No / The use of electroencephalograms (EEGs) to diagnose and analyses Alzheimer's disease (AD) has received much attention in recent years. The sample entropy (SE) has been widely applied to the diagnosis of AD. In our study, nine EEGs from 21 scalp electrodes in 3 AD patients and 9 EEGs from 3 age-matched controls are recorded. The calculations show that the kurtoses of the AD patients' EEG are positive and much higher than that of the controls. This finding encourages us to introduce a kurtosis-based de-noising method. The 21-electrode EEG is first decomposed using independent component analysis (ICA), and second sort them using their kurtoses in ascending order. Finally, the subspace of EEG signal using back projection of only the last five components is reconstructed. SE will be calculated after the above de-noising preprocess. The classifications show that this method can significantly improve the accuracy of SE-based diagnosis. The kurtosis analysis of EEG may contribute to increasing the understanding of brain dysfunction in AD in a statistical way.

This dissertation contributes to the theoretical foundations of systems engineering (SE) and exposes an unstudied SE area of definition of verification models. In practice, verification models are largely qualitatively defined based on heuristic assumptions rather than science-based approach. For example, we may state the desire for representativeness of a verification model in qualitative terms of low, medium, or high fidelity in early phases of a system lifecycle when verification requirements are typically defined. Given that fidelity is defined as a measure of approximation from reality and that the (real) final product does (or may) not exist in early phases, we are stating desire for and making assumptions of representative equivalence that may not be true. Therefore, this dissertation contends that verification models can and should be defined on the scientific basis of systems theoretic principles. Furthermore, the practice of SE is undergoing a digital transformation and corresponding desire to enhance SE educationally and as a discipline, which this research proposes to address through a science-based approach that is grounded in the mathematical formalism of systems theory. The maturity of engineering disciplines is reflected in their science-based approach, such as computational fluid dynamics and finite element analysis. Much of the discipline of SE remains qualitatively descriptive, which may suffer from interpretation discrepancies; rather than being grounded in, inherently analytical, theoretical foundations such as is a stated goal of the SE professional organization the International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE). Additionally, along with the increased complexity of modern engineered systems comes the impracticality of verification through traditional means, which has resulted in verification being described as broken and in need of theoretical foundations. The relationships used to define verification models are explored through building on the systems theoretic lineage of A. Wayne Wymore; such as computational systems theory, theory of system design, and theory of problem formulation. Core systems theoretic concepts used to frame the relationship-based definition of verification models are the notions of system morphisms that characterize equivalence between pairs, problem spaces of functions that bound the acceptability of solution systems, and hierarchy of system specification that characterizes stratification. The research inquisition was in regard to how verification models should be defined and hypothesized that verification models should be defined through a combination of systems theoretic relationships between verification artifacts; system requirements, system designs, verification requirements, and verification models. The conclusions of this research provide a science-based metamodel for defining verification models through systems theoretic principles. The verification models were shown to be indirectly defined from system requirements, through system designs and verification requirements. Verification models are expected to be morphically equivalent to corresponding system designs; however, there may exist infinite equivalence which may be reduced through defining bounding conditions. These bounding conditions were found to be defined through verification requirements that are formed as (1) verification requirement problem spaces that characterize the verification activity on the basis of morphic equivalence to the system requirements and (2) morphic conditions that specify desired equivalence between a system design and verification model. An output of this research is a system theoretic metamodel of verification artifacts, which may be used for a science-based approach to define verification models and advancement of the maturity of the SE discipline. / Doctor of Philosophy / We conduct verification to increase our confidence that the system design will do what is desired as defined in the requirements. However, it is not feasible to perform verification on the final product design within the full scope of the requirements; due to cost, schedule, and availability. As a result, we leverage surrogates, such as verification models, to conduct verification and determine our confidence in the system design. A challenge to our confidence in the system design exists in that we accept the representativeness of the surrogates based on faith alone; rather than scientific proof. This dissertation defines science-based approach to determining the representativeness of substitutes. In the discipline and practice of systems engineering, verification models serve as substitutes for the system design; and verification requirement problem spaces serve as substitutes the requirements. The research used mathematical principles to determine representative equivalence and to find that a combination of relationship framing is needed for sufficient selection of verification models. The framing includes relationships to the system being engineered and to the substitute conditions under which the verification model is examined relative to the conditions under which the engineered system is expected to operate. A comparison to the state of the discipline and practice to the research findings was conducted and resulted in confirming unique contribution of the dissertation research. In regard to framing the acceptability of verification models, this research established the foundations for a science-based method to advance the field of Systems Engineering.

