Esta dissertação analisa a estrutura do controle da concentração empresarial prevista na Lei de Defesa da Concorrência brasileira e realizada pelo Sistema Brasileiro de Defesa da Concorrência (SBDC) a partir da perspectiva do consumidor. Considera a legislação atualmente em vigor e verifica sobretudo a atuação do Conselho Administrativo de Defesa Econômica (CADE). Verifica o protocolo de apreciação da concentração pela Administração Pública, destacando a interpretação conferida ao artigo 54, § 3º da Lei 8.884/1994 e a sua efetividade. Analisa as formas de mensurar os benefícios decorrentes dos atos de concentração empresarial e de garantir que esses benefícios sejam distribuídos equitativamente entre os seus participantes e os consumidores ou usuários finais, como determina a Lei de Defesa da Concorrência. Os três capítulos que formam a presente dissertação apresentam as características das concentrações de empresas e do seu controle e analisam os principais modelos que têm pautado a atuação administrativa neste tema. Os resultados obtidos demonstram que crescem diuturnamente os atos de concentração de empresas apresentados ao CADE e que há um modelo específico de análise de eficiências, já utilizado pela autarquia, que demonstra de forma mais fidedigna a efetividade do requisito da distribuição equitativa dos benefícios decorrentes da concentração econômica entre os seus participantes e os consumidores ou usuários finais. / This work analyzes the structure of merger control under the Brazilian Antitrust Law as performed by the Brazilian Competition Defense System from the consumer perspective. It considers the currently legislation and checks the work of the Administrative Council for Economic Defense and checks the protocol of assessment of the merger by the Administration, highlighting the interpretation given to the article 54, § 3º of the Law 8.884/1994 and its effectiveness. The text looks at possible ways to measure the benefits of mergers and to ensure that these benefits are distributed equitably among its participants and consumers or final users, as required by the Antitrust Law. The three chapters that make up this work present the characteristics of merger and of their control and analyze the main models that have guided the administrative action in this regard. The results show that there is currently a growth of merger submitted to the Administrative Council for Economic Defense and that there is a specific model that analyses the efficiencies, already used by the Council, which shows more reliably the effectiveness of the requirement for equitable distribution of economic benefits arising from the merger between its participants and consumers or final users.

Cette thèse est motivée par diverses questions qui se posent quant à l’utilisation de l’isolation sismique dans l’industrie nucléaire. À la différence de la grande majorité des travaux antérieurs sur l’isolation sismique en générale et l’isolation mixte en particulier, qui portent principalement leur intérêt sur la réponse de la structure isolée (déplacements relatifs, accélérations maximales des étages, etc.), une grande partie de ce travail est consacrée au comportement des équipements, par le biais de l’étude des spectres de plancher. L’objectif principal est de diminuer la déformation des isolateurs sans amplification de la réponse des modes supérieurs, qui peut apparaître sous certaines conditions et qui peut être une source de sollicitation des équipements. Pour ce faire, des alternatives aux appuis parasismiques couramment utilisés sont explorées. Il s’agit des combinaisons d’un appui à faible amortissement avec un élément de Maxwell (isolateur de relaxation) ou avec un amortisseur hydraulique semi-actif (système d’isolation mixte). L’élément de Maxwell se comportant comme un amortisseur à basse fréquence et un ressort de faible rigidité à haute fréquence permet de satisfaire l’objectif souhaité. En ce qui concerne les systèmes d’isolation mixtes, trois techniques de contrôle semi-actif sont proposées. Afin d’améliorer la performance du contrôle, une attention particulière a été donné à la prise en compte de l’excitation sismique et des caractéristiques de l’amortisseur lors de la conception du contrôleur est focalisée. Les analyses numériques confirment l'efficacité de ces systèmes. En vue de l’utilisation de ces méthodes pour de structures réelles, certains aspects pratiques comme, par exemple, l’observation du système, les effets de la réduction du modèle utilisé par le contrôleur ou du temps de retard sur la performance du contrôle, ainsi que le contrôle d’un ensemble de plusieurs dispositifs semi-actifs redondant, sont, également, abordés. / This thesis is motivated by various questions that arise regarding the use of base isolation in the nuclear industry. Unlike the majority of previous work on base isolation in general and mixed isolation in particular, which focus mainly on the response of the isolated structure (interstorey drifts, maximum accelerations of floors, etc.), this work focuses on the behavior of equipment, through the study of floor response spectra. The main objective is to reduce the deformation of the isolators without amplification of the response of the higher modes, which may appear under certain conditions and which can be a source of equipment solicitation. To this end, alternatives to the commonly used base isolators are explored. These are combinations of a low damping rubber bearing with a Maxwell element (relaxation isolator) or a semi-active hydraulic damper (mixed base isolation system).Maxwell element behaves like a damper in low frequency and as a low stiffness spring in high frequency. Hence it meets the above objectives. . Regarding isolation systems, three semi-active control techniques are proposed. In order to improve the performance of the control, the seismic excitation and the characteristics of the damper are taken into account in the design of the controller. Numerical analyzes confirm the effectiveness of these systems. Having in mind implementation of these methods to real structures, some practical aspects such as, observation of the system, effects of model reduction, considered by the controller, or time delay on the control performance, as well as the control of a set of redundant semi-active devices, are also studied.

