An experimental pressure swing adsorption unit has been constructed and used to investigate the separation of carbon dioxide from carbon dioxide enriched air using both an activated carbon and a type 5A molecular sieve adsorbent. Continuous, cyclic operation was achievedusing a pair of fixed bed adsorbers. At any one time the feed gas entered one bed at a high pressure and part of the purified gas was returned to the other bed at a reduced pressure to provide countercurrent regeneration of the adsorbent. The beds of adsorbent used were each nominally 0.165m diameter and Im. deep. Separations were carried out at approximately ambient temperature using air flow rates in the range 0.15 to 0.95 kg/m2s and inlet carbon dioxide concentrations'in the range 0.1 to 1.5% v/v. Adsorption pressures of 2 to 6.4 bar were examined, the desorption pressure being maintained throughout at essentially 1.0 bar. The period time was varied from 30 to 900 seconds and the revert ratio (i. e. the ratio of the product gas returned for desorption to the total feed rate to the unit) was varied from 0 to 1.0. The carbon dioxide separation efficiency was found to increase markedly as the adsorption pressure and the revert ratio were increased whereas it was relatively insensitive to variations in feed rate and, more particularly, feed concentration. The performance of the molecular sieve adsorbent was found to be very sensitive to the presence of moisture in the feed gas. In contrast the carbon dioxide efficiencies observed with Lhe activated carbon were unaffected by the presence of small amounts (circa 100 ppm) of moisture in the feed. A theoretical model has been proposed for predicting the performance of pressure swing adsorption systems of the type investigated and approximate analytical equations and more precise numerical techniques have been established to represent its solution. The approximate analytical solutions were found to give close agreement with the more precise methods examined under conditions corresponding to low values of a dimensionless period time parameter. The proposed theoretical model incorporates an effective irean mass transfer coefficient to represent the diffusion process within the adsorbent particles. Methods for estimation of the value of this coefficient based on the limiting conditions of a periodic constant surface flux or a periodic constant surface concentration are presented. The experimental performance data were analysed in terms of the proposed analytical solution to give values of the apparent solid phase mass transfer coefficient for comparison with those predicted theoretically. In general the apparent experimental values were consistently less than the predicted values. In addition the relationship between the experimental and predicted coefficients was found to be dependent on both the nature of the adsorbent and a parameter formed by the product of the revert ratio and the adsorption to desorption pressure ratio. Empirical correlating equations which incorporate this dependence are presented.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T19:56:54Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 6010.pdf: 3960363 bytes, checksum: bb924b69a99f6fe80ceb63d34a17b457 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-03-17 / Universidade Federal de Sao Carlos / Distillation is one of the most important and used separation techniques of components at industrial level, applied in a wide range of processes. Its great importance is due to the capacity of purify components of a mixture using the volatility difference among them as driving force. However, this technique represents 40% of the total energy consumption of an industrial facility. Nowadays, with the necessity of rethink the energetic use owing to the massive usage of natural resources, new regulations of pollutant emissions, environmental issues and market competition; the enhancement of the distillation process has become essential to the refineries, petrochemicals and a variety of other sectors of the industry. Empirical studies about the flow dynamics in distillation columns are rare due to the large dimensions of this equipment and the high investment, including measurement instrumentation. This lack of experimental data makes difficult the appropriate understanding of the mechanisms that occur in this equipment, as flow patterns and degree of separation, as well as the relation between both. Nevertheless, to improve the distillation process performance is necessary to deeply know the dynamics of the multiphase flow existing on each tray of the column, where the contact between the phases indeed happens. In this study, was proposed the computational simulation of sieve trays of distillation columns using CFD s tools (Computational Fluid Dynamics). The main aim was to conceive a