proposed.

Este trabalho propõe direcionar o estudo de involuções para dois ramos de pesquisa dentro da teoria das Singularidades e de Sistemas Dinâmicos. Mais precisamente, tratamos sua interligação com diagramas divergentes de dobras e seu aparecimento nos sistemas dinâmicos discretos reversíveis. No primeiro, tratamos da importante relação entre a classificação de diagramas divergentes de dobras, digamos de s dobras, e a classificação de s-uplas de involuções associadas a estes diagramas. No segundo contexto, o estudo se volta para a questão sobre condições para a linearização simultânea de uma classe de pares de involuções e a obtenção de formas normais desses pares / This work proposes to address the study of involutions for two branches of research into the theory of Singularities and Dynamical Systems. More precisely, we treat its interconnection with divergent diagrams of folds and their appearance in discrete reversible dynamical systems. First, we treat the important relationship between the classification of divergent diagrams of folds, say s folds, and the classification of s-tuples of involutions associated with these diagrams. In the second context, the study turns to the question of conditions for simultaneous linearization of a class of pairs of involutions and the deduction of the normal forms of these pairs

L’objectif de cette thèse est d’étudier et de donner des outils pour la compréhension des problèmes de perturbations singulières pour des modèles épidémiques et des problèmes de dynamiques de populations. Les modèles considérés sont des équations structurées en âge qui peuvent dans certains cas se réécrire comme des équations à retard. L’étude de ces classes d’exemples s’est faite avec succès et a permis de comprendre et de mettre en évidence toute la complexité et l’étendue de ces problèmes. Comme on peut le remarquer dans la littérature, l’une des clés fondamentales à la compréhension de ces problèmes est l’étude des variétés normalement hyperboliques en dimension infinie que nous avons largement étudiées dans cette thèse. L’approche utilisée est la méthode de Lyapunov-Perron. Ce qui nous a amené à étudier les problèmes de persistance et d’existence de trichotomie (dichotomie) exponentielle qui sont des éléments fondamentaux dans l’utilisation de cette méthode. / In this thesis we aim to give tools to understand singular perturbations in epidemic model sand population dynamic models. We study some singularly perturbed delay differential equation which does not enter into the class frame work of geometric singular perturbation for delay differential equations. An example of singularly perturbed age structured model is also studied. The study of these examples allowed us to understand and highlight some complexities of these problems. One of the main tools in understanding such questions is the normally hyperbolic manifolds theory which is our central focus in this thesis. The approach used here is the Lyapunov-Perron method. Therefore the problems of persistence and existence of exponential trichotomy (dichotomy) are also stressed since there are one of the mainingredients of this method.

Some problems concerning holomorphic continuation of the class of bounded holo­morphic functions from bounded domains in Cn that are domains of holomorphy are solved. A bounded domain of holomorphy Ω in C2 with nonschlicht H°°-envelope of holomorphy is constructed and it is shown that there is a point in D for which Glea­son’s Problem for H°°(Ω) cannot be solved. Furthermore a proof of the existence of a bounded domain of holomorphy in C2 for which the volume of the H°°-envelope of holomorphy is infinite is given. The idea of the proof is to put a family of so-called ”Sibony domains” into the unit bidisk by a packing procedure and patch them together by thin neighbourhoods of suitably chosen curves. If H°°(Ω) is the Banach algebra of bounded holomorphic functions on a bounded domain Ω in Cn and if p is a point in Ω, then the following problem is known as Gleason’s Problem for Hoo(Ω) : Is the maximal ideal in H°°(Ω) consisting of functions vanishing at p generated by (z1 -p1) , ... ,   (zn - pn) ? A sufficient condition for solving Gleason’s Problem for 77°° (Ω) for all points in Ω is given. In particular, this condition is fulfilled by a convex domain Ω with Lip1+e boundary (0 &lt; e &lt; 1) and thus generalizes a theorem of S.L.Leibenson. It is also proved that Gleason’s Problem can be solved for all points in certain unions of two polydisks in C2. One of the ideas in the methods of proof is integration along specific polygonal lines. Certain properties of some open sets defined by global plurisubharmonic func­tions in Cn are studied. More precisely, the sets Du = {z e Cn : u(z) &lt; 0} and Eh = {{z,w) e Cn X C : h(z,w) &lt; 1} are considered where ti is a plurisubharmonic function of minimal growth and h≠0 is a non-negative homogeneous plurisubharmonic function. (That is, the functions u and h belong to the classes L(Cn) and H+(Cn x C) respectively.) It is examined how the fact that Eh and the connected components of Du are H°°-domains of holomorphy is related to the structure of the set of disconti­nuity points of the global defining functions and to polynomial convexity. Moreover it is studied whether these notions are preserved under a certain bijective mapping from L(Cn) to H+(Cn x C). Two counterexamples are given which show that polynomial convexity is not preserved under this bijection. It is also proved, for example, that if Du is bounded and if the set of discontinuity points of u is pluripolar then Du is of type H°°. A survey paper on general properties of envelopes of holomorphy is included. In particular, the paper treats aspects of the theory for the bounded holomorphic functions. The results for the bounded holomorphic functions are compared with the corresponding ones for the holomorphic functions. / digitalisering@umu.se