With the advances in the computing world, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is becoming more and more critical tool in the field of fluid dynamics. In the past few decades, a huge number of CFD models have been developed with ever improved performance. In this research a robust CFD model, called Riemann2D, is extended to model flow over a mobile bed and applied to a full scale dam break problem. Riemann2D, an object oriented hyperbolic solver that solves shallow water equations with an unstructured triangular mesh and using high resolution shock capturing methods, provides a generic framework for the solution of hyperbolic problems. The object-oriented design of Riemann2D has the flexibility to apply the model to any type of hyperbolic problem with the addition of new information and inheriting the common components from the generic part of the model. In a part of this work, this feature of Riemann2D is exploited to enhance the model capabilities to compute flow over mobile beds. This is achieved by incorporating the two dimensional version of the one dimensional non-capacity model for erodible bed hydraulics by Cao et al. (2004). A few novel and simple algorithms are included, to track the wet/dry and dry/wet fronts over abruptly varying topography and stabilize the solution while using high resolution shock capturing methods. The negative depths computed from the surface gradient by the limiters are algebraically adjusted to ensure depth positivity. The friction term contribution in the source term, that creates unphysical values near the wet/dry fronts, are resolved by the introduction of a limiting value for the friction term. The model is validated using an extensive variety of tests both on fixed and mobile beds. The results are compared with the analytical, numerical and experimental results available in the literature. The model is also tested against the actual field data of 1957 Malpasset dam break. Finally, the model is applied to simulate dam break flow of Warsak Dam in Pakistan. Remotely sensed topographic data of Warsak dam is used to improve the accuracy of the solution. The study reveals from the thorough testing and application of the model that the simulated results are in close agreement with the available analytical, numerical and experimental results. The high resolution shock capturing methods give far better results than the traditional numerical schemes. It is also concluded that the object oriented CFD model is very easy to adapt and extend without changing the generic part of the model.

The use of geosynthetic clay liners (GCLs) as (i) covers for arsenic-rich gold mine tailings and landfills, (ii) subsurface barrier for migration of hydrocarbons in the Arctic, and (iii) basal liner for sewage treatment lagoons were examined. After 4 years in field and laboratory experiments, it was found that best cover configuration above gold mine tailings might include a layer of GCL product with polymer-enhanced bentonite and a geofilm-coated carrier geotextile serving above the tailings under ≥ 0.7 m overburden. However, acceptable performance could be achieved with using a standard GCL with untreated bentonite provided that there is a minimum of 0.7 m of cover soil above the GCL. When GCL samples were exhumed from experimental landfill test cover with complete replacement of sodium in the bentonite with divalent cations in the adjacent soil, it was observed that the (i) hydraulic head across the GCLs, (ii) size of the needle-punched bundles, and (iii) structure of the bentonite can all significantly affect the value of the inferred in-situ hydraulic conductivity measured at the laboratory. The higher the hydraulic head and the larger the size of the needle-punched bundles, the higher the likelihood of internal erosion/structural change of bentonite at bundles that will cause a preferential flow for liquids to occur. A key practical implication was that GCLs can perform effectively as a single hydraulic barrier in covers provided that the water head above the GCL kept low. The hydraulic performance of a GCL in the Arctic was most affected by the location within the soil profile relative to the typical groundwater level with the highest increase in the hydraulic conductivity (by 1-4 orders of magnitude) for GCL below the water table. However, because the head required for jet fuel to pass through the GCL was higher than that present under field conditions, there was no evidence of jet fuel leakage through the barrier system. The leakage through GCLs below concrete lined sewage treatment lagoons was within acceptable limits, in large part, due to the low interface transmissivity between GCLs and the overlying poured concrete. / Thesis (Ph.D, Civil Engineering) -- Queen's University, 2014-02-28 08:53:29.171