model capable to predict the hydrodynamics and the more volatile component transfer between the liquid and the vapor. Furthermore, the regions that possibly interfere on obtaining higher efficiencies were pointed out. For that, tridimensional, transient and multiphase models with the Euler- Euler framework were used. The main results show liquid velocity profiles, volumetric fraction, clear liquid height, mass fraction and efficiency. The results presented agreement with the literature. In general, the fluid dynamics results obtained here highlight the significance of the application of models that represent the complex behavior existing on sieve trays, since this crucially influence in the separation degree of the process. The CFD evidenced to be and valuable tool to study this sort of flow on columns internals and can be applied in the design and optimization of those equipment. / A destilação é uma das mais importantes técnicas de separação de componentes empregada a nível industrial nos mais diversos processos. Sua suma importância dá-se na capacidade de purificar componentes de uma mistura utilizando a diferença de volatilidade entre eles como força motriz. Entretanto, trata-se de uma técnica que representa cerca de 40% da energia consumida em uma planta industrial. Atualmente, com a necessidade de se repensar o uso energético, com as novas políticas de emissão de poluentes, da preocupação com o ambiente e a concorrência de mercado; o aperfeiçoamento do processo de destilação tem se tornado essencial para as refinarias, petroquímicas e diversos setores da indústria. Estudos empíricos sobre o escoamento em colunas de destilação são raros, em parte devido às grandes dimensões destes aparelhos e ao alto investimento em equipamentos e instrumentos de medição. Esta carência de dados experimentais dificulta o entendimento adequado dos mecanismos que ocorrem neste equipamento, como os padrões de escoamento e o grau de separação, assim como a relação entre estes dois. Contudo, para que se possa melhorar o processo destilatório, é necessário conhecer a fundo a dinâmica do escoamento multifásico existente em cada prato da coluna, onde de fato ocorre o contato íntimo entre as fases. Neste estudo, foi proposta a simulação computacional de pratos perfurados de colunas de destilação usando ferramentas de CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics). O principal objetivo foi conceber um modelo capaz de prever a hidrodinâmica do prato e a transferência do componente mais volátil entre o líquido e o vapor. Além do mais, foram apontadas as regiões no prato que possivelmente interferem na obtenção de maiores eficiências de estágio. Para isso, foram usados modelos 3D, transientes e multifásicos com abordagem Euler-Euler. Os principais resultados mostram os perfis de velocidade, fração volumétrica, altura de líquido claro, fração mássica e eficiência, os quais apresentaram concordância quando comparados com a literatura. Em geral, os resultados fluidodinâmicos obtidos neste estudo ressaltam a importância da aplicação de modelos que representem o complexo comportamento encontrado em pratos perfurados, já que estes influenciam decisivamente no grau de separação do processo. CFD demonstrou ser uma ferramenta valiosa para estudar o fluxo em internos de torres de destilação e pode ser aplicado para projeto e otimização destes equipamentos.

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No. of bitstreams: 1 TeseGHJ.pdf: 12148265 bytes, checksum: 1180759f1c9f8691c3ce486239959cf5 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-03-24 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / The development of the design of chemical processes has received increasing improvement, incorporating sophisticated mathematical models, which allowed better simulation of its real behavior. Distillation is one of the most important and used separation techniques of components at industrial level, applied in a wide range of processes and its perfect working and optimization are economically crucial factors. Its great importance is due to the capacity of purify components of a mixture using the volatility difference among them as driving force. However, this technique represents 40% of the total energy consumption of an industrial facility. Some of models used for this, such as the models based on equilibrium and non-equilibrium stage concepts, usually provide useful results, but consider empirically many of the fluid dynamics phenomena by assuming a perfect mixture in each phase. Due to the development of the Information Technology (IT), in the numerical methods and improvement in models of multiphase flows, the investigation of complex turbulent flow problems is possible. One way to investigate these problems is to use the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) tecniques. Therefore, it