Dans cette thèse ont été développés de nouveaux outils de calcul théorique de spectres moléculaires rovibrationnels qui permettent de mieux traiter les états vibrationnels très excités ainsi que les mouvements de grandes amplitudes avec la méthode d’interactions de configurations en champ moyen. Dans un premier temps, nous avons discuté la question du choix des bases modales et les différents compromis à trouver afin de pallier aux défauts possibles des surfaces d'énergie potentielle. Dans ce cadre nous avons également développé un critère de sélection visant à améliorer la qualité des fonctions d'ondes rovibrationnelles de base. Ces approches ont été appliquées avec succès à la molécule de méthane CH4.Dans un second temps, nous avons implémenté un algorithme de calcul formel des opérateurs d'énergie cinétique en coordonnées quelconques qui permet d'avoir des expressions exactes ainsi que leurs développements en série de Taylor ou Fourier, qui exploite au mieux les potentialités du logiciel MATHEMATICA et a permis d'obtenir des hamiltoniens rovibrationnels en coordonnées de valence de façon particulièrement efficace. Enfin, nous avons généralisé la méthode d’interactions de configurations en champ moyen en ajoutant de façon perturbative un champ effectif d'ordre deux. Nous avons appliqué cette généralisation à la molécule de péroxyde d'hydrogène HOOH, ce qui a permis de montrer son intérêt tant pour l'amélioration des niveaux d'énergie que des fonctions d'onde associées, lorsqu'on a affaire à des groupes de degrés de liberté bien séparés énergétiquement. / In this thesis we developed new theoretical tools for molecular rovibrational spectra for a better description of the excited vibrational states and movements with large amplitudes using mean field configuration interaction method. First, we discussed the choice of modal basis and different trade-off to overcome the possible shortcomings of potential energy surfaces. In this context we have also developed selection criteria to improve the quality of rovibrational wave functions. These approaches have been successfully applied to the methane molecule (CH4). Secondly, we have implemented a formal algorithm for calculating the kinetic energy operators in arbitrary coordinates that allows the derivation of exact expressions and their Taylor and Fourier series, using, in a very efficient way, the capabilities of the software MATHEMATICA which yield to the derivation of rovibrational Hamiltonians in valence coordinated. Finally, we have generalized the mean-field configuration interaction method by adding perturbatively a second order effective field. We applied this generalization to the hydrogen peroxide molecule (HOOH), which has shown an improvement for both energy levels and the associated wave functions, when dealing with groups of degrees of freedom that are energetically well separated.

This thesis is aimed at simulation of auditory space. It describes the most frequently used panning method: Vector Base Amplitude Panning. Also is focused on image source method, which allows computing the parameters of direct sound wave and reflections in rectangular room. This method is compared with ray–tracing method, which is also often used. It deals with the matter of the frequency – dependent absorption of materials in reflection of the sound wave against the wall. On the basis of these information two applications were designed in MATLAB development environment. The first one allows the simulation of auditory space. The other one is the application for sound source panning by its azimuth and distance.

This thesis deals with the analysis of high-frequency ECG, namely by parameters for the determination of cardiac asynchrony from the amplitude envelopes ultra-high-frequency ECG. In the theoretical part is described the conventional and high-frequency ECG, procedure of their scanning and parameters of the acquired record. Also is described the electrical conduction system of the heart and its blockade. This issue is followed by chapters about cardiac asynchrony and its treatments by biventricular pacemaker – resynchronization therapy. The chapter about resynchronization includes a description of the methods used for the indication for therapy based on conventional and high-frequency ECG. In the practical part are proposed new parameters for determining heart asynchrony from high-frequency ECG, programmed their detection in environment MATLAB and described realization of detection and obtained results. In the last part of thesis is described statistical evaluation of data and is decided about suitability of use the proposed parameters.

