With a nearly twice as strongly pronounced temperature increase compared to that of the Northern Hemisphere, the Arctic is especially susceptible to global climate change. The effect of clouds on the Arctic warming is especially uncertain, which is caused by misrepresented cloud microphysical processes in atmospheric models. This thesis aims at employing a scale- and definition-aware comparison of models and observations and will propose changes how to better parameterize Arctic clouds in atmospheric models. In the first part of this thesis, ECHAM6, which is the atmospheric component of the MPI-ESM global climate model, is compared to spaceborne lidar observations of clouds from the CALIPSO satellite. This comparison shows that ECHAM6 overestimates Arctic low-level, liquid containing clouds over snow- and ice-covered surfaces, which consequently leads to an overestimated amount of radiative energy received by the surface. Using sensitivity studies, it is shown that the probable cause of the model biases in cloud amount and phase is related to misrepresented cloud microphysical parameterization (i.e., parameterization of the Wegener-Bergeron-Findeisen process and of the cloud cover scheme) in ECHAM6. By revising those processes, a better representation of cloud amount and cloud phase is achieved, which helps to more accurately simulated the amount of radiative energy received by the Arctic in ECHAM6. The second part of this thesis will focus on a comparison of kilometer-scale simulation with the ICON model to aircraft observations from the ACLOUD campaign that took place in May/June 2017 over the sea ice-covered Arctic Ocean north of Svalbard, Norway. By comparing measurements of solar and terrestrial surface irradiances during ACLOUD flights to the respective quantities in ICON, it is shown that the model systematically overestimates the transmissivity of the mostly liquid clouds during the campaign. This model bias is traced back to the way cloud condensation nuclei get activated into cloud droplets in the two-moment, bulk microphysical scheme used. By parameterizing subgrid-scale vertical motion as a function of turbulent kinetic energy, a more realistic CCN activation into cloud droplets is achieved. This consequently results in an improved representation of cloud optical properties in the ICON simulations. Furthermore, the results of two studies to which contributions have been made during the Ph.D. will be summarized. In Petersik et al. 2018, the impact of subgrid-scale variability in clear-sky relative humidity on hygroscopic growth of aerosols in the aerosol-climate model ECHAM6-HAM2 has been explored. It was shown that the revised parameterization of hygroscopic growth of aerosols resulted in a stronger swelling of aerosol particles, which consequently causes an increased backscattering of solar radiation. In the study of Costa-Suros et al. 2019, it is explored whether it is possible to detect and attribute aerosol-cloud interactions in large-eddy simulation over Germany. It was shown that an increase in cloud droplet number concentration could be attributed to an increased aerosol load, while such an attribution was not possible for other cloud micro- and macrophysical variables.

Computational Neuroscience deals with spatio-temporal scales which vary considerably.For example interactions at synaptic contact regions occur on the scale of nanometers and nanoseconds to milliseconds (micro-scale) whereas networks of neurons can measure up to millimeters and signals are processed on the scale of seconds (macro-scale). Whole-cell calcium dynamics models (meso-scale) mediate between the multiple spatio-temporal scales. Of crucial importance is the calcium propagation mediated by the highly complex endoplasmic reticulum network. Most models do not account for the intricate intracellular architecture of neurons and consequently cannot resolve the interplay between structure and calcium-mediated function. To incorporate the detailed cellular architecture in intracellular Calcium models, a novel mesh generation methodology has been developed to allow for the efficient generation of computational meshes of neurons with a three-dimensionally resolved endoplasmic reticulum. Mesh generation routines are compiled into a versatile and fully automated reconstruct-and-simulation toolbox for multi-scale physics to be utilized on high-performance or regular computing infrastructures. First-principle numerical simulations on the neuronal reconstructions reveal that intracellular Calcium dynamics are effected by morphological features of the neurons, for instance a change of endoplasmic reticulum diameter leads to a significant spatio-temporal variability of the calcium signal at the soma. / Math & Science Education

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The purpose of this study was to construct a holistic education school evaluation tool using Montessori Erdkinder principles, and begin the validation process of examining the proposed tool. This study addresses a vital need in the holistic education community for a school evaluation tool. The tool construction process included using Erdkinder literature to justify the development of each item through the use of an item matrix, ultimately leading to the development of the 23 item formative Montessori Erdkinder School Evaluation Survey. The validation process included a series of three Rasch Rating Scale Model analyses with data from a sample school. The validation process used item anchoring estimates from the earlier analyses in the later analyses and included determining the tool’s dimensionality, reliability, item fit, possible differential item functioning, and comparing the order of item difficulty levels to the holistic model of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Results of the study showed that six items had issues with fit and would need to be revised, and that the items in the cognitive and moral facet will need to be revised to better match Maslow’s model. This study provides the foundation for the development of a holistic education evaluation or accreditation system, and constructed a resource that could be directly implemented in schools.