was adopted for this study a CFD model, with the main objective of evaluating the transport phenomena for the isothermal (water-air) and non-isothermal (ethanol-water) flows through the CFD techniques to simulate a distillation sieve tray. The proposed models had the following characteristics in common in the modeling: heterogeneous, three-dimensional, shear stress transport as turbulence model, and Eulerian-Eulerian approach at 1 atm. The continuity and momentum conservation equations were used to describe the isotherm model and for non-isothermal model it was added the energy and chemical species conservations equations. The simulated sieve trays geometries were based on experimental work of Solari e Bell (1986), to which it were observed the influence of the inlet downcomer presence or not on sieve tray. The results for isotherm flow showed the velocity profiles, the volume fractions, and clear liquid height under the influence of the inlet downcomer. For the non-isotherm flow, the results showed moreover the hydraulic parameters, the temperature profiles and ethanol mass fractions for vapor flow rates. Thus, the simulations of the isothermal system indicated a strong influence of the liquid velocity profile for the domain with downcomer inlet. In the non-isothermal system it was possible to determine the separation efficiency, which varied with the vapor flow rates on the sieve tray. The proposed methodology in this work proved to be appropriate and the computational fluid dynamics techniques presented to be an important tool in the design and optimization of sieve trays. / O desenvolvimento de projetos de processos químicos tem recebido aperfeiçoamento cada vez maior, incorporando modelos matemáticos mais sofisticados, os quais possibilitam uma maior aproximação do seu comportamento real. A destilação é uma das mais importantes técnicas de separação de componentes empregada a nível industrial nos mais diversos processos e o seu perfeito funcionamento e otimização são fatores economicamente cruciais. Sua importância dá-se na capacidade de separar os componentes de uma mistura utilizando a diferença de volatilidade entre eles como força motriz. Entretanto, trata-se de uma técnica que representa cerca de 40% da energia consumida em uma planta industrial. Alguns modelos utilizados nesses dispositivos, tais como os modelos baseados em conceitos de estágios de equilíbrio e não-equilíbrio, geralmente fornecem resultados úteis, mas consideram empiricamente muitos fenômenos fluidodinâmicos e assumem uma mistura perfeita em cada fase. Com o avanço da Tecnologia de Informação (TI), dos métodos numéricos e aperfeiçoamento em modelos de fluxos multifásicos, é possível a investigação de problemas complexos de escoamentos turbulentos. Uma das formas de investigar esses problemas é a aplicação das técnicas da Fluidodinâmica Computacional (CFD). Dessa maneira, foi adotado para o presente trabalho um modelo de CFD, tendo como objetivo principal a avaliar os fenômenos de transportes para os escoamentos isotérmico (água-ar) e não isotérmico (etanol-água) através das técnicas de CFD na simulação de um prato perfurado de destilação. Os modelos propostos, possuem em geral, as seguintes características em comum: modelo heterogêneo, tridimensional, modelo de turbulência shear stress transport e abordagem Euleriana-Euleriana a 1 atm. As equações da continuidade e de conservação da quantidade de movimento foram empregadas no modelo isotérmico e para o modelo não isotérmico foram adicionadas as equações de conservações de energia e das espécies químicas. Os domínios computacionais foram baseados no trabalho de Solari e Bell (1986), onde foram observados a influência da presença ou não do downcomer de entrada no prato perfurado. Os resultados para o escoamento isotérmico mostraram os perfis de velocidades de líquido, as frações volumétricas e a altura de líquido claro sob a influência do downcomer de entrada. Para o escoamento não isotérmico, os resultados mostraram, além dos parâmetros hidráulicos, os perfis de temperatura e das frações mássicas de etanol para várias vazões de vapor. Assim, as simulações do sistema isotérmico indicaram uma forte influência do perfil de velocidade de líquido na entrada prato para o domínio com downcomer. No sistema não isotérmico foi possível determinar a eficiência de separação, a qual variou com a vazão de vapor no prato. A metodologia proposta neste trabalho foi adequada para aplicações em internos de coluna de destilação, mostrando-se uma ferramenta viável e importante no desenvolvimento e otimização de pratos perfurados.