Inert gas atomization is one of the main sources for production of metal powder forpowder metallurgy and additive manufacturing. The obtained final powder size distribution iscontrolled by various technological parameters: gas flow rate and pressure, liquid metal flowrate, gas type, temperature of spraying, configuration of nozzles, etc. This work explores anotherdimension of the atomization process control: modifications of the liquid metal properties andtheir effect on the obtained powder size. Series of double-alloyed Cr-Mn-Ni steels with sulfur andphosphorus were atomized with argon at 1600◦C. The results indicate that surface tension andviscosity modifications lead to yielding finer powder fractions. The obtained correlation is comparedwith the individual modification of surface tension with S and Se and modification of viscosity withphosphorus. Discrepancy of the results is discussed. Additives of surfactants and viscosity modifierscan be a useful measure for powder fractions control.

Monolayers of the cationic surfactant hexadecyltrimethylammonium halide (CTAX, where X = F¯, Cl¯, Br¯, and I¯) have been studied at the air-water and oilwater interfaces. At the air-water interface, the effects of the halide counterion and the addition of counterion were investigated. Sum-frequency spectroscopy (SFS), ellipsometry, and surface tensiometry indicated that the counterion changed the efficiency and effectiveness of the surfactant, both decreasing in the order of Br¯> Cl¯>F¯. The addition of salt in the form of 0.1 M KX was found to reduce the cmc but had little effect on the limiting area per molecule attained at the cmc, which increased from 44 Ų for CTAB to 65 Ų for CTAC and ca. 94 Ų for CTAF. Neither SFS nor ellipsometry provided any firm evidence for specific effects of the halide ions on the structure of the surfactant monolayers. For CTAB monolayers in the absence of excess electrolyte, the effect of area per molecule on the sum-frequency (SF) spectra was studied. Mixed monolayers of CTAB and tetradecane at the air-water interface exhibit a first-order phase transition from a conformationally disordered to a conformationally ordered state as the temperature is lowered. The phase transition occurs ca. 11 °C above the bulk melting point of tetradecane. A new experimental arrangement is described for acquiring SF spectra from surfactants at the oil-water interface. The key features of this approach are the stabilisation of a thin oil film between a sapphire prism and an aqueous phase, and the use of total internal reflection to enhance the total signal and discriminate against signals from other interfaces in the system. With this new methodology, the first SF vibrational spectra of surfactant monolayers at an alkane-water interface were obtained. Surface tensiometry was used to characterise the monolayers further. The structure of CTAB monolayers at the hexadecane-water interface was determined by SFS and compared with monolayers of CTAB at the air-water interface. At low concentrations, CTAB/hexadecane showed the expected features in the C-H stretching region, characteristic of a conformationally disordered monolayer. As the bulk concentration approached the critical micelle concentration, the spectra changed to one characteristic of a more ordered, upright conformation. Ellipsometric measurements supported this conclusion. This qualitative structural change is not observed in analogous monolayers at the air-water interface or CCl₄-water interface, or in surfactant solutions in contact with a hydrophobic solid surface.

La prédiction de valeurs de tension interfaciale des fluides est capitale dans de nombreuses applications industrielles. Les techniques de simulation moléculaire et l’évolution rapide des moyens de calcul intensif permettent depuis quelques années de prédire des valeurs de tension interfaciale pour des systèmes complexes. Des travaux concernant des équilibres liquide / vapeur des corps purs SO2, O2, N2 et Ar montrent que les modèles choisi pour chaque molécule peuvent influencer la qualité des prédictions de tension interfaciale. Des simulations d’équilibres gaz acide / alcane de type CO2 / n-butane, CO2 / n-décane et H2S / n-pentane ont ensuite été réalisées. Elles ont mis en évidence l’efficacité des méthodes de simulation de type Monte Carlo pour la prédiction des tensions interfaciales pour de tels systèmes. L’étude de systèmes ternaires H2O / N2+CH4 et H2O / CO2+H2S a par ailleurs montré que le recourt à la dynamique moléculaire pouvait faciliter l’équilibration des systèmes simulés, rendant plus efficace la prédiction des tensions interfaciales. L’étude d’équilibres liquide / vapeur de saumures de chlorure de sodium a permis de mettre en évidence l’efficacité de certains potentiels non-polarisables pour la prédiction de l’évolution de la tension interfaciale avec la molarité de sel. Les modèles polarisables de type core-shell choisis ne permettent de prédire ni les masses volumiques, ni les tensions interfaciales. Enfin, l’étude d’équilibres eau / alcane en présence de sel ou de méthanol a montré que les méthodes de dynamique moléculaire permettaient de prédire quantitativement des valeurs de tension interfaciale pour ce type d’interface. L’effet de l’alcool abaissant la tension interfaciale a bien été observé, tout comme son