A água de lastro de navios é um dos principais agentes dispersivos de organismos nocivos à saúde humana e ao meio ambiente e normas internacionais exigem que a concentração desses organismos no tanque seja menor que um valor previamente especificado. Por limitações de tempo e custo, esse controle requer o uso de amostragem. Sob a hipótese de que a concentração desses organismos no tanque é homogênea, vários autores têm utilizado a distribuição Poisson para a tomada de decisão com base num teste de hipóteses. Como essa proposta é pouco realista, estendemos os resultados para casos em que a concentração de organismos no tanque é heterogênea utilizando estratificação, processos de Poisson não-homogêneos ou assumindo que ela obedece a uma distribuição Gama, que induz uma distribuição Binomial Negativa para o número de organismos amostrados. Além disso, propomos uma nova abordagem para o problema por meio de técnicas de estimação baseadas na distribuição Binomial Negativa. Para fins de aplicação, implementamos rotinas computacionais no software R / Ballast water is a leading dispersing agent of harmful organisms to human health and to the environment and international standards require that the concentration of these organisms in the tank must be less than a prespecified value. Because of time and cost limitations, this inspection requires the use of sampling. Under the assumption of an homogeneous organism concentration in the tank, several authors have used the Poisson distribution for decision making based on hypothesis testing. Since this proposal is unrealistic, we extend the results for cases in which the organism concentration in the tank is heterogeneous, using stratification, nonhomogeneous Poisson processes or assuming that it follows a Gamma distribution, which induces a Negative Binomial distribution for the number of sampled organisms. Furthermore, we propose a novel approach to the problem through estimation techniques based on the Negative Binomial distribution. For practical applications, we implemented computational routines using the R software

Microorganisms have played a critical role in geological processes and in the formation of soils throughout geological time. It is hypothesized that biological activity can also affect soil properties in short engineering time-scales. Bioactivity in sediments is determined by the classical limiting factors (i.e., nutrients, water, C for biomass, temperature and pH) as well as by pore-size geometrical limits and mechanical interactions between bacterial cells and soil particles. These constraints restrict the range of grain size and burial depth where biomediated geochemical processes can be expected in sediments, affect the interpretation of geological processes and the development of engineering solutions such as bioremediation. When biological, geometrical and mechanical limiting factors are satisfied, bioactivity can be designed to alter the mechanical properties of a soil mass, including lowering the bulk stiffness of the pore fluid through controlled gas bio-generation, increasing the shear stiffness of the soil skeleton by biomineralization, and reducing hydraulic conduction through biofilm formation and clogging. Each of these processes can be analyzed to capture the bio-chemo-hydro-mechanical coupling effects, in order to identify the governing equations that can be used for process design. Design must recognize the implications of spatial variability, reversibility and environmental impacts.

Malaria is a curable disease that claims nearly one million lives each year. Problems with the treatment of malaria arise as resistance spreads and new treatment options are becoming less effective. The need for new treatments are of the utmost importance. Liposomes combined with antimalarials are a new avenue for research as liposomes can increase the efficacy of drugs against pathogens, as well as decreasing toxicity. Amodiaquine is a drug with known toxicity issues, but has proven to be effective and is, therefore, a prime candidate to be incorporated into the liposomal drug delivery system. The aim of this study was to prepare, characterize and evaluate the toxicity of the liposomes with incorporated amodiaquine. The solubility of amodiaquine was determined and liposomes formulated with, and without, amodiaquine entrapped. Accelerated stability studies (at 5 'C, 25 'C with relative humidity of 60% and 40 'C with a relative humidity of 40%) were conducted during which the size, pH, morphology and the entrapment efficacy was determined. The toxicity was determined in vitro by analysing the levels of reactive oxidative species and lipid peroxidation caused by the formulations to erythrocytes infected with P. falciparum as well as uninfected erythrocytes with flow cytometry. The solubility study of amodiaquine in different pH buffers showed that amodiaquine was more soluble at lower pH values. Solubility in solution with pH 4.5 was 36.3359 ± 0.7904mg/ml when