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T19:56:47Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 4497.pdf: 8936250 bytes, checksum: a23101fb063b44abfcf0e8b680623fc7 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-03-26 / The development of the design of chemical processes has received increasing improvement, incorporating sophisticated mathematical models, which allowed better simulation of its real behavior. The distillation column is one of the most widely used separation equipment in the industry and therefore, its perfect working and optimization are economically crucial factors. Thus, the study of the hydrodynamic in distillation column sieve trays has increased over the years with the purpose to optimize the flow patterns, which is of great importance on the mass and energy transfer efficient. Due to the development of powerful computers, advances in numerical methods and improvement in models of multiphase flows, the investigation of complex flow problems is possible. One way to investigate these problems is to use Computational Fluid Dynamics. Thus, in this work we used commercial package CFD software to predict the hydrodynamics in a sieve tray, with the main objective to evaluate the velocity fields and compare them with the experimental work of Solari and Bell (1986). We proposed a two-fluid model with Eulerian-Eulerian framework, three-dimensional (3D), steady-state and the standard k-ε turbulence model for air/water system at 1 atm. The continuity and momentum conservation equations were used to describe the gas and liquid phases. The simulated sieve tray geometry was based on experimental work of Solari e Bell (1986). The simulation domain included the downcomer region. New sieve tray geometry design was proposed to evaluate the hydrodynamics. The results show the velocity profiles, volume fractions and liquid recirculation zones on the sieve tray for several combination of liquid and gas flow rates. The simulation indicated the presence of recirculation and stagnation zones, and it reproduced satisfactorily the results of Solari e Bell (1986) and the new geometry design reduced the liquid recirculation zones on tray. The proposed methodology in this work proved to be appropriate and the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) techniques presented to be an important tool in the design and optimization of sieve trays. / O desenvolvimento de projetos de processos químicos tem recebido aperfeiçoamento cada vez maior, incorporando modelos matemáticos mais sofisticados, os quais possibilitam uma maior aproximação do seu comportamento real. A coluna de destilação é um dos equipamentos de separação mais empregados na indústria e por isso, o perfeito funcionamento e otimização são fatores economicamente cruciais. Deste modo, o estudo da hidrodinâmica de pratos perfurados em coluna de destilação vem crescendo ao longo dos anos, no intuito de otimizar os fluxos de escoamento, que tem uma grande importância sobre a eficiência na transferência de massa e energia. Com o desenvolvimento de poderosos computadores, avanços em métodos numéricos e aperfeiçoamento em modelos de fluxos multifásicos, é possível a investigação de problemas complexos de escoamentos. Uma das formas de investigar esses problemas é a utilização da Fluidodinâmica Computacional. Assim, neste trabalho foi utilizado um pacote comercial de CFD para prever a hidrodinâmica em um prato perfurado, tendo como objetivo principal avaliar os campos de velocidades e compará-los com o trabalho experimental de Solari e Bell (1986). Foi proposto um modelo de duas equações com abordagem Euleriana-Euleriana, tridimensional (3-D), estado estacionário e o modelo de turbulência k-ε padrão para um sistema ar/água a 1 atm. As equações da continuidade e de conservação de quantidade de movimento foram empregadas no modelo para descrever a fase líquida e a fase vapor. A geometria do prato perfurado foi baseada no trabalho experimental de Solari e Bell (1986), na qual foi incluída a região do downcomer. Uma nova geometria de prato foi proposta para observar a hidrodinâmica. Os resultados mostram os perfis de velocidades, frações volumétricas e zonas de recirculação de líquido no prato perfurado para várias combinações de vazões de líquido e vapor. A simulação indicou a presença de zonas de recirculação e estagnação. A simulação reproduziu satisfatoriamente os resultados experimentais de Solari e Bell (1986) e a nova geometria reduziu as zonas de recirculação de líquido no prato. A metodologia proposta neste trabalho foi adequada e a técnica da Fluidodinâmica Computacional mostrou-se uma ferramenta viável e importante no desenvolvimento e otimização de pratos perfurados.