Thesis (Ph. D.)--Institute of Paper Science and Technology, 1989. / Bibliography: leaves 94-100.

Size-dependent material responses observed at fine length scales are receiving growing attention due to the need in the modeling of very small sized mechanical structures. The conventional continuum theories do not suffice for accurate descriptions of the exact material behaviors in the fine-scale regime due to the lack of inherent material lengths. A number of new theories/models have been propounded so far to interpret such novel phenomena. In this dissertation a few enriched-continuum theories - the adhesive contact mechanics, surface elasticity and strain gradient elasticity - are employed to study the mechanical behaviors of a semi-infinite solid induced by the boundary forces. A unified treatment of axisymmetric adhesive contact problems is developed using the harmonic functions. The generalized solution applies to the adhesive contact problems involving an axisymmetric rigid punch of arbitrary shape and an adhesive interaction force distribution of any profile, and it links existing solutions/models for axisymmetric non-adhesive and adhesive contact problems like the Hertz solution, Sneddon's solution, the JKR model, the DMT model and the M-D model. The generalized Boussinesq and Flamant problems are examined in the context of the surface elasticity of Gurtin and Murdoch (1975, 1978), which treats the surface as a negligibly thin membrane with material properties differing from those of the bulk. Analytical solution is derived based on integral transforms and use of potential functions. The newly derived solution applies to the problems of an elastic half-space (half-plane as well) subjected to prescribed surface tractions with consideration of surface effects. The newly derived results exhibit substantial deviations from the classical predictions near the loading points and converge to the classical ones at a distance far away from those points. The size-dependency of material responses is clearly demonstrated and material hardening effects are predicted. The half-space contact problems are also studied using the simplified strain gradient elasticity theory which incorporates material microstructural effects. The solution is obtained by taking advantage of the displacement functions of Mindlin (1964) and integral transforms. Significant discrepancy between the current and the classical solutions is seen to exist in the immediate vicinity of the loading area. The discontinuity and singularity exist in classical solution are removed, and the stress and displacement components change smoothly through the solid body.

<div> <div> <div> <p>A control methodology to design and establish spacecraft formations is presented. The intuitive design of complex spacecraft formation geometry is achieved by utilizing two different sets of relative orbital elements derived from a linearization of the dynamics. These sets provide strong insights into the shape, size, and orientation of the relative trajectory and facilitate the design of relative orbits in addition to relative positions. An artificial potential function (APF) composed of an attractive potential for goal seeking and a repulsive potential for obstacle avoidance is constructed. The derivation of a control law from this APF results in a computationally efficient algorithm able to fully control the relative position and velocity of the spacecraft and therefore to establish spacecraft formations. The autonomous selection of some of the design parameters of the model based on fuel minimization considerations is described. An assessment of the formation establishment accuracy is conducted for different orbital perturbation as well as various degrees of thrust errors and state uncertainties. Then, the performance of the control algorithm is demonstrated with the numerical simulation of four different scenarios. The first scenario is the design and establishment of a 10-spacecraft triangular lattice, followed by the establishment of a 37-spacecraft formation composed of two hexagonal lattices on two different relative planes. The control method is used to illustrate proximity operations with the visual inspection of an on-orbit structure in the third scenario. Finally, a formation composed of four spacecraft arranged in a tetrahedron is presented.<br></p> </div> </div> </div>