The diploma thesis "Experiencing the loss of a child" deals with the psychological aspects of adaptation to the loss of a child. Its main objective is to analyse the supporting factors that help the adaptation and to find out how such loss influences individuals and their subsequent life. The theoretical part of the thesis focuses on the issue of the loss of a close person and details the specifics of the loss of a child. Based on available literature the author explores the process of grieving and its manifestations and determines the variables that influence the adaptation to child loss. She also evaluates the impact of the child loss on the individual and the potential for intervention in the process. The empirical part determines the factors that help to cope with such loss, describes, how the loss influences the life of the individual and focuses on the needs of the bereaved parents. The data gathering consisted of ten individual in-depth interviews with women which experienced the loss of a child. These interviews were then qualitatively analysed using the IPA (Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis) method. Based on the results of the qualitative analysis we identified four main support aspects of adaptation to child loss - social support, individual activity, professional help and faith....

This thesis is focused on the international arms trade -- its theoretical and practical aspects. The first part deals with methods and definitions. Some problems relating to the terminology are also mentioned. Other chapters include trends in armament, legislation concerning the arms trade and the impacts of its regulation. This study also includes the analysis of the biggest arms suppliers and importers in term of particural countries.

O presente trabalho tem como objetivo investigar o uso do clítico se nas construções do português brasileiro, a partir de dados da modalidade oral. Tendo em vista que esse clítico está associado a uma diversidade de significados, buscamos identificar em quais tipos de construções ele é empregado e como ele contribui para a interpretação das sentenças em que aparece. Para isso, recorremos a dois corpora de língua oral: (i) C-ORAL-BRASIL e (ii) Projeto SP2010: Amostra da fala paulistana. O primeiro reflete a fala mineira, ao passo que o segundo retrata a produção de falantes paulistanos. Os dados foram tratados pelo viés da Gramática Cognitiva, uma vez que essa perspectiva teórica possibilitou-nos olhar para fatores relevantes para o entendimento da voz média. A proposta de Langacker (2008) acerca dos diferentes tipos de construções, assim como a de Maldonado (2006) no que concerne à elaboração da força indutora do evento, serviu de base para a análise das sentenças que se encontram em uma zona intermediária entre construções impessoais, de um lado, e construções absolutas, de outro. Dentro desse contínuo, a elaboração da força indutora se dá em graus variados. Nas sentenças impessoais, o clítico introduz no evento uma força indutora que, embora seja humana, é genérica ou arbitrária. Nas sentenças médias de proeminência terminal, o se representa uma força indutora externa ainda mais esquemática, o que faz com que o foco da sentença recaia sobre a porção final do evento. Além disso, há os casos em que a força indutora é ainda menos elaborada, remetendo a uma energia mínima, próxima das construções absolutas. Estas não envolvem a conceitualização de uma força indutora. Para entender o contínuo reflexivo-médio, partimos dos trabalhos de Kemmer (1993, 1994), que ressalta fatores como a distinguibilidade dos participantes e a prototipicidade da ação, e de Maldonado (2006), que destaca o grau de controle exercido pelo sujeito. Enquanto as construções reflexivas envolvem maior distinguibilidade na conceitualização das facetas do participante e maior controle por parte deste, as médias refletem uma conceitualização indistinguível do participante e, em diversos casos, menor grau de controle. Além disso, a proposta acerca do experienciador médio (Maldonado, 2006) mostra que o clítico tem relação com o nível de envolvimento do participante no evento. Com base nas análises desenvolvidas dentro desse quadro teórico, bem como nas evidências empíricas fornecidas pelos corpora, defendemos que o clítico está associado a um processo de energização do evento (Maldonado, 2006), seja conferindo a introdução de uma força indutora, seja indicando maior envolvimento do participante. Com este estudo, pretendemos contribuir para o entendimento do papel do clítico se no português brasileiro e sua relação com a