placement préférentiel à l’interface. / The prediction of interfacial tension of fluids is critical for many industrial applications. Advances in molecular simulation, and the recent evolution of supercomputing calculations allow for some years to predict the values of interfacial tension for complex systems. A work involving liquid / vapor equilibrium of pure compounds SO2, O2, N2 and Ar show that the models used can impact the quality of the prediction. Simulations of acid gas / alkane equilibrium such CO2 / n-butane, CO2 / n-decane or H2S / n-pentane were then performed. They have demonstrated the performance of methods of Monte Carlo simulations for the reproduction of interfacial tensions for such system. The study of ternary systems H2O / N2+CH4 and H2O / CO2+H2S has also shown that using molecular dynamics could help the equilibration of the simulated systems. The study of liquid / vapor equilibrias of sodium chloride brines show that certain non-polarizable models perform very well to predict the changes in the interfacial tension with the molarity of salt. The core-shell polarizable models based on the Drude oscillator model chosen did not allow to predict brines densities and the interfacial tensions. Finally, the study of water / alkane equilibria in the presence of salt or methanol showed that the molecular dynamics methods allow to predict quantitatively interfacial tension values for this kinds of interfaces. The effect of alcohol lowering the interfacial tension has been observed : this small surfactant populate the interfacial region at weak concentration.

Dans la production d'électricité, un des leviers centraux pour réduire les détériorations et les pertes causées par l'humidité dans les turbines à vapeur est l'étude des films liquides. Ces films minces, sont créés par la déposition de gouttes et sont fortement cisaillés. Des gouttes peuvent ensuite être arrachées du film. A l'heure actuelle, aucun modèle complet et valide n'existe pour décrire ce phénomène. Un modèle 2D à formulation intégrale associé à des lois de fermetures a été dérivé pour représenter ce film. Comparé aux équations classiques de Saint-Venant, le modèle prend en compte davantage d'effets : le transfert de masse, l'impact des gouttes, le cisaillement à la surface libre, la tension de surface, le gradient de pression et la rotation. Une analyse des propriétés du modèle (hyperbolicité, entropie, conservativité, analyse de stabilité linéaire, invariance par translation et par rotation) est réalisée pour juger de la pertinence du modèle. Un nouveau code 2D est implémenté dans un module de développement libre du code EDF Code Saturne et une méthode de volumes finis pour un maillage non-structure a été développée. La vérification du code est ensuite effectuée avec des solutions analytiques dont un problème de Riemann. Le modèle, qui dégénère en modèle classique de Saint-Venant pour le cas d'un film tombant sur un plan inclinée, est validé par l'expérience de Liu and Gollub, 1994, PoF et comparé à des modèles de références (Ruyer-Quil and Manneville, 2000, EPJ-B et Lavalle, 2014, PhD thesis). Un autre cas d'étude met en scène un film cisaillé en condition basse-pression de turbine à vapeur et, est validé par l'expérience de Hammitt et al., 1981, I. Enfin, le code film est couplé aux données 3D du champ de vapeur autour d'un stator d'une turbine basse-pression du parc EDF, issues de Blondel, 2014, PhD thesis. Cette application industrielle montre la faisabilité d'une simulation d'un film en condition réelle du turbine à vapeur. / In the electricity production, one central key to reduce damages and losses due to wetness in steam turbines is the study of liquid films. These thin films are created by the deposition of droplets and are highly sheared. This film may then be atomized into coarse water. At the moment, no comprehensive and validated model exists to describe this phenomenon. A 2D model based on a integral formulation associated with closure laws is developed to represent this film. Compared to classical Shallow-Water equation, the model takes into account additional effect : mass transfer, droplet impact, shearing at the free surface, surface tension, pressure gradient and the rotation. The model properties (hyperbolicity, entropy, conservativity, linear stability, Galilean invariance and rotational invariance) has been analyzed to judge the pertinence of the model. A new 2D code is implemented in a free module of the code EDF Code Saturne and a finite volume method for unstructured mesh has been developed. The verification of the code is then carried out with analytical solutions including a Riemann problem. The model, which degenerates into classical Shallow-Water equations for the case of a falling liquid film on a inclined plane, is validated by the experiment of Liu and Gollub, 1994, PoF and compared to reference models (Ruyer-Quil and Manneville, 2000, EPJ-B et Lavalle, 2014, PhD thesis). Another study depicts a sheared film under low-pressure steam turbine conditions and is validated by the experiment of Hammitt et al., 1981, FiI. Lastly, the code film is coupled to 3D steam data around a fixed blade of a BP100 turbine, from Blondel, 2014, PhD thesis. This industrial application shows the feasibility of liquid film's simulation in real steam turbine condition.