compared to the solubility at pH 6.8, which was 15.6052 ± 1.1126 mg/ml. A buffer with a pH of 6 was used to ensure adequate solubility and acceptable compatibility with cells. Liposomes with incorporated amodiaquine were formulated with entrapment efficacies starting at 29.038 ± 2.599% and increasing to 51.914 ± 1.683%. The accelerated stability studies showed the median sizes and span values remained constant for both liposome and amodiaquine incorporated liposomes at 5 'C. The higher temperatures, i.e. 25 'C and 40 'C, displayed increases in the median size, and decreases in the span for both formulations. The conclusion can, therefore, be made that both liposome and amodiaquine incorporated liposomes are stable at lower temperatures. The entrapment efficacy increased from initial values to nearly 100% during the course of the stability study. This was attributed to amodiaquine precipitating from the solution. The pH values of the liposomes and amodiaquine incorporated liposomes remained constant for each formulation; though the amodiaquine incorporated liposomes had a lower starting pH, the formulations are both thought to be stable in terms of the pH. Toxicity studies revealed low levels of reactive oxygen species as well as low levels of lipid peroxidation for both liposome and amodiaquine incorporated liposomes, on both erythrocyte and Plasmodium infected erythrocytes. From the toxicity studies it can be concluded that liposomes and amodiaquine incorporated liposomes are not toxic to erythrocytes and infected erythrocytes. It was concluded that liposomes incorporating amodiaquine could possibly be used as a treatment option for malaria. / Thesis (M.Sc. (Pharmaceutics))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.

Malaria is a curable disease that claims nearly one million lives each year. Problems with the treatment of malaria arise as resistance spreads and new treatment options are becoming less effective. The need for new treatments are of the utmost importance. Liposomes combined with antimalarials are a new avenue for research as liposomes can increase the efficacy of drugs against pathogens, as well as decreasing toxicity. Amodiaquine is a drug with known toxicity issues, but has proven to be effective and is, therefore, a prime candidate to be incorporated into the liposomal drug delivery system. The aim of this study was to prepare, characterize and evaluate the toxicity of the liposomes with incorporated amodiaquine. The solubility of amodiaquine was determined and liposomes formulated with, and without, amodiaquine entrapped. Accelerated stability studies (at 5 'C, 25 'C with relative humidity of 60% and 40 'C with a relative humidity of 40%) were conducted during which the size, pH, morphology and the entrapment efficacy was determined. The toxicity was determined in vitro by analysing the levels of reactive oxidative species and lipid peroxidation caused by the formulations to erythrocytes infected with P. falciparum as well as uninfected erythrocytes with flow cytometry. The solubility study of amodiaquine in different pH buffers showed that amodiaquine was more soluble at lower pH values. Solubility in solution with pH 4.5 was 36.3359 ± 0.7904mg/ml when compared to the solubility at pH 6.8, which was 15.6052 ± 1.1126 mg/ml. A buffer with a pH of 6 was used to ensure adequate solubility and acceptable compatibility with cells. Liposomes with incorporated amodiaquine were formulated with entrapment efficacies starting at 29.038 ± 2.599% and increasing to 51.914 ± 1.683%. The accelerated stability studies showed the median sizes and span values remained constant for both liposome and amodiaquine incorporated liposomes at 5 'C. The higher temperatures, i.e. 25 'C and 40 'C, displayed increases in the median size, and decreases in the span for both formulations. The conclusion can, therefore, be made that both liposome and amodiaquine incorporated liposomes are stable at lower temperatures. The entrapment efficacy increased from initial values to nearly 100% during the course of the stability study. This was attributed to amodiaquine precipitating from the solution. The pH values of the liposomes and amodiaquine incorporated liposomes remained constant for each formulation; though the amodiaquine incorporated liposomes had a lower starting pH, the formulations are both thought to be stable in terms of the pH. Toxicity studies revealed low levels of reactive oxygen species as well as low levels of lipid peroxidation for both liposome and amodiaquine incorporated liposomes, on both erythrocyte and Plasmodium infected erythrocytes. From the toxicity studies it can be concluded that liposomes and amodiaquine incorporated liposomes are not toxic to erythrocytes and infected erythrocytes. It was concluded that liposomes incorporating amodiaquine could possibly be used as a treatment option for malaria. / Thesis (M.Sc. (Pharmaceutics))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.