conceitualização de eventos. / The present study aims at investigating the use of clitic se in Brazilian Portuguese constructions, by means of empirical analysis. Considering this clitic is associated with a variety of meanings, this research has tried to identify in what types of constructions it is used and how it contributes to the interpretation of the sentences. In order to accomplish this goal, two oral language corpora were examined: (i) C-ORAL-BRASIL and (ii) Projeto SP2010. The first one reflects the dialect spoken in Minas Gerais, and the second portrays the dialect spoken in the city of São Paulo. Data were treated according to Cognitive Grammars perspective, since this theoretical approach has pointed out some aspects that proved to be relevant for the understanding of the middle voice. Langackers (2008) proposal about the different types of constructions, as well as Maldonados (2006) thesis concerning the elaboration of the inductive force of the event, was taken as a starting point for the analysis of the sentences located in an intermediate zone between impersonal constructions, on one side, and absolute constructions, on the other side. Within this zone, the inductive force can be elaborated in different degrees. In impersonal constructions, clitic se introduces a human force that has a generic or arbitrary interpretation. In middle sentences that exhibit prominence in the final part of the event, the clitic represents an external and highly schematic inductive force it is precisely this schematization that causes the effect of final prominence. Furthermore, there are cases in which the inductive force has an even lower level of elaboration. In such cases, the clitic makes reference to a minimal level of energy, one that is closer to absolute constructions (in which no inductive force is conceptualized). In order to understand the reflexive-middle continuum, we departed from Kemmers study (1993, 1994) which emphasizes aspects such as the relative distinguishability of participants and the expectation that initiator and endpoint have the same identity and Maldonados work (2006), which highlights the degree to which the participant controls the event. While reflexive constructions involve greater distinguishability in the conceptualization of the participant and greater control exerted by him/her, middle constructions reflect that the participant is being conceived as a unitary entity and that, in many cases, this participant does not exert as much control over the event. Besides, Maldonados (2006) proposal regarding the middle experiencer shows that the clitic is related to the degree the participant is involved in the event. Based on the analyses developed within this theoretical frame and on empirical evidence, we defend that the clitic is associated with a process of energization of the event (Maldonado, 2006). This is accomplished either by introducing an inductive force or by indicating a greater involvement of the participant in the event. In this study, we intend to contribute to the understanding of the role played by clitic se in Brazilian Portuguese constructions and its relationship with event conceptualization.

O presente trabalho tem como objetivo investigar o uso do clítico se nas construções do português brasileiro, a partir de dados da modalidade oral. Tendo em vista que esse clítico está associado a uma diversidade de significados, buscamos identificar em quais tipos de construções ele é empregado e como ele contribui para a interpretação das sentenças em que aparece. Para isso, recorremos a dois corpora de língua oral: (i) C-ORAL-BRASIL e (ii) Projeto SP2010: Amostra da fala paulistana. O primeiro reflete a fala mineira, ao passo que o segundo retrata a produção de falantes paulistanos. Os dados foram tratados pelo viés da Gramática Cognitiva, uma vez que essa perspectiva teórica possibilitou-nos olhar para fatores relevantes para o entendimento da voz média. A proposta de Langacker (2008) acerca dos diferentes tipos de construções, assim como a de Maldonado (2006) no que concerne à elaboração da força indutora do evento, serviu de base para a análise das sentenças que se encontram em uma zona intermediária entre construções impessoais, de um lado, e construções absolutas, de outro. Dentro desse contínuo, a elaboração da força indutora se dá em graus variados. Nas sentenças impessoais, o clítico introduz no evento uma força indutora que, embora seja humana, é genérica ou arbitrária. Nas sentenças médias de proeminência terminal, o se representa uma força indutora externa ainda mais esquemática, o