During mitosis, adherent animal cells undergo a drastic shape change, from essentially flat to round, in a process known as mitotic cell rounding (MCR). The aim of this thesis was to critically examine the physical and biological basis of MCR. The experimental part of this thesis employed a combined optical microscope-atomic force microscope (AFM) setup in conjunction with flat tipless cantilevers to analyze cell mechanics, shape and volume. To this end, two AFM assays were developed: the constant force assay (CFA), which applies constant force to cells and measures the resultant height, and the constant height assay (CHA), which confines cell height and measures the resultant force. These assays were deployed to analyze the shape and mechanical properties of single cells trans-mitosis. The CFA results showed that cells progressing through mitosis could increase their height against forces as high as 50 nN, and that higher forces can delay mitosis in HeLa cells. The CHA results showed that mitotic cells confined to ~50% of their normal height can generate forces around 50-100 nN without disturbing mitotic progression. Such forces represent intracellular pressures of at least 200 Pascals and cell surface tensions of around 10 nN/µm. Using the CHA to compare mitotic cell rounding with induced cell rounding, it was observed that the intracellular pressure of mitotic cells is at least 3-fold higher than rounded interphase cells. To investigate the molecular basis of the mechanical changes inherent in mitotic cell rounding, inhibitors and toxins were used to pharmacologically dissect the role of candidate cellular processes. These results implicated the actomyosin cortex and osmolyte transporters, the most prominent of which is the Na+/H+ exchanger, in the maintenance of mechanical properties and intracellular hydrostatic pressure. Observations on blebbing cells under the cantilever supported the idea that the actomyosin cortex is required to sustain hydrostatic pressure and direct this pressure into cell shape changes. To gain further insight into the relationship between actomyosin activity and intracellular pressure, dynamic perturbation experiments were conducted. To this end, the CHA was used to evaluate the pressure and volume of mitotic cells before, during and after dynamic perturbations that included tonic shocks, influx of specific inhibitors, and exposure to pore-forming toxins. When osmotic pressure gradients were depleted, pressure and volume decreased. When the actomyosin cytoskeleton was abolished, cell volume increased while rounding pressure decreased. Conversely, stimulation of actomyosin cortex contraction triggered an increase in rounding pressure and a decrease in volume. Taken together, the dynamic perturbation results demonstrated that the actomyosin cortex contracts against an opposing intracellular pressure and that this relationship sets the surface tension, pressure and volume of the cell. The discussion section of this thesis provides a comprehensive overview of the physical basis of MCR by amalgamating the experimental results of this thesis with the literature. Additionally, the biochemal signaling pathways and proteins that drive MCR are collated and discussed. An exhaustive and unprecedented synthesis of the literature on cell rounding (approx. 750 papers as pubmed search hits on “cell rounding”, April 2012) reveals that the spread-to-round transition can be thought of in terms of a surface tension versus adhesion paradigm, and that cell rounding can be physically classified into four main modes, of which one is an MCR-like category characterized by increased actomyosin cortex tension and diminution of focal adhesions. The biochemical pathways and signaling patterns that correspond with these four rounding modes are catalogued and expounded upon in the context of the relevant physiology. This analysis reveals cell rounding as a pertinent topic that can be leveraged to yield insight into core principles of cell biophysics and tissue organization. It furthermore highlights MCR as a model problem to understand the adhesion versus cell surface tension paradigm in cells and its fundamentality to cell shape, mechanics and physiology.