A água de lastro de navios é um dos principais agentes dispersivos de organismos nocivos à saúde humana e ao meio ambiente e normas internacionais exigem que a concentração desses organismos no tanque seja menor que um valor previamente especificado. Por limitações de tempo e custo, esse controle requer o uso de amostragem. Sob a hipótese de que a concentração desses organismos no tanque é homogênea, vários autores têm utilizado a distribuição Poisson para a tomada de decisão com base num teste de hipóteses. Como essa proposta é pouco realista, estendemos os resultados para casos em que a concentração de organismos no tanque é heterogênea utilizando estratificação, processos de Poisson não-homogêneos ou assumindo que ela obedece a uma distribuição Gama, que induz uma distribuição Binomial Negativa para o número de organismos amostrados. Além disso, propomos uma nova abordagem para o problema por meio de técnicas de estimação baseadas na distribuição Binomial Negativa. Para fins de aplicação, implementamos rotinas computacionais no software R / Ballast water is a leading dispersing agent of harmful organisms to human health and to the environment and international standards require that the concentration of these organisms in the tank must be less than a prespecified value. Because of time and cost limitations, this inspection requires the use of sampling. Under the assumption of an homogeneous organism concentration in the tank, several authors have used the Poisson distribution for decision making based on hypothesis testing. Since this proposal is unrealistic, we extend the results for cases in which the organism concentration in the tank is heterogeneous, using stratification, nonhomogeneous Poisson processes or assuming that it follows a Gamma distribution, which induces a Negative Binomial distribution for the number of sampled organisms. Furthermore, we propose a novel approach to the problem through estimation techniques based on the Negative Binomial distribution. For practical applications, we implemented computational routines using the R software

Orientador: Osvaldir Pereira Taranto / Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Engenharia Química / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-27T00:40:14Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Silva_CarlosAlexandreMoreirada_D.pdf: 33350422 bytes, checksum: 046e0a2c090474593621166c81042136 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015 / Resumo: As indústrias química, alimentícia e farmacêutica têm empregado extensivamente a operação de fluidização em inúmeros processos, devido às suas características bastante atrativas, que possibilitam um contato efetivo entre a fase sólida e fluida, o que reflete na geração de altas taxas de transferência de calor e de massa. No entanto, o regime de fluidização borbulhante, o qual é condição de partida dos processos que envolvem esta operação, frequentemente é afetado pelas condições operacionais. As temperaturas elevadas, o conteúdo de umidade excessivo das partículas e a introdução de líquidos no leito fluidizado podem conduzir a instabilidades no regime fluidodinâmico e provocar o colapso parcial ou total do leito, reduzindo a eficiência do processo. A manutenção de condições estáveis do regime de fluidização durante processos de recobrimento de partículas em leitos fluidizados é de fundamental importância para garantir uma eficiência de recobrimento favorável e evitar a formação de zonas sem movimentação e aglomeração das partículas no leito, pois estes fatores indesejáveis comprometem a mistura entre as fases e conseqüentemente a qualidade do produto final. Dentro deste contexto, a utilização de um sistema de monitoramento e controle em tempo real de processos de recobrimento de partículas é extremamente desejável para permitir a operação de regimes de fluidização estáveis e garantir um filme de recobrimento uniforme e boas condições de escoabilidade dos sólidos. A presente proposta de tese de doutorado tem por objetivo aplicar a metodologia de análise espectral Gaussiana dos sinais de flutuação de pressão (Parise et al. (2008)), para o desenvolvimento de sistemas de controle baseados em inteligência artificial (Lógica Fuzzy), visando monitorar a estabilidade do regime de fluidização em processo de recobrimento de partículas. Comparações entre as condições fluidodinâmicas dos processos com e sem controle foram analisadas para operações em leito fluidizado em escala de laboratorio. Para avaliar a qualidade das partículas foi utilizada uma sonda de monitoramento in-line (Parsum IPP70), onde se pôde verificar os instantes iniciais da aglomeração indesejada. Com a aplicação desde sistema automatizado foi possível associar a estabilidade da fluidização em função do elevado grau de aglomeração. O ponto de parada do processo pôde ser definido em 420 µm (inicial em 360 µm) e a partir deste o mecanismo de recobrimento acontece simultaneamente com