que faz com que o foco da sentença recaia sobre a porção final do evento. Além disso, há os casos em que a força indutora é ainda menos elaborada, remetendo a uma energia mínima, próxima das construções absolutas. Estas não envolvem a conceitualização de uma força indutora. Para entender o contínuo reflexivo-médio, partimos dos trabalhos de Kemmer (1993, 1994), que ressalta fatores como a distinguibilidade dos participantes e a prototipicidade da ação, e de Maldonado (2006), que destaca o grau de controle exercido pelo sujeito. Enquanto as construções reflexivas envolvem maior distinguibilidade na conceitualização das facetas do participante e maior controle por parte deste, as médias refletem uma conceitualização indistinguível do participante e, em diversos casos, menor grau de controle. Além disso, a proposta acerca do experienciador médio (Maldonado, 2006) mostra que o clítico tem relação com o nível de envolvimento do participante no evento. Com base nas análises desenvolvidas dentro desse quadro teórico, bem como nas evidências empíricas fornecidas pelos corpora, defendemos que o clítico está associado a um processo de energização do evento (Maldonado, 2006), seja conferindo a introdução de uma força indutora, seja indicando maior envolvimento do participante. Com este estudo, pretendemos contribuir para o entendimento do papel do clítico se no português brasileiro e sua relação com a conceitualização de eventos. / The present study aims at investigating the use of clitic se in Brazilian Portuguese constructions, by means of empirical analysis. Considering this clitic is associated with a variety of meanings, this research has tried to identify in what types of constructions it is used and how it contributes to the interpretation of the sentences. In order to accomplish this goal, two oral language corpora were examined: (i) C-ORAL-BRASIL and (ii) Projeto SP2010. The first one reflects the dialect spoken in Minas Gerais, and the second portrays the dialect spoken in the city of São Paulo. Data were treated according to Cognitive Grammars perspective, since this theoretical approach has pointed out some aspects that proved to be relevant for the understanding of the middle voice. Langackers (2008) proposal about the different types of constructions, as well as Maldonados (2006) thesis concerning the elaboration of the inductive force of the event, was taken as a starting point for the analysis of the sentences located in an intermediate zone between impersonal constructions, on one side, and absolute constructions, on the other side. Within this zone, the inductive force can be elaborated in different degrees. In impersonal constructions, clitic se introduces a human force that has a generic or arbitrary interpretation. In middle sentences that exhibit prominence in the final part of the event, the clitic represents an external and highly schematic inductive force it is precisely this schematization that causes the effect of final prominence. Furthermore, there are cases in which the inductive force has an even lower level of elaboration. In such cases, the clitic makes reference to a minimal level of energy, one that is closer to absolute constructions (in which no inductive force is conceptualized). In order to understand the reflexive-middle continuum, we departed from Kemmers study (1993, 1994) which emphasizes aspects such as the relative distinguishability of participants and the expectation that initiator and endpoint have the same identity and Maldonados work (2006), which highlights the degree to which the participant controls the event. While reflexive constructions involve greater distinguishability in the conceptualization of the participant and greater control exerted by him/her, middle constructions reflect that the participant is being conceived as a unitary entity and that, in many cases, this participant does not exert as much control over the event. Besides, Maldonados (2006) proposal regarding the middle experiencer shows that the clitic is related to the degree the participant is involved in the event. Based on the analyses developed within this theoretical frame and on empirical evidence, we defend that the clitic is associated with a process of energization of the event (Maldonado, 2006). This is accomplished either by introducing an inductive force or by indicating a greater involvement of the participant in the event. In this study, we intend to contribute to the understanding of the role played by clitic se in Brazilian Portuguese constructions and its relationship with event conceptualization.