The European legislation prohibits the use of lead containing solders in Europe. However, lead free solders have a higher melting point (typical 20%) and their mechanical characteristics are worse. Additional problems are aging and adhesion of the solder on the electronic circuits. Thus, research activities must focus on the optimization of the properties of Sn-Ag-Cu based lead free solders chosen by the industry. Two main objectives are treated in this work. In the center of the first one is the study of curious hysteresis effects of metallic cadmium-antimony alloys after thermal cycles by measuring electronic transport phenomena (thermoelectric power and electrical resistivity). The second objective, within the framework of “cotutelle” between the universities of Metz and of Chemnitz and supported by COST531, is to study more specifically lead free solders. A welding must well conduct electricity and well conduct and dissipate heat. In Metz, we determined the electrical conductivity, the thermoelectric power and the thermal conductivity of various lead free solders (Sn-Ag-Cu, Sn-Cu, Sn-Ag, Sn-Sb) as well in the liquid as well in the solid state. The results have been compared to classical lead-tin (Pb-Sn) solders. In Chemnitz we measured the surface tension, the interfacial tension and the density of lead free solders. We also measured the viscosity of these solders without and with additives, in particular nickel. These properties were related to the industrial problems of wettability and spreadability. Lastly, we solidified alloys under various conditions. We observed undercooling. We developed a technique of mixture of nanocristalline powder with lead free solders "to sow" the liquid bath in order to obtain "different" solids which were examined using optical and electron microscopy. / Die europäische Gesetzgebung verbietet die Benutzung von Lötmitteln, die Blei enthalten. Bleilose Lote haben aber einen höheren Schmelzpunkt (typisch 20%) und ihre mechanischen Eigenschaften sind schlechter. Zusätzliche Probleme sind das Alterungsverhalten und das Haftvermögen des Lots an den Leiterbahnen. Daher müssen sich Forschungsaktivitäten auf die Optimierung der Eigenschaften von bleifreien Sn-Ag-Cu (SAC) Loten konzentrieren, die von der Industrie gewählt wurden. Zwei Hauptgebiete werden in dieser Arbeit bearbeitet. Im Zentrum des Ersten stehen seltsame Hysterese-Effekte von metallischen Kadmium- Antimon Legierungen bei thermischen Zyklen, wobei Transporteigenschaften wie die thermoelektrische Kraft und der elektrische Widerstand untersucht werden. Die zweite Aktivität, die in einer Kooperation der Universitäten Metz und Chemnitz (cotutelle) bearbeitet und die durch COST531 unterstützt wird, besteht in der detaillierten Erforschung des Lötprozesses ohne Blei. Eine Lötverbindung muß den Strom gut führen und die Wärme gut ableiten. In Metz haben wir die elektrische Leitfähigkeit, die thermoelektrische Kraft und das Wärmeleitvermögen bestimmt für verschiedene bleilose Lote (Sn-Ag-Cu, Sn-Cu, Sn-Ag, Sn-Sb), sowohl im flüssigen als auch festen Zustand. Die Ergebnisse wurden mit dem klassischen bleihaltigen Lötzinn (Sn-Pb) verglichen. In Chemnitz haben wir die Oberflächen- und Grenzflächenspannung und die Dichte bleifreier Lote gemessen. Ebenfalls wurde die Viskosität dieser Lote ohne und mit Zusätzen (insbesondere Nickel) gemessen. Diese Eigenschaften wurden in Beziehung gesetzt zu den industriellen Problemen der Benetzbarkeit und des Fließverhaltens. Schließlich haben wir Legierungen unter verschiedenen Bedingungen verfestigt. Wir haben Unterkühlung beobachtet. Wir haben eine Technik entwickelt, basierend auf einer Mischung von Lot mit Pulver. Durch "Einsäen" von Nanokristallen in das flüssige Bad erhielten wir "verschiedene" Festkörper, die mit optischer und Elektronenmikroskopie untersucht wurden.