o de aglomeração. Os parâmetros de monitoramento do regime conseguiram não somente identificar a fase inicial da defluidização, como também foi possível a partir deles, controlar o processo por Lógica Fuzzy-PI e estabilizar a operação para altas taxas de suspensão atomizadas / Abstract: The chemical, food and pharmaceutical industries have extensively used fluidization operation in many cases, due to its very attractive features that enable effective contact between the solid and fluid phase, which reflects the generation of high heat and mass transfer rates. However, the bubbling fluidization regime, which is the starting condition of the processes involved in this operation is often affected by operating conditions. Elevated temperatures, excessive moisture content of the particles and introduction of liquid into the fluidized bed may lead to instabilities in the fluid-dynamic regime and cause partial or total collapse of the bed, reducing the process efficiency. The maintenance of stable conditions of the fluidization regime for particle coating processes in fluidized beds is of fundamental importance to ensure a favorable coating efficiency and to avoid zones without movement and agglomeration of particles in the bed, because these undesirable factors compromise the mixing between the phases and therefore the quality of the final product. Within this context, the use of a monitoring system and real-time control of particle coating processes is highly desirable to allow operation in stable fluidization regimes and to ensure a uniform coating film and good condition of flowability of the solids. This doctoral thesis aims to apply the Gaussian spectral analysis methodology of the pressure fluctuation signals (Parise et al. (2008)) , for the development of control systems based on artificial intelligence (Fuzzy Logic), to monitor the stability of fluidization regime particle coating process. Comparisons between the fluid dynamic conditions of the processes with and without control were analyzed for operations in fluidized bed laboratory scale. To assess early stages of unwanted agglomeration, a monitoring in-line probe (Parsum IPP70) was used. With the application of this automated system, it was possible to associate the stability of fluidization with a high degree of agglomeration. The process stopping point could be set at 420 µm (initial in 360 µm) and after, the coating mechanism takes place simultaneously with the agglomeration one. The monitoring parameters of the system were able to identify the initial phase of defluidization, as well as it was possible to control the process by using Fuzzy Logic and to stabilize the operation for high rates of the coating suspension atomized onto the bed / Doutorado / Engenharia de Processos / Doutor em Engenharia Química

Объектом исследования являются качественные характеристики фруктов и овощей. Цель работы – разработать методику неразрушающего определения качественных характеристик фруктов и овощей. В данной работе представлены неразрушающие методы определения качественных характеристик различных фруктов и овощей. Все представленные методы используются для определения физических параметров фрукта или овоща, и затем соотношения их с качественными характеристиками, например, сортом или размером. В работе исследовались характеристики яблока при помощи метода измерения S-параметров. Представлены измерения коэффициента отражения яблока при помощи баночной антенны. Написана программа для определения сорта и размера яблок. Определение сорта происходит с высокой точностью. Актуальность данной работы заключается в том, что данная методика определения при должной доработке может использоваться на конвейере в целях сортировки яблок, данное применение позволит уменьшить затраты человеческого труда на сортировку, и позволит увеличить ее точность. / The object of the research is the qualitative characteristics of fruits and vegetables. The purpose of the work is to develop a method for non-destructive determination of the qualitative characteristics of fruits and vegetables. This paper presents non-destructive methods for determining the quality characteristics of various fruits and vegetables. All the methods presented are used to determine the physical parameters of a fruit or vegetable, and then correlate them with qualitative characteristics, such as variety or size. In the work, the characteristics of the apple were investigated using the method of measuring the S-parameters. Presented are measurements of the reflection coefficient of an apple using a can antenna. A program has been written to determine the variety and size of apples. The definition of the variety is carried out with high precision. The relevance of this work lies in the fact that this determination method, with proper refinement, can be used on the conveyor for sorting apples, this application will reduce the cost of human labor for sorting, and will increase its accuracy.