Noise has become a main nuisance in urban areas to the point that according to the World Health Organization 40% of the European population is exposed to excessive noise levels, mainly due to ground transportation. There is therefore a need to find new ways to mitigate noise in urban areas. In this work, a possible device to achieve this goal is studied: a low-height noise barrier. It consists of a barrier typically less than one meter high placed close to a source, designed to decrease the noise level for nearby pedestrians and cyclists. This type of device is studied both numerically and experimentally. Tramway noise barriers are especially studied since the noise sources are in this case very close to the ground and can therefore be attenuated efficiently. The shape and the surface treatment of the barrier are optimized using a gradient-based method coupled to a 2D boundary element method (BEM). The optimization variables are the node coordinates of a control mesh and the parameters describing the surface impedance. Sensitivities are calculated efficiently using the adjoint state approach. Numerical results show that the shapes generated by the optimization algorithm tend to be quite irregular but provide a significant improvement of more than 5 dB (A) compared to simpler shapes. Utilizing an absorbing treatment on the source side of the barrier is shown to be efficient as well. This second point has been confirmed by scale model measurements. In addition, a full scale low height noise barrier prototype has been built and tested in situ close to a tramway track in Grenoble. Measurements show that the device provides more than 10 dB (A) of attenuation for a close receiver located at the typical height of human ears. These results therefore seem to confirm the applicability of such protections to efficiently decrease noise exposure in urban areas

Esta dissertação de mestrado tem como objetivo a validação do modelo numérico de manobras para navios utilizado pelo simulador chamado SMH - Simulador Marítimo Hidroviário, que foi desenvolvido no laboratório Tanque de Provas Numérico. Para tanto foram realizados ensaios experimentais de manobras com um modelo em escala reduzida da embarcação Alpha Crucis com o objetivo de criar dados de manobra que serviram como referência para validação do modelo numérico. Foram selecionados diversos tipos de manobras com o propósito de criar uma caracterização da manobrabilidade da embarcação em baixas velocidades e regime transitório, permitindo a medição de diversas características, que permitem quantificar as capacidades de manobra da embarcação. Através de experimentos numéricos foram, então, realizadas as mesmas manobras executadas pelo modelo físico em escala reduzida, de forma a reproduzir as mesmas condições iniciais e os mesmos comandos, procurando reproduzir as manobras para validação do modelo implementado no SMH. Os resultados obtidos apresentam a aderência das características de manobras do modelo implementado no SMH, através da comparação das características de manobra obtidas pelo modelo físico em escala reduzida e das obtidas pelo modelo numérico. A dissertação apresenta ainda um estudo de sensibilidade que mostra o efeito dos principais fatores utilizados no laboratório Tanque de Provas Numérico para a calibração dos modelos de embarcações, mostrando que para as manobras consideradas neste trabalho alguns dos efeitos possuem pouca influência nos resultados. Por fim o trabalho conclui que o modelo matemático utilizado pelo SMH representa a capacidade de manobra da embarcação de forma consistente para diversos tipos de manobra, e com um grau de aderência satisfatório. / This research aims to present a validation for the ship maneuvering simulator named SMH, anachronym in Portuguese for Maritime and Waterway Simulator, developed on Tanque de Provas Numérico laboratory. For this propose small scale tests were performed with a model of Alpha Crucis ship aiming to create maneuver data that was used as reference for the numerical model validation. Several types of maneuver where selected to create a characterization of the maneuverability of the ship at low speeds and transient regime, and the parameters that quantify the maneuverability were measured. Then were performed numerical experiments recreating the same maneuver executed with the experimental model, with the same initial conditions and propulsion/rudder controls, trying to reproduce the maneuvers to validate the model implemented on the SMH. The results showed that the maneuvering characteristics predicted by the SMH simulator are similar to measured values in the experiment. The dissertation also presents a sensitivity study that shows the effect of the main parameters used in the laboratory Tanque de Provas Numérico for the vessel model calibration, This study showed that for some maneuvers, the tuning parameters have less influence on the results. Finally, the work concludes that the mathematical model used by the SMH represents the ability of the vessel to maneuver consistently for several types of maneuvers, and with a satisfactory degree of accuracy.