Active control of sound and vibration fields has become an strong area of research over the past few decades. In regards to the active control of acoustic radiation from vibration fields, known as active structural acoustic control (ASAC), there have been many different methods employed to understand structural and acoustic relationships and to control vibrations to limit the acoustic radiation. With active sound field control, sensors, usually microphones, need to be dispersed in the sound field, or an array of microphones must be placed directly in the sound field which, in many cases, uses up too much space for practical applications. To remedy this, objective functions have been transferred to the structure, sensing vibrations rather than pressures. A small, integrated array of structural sensors can be placed on the structure, reducing the system's overall footprint. Acoustic energy density has become a well established objective function, which produces a more global effect using only a local measurement. Another benefit of acoustic energy density lies in the breadth of sensor placement. While acoustic energy density has proven successful in active noise control (ANC), the quantity deals with pressures, not surface vibrations. The problem with ASAC is that an objective function with the robustness of acoustic energy density does not yet exist. This thesis focuses on a structural error sensing technique that mimics the properties of acoustic energy density control in the sound field. The presented structural quantity has been termed Vcomp, as it is a composite of multiple terms associated with velocity. Both analytical and experimental results with the control of this quantity are given for a rectangular plate. The control of Vcomp is compared to other objective function including squared velocity, volume velocity and acoustic energy density. In the analytical cases, the benefits include: control at higher structural modes, control largely independent of sensor location, and need for only a single point measurement of squared Vcomp with a compact sensor. The control at higher frequencies can be explained by the control of multiple acoustic radiation modes. Experimental results offer some validity to the analytical benefits but alternate sensing techniques need to be investigates to more fully validate these benefits.

Over the past decade, offshore wind has positioned itself as one of the most promising renewable energy markets. While this field is currently dominated by fixed-bottom wind turbines located within a limited depth range, floating turbines are showing promise as a way to capture the more developed wind profiles available in deeper waters. Currently, the main challenge with floating offshore wind is that the systems experience larger ultimate loads compared to fixed bottom turbines. These larger loads are caused by the increased motion inherent with floating structures. This study looks to analyze the effects that traditional and inerter based structural control methods can have on vibration reduction of floating offshore wind turbines. Models are developed adding tuned mass dampers (TMD) and tuned inerter dampers (TID) into the three main columns of a semisubmersible platform. Results showed that for free decay tests, heave and pitch root mean square (RMS) values were reduced significantly by the addition of passive structural control. The inerter based structural control consistently outperformed traditional TMD and also allowed for similar performance with significantly reduced physical mass values. For regular wave excitation both control methods resulted in significant reductions to the heave and pitch RMS values compared to the baseline, with the TID outperforming the TMD . And for an irregular wave analysis, it was found that both control configurations were still able to provide meaningful reductions to the baseline model. / Master of Science / Over the past decade, offshore wind has positioned itself as one of the most promising renewable energy markets. While this field is currently dominated by fixed-bottom wind turbines located within a limited depth range, floating turbines are showing promise as a way to capture the more developed wind profiles available in deeper waters. Currently, the main challenge with floating offshore wind is that the systems experience larger ultimate loads compared to fixed bottom turbines. These larger loads are caused by the increased motion inherent with floating structures. This study looks to analyze the effects that traditional and enhanced motion reduction technology can have on floating offshore wind turbines. Models are developed adding the traditional and enhanced motion reduction technology into the three main columns of a semisubmersible platform. Results showed that for several different tests, the motion reduction technology has a positive effect on the turbines. For test dropping the system from a set height, the motion reduction technology allowed the system to come to rest much faster. Moreover, the enhanced technology performed better than the traditional technology. The same results were found when the system was excited by simulated waves.