Due to constant expansion of the European Community, the harmonization in the fields of European company law and development of internal European market have emerged into considerably bigger and more complex issues. Aspects of corporate mobility, having a direct simultaneous connection to the right of freedom of establishment, have been one of the most problematic spheres for reaching international consensus. Despite numerous directives adopted by Member States (MS) European undertakings continue to be regulated by national legislations. The idea of a common European limited liability company, sc. Societas Europaea (SE), was put into process of realization in order to facilitate the internal trade and to help multinational companies to obtain legal certainty and trans-European character by rising above the variety of national legislations. Furthermore, the SE was to make cross-border enterprise management more flexible and less bureaucratic and to help improving the general competitiveness of Community enterprises. The process of formation of the European Company Statue took over forty years and the result of the final adoption turned out to be something completely different from the es-sential idea of the European Company. Due to the historical, socio-political and legal dif-ferences MSs had difficulties with compromising on the majority of aspects and instead of one common SE form, the Community had basically adopted 28 different alternatives, loosing the original valuable supranational character. The strongest advantage of the SE are the rights conferred to it by the Regulation. The frequent use of renvoi technique undermines this aspect of SE’s precedence over national legislation. The true potential of the European Company remains thus highly theoretical and the current shape of the SE presents only a weak alternative to the national corporate forms of the MSs. A European Company cannot be freely incorporated solely by investment of private capi-tal. There is a need for existence of at least two legal enterprises which furthermore must fall under the scope of different national legislations. In other words in order to create an SE, the definite cross-border element between companies at hand must be visible or can be identified. It can be formed by means of merger, creation of a holding, incorporation of a subsidiary or conversion. The subscribed capital for the SE shall at its minimum equal €120 000. The Council Regulation on SE provides a flexible management regime, permit-ting companies to choose between two administration systems (one-tier/two-tier) that exist in the Community. The issues of employee involvement are regulated in separate directive that is a supplement to the Regulation. Despite the recent developments of freedom of establishment through the case-law, the matter remains utterly complicated. The SE may seem on one hand as a logical solution, being able to incorporate in different MSs, to merge or to form a holding without burden-some processes of winding-up and re-incorporation. On the other hand the Regulation re-stricts the mobility of the SE by provisions prohibiting location of registered and head of-fice of the company in different MSs, depriving it thus from one of the basic Community freedoms. Prudent attitude to mobility and aspiration to protect national interests have partly diminished essential advantages of the SE. It appears to be impossible to conduct business in one MS while being registered in another. Possible amendments are awaited shortly, but so far the SE has definitely not achieved many of practical goals considering mobility and has fulfilled very few of its important theoretical expectations. National perspective on the adoption of the SE seems to be relatively positive, accepting the theoretical advantages of corporate mobility, options of structure and management and possibility to obtain an essentially European trademark. However, there is also an amount of skepticism addressed to deficient practical functioning due to the lack of uniform legislation. European organizations and companies tend to have a slightly more cautious and restrained approach. The idea of a European Company is praised more for its genuinely European character. Representatives for established SEs prefer to talk about internationalization of trade, European recognition, enhanced competitiveness and market integration, while very little speaks about the true practical potential. The SE is furthermore often observed as a useful but still mainly theoretical legal instrument, playing an indispensable part in the overall development of European company law. Political motives seem to be considerably heavier while discussing the question of necessity of adoption that later attracted so little interest. Additionally, the basic idea of the SE also seems to include definite measures for general European unification, granting SE the symbolic value of commonly European enterprise. Consequently, failing in purely practical application in the absence of a clear need for common limited liability company, the SE has its theoretical and crucially important socio-psychological purposes.

<p>Due to constant expansion of the European Community, the harmonization in the fields of European company law and development of internal European market have emerged into considerably bigger and more complex issues. Aspects of corporate mobility, having a direct simultaneous connection to the right of freedom of establishment, have been one of the most problematic spheres for reaching international consensus. Despite numerous directives adopted by Member States (MS) European undertakings continue to be regulated by national legislations. The idea of a common European limited liability company, sc. Societas Europaea (SE), was put into process of realization in order to facilitate the internal trade and to help multinational companies to obtain legal certainty and trans-European character by rising above the variety of national legislations. Furthermore, the SE was to make cross-border enterprise management more flexible and less bureaucratic and to help improving the general competitiveness of Community enterprises.</p><p>The process of formation of the European Company Statue took over forty years and the result of the final adoption turned out to be something completely different from the es-sential idea of the European Company. Due to the historical, socio-political and legal dif-ferences MSs had difficulties with compromising on the majority of aspects and instead of one common SE form, the Community had basically adopted 28 different alternatives, loosing the original valuable supranational character. The strongest advantage of the SE are the rights conferred to it by the Regulation. The frequent use of renvoi technique undermines this aspect of SE’s precedence over national legislation. The true potential of the European Company remains thus highly theoretical and the current shape of the SE presents only a weak alternative to the national corporate forms of the MSs.