In recent years, there has been increased awareness that stochasticity in chemical reactions and diffusion of molecules can have significant effects on the outcomes of intracellular processes, particularly given the low copy numbers of many proteins and mRNAs present in a cell. For such molecular species, the number and locations of molecules can provide a more accurate and detailed description than local concentration. In addition to diffusion, drift in the movements of molecules can play a key role in the dynamics of intracellular processes, and can often be modeled as arising from potential fields. Examples of sources of drift include active transport, variations in chemical potential, material heterogeneities in the cytoplasm, and local interactions with subcellular structures. This dissertation presents a new numerical method for simulating the stochastically varying numbers and locations of molecular species undergoing chemical reactions and drift-diffusion. The method combines elements of the First-Passage Kinetic Monte Carlo (FPKMC) method for reaction-diffusion systems and the Wang—Peskin—Elston lattice discretization of the Fokker—Planck equation that describes drift-diffusion processes in which the drift arises from potential fields. In the FPKMC method, each molecule is enclosed within a "protective domain," either by itself or with a small number of other molecules. To sample when a molecule leaves its protective domain or a reaction occurs, the original FPKMC method relies on analytic solutions of one- and two-body diffusion equations within the protective domains, and therefore cannot be used in situations with non-constant drift. To allow for such drift in our new method (hereafter Dynamic Lattice FPKMC or DL-FPKMC), each molecule undergoes a continuous-time random walk on a lattice within its protective domain, and the lattices change adaptively over time. One of the most commonly used spatial models for stochastic reaction-diffusion systems is the Smoluchowski diffusion-limited reaction (SDLR) model. The DL-FPKMC method generates convergent realizations of an extension of the SDLR model that includes drift from potentials. We present detailed numerical results demonstrating the convergence and accuracy of our method for various types of potentials (smooth, discontinuous, and constant). We also present several illustrative applications of DL-FPKMC, including examples motivated by cell biology.

L'étude des états moléculaires à énergie élevée est à la frontière entre divers domaines des sciences qui relèvent de la physique/chimie (mécanique quantique, calcul ab initio des structures électroniques, spectroscopie à haute résolution, physique atmosphérique) et de la dynamique des systèmes complexes. Pour bien interpréter les données expérimentales il y a un fort besoin de modèles théoriques utilisant les algorithmes mathématiques efficaces qui peuvent décrire des spectra avec une haute précision. Le projet de ce travail en co-tutelle est axé vers le développement de modèles et des outils théoriques qui soient adaptés à une description des états du mouvement nucléaire de molécules très excitées. L’objectif est d’accompagner les analyses des spectres et de permettre une modélisation suffisamment précise des mesures expérimentales. Le développement des algorithmes mathématiques et outils informatiques, leurs optimisations, programmations et applications pour des problèmes atmosphérique et environnementales représente le sujet central de la thèse, qui doit s’appuyer sur les compétences du candidat en mathématique appliquée / programmations scientifique et en spectroscopie moléculaire. Des méthodes mathématiques sont considérées dans le contexte des tâches physiques suivantes: 1) Construction et ajustement des modèles d'Hamiltonians effectifs pour décrire un grand nombre des transitions ro-vibrationnelles de protoxyde d'azote (N2O). 2) Construction de modèles analytiques de surface d'énergie potentielle (SEP) d'ozone (O3) à partir de calculs ab initio et ajustements aux données expérimentales vibrationnels. 3) Amélioration d'algorithme des transformations contactes (TC) pour calculer spectra des molécules poly-atomiques avec signifiant nombre des atomes. / The studies of highly excited molecular states are located on the frontier between different scientific domains involving physics / chemistry (quantum mechanics, ab initio electronic structure calculations, high-resolution spectroscopy, atmospheric physics) and dynamics of the very complex molecular systems. For good interpreting of this kind of data it is necessary to have theoretical models which are based on optimized algorithms permitting to predict the experimental data with acceptable precision. The subject of this work is focused in the field of development of theoretical models and algorithms which are adapted to the description of states of the nuclear movements of molecules in highly excited states. Our main goal is to provide efficient computational means to perform spectral analyses and to model the spectroscopic experimental measurements with good accuracy. This task includes developing and enhancing mathematical algorithms, creating and optimization of the necessary field-specific software for applications to the environmental and atmospheric problems. The tasks are in the following competences of the candidate: applied mathematics, scientific programming and molecular spectroscopy.Mathematical methods are considered in the context of the following physical tasks: 1) Construction and fitting of the models of effective Hamiltonians for description of high number of ro-vibrational transitions of nitrous oxide (N2O). 2) Construction of analytical models of the potential energy surface of ozone (O3) using ab initio calculations and fittings to experimental vibrational data. 3) Improvement of the algorithm of contact transformations (CT) aimed at the calculation of ro-vibrational spectra of polyatomic molecules with significant number of atoms.