Atualmente, existe uma tendência entre os projetistas brasileiros de valorizar a etapa de tratamento preliminar em projetos de novas estações de tratamento de esgoto (ETE). Neste ensejo foi concebido, construído e estudado um protótipo, em escala plena, de uma unidade composta de separador hidrodinâmico por vórtice (SHV) – empregado como desarenador – e grade fina cilíndrica de fluxo tangencial. Estudos acerca da hidrodinâmica da unidade, fundamentados em ensaios de estímulo-resposta com traçador (sal de cozinha) e simulações computacionais do padrão de escoamento em software de dinâmica dos fluidos computacional, demonstrou que ao se operar a unidade com taxas de aplicação superficial (TAS) de 764 'M POT.3'/'M POT.2'd; 1.146 'M POT.3'/'M POT.2'd e 1.528 'M POT.3'/'M POT.2'd o regime de macro-mistura do padrão de escoamento que se desenvolve no SHV aproximou-se do plug-flow, porém com certo grau de mistura que diminuiu com o aumento da TAS. Nesta pesquisa, foram desenvolvidos dois métodos um para determinação da concentração de areia no esgoto sanitário e outro para determinação da distribuição granulométrica dos grãos dessa areia. Ambos foram empregados na avaliação de desempenho da unidade de tratamento preliminar desenvolvida, que foi realizada na estação elevatória de ETE Jardim das Flores do município de Rio Claro, SP. Durante esta fase da pesquisa, o SHV demonstrou enorme potencialidade na remoção de areia para as TAS de 764 'M POT.3'/'M POT.2'd; 1.146 'M POT.3'/'M POT.2'd e 1.528 'M POT.3'/'M POT.2'd, porquanto, além de não remover significativamente matéria orgânica particulada (medida em termos de concentração de sólidos suspensos voláteis) presentes no esgoto sanitário, a unidade atingiu eficiências de remoção de grãos de areia de tamanho maior ou igual a 200 'mü'm entre 85% e 95%. Entretanto, a grade fina cilíndrica de fluxo tangencial (auto-limpante) revelou-se inviável. / Currently, there is a trend among the brazilian designers of valorizing the preliminary treatment in recently designed wastewater treatment plants (WWTP). In this context, a full scale prototype of a unit made up of a hydrodynamic vortex separator (HVS) – applied as a degritter – and a tangential flux fine screening was designed, built and evaluated. Research about the hydrodynamic of the prototype, based on stimulus-response essays with a salt tracer (sodium chloride) and computational simulations of the flow pattern using the computational fluid dynamic (CFD) software, showed that the macro mixture regime of the flow was similar to a plug-flow when the unit was operated with superficial loading rates (SLR) of 746 'M POT.3'/'M POT.2'd; 1.146 'M POT.3'/'M POT.2'd and 1.528 'M POT.3'/'M POT.2'd, however, the flow presented a certain mixture degree that reduced with the SLR increase. In this research, two methods were developed: one for the determination of grit concentration in sewage and another one for the assessment of grit grading. Both methods were used on the evaluation of the HVS prototype efficiency, which was carried out at Jardim das Flores WWT, in the city of Rio Claro, SP. During this phase of the research, the HVS presented a great potential for grit removal when the SLR of 746 'M POT.3'/'M POT.2'd; 1.146 'M POT.3'/'M POT.2'd and 1.528 'M POT.3'/'M POT.2'd were applied; for the reason that, besides not significantly removing the particulate organic matter present in sewage (measured as volatile suspended solids), the unit achieved grit removal efficiencies in the range of 85% to 95% for grit equal to or large than 200 'mü'm. However, the tangential flux cylindrical fine screening (self cleaning) did not reveal feasibility.