</p><p>A European Company cannot be freely incorporated solely by investment of private capi-tal. There is a need for existence of at least two legal enterprises which furthermore must fall under the scope of different national legislations. In other words in order to create an SE, the definite cross-border element between companies at hand must be visible or can be identified. It can be formed by means of merger, creation of a holding, incorporation of a subsidiary or conversion. The subscribed capital for the SE shall at its minimum equal €120 000. The Council Regulation on SE provides a flexible management regime, permit-ting companies to choose between two administration systems (one-tier/two-tier) that exist in the Community. The issues of employee involvement are regulated in separate directive that is a supplement to the Regulation.</p><p>Despite the recent developments of freedom of establishment through the case-law, the matter remains utterly complicated. The SE may seem on one hand as a logical solution, being able to incorporate in different MSs, to merge or to form a holding without burden-some processes of winding-up and re-incorporation. On the other hand the Regulation re-stricts the mobility of the SE by provisions prohibiting location of registered and head of-fice of the company in different MSs, depriving it thus from one of the basic Community freedoms. Prudent attitude to mobility and aspiration to protect national interests have partly diminished essential advantages of the SE. It appears to be impossible to conduct business in one MS while being registered in another. Possible amendments are awaited shortly, but so far the SE has definitely not achieved many of practical goals considering mobility and has fulfilled very few of its important theoretical expectations.</p><p>National perspective on the adoption of the SE seems to be relatively positive, accepting the theoretical advantages of corporate mobility, options of structure and management and possibility to obtain an essentially European trademark. However, there is also an amount of skepticism addressed to deficient practical functioning due to the lack of uniform legislation. European organizations and companies tend to have a slightly more cautious and restrained approach. The idea of a European Company is praised more for its genuinely European character. Representatives for established SEs prefer to talk about internationalization of trade, European recognition, enhanced competitiveness and market integration, while very little speaks about the true practical potential. The SE is furthermore often observed as a useful but still mainly theoretical legal instrument, playing an indispensable part in the overall development of European company law.</p><p>Political motives seem to be considerably heavier while discussing the question of necessity of adoption that later attracted so little interest. Additionally, the basic idea of the SE also seems to include definite measures for general European unification, granting SE the symbolic value of commonly European enterprise. Consequently, failing in purely practical application in the absence of a clear need for common limited liability company, the SE has its theoretical and crucially important socio-psychological purposes.</p>

Ensaios de mecânica da fratura utilizando corpos de prova padronizados apresentam alto nível de restrição à deformação plástica na ponta da trinca, devido a esforços de flexão e a trincas profundas. Em decorrência do emprego desses corpos de prova, há um alto conservadorismo nos resultados obtidos por esses ensaios, quando aplicados em materiais de boa tenacidade. Aplicações cujos defeitos estão submetidos a baixos níveis de constricção e a pequenas margens de segurança fazem com que sejam necessários corpos de prova mais próximos do estado de tensão submetido pela estrutura para realizar adequadamente a análise crítica de engenharia (Engineering Critical Analysis - ECA). Este trabalho visa analisar a influência da geometria de corpos de prova e do tamanho da trinca na tenacidade à fratura do aço API 5DP Tool Joint. Este estudo constitui-se da realização de ensaios de tenacidade à fratura com duas geometrias de corpos de prova (SE(B) e SE(T)) e quatro tamanhos de trinca normalizados (a0/W = 0,40; 0,50; 0,60; e 0,70) com a técnica da flexibilidade no descarregamento (unloading compliance). Foi utilizado o projeto de experimentos (DOE) para obter resultados referentes aos efeitos principais dos dois fatores e de suas interações. Foram calculadas, a partir de triplicatas para cada condição, curvas de resistência e valores únicos de tenacidade à fratura (Integral J e CTOD), sendo que o último foi utilizado para o cálculo da análise de variância (ANOVA). Com base nos resultados obtidos, conclui-se que a geometria de corpo de prova, tamanho da trinca e a interação entre os dois fatores possuem efeito significativo sobre as variáveis resposta (CTOD e Integral J) com nível de significância de 5%. Além disso, obtiveram-se os valores de JIC e δi através das curvas de resistência, mostrando que esses valores independem da geometria e do tamanho da trinca. / Fracture mechanics testing using standardized specimens have a high level of restriction to plastic deformation at the crack tip, due the bending stresses and deep crack lengths. Due to the use of these specimens geometry, there is a high conservatism on the obtained results of fracture toughness testing when applied on high toughness materials. The application of specimens closely modeling to the actual stress conditions in the component under consideration are necessary to evaluate structures containing defects with low levels of constraint and small safety margins to perform appropriately the engineering critical analysis (ECA). This work aims to analyze the influence of specimen geometry and crack length on the fracture toughness of API 5DP Tool Joint steel. This study consists in the execution of fracture toughness testing on two specimen geometries (SE(B) e SE(T)) and four normalized crack lengths (a0/W = 0,40; 0,50; 0,60; and 0,70) with the unloading compliance method. Design of experiments (DOE) was applied to obtain results regarding to the main factors effects and their interactions. From triplicates of each condition, resistance curves and unique values of fracture toughness (J integral and CTOD) were calculated, and the latter result was used to calculate the analysis of variance (ANOVA). The obtained outcomes show that the specimen geometry, crack length and the interaction between these factors have significant effect on the response variables (CTOD and J integral) on a significance level of 5%. In addition, there were obtained the values of JIC e δi through the resistance curves, showing that these values do not depend on the geometry and crack length.