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-08-20T13:44:32Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 tese_claiton_rodrigues.pdf: 611037 bytes, checksum: 71a8a51da2372a1903bb54a0a0d9073e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-12-20 / The change in the profile of soybean varieties which favor the reduction of population is accompanied by the necessity of enhancement in the process for classifying seeds by size, standardizing the distribution in the sowing row. The present study aimed to characterize the classification of soybean seeds by size with the purpose of precision sowing. The first experiment conceptualized sorted lots at intervals of 0.5mm, 1.00mm, and unrated by size. To that end, the retention in the dominant sieve and number of diameters found in each of the intervals evaluated were used as parameters. In the second experiment combinations of intervals of classification by size of 0.5mm, 1.00mm, and unrated by size with different seed base diameters in a soybean cultivar. 5.0mm, 5.5mm, 6.0mm, and 6.5mm diameters were used. We evaluated the percentage of sowing at normal spacing, double spacing, spacing at failure, spacing at double failure, average spacing, number of seeds per linear meter, and population per hectare. A speed of 6.5km/hr was set for evaluation and desired sowing density of 14 seeds per linear meter. In the Experiment 3 the same parameters of the Experiment 2 were evaluated, but in four different soybean cultivars. The equipment used in the Experiments 2 and 3 to evaluate the plantability was Corn Counter from Syngenta. In the Experiment 4 the evaluation involved 182 samples of soybean seed lots collected in the warehouses of seeds buying companies. A quality assessment of classification by seed company size from Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina, saved grains, and Sementes Iruña company was done. All samples were subjected to sieving retention test. RDS parameters, number of sieves, and the percentage participation of each seed diameter. Based on the results, the following conclusions were drawn: the classification of soybean seeds by size favors plantability, showing lower rates of double sowing, failures and double failures, and a better distribution in lower spacing that favors a better fit in the sowing density. The classification in the range of 0.5 mm favors the plantability indexes with high retention in the dominant sieve, and favoring the choice of sowing disks. The great majority of seeds producing companies from Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina have no rigor in seed classification by size classification. / A mudança no perfil das variedades de soja que favorecem a redução de população vem acompanhada da necessidade de aperfeiçoamento no processo de classificação das sementes por largura, uniformizando a distribuição na linha de semeadura. O presente trabalho teve como objetivo caracterizar a classificação de sementes de soja por largura, com fins de precisão de semeadura. O primeiro experimento conceituou lotes classificados em intervalos de 0,5mm, 1,00mm e sem classificação por largura. Para tal, usou-se como parâmetros a retenção na peneira dominante e o número de diâmetros encontrados em cada um dos intervalos avaliados. No segundo experimento foram avaliadas as combinações de intervalos de classificação por largura em 0,5mm, 1,0mm e sem classificação por largura, com diferentes diâmetros base de sementes em uma cultivar de soja. Foram utilizados os diâmetros: 5,0mm, 5,5mm, 6,0mm e 6,5mm. Também, foram avaliados: percentagem de semeadura em espaçamento normal, espaçamento duplo, espaçamento em falha, espaçamento em dupla falha, espaçamento médio, número de sementes por metro linear e população por hectare. Para a avaliação fixou-se a velocidade de 6,5Km-1h e densidade de semeadura desejada de 14 sementes por metro linear. No experimento três, foram avaliados os mesmos parâmetros do experimento dois, porém em quatro diferentes cultivares de soja. Para os experimento dois e três, o equipamento utilizado para plantabilidade foi o Corn Counter, da Syngenta No experimento 4 a avaliação envolveu 182 amostras de lotes de sementes de soja coletadas em armazéns de empresas compradoras de sementes. Nesse experimento, fez-se uma avaliação da qualidade da classificação por largura de empresas de sementes originadas do Brasil, Paraguai, Argentina, semente caseira e da empresa Sementes Iruña . Todas as amostras foram submetidas ao teste de retenção de peneiras. Avaliaram-se, ainda, os parâmetros: retenção na peneira dominante (RPD), número de peneiras e participação em percentagem de cada diâmetro de semente. Com base nos resultados, obtiveram-se as seguintes conclusões: a classificação de sementes de soja por largura favorece a plantabilidade, demonstrando menores índices de semeaduras duplas, falhas e duplas falhas, e uma melhor distribuição em espaçamento normal, favorecendo um melhor ajuste na densidade de semeadura; a classificação em intervalo de 0,5mm favorece os índices de plantabilidade, apresentando alta retenção na peneira dominante, favorecendo a escolha de discos de semeadura.