Atualmente, existe uma tendência entre os projetistas brasileiros de valorizar a etapa de tratamento preliminar em projetos de novas estações de tratamento de esgoto (ETE). Neste ensejo foi concebido, construído e estudado um protótipo, em escala plena, de uma unidade composta de separador hidrodinâmico por vórtice (SHV) – empregado como desarenador – e grade fina cilíndrica de fluxo tangencial. Estudos acerca da hidrodinâmica da unidade, fundamentados em ensaios de estímulo-resposta com traçador (sal de cozinha) e simulações computacionais do padrão de escoamento em software de dinâmica dos fluidos computacional, demonstrou que ao se operar a unidade com taxas de aplicação superficial (TAS) de 764 'M POT.3'/'M POT.2'd; 1.146 'M POT.3'/'M POT.2'd e 1.528 'M POT.3'/'M POT.2'd o regime de macro-mistura do padrão de escoamento que se desenvolve no SHV aproximou-se do plug-flow, porém com certo grau de mistura que diminuiu com o aumento da TAS. Nesta pesquisa, foram desenvolvidos dois métodos um para determinação da concentração de areia no esgoto sanitário e outro para determinação da distribuição granulométrica dos grãos dessa areia. Ambos foram empregados na avaliação de desempenho da unidade de tratamento preliminar desenvolvida, que foi realizada na estação elevatória de ETE Jardim das Flores do município de Rio Claro, SP. Durante esta fase da pesquisa, o SHV demonstrou enorme potencialidade na remoção de areia para as TAS de 764 'M POT.3'/'M POT.2'd; 1.146 'M POT.3'/'M POT.2'd e 1.528 'M POT.3'/'M POT.2'd, porquanto, além de não remover significativamente matéria orgânica particulada (medida em termos de concentração de sólidos suspensos voláteis) presentes no esgoto sanitário, a unidade atingiu eficiências de remoção de grãos de areia de tamanho maior ou igual a 200 'mü'm entre 85% e 95%. Entretanto, a grade fina cilíndrica de fluxo tangencial (auto-limpante) revelou-se inviável. / Currently, there is a trend among the brazilian designers of valorizing the preliminary treatment in recently designed wastewater treatment plants (WWTP). In this context, a full scale prototype of a unit made up of a hydrodynamic vortex separator (HVS) – applied as a degritter – and a tangential flux fine screening was designed, built and evaluated. Research about the hydrodynamic of the prototype, based on stimulus-response essays with a salt tracer (sodium chloride) and computational simulations of the flow pattern using the computational fluid dynamic (CFD) software, showed that the macro mixture regime of the flow was similar to a plug-flow when the unit was operated with superficial loading rates (SLR) of 746 'M POT.3'/'M POT.2'd; 1.146 'M POT.3'/'M POT.2'd and 1.528 'M POT.3'/'M POT.2'd, however, the flow presented a certain mixture degree that reduced with the SLR increase. In this research, two methods were developed: one for the determination of grit concentration in sewage and another one for the assessment of grit grading. Both methods were used on the evaluation of the HVS prototype efficiency, which was carried out at Jardim das Flores WWT, in the city of Rio Claro, SP. During this phase of the research, the HVS presented a great potential for grit removal when the SLR of 746 'M POT.3'/'M POT.2'd; 1.146 'M POT.3'/'M POT.2'd and 1.528 'M POT.3'/'M POT.2'd were applied; for the reason that, besides not significantly removing the particulate organic matter present in sewage (measured as volatile suspended solids), the unit achieved grit removal efficiencies in the range of 85% to 95% for grit equal to or large than 200 'mü'm. However, the tangential flux cylindrical fine screening (self cleaning) did not reveal feasibility.