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A modern control theory formulation of Active Structural Acoustic Control (ASAC) of simple structures radiating acoustic energy into light or heavy fluid mediums is discussed in this dissertation. ASAC of a baffled, simply-supported plate subject to mechanical disturbances is investigated. For the case of light fluid loading, a finite element modelling approach is used to extend previous ASAC design methods. Vibration and acoustic controllers are designed for the plate. Comparison of the controller performance shows distinct advantages of the ASAC method for minimizing radiated acoustic power. A novel approach to the modelling of the heavy fluid-loaded plate is developed here. Augmenting structural and acoustic dynamics using state vector formalism allows the design of both vibration and ASAC controllers for the fluid-loaded plate. This modern control approach to active structural acoustic control is unique in its ability to suppress both persistent and transient disturbances on a plate in a heavy fluid. Numerical simulations of the open-loop and closed-loop plate response are provided to support the theoretical developments. / Ph. D.

A crucial element of a smart structure is the computer system that processes data collected by sensors and determines an appropriate response. Multicomputers possess many capabilities that are required in computer systems for smart structures. This research examines the implementation and use of multicomputers for distributed processing in smart structures. The research begins by examining previous research and showing the suitability of multicomputers for distributed processing in smart structures. Appropriate cost and performance metrics for evaluating multicomputer architectures are defined. The cost metrics are the number of processors, the number of communication links, and the length of fiber required to embed the network in the structure. The performance measures are the algorithm cycle time and the mean and standard deviation of message latency in the network. The scalability of these metrics is also examined. A key issue in the examination of these metrics is how their application to smart structures differs from their application in traditional systems. The research continues by using a three-processor testbed network to identify general characteristics of algorithms that may be executed in smart structures. The testbed network uses fiber optic sensing, the MIL-STD-1773 communication protocol, and several different assignments for partitioning the necessary computations among the processing nodes to determine the shape of a triangular structure. The effects of math coprocessing on performance and the viability of hybrid links, in which a single optical fiber is used simultaneously for sensing and communication, are also demonstrated. Simulation models of a damage detection, location, and estimation algorithm implemented in VHDL, a hardware description language, are used to examine and compare the performance of multicomputer interconnection network topologies. The topologies examined in this research are a binary hypercube, a custom planar topology, and a custom hierarchical topology. The ability of hierarchical architectures to limit cost while providing acceptable performance is demonstrated. The simulations also examine the effects of background message traffic and the ratio of communication time to processing time on performance. The combined results of the testbed and simulation experiments show the importance of process assignment and scheduling. / Ph. D.