Nous démontrons deux nouveaux résultats de densité à propos du 16-rang des groupes des classes de corps de nombres quadratiques. Le premier des deux est que le groupe des classes de Q(sqrt{-p}) a un élément d'ordre 16 pour un quart des nombres premiers p qui sont de la forme a^2+c^4 avec c pair. Le deuxième est que le groupe des classes de Q(sqrt{-2p}) a un élément d'ordre 16 pour un huitième des nombres premiers p=-1 (mod 4). Ces résultats de densité sont intéressants pour plusieurs raisons. D'abord, ils sont les premiers résultats non triviaux de densité sur le 16-rang des groupes des classes dans une famille de corps de nombres quadratiques. Deuxièmement, ils prouvent une instance des conjectures de Cohen et Lenstra. Troisièmement, leurs preuves impliquent de nouvelles applications des cribles développés par Friedlander et Iwaniec. Quatrièmement, nous donnons une description explicite du sous-corps du corps de classes de Hilbert de degré 8 de Q(sqrt{-p}) lorsque p est un nombre premier de la forme a^2+c^4 avec c pair; l'absence d'une telle description explicite pour le sous-corps du corps de classes de Hilbert de degré 8 de Q(sqrt{d}) est le frein principal à l'amélioration des estimations de la densité des discriminants positifs d pour lesquels l'équation de Pell négative x^2-dy^2=-1 est résoluble. Dans le cas du deuxième résultat, nous donnons une description explicite d'un élément d'ordre 4 dans le groupe des classes de Q(sqrt{-2p}) et on calcule son symbole d'Artin dans le sous-corps du corps de classes de Hilbert de degré 4 de Q(sqrt{-2p}), généralisant ainsi un résultat de Leonard et Williams. Enfin, nous démontrons un très bon terme d'erreur pour une fonction de comptage des nombres premiers qui est liée au 16-rang du groupe des classes de Q(sqrt{-2p}), donnant ainsi des indications fortes contre une conjecture de Cohn et Lagarias que le 16-rang est contrôlé par un critère de type Chebotarev. / We prove two new density results about 16-ranks of class groups of quadratic number fields. The first of the two is that the class group of Q(sqrt{-p}) has an element of order 16 for one-fourth of prime numbers p that are of the form a^2+c^4 with c even. The second is that the class group of Q(sqrt{-2p}) has an element of order 16 for one-eighth of prime numbers p=-1 (mod 4). These density results are interesting for several reasons. First, they are the first non-trivial density results about the 16-rank of class groups in a family of quadratic number fields. Second, they prove an instance of the Cohen-Lenstra conjectures. Third, both of their proofs involve new applications of powerful sieving techniques developed by Friedlander and Iwaniec. Fourth, we give an explicit description of the 8-Hilbert class field of Q(sqrt{-p}) whenever p is a prime number of the form a^2+c^4 with c even; the lack of such an explicit description for the 8-Hilbert class field of Q(sqrt{d}) is the main obstacle to improving the estimates for the density of positive discriminants d for which the negative Pell equation x^2-dy^2=-1 is solvable. In case of the second result, we give an explicit description of an element of order 4 in the class group of Q(sqrt{-2p}) and we compute its Artin symbol in the 4-Hilbert class field of Q(sqrt{-2p}), thereby generalizing a result of Leonard and Williams. Finally, we prove a power-saving error term for a prime-counting function related to the 16-rank of the class group of Q(sqrt{-2p}), thereby giving strong evidence against a conjecture of Cohn and Lagarias that the 16-rank is governed by a Chebotarev-type criterion.

Black Soldier Fly Larvae (BSFL) composting is a treatment procedure that generates two products: frass compost and BSFL. These products have different uses. BSFL can be used as animal feed and frass compost as soil fertiliser, and they need to be separated after the composting procedure has been finished. A separator of the vibrating sieve type, currently in use by a research group at SLU for separating BSFL from the frass compost generated by the composting process, was tested and evaluated in terms of fraction purity and separation time. It was found that the fraction purity was over 90% for the BSFL fraction, and that the separation time was approximately 1-1.5 minutes for 4 kg of material. Hotspots for improvement were identified and a new vibrating sieve was designed and built with the aim of providing flexibility for improving fraction purity, separation time and operator ergonomy for the end-customer. A CAD model of the new vibrating sieve was designed in SolidWorks with a complete set of technical drawings and purchasing components. These drawings were sent out for manufacturing at a workshop and the new vibrating sieve was built and tested. The new vibrating sieve was functioning properly, but its optimal mechanical settings need further research and testing. This separator design could be emulated by others, and also improved, and this research could be used for improving the process outcome for future BSFL separation processes.

Diploma thesis deals with design of semimobile device for sorting sand and describes design of machine parts. This thesis includes checking calculations of selected structural elements and final verification of calculations and measurements.

Pronunciation problems of Czech French-learning students and the effectiveness of learning strategies applied by the students of Faculty of Education, Charles University and Faculty of Philosophy and Arts, University of West Bohemia AUTHOR: PhDr. Kateřina Juřičková DEPARTMENT: Department of French Language and Literature, Charles University TUTOR: doc. PhDr. Marie Fenclová, CSc. This PhD thesis - a comparative study - deals on the segmental level with vowels which Czech French-learning speakers find difficult to pronounce and on the suprasegmental level with prosodic factors. On the former level, closed vowels both labialized and sharp, nasal vowels, schwa and semi-vowels are analysed. The first, theoretical part of the paper contains the phonetic and phonological characteristics of the Czech language and the French language from the viewpoint of vocalic systems of these languages and from the viewpoint of melody-prosody interaction. The second, experimental part, contains descriptions of the pre- research single phase observation of problematic phenomena obtained from three groups of students of KFJL (Department of French Language and Literature; Faculty of Education - Charles University), and findings from the research proper from two-phase observations of two groups of students of KFJL and...