Une approche couplée prenant en compte l’interaction de la plasticité cristalline et de la diffusion d’hydrogène a été établie et utilisée pour étudier le transport de l’hydrogène dans les agrégats polycristallins synthétiques de l’acier 316L avec des géométries de grains and des orientations cristallographiques différentes. Les champs mécaniques calculés à l’aide du code ZeBuLoN sont transférés dans un code de diffusion développé dans le cadre de ce travail. Une nouvelle formulation associée à un nouveau schéma numérique permet un calcul qui présente une bonne convergence. Les résultats des simulations montrent la redistribution de l’hydrogène dans les polycristaux due à la présence des hétérogénéités des contraintes hydrostatiques à l’échelle intragranulaire. L’effet de la vitesse de déformation a été quantitativement obtenu. Afin d’enrichir l’approche continue, un intérêt particulier est porté sur le rôle des joints de grains. Des simulations numériques d’un modèle atomique plan par plan ont été développées et appliquées aux bicristaux et aux structures de type ”bambou”. Les effets de puits ou de barrière induits par la présence des joints de grains sont clairement démontrés dans le cas du nickel pur. Pour reproduire ces effets dans les simulations de diffusion avec le modèle continue, une approche originale de simulation”multi-échelles” de la diffusion au joint de grain a été développée, et un nouveau régime de diffusion au joint de grain a été modélisé. / In the present work, we establish a one-way coupled crystal plasticity – hydrogen diffusion analysis and use this approach to study the hydrogen transport in artificial polycrystalline aggregates of 316L steel with different grain geometries and crystallographic orientation. The data about stress/strain fields computed at the microstructure scaleutilizing the crystal plasticity concept are transferred to the in-house diffusion code which was developed using a new numerical scheme for solving parabolic equations. In the case of initial uniform hydrogen content, the heterogeneity of the mechanical fields is shownto induce a redistribution of hydrogen in the microstructure. The effect of strain rate is clearly revealed. In the second part, hydrogen transport across grain boundaries is investigatedconsidering the specific diffusivity and segregation properties of these interfaces. Using a discrete atomic layer model, the retarding impact of grain boundaries is demonstrated on bicrystals and bamboo type membranes with and without external mechanical loading. To reproduce the effects observed in the atomistic simulations into the crystal plasticity – hydrogen diffusion model, a new physically based multi-scale method is proposed. Using this new approach we study the effect of grain boundary trapping kinetics on hydrogen diffusion and reveal a new grain boundary diffusion regime which has notbeen reported before.

In this thesis, we consider the problem of estimating the regression function in location-scale regression models. This model assumes that the random vector (X,Y) satisfies Y = m(X) + s(X)e, where m(.) is an unknown location function (e.g. conditional mean, median, truncated mean,...), s(.) is an unknown scale function, and e is independent of X. The response Y is subject to random right censoring, and the covariate X is completely observed. In the first part of the thesis, we assume that m(x) = E(Y|X=x) follows a polynomial model. A new estimation procedure for the unknown regression parameters is proposed, which extends the classical least squares procedure to censored data. The proposed method is inspired by the method of Buckley and James (1979), but is, unlike the latter method, a non-iterative procedure due to nonparametric preliminary estimation. The asymptotic normality of the estimators is established. Simulations are carried out for both methods and they show that the proposed estimators have usually smaller variance and smaller mean squared error than the Buckley-James estimators. For the second part, suppose that m(.)=E(Y|.) belongs to some parametric class of regression functions. A new estimation procedure for the true, unknown vector of parameters is proposed, that extends the classical least squares procedure for nonlinear regression to the case where the response is subject to censoring. The proposed technique uses new `synthetic' data points that are constructed by using a nonparametric relation between Y and X. The consistency and asymptotic normality of the proposed estimator are established, and the estimator is compared via simulations with an estimator proposed by Stute in 1999. In the third part, we study the nonparametric estimation of the regression function m(.). It is well known that the completely nonparametric estimator of the conditional distribution F(.|x) of Y given X=x suffers from inconsistency problems in the right tail (Beran, 1981), and hence the location function m(x) cannot be estimated consistently in a completely nonparametric way, whenever m(x) involves the right tail of F(.|x) (like e.g. for the conditional mean). We propose two alternative estimators of m(x), that do not share the above inconsistency problems. The idea is to make use of the assumed location-scale model, in order to improve the estimation of F(.|x), especially in the right tail. We obtain the asymptotic properties of the two proposed estimators of m(x). Simulations show that the proposed estimators outperform the completely nonparametric estimator in many cases.