Les techniques informatiques ont gagné un rôle primordial dans le développement et l'exploitation des ressources d'hydrocarbures naturelles ainsi que dans d'autres opérations liées à des réservoirs souterrains. L'un des problèmes cruciaux de la modélisation de réservoir et les prévisions de production réside dans la présélection des modèles de réservoir appropriés à la quantification d'incertitude et au le calage robuste des résultats de simulation d'écoulement aux réelles mesures et observations acquises du gisement. La présente thèse s'adresse à ces problématiques et à certains autres sujets connexes.Nous avons élaboré une stratégie pour faciliter et accélérer l'ajustement de tels modèles numériques aux données de production de champ disponibles. En premier lieu, la recherche s'était concentrée sur la conceptualisation et l'implémentation des modèles de proxy reposant sur l'analyse de la connectivité, comme une propriété physique intégrante et significative du réservoir, et des techniques avancées du partitionnement de données et de l'analyse de clusters. La méthodologie développée comprend aussi plusieurs approches originales de type probabiliste orientées vers les problèmes d'échantillonnage d'incertitude et de détermination du nombre de réalisations et de l'espérance de la valeur d'information d'échantillon. Afin de cibler et donner la priorité aux modèles pertinents, nous avons agrégé les réalisations géostatistiques en formant des classes distinctes avec une mesure de distance généralisée. Ensuite, afin d'améliorer la classification, nous avons élargi la technique graphique de silhouettes, désormais appelée la "séquence entière des silhouettes multiples" dans le partitionnement de données et l'analyse de clusters. Cette approche a permis de recueillir une information claire et compréhensive à propos des dissimilarités intra- et intre-cluster, particulièrement utile dans le cas des structures faibles, voire artificielles. Finalement, la séparation spatiale et la différence de forme ont été visualisées graphiquement et quantifiées grâce à la mesure de distance probabiliste.Il apparaît que les relations obtenues justifient et valident l'applicabilité des approches proposées pour améliorer la caractérisation et la modélisation d'écoulement. Des corrélations fiables ont été obtenues entre les chemins de connectivité les plus courts "injecteur-producteur" et les temps de percée d'eau pour des configurations différentes de placement de puits, niveaux d'hétérogénéité et rapports de mobilité de fluides variés. Les modèles de connectivité proposés ont produit des résultats suffisamment précis et une performance compétitive au méta-niveau. Leur usage comme des précurseurs et prédicateurs ad hoc est bénéfique en étape du traitement préalable de la méthodologie. Avant le calage d'historique, un nombre approprié et gérable des modèles pertinents peut être identifié grâce à la comparaison des données de production disponibles avec les résultats de... / Computer-based workflows have gained a paramount role in development and exploitation of natural hydrocarbon resources and other subsurface operations. One of the crucial problems of reservoir modelling and production forecasting is in pre-selecting appropriate models for quantifying uncertainty and robustly matching results of flow simulation to real field measurements and observations. This thesis addresses these and other related issues. We have explored a strategy to facilitate and speed up the adjustment of such numerical models to available field production data. Originally, the focus of this research was on conceptualising, developing and implementing fast proxy models related to the analysis of connectivity, as a physically meaningful property of the reservoir, with advanced cluster analysis techniques. The developed methodology includes also several original probability-oriented approaches towards the problems of sampling uncertainty and determining the sample size and the expected value of sample information. For targeting and prioritising relevant reservoir models, we aggregated geostatistical realisations into distinct classes with a generalised distance measure. Then, to improve the classification, we extended the silhouette-based graphical technique, called hereafter the "entire sequence of multiple silhouettes" in cluster analysis. This approach provided clear and comprehensive information about the intra- and inter-cluster dissimilarities, especially helpful in the case of weak, or even artificial, structures. Finally, the spatial separation and form-difference of clusters were graphically visualised and quantified with a scale-invariant probabilistic distance measure. The obtained relationships appeared to justify and validate the applicability of the proposed approaches to enhance the characterisation and modelling of flow. Reliable correlations were found between the shortest "injector-producer" pathways and water breakthrough times for different configurations of well placement, various heterogeneity levels and mobility ratios of fluids. The proposed graph-based connectivity proxies provided sufficiently accurate results and competitive performance at the meta-level. The use of them like precursors and ad hoc predictors is beneficial at the pre-processing stage of the workflow. Prior to history matching, a suitable and manageable number of appropriate reservoir models can be identified from the comparison of the available production data with the selected centrotype-models regarded as the class representatives, only for which the full fluid flow simulation is pre-requisite. The findings of this research work can easily be generalised and considered in a wider scope. Possible extensions, further improvements and implementation of them may also be expected in other fields of science and technology.