La capacité de réaliser des tâches robotiques dextres à l'échelle nanométrique dans un microscope électronique à balayage (MEB) est un enjeu crucial pour les nanotechnologies. Les systèmes nano-robotiques dédiés à des applications sous MEB ont ainsi émergé dans de nombreux laboratoires de robotique. Ils peuvent être composés d'un ou de plusieurs actionneurs intégrés à des plateformes nano-robotiques avec un ou plusieurs effecteurs. L’actionneur Piézoélectrique Stick-Slip (PSS) est l'un des meilleurs candidats pour actionner les systèmes nano-robotiques dédiés à des applications sous MEB car il est capable d'effectuer un positionnement grossier avec une plage de déplacement millimétrique et un positionnement précis avec une plage de déplacement de quelques micromètres. La modélisation des actionneurs PSS est complexe notamment en raison de leur mode de fonctionnement hybride. La commande est également difficile à cause de plusieurs caractéristiques liées aux actionneurs PSS, soient le frottement, l’hystérésis et les vibrations non-amorties, qui dégradent leur performances en termes de précision et de vitesse. Ce travail porte sur la modélisation et la commande d'un système nano-robotique à 3 axes dédié à des applications sous MEB et actionné par des actionneurs piézoélectriques de type stick-slip. Chaque élément et caractéristique des actionneurs PSS ont été analysés et modélisés afin d’établir par la suite un modèle dynamique complet capable de décrire les deux modes de fonctionnement, à savoir le mode balayage et pas à pas. Pour chacun de ces deux modes, des lois de commande ont ainsi été développées pour les actionneurs PSS. Des stratégies de commande robuste ont été synthétisées pour des objectifs de positionnement rapide et à haute résolution en mode balayage. De telles performances sont fondamentales dans plusieurs tâches micro-/nano-robotique tels que le nano-assemblage rapide et précis et la nano-caractérisation des matériaux. Une commande proportionnelle en fréquence et en amplitude est synthétisée pour effectuer un déplacement millimétrique en mode pas à pas. Ceci est motivé par les applications robotiques pour lesquelles une large plage de déplacement est requise, tels que le scan de grandes surfaces et les phases d’approche d’une sonde d’un échantillon à manipuler. Une stratégie de commutation qui combine les modes balayage et pas à pas, est alors proposée pour remédier au manque de précision en mode pas à pas, lors de passage d’un grand à un petit déplacement. Ce travail a donné lieu à des résultats qui ouvrent de nouvelles perspectives pour l'utilisation des actionneurs PSS dans les systèmes nano-robotiques dédiés à des applications sous MEB. / The capability of doing dexterous robotic tasks at the nanometer scale inside a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) is a critical issue for nanotechnologies. SEM-integrated nano-robotic systems have consequently emerged in many robotics laboratories. They can be composed of one or more actuators assembled into nano-robotic platforms with one or several effectors. Piezoelectric Stick-Slip (PSS) actuators is one of the best candidate to actuate SEM-integrated nano-robotic systems because it is able to perform coarse positioning with millimeter displacement range and fine positioning with travel range of few micrometers. Modeling of PSS actuators is complex and difficult mainly because of their hybrid operating mode. Furthermore, control is challenging due to several characteristics related to PSS actuators, namely friction, hysteresis and undamped vibrations, which degrade their performance in terms of precision and speed. This work deals with modeling and control of a 3-axes SEM integrated nano-robotic system driven by piezoelectric stick-slip actuators. Each element and characteristic of PSS actuators are analyzed and modeled to thereafter establish a complete dynamic model able to describe the two functioning modes, namely the scanning and the stepping modes. PSS actuators are then controlled in each of these modes. Robust control strategies are developed to achieve high-resolution and fast positioning in scanning mode. Such performance is fundamental in several micro/nano-robotic tasks such as fast and accurate nano-assembly and nano-material characterization. A frequency/amplitude proportional controller is designed to perform millimeter displacement in stepping mode. This is motivated by robotic tasks where large motion is required, such as large surfaces scan and bringing a probe close to a sample to manipulate. A switched strategy, which combines scanning and stepping motion modes, is then proposed to remedy to the lack of precision in stepping motion, when passing from a large to a small displacement. This work has given rise to results which open new perspectives to the use of PSS actuators in SEM integrated nano-robotic systems.