Mitigation of displacement and acceleration responses of a three story benchmark structure excited by seismic motions is pursued in this study. Multiple 20-kN magnetorheological (MR) dampers are installed in the three-story benchmark structure and managed by a global fuzzy logic controller to provide smart damping forces to the benchmark structure. Two configurations of MR damper locations are considered to display multiple-input, single-output and multiple-input, multiple-output control capabilities. Characterization tests of each MR damper are performed in a laboratory to enable the formulation of fuzzy inference models. Prediction of MR damper forces by the fuzzy models shows sufficient agreement with experimental results. A controlled-elitist multi-objective genetic algorithm is utilized to optimize a set of fuzzy logic controllers with concurrent consideration to four structural response metrics. The genetic algorithm is able to identify optimal passive cases for MR damper operation, and then further improve their performance by intelligently modulating the command voltage for concurrent reductions of displacement and acceleration responses. An optimal controller is identified and validated through numerical simulation and fullscale experimentation. Numerical and experimental results show that performance of the controller algorithm is superior to optimal passive cases in 43% of investigated studies. Furthermore, the state-space model of the benchmark structure that is used in numerical simulations has been improved by a modified version of the same genetic algorithm used in development of fuzzy logic controllers. Experimental validation shows that the state-space model optimized by the genetic algorithm provides accurate prediction of response of the benchmark structure to base excitation.

Nós estudamos o controle estrutural dos veios de pegmatitos graníticos (tipo F-ETR-Li) associados à fácies albita granito (AEG) do granito Madeira (~1.83Ga). Esta fácies corresponde ao depósito, de classe mundial, de Sn-Nb-Ta-F (criolita) da mina de Pitinga. Atualmente, esses pegmatitos ricos em ETR (xenotima e gagarinita) são explorados junto com o minério disseminado, porém possuem potencial para exploração por lavra seletiva. Todos os pegmatitos possuem arranjo geométrico e mineralogia similares, o que sugere mesma fonte. Também possuem mineralogia igual à da encaixante e seu alojamento ocorreu na própria rocha parental. O arranjo geométrico dos pegmatitos foi controlado por estruturas contracionais frágeis (falhas inversas, leques de imbricação e cavalos). Os planos de falhas inversas (N320/60SW) serviram como condutos para o fluido que se alojou preferencialmente em fraturas horizontais distensivas. O arranjo geométrico bem definido dessas estruturas e o fato de que também há planos de falhas inversas sem pegmatitos demonstram que as fraturas que hospedam os pegmatitos não foram formadas pela pressão do fluido. A orientação das estruturas contracionais no AEG indica que ocorreu um transporte de SW para NE. Como este corpo possui pequena dimensão, resfriou-se rapidamente. Contudo, sua localização na crosta superior fria e a baixa temperatura solidus permitiram a formação dos pegmatitos. No nível estrutural em que se encontram os pegmatitos estudados, quando esses veios se alojaram, o AEG estava cristalizado e posicionado acima da profundidade crustal crítica, onde o estresse normal mínimo é vertical. / We study the structural control of pegmatites (F-REE-Li vein-type granite pegmatite) associated to the albite-enriched granite facies (AEG) of the Madeira A-type granite (~1.83 Ga). This facies corresponds to the Madeira world-class Sn-Nb-Ta-F (cryolite) deposit at the Pitinga mine. These REE-rich pegmatites (xenotime and gagarinite), presently exploited together with the disseminated ore, have potential to explotation by selective mining. They have a common geometric arrangement and share a same mineralogy, therefore they all originate from the same source. They have the same mineralogical composition of the host rock and their emplacement occurred in the parental rock itself. The geometric arrangement of the pegmatites is settled by contractional brittle structures (reverse faults, imbrication fans and horses). The reverse fault planes (~N320/60SW) were essentially the conduits for the fluid. The preferential sites for the pegmatites bodies were the horizontal tensile fractures. The well-marked geometric arrangement of the tectonic structures and the fact that there are also reverse faults planes without pegmatites show that the fractures that host the pegmatites were not formed by the fluid pressure. The orientation of the contractional structures in the AEG indicates a transport from SW to NE. With reduced surface dimensions, the AEG cooled fast, however its location in the cold upper crust and the low solidus temperature allowed pegmatites formation. At the structural level of the studied pegmatites, when these veins positioned, the AEG was crystallized in a position above the critical crustal depth, where minimum normal stress is vertical.