Soit $p_1 = 2, p_2 = 3, p_3 = 5,\ldots$ la suite des nombres premiers, et soient $q \ge 3$ et $a$ des entiers premiers entre eux. R\'ecemment, Daniel Shiu a d\'emontr\'e une ancienne conjecture de Sarvadaman Chowla. Ce dernier a conjectur\'e qu'il existe une infinit\'e de couples $p_n,p_$ de premiers cons\'ecutifs tels que $p_n \equiv p_{n+1} \equiv a \bmod q$. Fixons $\epsilon > 0$. Une r\'ecente perc\'ee majeure, de Daniel Goldston, J\`anos Pintz et Cem Y{\i}ld{\i}r{\i}m, a \'et\'e de d\'emontrer qu'il existe une suite de nombres r\'eels $x$ tendant vers l'infini, tels que l'intervalle $(x,x+\epsilon\log x]$ contienne au moins deux nombres premiers $\equiv a \bmod q$. \'Etant donn\'e un couple de nombres premiers $\equiv a \bmod q$ dans un tel intervalle, il pourrait exister un nombre premier compris entre les deux qui n'est pas $\equiv a \bmod q$. On peut d\'eduire que soit il existe une suite de r\'eels $x$ tendant vers l'infini, telle que $(x,x+\epsilon\log x]$ contienne un triplet $p_n,p_{n+1},p_{n+2}$ de nombres premiers cons\'ecutifs, soit il existe une suite de r\'eels $x$, tendant vers l'infini telle que l'intervalle $(x,x+\epsilon\log x]$ contienne un couple $p_n,p_{n+1}$ de nombres premiers tel que $p_n \equiv p_{n+1} \equiv a \bmod q$. On pense que les deux \'enonc\'es sont vrais, toutefois on peut seulement d\'eduire que l'un d'entre eux est vrai, sans savoir lequel. Dans la premi\`ere partie de cette th\`ese, nous d\'emontrons que le deuxi\`eme \'enonc\'e est vrai, ce qui fournit une nouvelle d\'emonstration de la conjecture de Chowla. La preuve combine des id\'ees de Shiu et de Goldston-Pintz-Y{\i}ld{\i}r{\i}m, donc on peut consid\'erer que ce r\'esultat est une application de leurs m\'thodes. Ensuite, nous fournirons des bornes inf\'erieures pour le nombre de couples $p_n,p_{n+1}$ tels que $p_n \equiv p_{n+1} \equiv a \bmod q$, $p_{n+1} - p_n < \epsilon\log p_n$, avec $p_{n+1} \le Y$. Sous l'hypoth\`ese que $\theta$, le \og niveau de distribution \fg{} des nombres premiers, est plus grand que $1/2$, Goldston-Pintz-Y{\i}ld{\i}r{\i}m ont r\'eussi \`a d\'emontrer que $p_{n+1} - p_n \ll_{\theta} 1$ pour une infinit\'e de couples $p_n,p_$. Sous la meme hypoth\`ese, nous d\'emontrerons que $p_{n+1} - p_n \ll_{q,\theta} 1$ et $p_n \equiv p_{n+1} \equiv a \bmod q$ pour une infinit\'e de couples $p_n,p_$, et nous prouverons \'egalement un r\'esultat quantitatif. Dans la deuxi\`eme partie, nous allons utiliser les techniques de Goldston-Pintz-Yldrm pour d\'emontrer qu'il existe une infinit\'e de couples de nombres premiers $p,p'$ tels que $(p-1)(p'-1)$ est une carr\'e parfait. Ce resultat est une version approximative d'une ancienne conjecture qui stipule qu'il existe une infinit\'e de nombres premiers $p$ tels que $p-1$ est une carr\'e parfait. En effet, nous d\'emontrerons une borne inf\'erieure sur le nombre d'entiers naturels $n \le Y$ tels que $n = \ell_1\cdots \ell_r$, avec $\ell_1,\ldots,\ell_r$ des premiers distincts, et tels que $(\ell_1-1)\cdots (\ell_r-1)$ est une puissance $r$-i\`eme, avec $r \ge 2$ quelconque. \'Egalement, nous d\'emontrerons une borne inf\'erieure sur le nombre d'entiers naturels $n = \ell_1\cdots \ell_r \le Y$ tels que $(\ell_1+1)\cdots (\ell_r+1)$ est une puissance $r$-i\`eme. Finalement, \'etant donn\'e $A$ un ensemble fini d'entiers non-nuls, nous d\'emontrerons une borne inf\'erieure sur le nombre d'entiers naturels $n \le Y$ tels que $\prod_ (p+a)$ est une puissance $r$-i\`eme, simultan\'ement pour chaque $a \in A$. / Let $p_1 = 2, p_2 = 3, p_3 = 5,\ldots$ be the sequence of all primes, and let $q \ge 3$ and $a$ be coprime integers. Recently, and very remarkably, Daniel Shiu proved an old conjecture of Sarvadaman Chowla, which asserts that there are infinitely many pairs of consecutive primes $p_n,p_{n+1}$ for which $p_n \equiv p_{n+1} \equiv a \bmod q$. Now fix a number $\epsilon > 0$, arbitrarily small. In their recent groundbreaking work, Daniel Goldston, J\`anos Pintz and Cem Y{\i}ld{\i}r{\i}m proved that there are arbitrarily large $x$ for which the short interval $(x, x + \epsilon\log x]$ contains at least two primes congruent to $a \bmod q$. Given a pair of primes $\equiv a \bmod q$ in such an interval, there might be a prime in-between them that is not $\equiv a \bmod q$. One can deduce that \emph{either} there are arbitrarily large $x$ for which $(x, x + \epsilon\log x]$ contains a prime pair $p_n \equiv p_{n+1} \equiv a \bmod q$, \emph{or} that there are arbitrarily large $x$ for which the $(x, x + \epsilon\log x]$ contains a triple of consecutive primes $p_n,p_{n+1},p_{n+2}$. Both statements are believed to be true, but one can only deduce that one of them is true, and one does not know which one, from the result of Goldston-Pintz-Y{\i}ld{\i}r{\i}m. In Part I of this thesis, we prove that the first of these alternatives is true, thus obtaining a new proof of Chowla's conjecture. The proof combines some of Shiu's ideas with those of Goldston-Pintz-Y{\i}ld{\i}r{\i}m, and so this result may be regarded as an application of their method. We then establish lower bounds for the number of prime pairs $p_n \equiv p_{n+1} \equiv a \bmod q$ with $p_{n+1} - p_n < \epsilon\log p_n$ and $p_{n+1} \le Y$. Assuming a certain unproven hypothesis concerning what is referred to as the `level of distribution', $\theta$, of the primes, Goldston-Pintz-Y{\i}ld{\i}r{\i}m were able to prove that $p_{n+1} - p_n \ll_{\theta} 1$ for infinitely many $n$. On the same hypothesis, we prove that there are infinitely many prime pairs $p_n \equiv p_{n+1} \equiv a \bmod q$ with $p_{n+1} - p_n \ll_{q,\theta} 1$. This conditional result is also proved in a quantitative form. In Part II we apply the techniques of Goldston-Pintz-Y{\i}ld{\i}r{\i}m to prove another result, namely that there are infinitely many pairs of distinct primes $p,p'$ such that $(p-1)(p'-1)$ is a perfect square. This is, in a sense, an `approximation' to the old conjecture that there are infinitely many primes $p$ such that $p-1$ is a perfect square. In fact we obtain a lower bound for the number of integers $n$, up to $Y$, such that $n = \ell_1\cdots \ell_r$, the $\ell_i$ distinct primes, and $(\ell_1 - 1)\cdots (\ell_r - 1)$ is a perfect $r$th power, for any given $r \ge 2$. We likewise obtain a lower bound for the number of such $n \le Y$ for which $(\ell_1 + 1)\cdots (\ell_r + 1)$ is a perfect $r$th power. Finally, given a finite set $A$ of nonzero integers, we obtain a lower bound for the number of $n \le Y$ for which $\prod_{p \mid n}(p+a)$ is a perfect $r$th power, simultaneously for every $a \in A$.