Le contexte de ce travail repose sur l'étude des instabilités de combustion au sein des moteurs-fusées à propergols liquides. Cette étude se concentre sur les effets des champs acoustiques transverses de haute amplitude sur l'injection coaxiale en conditions non-réactives. La réponse acoustique du système d'injection est dépendante des propriétés locales du champ acoustique dans la cavité d'injection. La modification du processus d'atomisation, induit par le champ acoustique, a été analysée dans des configurations simples et multiinjection. Des expériences ont été menées pour des régimes d'atomisation de faibles et hauts nombres de Weber. Trois phénomènes ont été observés: un aplatissement du jet, une amélioration du processus d'atomisation et la déviation du système liquide. La combinaison de ces trois phénomènes en configuration multi-injection résulte en un phénomène de regroupement de gouttes. En présence de combustion, un tel regroupement pourraitmener à un dégagement de chaleur non-uniforme susceptible de déclencher ou d'entretenir des instabilités de combustion. Un modèle théorique basé sur les équations d'acoustique non-linéaire a été développé pour donner les expressions générales de pression de radiation et de forces de radiations résultantes appliqué aux objets sphériques et cylindriques en champ stationnaire ou progressif. Le modèle a été utilisé pour interpréter et quantifier les observations expérimentales en configurations liquide/gaz, trans-critique/super-critique et gaz/gaz, et a permis de montrer que le nombre de Helmholtz qui caractérise le champ acoustique, et le rapport de densité qui caractérise les deux milieux, sont deux paramètres cruciaux. Les principales conclusions montrent que le phénomène observé peut être interprété comme résultant de l'acoustique non-linéaire, dont le paramètre clé étant le ratio de densité. Cela exige que la couche séparant les deux milieux, vue comme une interface, ne doive pas être réduite uniquement à une interface liquide/gaz. / The context of this work relies to high frequency combustion instabilities in Liquid Rocket Engines (LRE). The present research focuses on the effects of high amplitude transverse acoustic fields on non-reactive coaxial injection. The acoustic response of injection domes is found to be dependent on the local properties of the acoustic field in the injection cavity. The modification of the atomization process, induced by the acoustic field, has been analyzed in single and multi-injection configurations. Experiments were performed from low to high Weber number atomization regimes. Three phenomena are observed: jet flattening, improvement of the atomization process and deviation. The combination of these phenomena in multi-injection configurations leads to a droplet clustering phenomenon. In the presence of combustion, such a clustering could lead to non-uniform heat release rate which can trigger or sustain combustion instabilities. A theoretical model based on non-linear acoustics has been developed, providing general expressions of radiation pressure and resulting radiation force, for spherical and cylindrical objects in standing and progressive wave field. The model has been successfully used to interpret and quantify experimental observations in liquid/gas, trans-critical/super-critical and gas/gas configurations and showed that the Helmholtz number α characterizing the acoustic field and the density ratio η characterizing the two media are two parameters of importance. The major conclusions are that the observed phenomena can be interpreted as resulting from non-linear acoustics, the key feature being the density ratio. It is claimed that the layer separating the two media, seen as an interface, does not need to be restricted only to a liquid/gas interface.

[pt] Otimização topológica (OT) é uma técnica de otimização estrutural capaz de gerar projetos incrivelmente detalhados para uma grande gama de problemas. No entanto, a maioria dos trabalhos de OT presentes na literatura está focada em problemas de minimização de flexibilidade, que não consideram a resistência dos materiais durante o processo de otimização, levando a soluções que não satisfazem limites de falha do material. Neste trabalho, focamos em problemas de OT baseados em tensão no qual introduzimos restrições de tensão no problema de otimização, para garantir a integridade estrutural do projeto final. A formulação de tensão de OT nos leva a um problema de engenharia muito mais natural que nos remete à seguinte pergunta: Qual a estrutura mais leve capaz de suportar as cargas as quais será submetida? Para ajudar a responder essa pergunta e para trazer a OT para mais próximo de aplicações reais, neste trabalho foi desenvolvido um sistema computacional em paralelo, baseado em GPU, considerando uma carga que pode variar a sua direção continuamente e capaz de resolver problemas de larga escala. A implementação em GPU apresenta soluções eficientes para os principais problemas de OT de larga escala, como o filtro, o algoritmo de otimização e a solução das equações de equilíbrio. Ao mesmo tempo, ao considerar uma carga variando continuamente que mais se aproxima das condições reais de carregamento usando uma estratégia de pior cenário, obtém-se soluções mais robustas e mais adequadas a aplicações de engenharia. Várias soluções numéricas são apresentadas, incluindo problemas 3D com mais de 45 milhões de restrições de tensão, que demonstram a efetividade das técnicas desenvolvidas neste trabalho. O sistema de larga escala baseado em GPU combinado com as soluções analíticas para a variação contínua de carga, tem o potencial de expandir o uso da OT na engenharia levando a novas e mais eficientes estruturas. / [en] In the field of structural optimization, Topology Optimization (TO) is one of the most general techniques because it is able to generate complex structures with intricate details for a wide range of problems. However, most of the works in TO have focused on compliance-based design that does not consider material strength in the design process leading to structures that do not satisfy material failure requirements. In this work, we focus on the stress-based design approach. We introduce stress constraints in the optimization procedure to guarantee the structural integrity of the final optimized design. This leads to a more natural formulation that addresses a simple engineering question: What is the lightest structure able to withstand its loads? We developed a large-scale GPU-based parallel stress-constrained TO framework considering a continuous range of varying load directions to answer this question and close the gap between TO and practical application. The developed GPU-based C++/CUDA framework efficiently addresses the main challenges of large-scale TO, filtering, optimization algorithm, and the solution of the equilibrium equations, only requiring a moderately affordable GPU hardware. At the same time, we obtain designs that are more suitable for engineering applications by considering a continuous variable range of load directions that more closely resemble real-life service loads using a worstcase analytical approach. We present several numerical results, including 3D problems with over 45 million local constraints providing detailed optimal structures that demonstrate the capabilities of the techniques developed in this work. The large-scale GPU framework, combined with the analytical solutions for continuously varying load cases, has the potential to expand the applications of TO techniques leading to improved engineering designs.