Ensaios de mecânica da fratura utilizando corpos de prova padronizados apresentam alto nível de restrição à deformação plástica na ponta da trinca, devido a esforços de flexão e a trincas profundas. Em decorrência do emprego desses corpos de prova, há um alto conservadorismo nos resultados obtidos por esses ensaios, quando aplicados em materiais de boa tenacidade. Aplicações cujos defeitos estão submetidos a baixos níveis de constricção e a pequenas margens de segurança fazem com que sejam necessários corpos de prova mais próximos do estado de tensão submetido pela estrutura para realizar adequadamente a análise crítica de engenharia (Engineering Critical Analysis - ECA). Este trabalho visa analisar a influência da geometria de corpos de prova e do tamanho da trinca na tenacidade à fratura do aço API 5DP Tool Joint. Este estudo constitui-se da realização de ensaios de tenacidade à fratura com duas geometrias de corpos de prova (SE(B) e SE(T)) e quatro tamanhos de trinca normalizados (a0/W = 0,40; 0,50; 0,60; e 0,70) com a técnica da flexibilidade no descarregamento (unloading compliance). Foi utilizado o projeto de experimentos (DOE) para obter resultados referentes aos efeitos principais dos dois fatores e de suas interações. Foram calculadas, a partir de triplicatas para cada condição, curvas de resistência e valores únicos de tenacidade à fratura (Integral J e CTOD), sendo que o último foi utilizado para o cálculo da análise de variância (ANOVA). Com base nos resultados obtidos, conclui-se que a geometria de corpo de prova, tamanho da trinca e a interação entre os dois fatores possuem efeito significativo sobre as variáveis resposta (CTOD e Integral J) com nível de significância de 5%. Além disso, obtiveram-se os valores de JIC e δi através das curvas de resistência, mostrando que esses valores independem da geometria e do tamanho da trinca. / Fracture mechanics testing using standardized specimens have a high level of restriction to plastic deformation at the crack tip, due the bending stresses and deep crack lengths. Due to the use of these specimens geometry, there is a high conservatism on the obtained results of fracture toughness testing when applied on high toughness materials. The application of specimens closely modeling to the actual stress conditions in the component under consideration are necessary to evaluate structures containing defects with low levels of constraint and small safety margins to perform appropriately the engineering critical analysis (ECA). This work aims to analyze the influence of specimen geometry and crack length on the fracture toughness of API 5DP Tool Joint steel. This study consists in the execution of fracture toughness testing on two specimen geometries (SE(B) e SE(T)) and four normalized crack lengths (a0/W = 0,40; 0,50; 0,60; and 0,70) with the unloading compliance method. Design of experiments (DOE) was applied to obtain results regarding to the main factors effects and their interactions. From triplicates of each condition, resistance curves and unique values of fracture toughness (J integral and CTOD) were calculated, and the latter result was used to calculate the analysis of variance (ANOVA). The obtained outcomes show that the specimen geometry, crack length and the interaction between these factors have significant effect on the response variables (CTOD and J integral) on a significance level of 5%. In addition, there were obtained the values of JIC e δi through the resistance curves, showing that these values do not depend on the geometry and crack length.