Élaborer ou structurer des matériaux à l’échelle nanométrique permet d’aborder une physique nouvelle mais également de réaliser des dispositifs fonctionnant sur des principes originaux utilisées dans divers domaines (médecine, énergie, électronique, optique, catalyse..). Ce travail porte sur l’étude de l’assemblage des nanoparticules d’or colloïdales (NPs) en structures d’agrégation mésoscopiques, assisté par le séchage des fluides complexes et de leur manipulation par Microscope à Force Atomique (AFM) sur des surfaces modèles. Une première partie présente la synthèse des NPs d’or et des surfaces moléculaires auto-assemblées sur des substrats rigides. Ensuite, l’étude de la formation des structures d’agrégation assistée par le mouillage et le séchage des fluides complexes ( NPs et polysaccharide) sur des surfaces moléculaires a permis de mettre en évidence le rôle crucial du couplage entre les propriétés de volume singulières de ces fluides, et celles de surface du substrat dans la formation de structures d’agrégation complexes (fractales, et dendrites en particulier). Dans un troisième temps, les travaux abordent à l’étude et la compréhension du vieillissement (dégénérescence et reconstruction) des structures mésoscopiques élaborées. Entre autres résultats, ces travaux ont mis en évidence la nature ‘diffusionnelle’ de la dislocation des structures, laquelle se traduit par la mobilité d’agrégats nanoparticulaires en surface. Afin de mieux appréhender cette problématique de mobilité individuelle et/ou collective (cluster) des NPs, une étude détaillée basée sur la manipulation des NPs par AFM en mode Tapping a été réalisée. L’ensemble des résultats obtenus au cours de ce travail de thèse a permis d’une part, i) de proposer de nouvelles approches d’assemblage de macromolécules et de particules, assisté par les phénomènes de mouillage, ii) de comprendre les mécanismes à l’origine de la formation de ces structures d’agrégation complexes (fractales compactes et fibrillaires) sur des substrats homogènes et hétérogènes, et d’autre part, iii) de contrôler la stabilité et le vieillissement de ces structures d’agrégation complexes en vue d’une validation de la fiabilité éventuelle de nanomatériaux issus d’assemblages à base de NPs. / This work deals with the study of the drying-mediated assembly of colloidal gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) in mesoscale aggregation patterns and their manipulation by atomic force microscopy (AFM) on model surfaces. The assembly of NPs in mesoscale and complex aggregation patterns assisted by the wetting and the drying of complex fluids (suspensions of NPs, NPs/biopolymers mixed solutions) on homogeneous and heterogeneous molecular surfaces was studied. This issue is important, both for understanding fundamental processes of self-organization, and for generating new functional mesostructures. The drying of complex fluids often leads to the emergence of highly complex aggregation structures as shown and discussed in this work. The richness and the aesthetics of these complex structures generated by these interfacial phenomena reflect not only the bulk properties of fluids (different sizes and lengths- scales, kinetic changes in state), but more importantly, the coupling between the fluid properties and those of the substrate surface (wetting interactions, confinement, hydrodynamics). In the case of two important heterogeneous fluids which are Au NPs and polysaccharide solutions, these drying-mediated structure formation lead to the genesis of unusually large and highly ramified dendrites aggregation patterns. The growth mechanism and the critical parameters that control the morphogenesis of these complexes structures are addressed in this work. In addition, the aging mechanisms and kinetics of these structures that are metastable and evolve either through direct dislocation via clusters NPs mobility on the surface, or through undulation-induced roughning of the dendrite branches. To better understanding this NPs mobility and thus the dislocation mechanism of the aging, a detailed study based on the manipulation of NPs by atomic force microscopy in tapping mode (AFM) was developed. The threshold dissipated energy to manipulate (move) the NPs can be quantified according to the intrinsic parameters of the particle (size, shape, and chemical nature), the chemical nature and topography of the substrate, and finally the operating and environment conditions. This work enabled us to understand the mechanisms and characterize the critical parameters that may intervene in the dislocation (aging) of NPs-based functional structures, depending on the nature of the environment liquid and the substrate. Finally, this work proposes an approch of evaluation and of monitoring the stability and the aging of these aggregation structures, in particular, those formed from the drying of films and drops of nano-particles solutions (metal nanoparticles, blood: proteins, viruses ...).