This thesis describes an electrically thin surface used for electromagnetic applications in the microwave regime. The surface is free-standing and its primary purpose is to modify the phase distribution, or the phase and amplitude distribution of electromagnetic fields propagating through it: it is called phase shifting surface (PSS) in the first case, and phase and amplitude shifting surface (PASS) in the second case. For practical applications, the surface typically comprises three or four layers of metallic patterns spaced by dielectric layers. The patterns of the metallic layers are designed to locally alter the phase (and amplitude in the case of the PASS) of an incoming wave to a prescribed set of desired values for the outgoing wave. The PSS/PASS takes advantage of the reactive coupling by closely spacing of the metallic layers, which results in a larger phase shift range while keeping the structure significantly thin. The PSS concept is used to design components such as gratings and lens antennas which are presented in this document. The components are designed for an operating frequency of 30 GHz. The PSS phase grating gives high diffraction efficiency, even higher than a dielectric phase grating. Several types of lens antennas are also presented, which show comparable performance to that of a conventional dielectric plano-hyperbolic lens antenna with similar parameters. The PASS concept is used in a beam shaping application in which a flat-topped beam antenna is designed. This work demonstrates the potential for realising thin, lightweight and low-cost antennas at Ka band, in particular for substituting higher-gain antenna technologies such as conventional dielectric shaped lens antennas.

One of the most difficult tasks towards designing earthquake resistant structures is the determination of critical earthquakes. Conceptually, these are the ground motions that would induce the critical response in the structures being designed. The quantification of this concept, however, is not easy. Unlike the linear response of a structure, which can often be obtained by using a single spectrally modified ground acceleration history, the nonlinear response is strongly dependent on the phasing of ground motion and the detailed shape of its spectrum. This necessitates the use of a suite (bin) of ground acceleration histories having phasing and spectral shapes appropriate for the characteristics of the earthquake source, wave propagation path, and site conditions that control the design spectrum. Further, these suites of records may have to be scaled to match the design spectrum over a period range of interest, rotated into strike-normal and strike-parallel directions for near-fault effects, and modified for local site conditions before they can be input into time-domain nonlinear analysis of structures. The generation of these acceleration histories is cumbersome and daunting. This is especially so due to the sheer magnitude of the data processing involved. The purpose of this thesis is the development and documentation of PC-based computational tools (hereinafter called EQTools) to provide a rapid and consistent means towards systematic assembly of representative strong ground motions and their characterization, evaluation, and modification within a performance-based seismic design framework. The application is graphics-intensive and every effort has been made to make it as user-friendly as possible. The application seeks to provide processed data which will help the user address the problem of determination of the critical earthquakes. The various computational tools developed in EQTools facilitate the identification of severity and damage potential of more than 700 components of recorded earthquake ground motions. The application also includes computational tools to estimate the ground motion parameters for different geographical and tectonic environments, and perform one-dimensional linear/nonlinear site response analysis as a means to predict ground surface motions at sites where soft soils overlay the bedrock. While EQTools may be used for professional practice or academic research, the fundamental purpose behind the development of the software is to make available a classroom/laboratory tool that provides a visual basis for learning the principles behind the selection of ground motion histories and their scaling/modification for input into time domain nonlinear (or linear) analysis of structures. EQTools, in association with NONLIN, a Microsoft Windows based application for the dynamic analysis of single- and multi-degree-of-freedom structural systems (Charney, 2003), may be used for learning the concepts of earthquake engineering, particularly as related to structural dynamics, damping, ductility, and energy dissipation. / Master of Science

No description available.

Non-specific low back pain (LBP) is a major health problem affecting a substantial portion of the population. The current treatments offered for non-specific LBP are oftentimes unsuccessful because the acting mechanism(s) of most treatment options are unknown. Obtaining a better understanding about the acting mechanism behind existing treatment options is, therefore, essential for the improvement of non-specific LBP treatment and management. The objective of this study was to gain a more comprehensive understanding about the acting mechanism of high velocity low amplitude spinal manipulative therapy, specifically the impact that high velocity low amplitude spinal manipulative therapy may have on the active and passive spinal musculoskeletal stabilizing subsystems along with the resultant spinal stability for healthy participants. A pre-post intervention study design completed by six healthy participants was used to quantify changes in the above noted aspects of spinal stability using a series of tests performed both before and after six sessions of high velocity low amplitude spinal manipulative therapy. The tests included seated balancing tests, lower back range of motion tests, and stress relaxation test. The six sessions of high velocity low amplitude spinal manipulative therapy did not significantly affect any of the test measurements among our healthy participant group.