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This thesis presents a research project in the field of oxygen system fire safety relating to the heterogeneous burning of iron in normal gravity and reduced gravity. Fires involving metallic components in oxygen systems often occur, with devastating and costly results, motivating continued research to improve the safety of these devices through a better understanding of the burning phenomena. Metallic materials typically burn in the liquid phase, referred to as heterogeneous burning. A review of the literature indicates that there is a need to improve the overall understanding of heterogeneous burning and better understand the factors that influence metal flammability in normal gravity and reduced gravity. Melting rates for metals burning in reduced gravity have been shown to be higher than those observed under similar conditions in normal gravity, indicating that there is a need for further insight into heterogeneous burning, especially in regard to the rate-limiting mechanism. The objective of the current research is to determine the cause of the higher melting rates observed for metals burning in reduced gravity to (a) identify the rate-limiting mechanism during heterogeneous burning and thus contribute to an improved fundamental understanding of the system, and (b) contribute to improved oxygen system fire safety for both ground-based and space-based applications. In support of the work, a 2-s duration ground-based drop tower reduced-gravity facility was commissioned and a reduced-gravity metals combustion test system was designed, constructed, commissioned and utilised. These experimental systems were used to conduct tests involving burning 3.2-mm diameter cylindrical iron rods in high-pressure oxygen in normal gravity and reduced gravity. Experimental results demonstrate that at the onset of reduced gravity, the burning liquid droplet rapidly attains a spherical shape and engulfs the solid rod, and that this is associated with a rapid increase in the observed melting rate. This link between the geometry of the solid/liquid interface and melting rate during heterogeneous burning is of particular interest in the current research. Heat transfer analysis was performed and shows that a proportional relationship exists between the surface area of the solid/liquid interface and the observed melting rate. This is confirmed through detailed microanalysis of quenched samples that shows excellent agreement between the proportional change in interfacial surface area and the observed melting rate. Thus, it is concluded that the increased melting rates observed for metals burning in reduced gravity are due to altered interfacial geometry, which increases the contact area for heat transfer between the liquid and solid phases. This leads to the conclusion that heat transfer across the solid/liquid interface is the rate-limiting mechanism for melting and burning, limited by the interfacial surface area. This is a fundamental result that applies in normal gravity and reduced gravity and clarifies that oxygen availability, as postulated in the literature, is not rate limiting. It is also established that, except for geometric changes at the solid/liquid interface, the heterogeneous burning phenomenon is the same at each gravity level. A conceptual framework for understanding and discussing the many factors that influence heterogeneous burning is proposed, which is relevant to the study of burning metals and to oxygen system fire safety in both normal-gravity and reduced-gravity applications.

Ce travail de recherche traite du couplage entre un liquide incompressible, irrotationnel et son contenant : une structure élastique. Cette interaction fluide-structure est traitée dans le cadre des petites déformations autour d'un état d'équilibre.Dans un premier temps, on présente une méthode d'introduction des sources dissipatives visqueuses dans le liquide à partir des équations du système couplé conservatif en s'appuyant sur une approche de type fluide potentiel généralement utilisée pour traiter les problèmes de couplage fluide-structure linéarisés non amortis. Un modèle d'amortissement diagonal est alors choisi pour le liquide et les effets dissipatifs de celui-ci sont pris en compte en calculant les coefficients d'amortissement modaux. Seuls les effets dissipatifs liées à la viscosité du liquide sont alors pris en compte. Le système couplé dissipatif obtenu possède une matrice d'amortissement non symétrique. Une résolution de ce système à amortissement non classique est alors présentée et les expressions des réponses fréquentielle et temporelle linéarisées sont données pour différents types d'excitations.Dans un deuxième temps, le liquide est supposé non visqueux et les forces de tension surfacique sont prises en compte. Cette configuration concerne principalement les satellites où le système couplé est en situation de microgravité. Une formulation du problème conservatif permettant de prendre en compte l'incompressibilité du fluide, la condition de continuité à l'interface fluide structure, les effets de capillarité du fluide ainsi que les effets éventuels de précontraintes statiques est alors établie. On se propose pour cela d'utiliser une méthode énergétique via le Principe de Moindre Action. La démarche est alors décomposée en deux étapes : une étude statique afin de déterminer la position de référence, puis une étude dynamique linéarisée autour de cette position d'équilibre. Cette formulation forme notamment une base pour l'introduction des sources dissipatives liées aux effets de capillarité via la méthode précédemment introduite. / This study deals with the coupling between an incompressible, irrotational fluid and an elastic container in the context of small amplitude vibrations.Firstly, we present a method to introduce the viscous dissipative sources in the liquid directly from the equations of the conservative coupled problem using a fluid potential approach generally used to treat linear undamped problems. A diagonal damping model is chosen for the liquid and its dissipative effects are taken into account through modal damping coefficients. Only the viscous effects are considered here. The coupled system obtained has a non symmetric damping matrix. This system with non classical damping is solved and expressions of the frequency and linearized time responses are given for different load examples.Secondly, the liquid is supposed to be inviscid and surface tension forces are considered. This configuration is related to satellite applications where the coupled system is in microgravity conditions. A unified formulation of the conservative problem taking into account the fluid incompressibility, the contact condition at the fluid structure interface, capillarity and prestress effects is given. Thus, we propose to use an energy method via the Least Action Principle. The reasoning is then divided into two parts: a static study to determine the reference state and a linearized dynamic study around this equilibrium state. This formulation is a good framework to introduce the dissipative sources associated with the capillary effects by using the method previously introduced.

L'émergence des nanotubes de carbone a ouvert de nouveaux champs d'application dans le domaine des matériaux polymères. L'ajout de ces charges carbonées au sein de polymères permet la mise en œuvre de composites aux propriétés électriques optimisées. La conductivité de ces matériaux dépend en grande partie de l'organisation des charges dans la matrice, notamment de la présence de réseaux percolants. L'objectif du présent travail de thèse est de comprendre les mécanismes de structuration des nanotubes de carbone au sein de différents milieux. L'architecture de ces réseaux de charges a principalement été révélée par le biais de mesures électriques et diélectriques. L'originalité de nos travaux réside dans l'utilisation de matrices liquides, notamment des huiles de silicone, afin de s'affranchir des contraintes présentes dans les plastiques d'une part, et de simplifier les processus de mise en œuvre d'autre part. Le manuscrit de thèse est articulé autour de six chapitres. Une première partie bibliographique aborde les propriétés des nanotubes de carbone ainsi que les phénomènes que sont la percolation et la percolation dynamique. Le second chapitre, matériel & méthode, présente les matériaux employés ainsi que les différentes techniques de caractérisation utilisées au cours de la thèse. Le troisième chapitre de la thèse aborde, à travers des mesures de conductivité, la percolation dynamique des nanotubes de carbone sein d'huiles de silicone. Le chapitre 4 propose une modification la loi de puissance de Kirkpatrick, afin de décrire la conductivité en fonction du temps et du taux de charge. L'exposant critique de percolation, caractérisant la transition isolant conducteur, se révèle être un indicateur de l'état de dispersion des nanotubes à travers la matrice. Le chapitre 5 démontre la possibilité de contrôler l'organisation des charges par l'application d'un champ électrique. L'application d'un champ élevé permet une augmentation de plusieurs ordres de grandeur de la conductivité ainsi qu'une diminution des charges nécessaire à la formation d'un réseau percolant. Nous avons notamment déterminé des seuils de percolation de l'ordre de 0.005% massique en nanotube de carbone. Enfin, l'influence des propriétés intrinsèques de la matrice, telles la viscosité et la tension de surface, est étudié dans le chapitre 6. La dispersion des nanotubes de carbone s'avère être favorisée au sein de liquides ayant des tensions de surface proches de celle des tubes. Au contraire, une agrégation de charge est rapidement observée dans le cas ou la différence de tension de surface charge-matrice est importante. Nous avons également observé que la percolation des nanotubes est défavorisée au sein de milieux visqueux. / The rise of carbon nanotube has open possibility for composites polymers. Mixing this carbonaceous filler with polymer medias leads to an optimization of the electrical properties. Then, conductivity mainly depends of the filler architecture, especially the presence of percolating networks. The objective of this work is to understand the percolation mechanisms of the carbon nanotubes in different media. During this study, filler network has been revealed by the mean of electrical and dielectrical measurements. The originality of our work lies in the use of liquid matrices, such as silicone oils, in order to overcome the stresses in the plastic on the one hand, and to simplify the processing in other hand. This thesis is organized around six chapters. The first bibliographic part discusses the carbon nanotubes properties as well as percolation and dynamic percolation phenomena. The second chapter, matériel & méthode, presents the materials used and the different characterization techniques employed. The third chapter of the thesis talks about dynamic percolation of carbon nanotubes in silicone oil, probed by conductivity measurements. Chapter 4 provides a change of the power law Kirkpatrick to describe the conductivity as a function of time and filler content. The critical exponent of percolation is proving to be an indicator of the dispersion state of nanotubes throughout the matrix. In the Chapter 5, electric field is depicted as a tool to control the organization of fillers. The application of a high field increases the conductivity of several orders of magnitude and decreases the percolation threshold. Percolation thresholds close to 0.005 wt % have been determined. At last, the influence of the intrinsic properties of the matrix, such as viscosity and surface tension, is discussed in Chapter 6. Carbon nanotubes dispersion appears to be favored if the difference of surface tension between filler and liquid is low. In contrast, a filler aggregation is rapidly observed in the case where the difference in surface tension is important. We also observed that the percolation of the nanotubes is favored in viscous media.