High-speed high Reynolds number boundary layer flows with mechanical non-equilibrium effects have numerous practical applications; examples include access-to-space ascent, re-entry and descent, and military hypersonic systems. However, many of the basic turbulent flow processes in this regime are poorly understood and are beyond the realm of modern direct numerical simulations Previous studies have shown that curvature driven pressure gradients significantly alter the state of the turbulence in high-speed boundary layers; the turbulence levels have been shown to decrease by large amounts (up to 100 percent) and the Reynolds shear stress has been shown to change sign. However, most of our understanding is based on point measurement techniques such as hot-wire and Laser Doppler anemometry acquired at low to moderate supersonic Mach numbers (i.e., M = 2-3). After reviewing the available literature, the following scientific questions remain unanswered pertaining to the effect of favorable pressure gradients: (1) How is state of the mean flow and turbulence statistics altered? (2) How is the structure of wall turbulence; break-up, stretch or a combination? (3) How are the Reynolds stress component production mechanisms altered? (4) What is the effect of Mach number on the above processes? To answer these questions and to enhance the current database, an experimental analysis was performed to provide high fidelity documentation of the mean and turbulent flow properties using two-dimensional particle image velocimetry (PIV) along with flow visualizations of a high speed (M4.88=), high Reynolds number (Re36,000θ≈) supersonic turbulent boundary layer with curvature-driven favorable pressure gradients (a nominally zero, a weak, and a strong favorable pressure gradient). From these data, detailed turbulence analyses were performed including calculating classical mean flow and turbulence statistics, examining turbulent stress production, and performing quadrant decomposition of the Reynolds stress for each pressure gradient case. It was shown that the effect of curvature-driven favorable pressure gradients on the turbulent structure of a supersonic boundary layer was significant. For the strong pressure gradient model, the turbulent shear stress changed sign throughout the entire boundary layer; a phenomena was not observed to this magnitude in previous studies. Additionally, significant changes were seen in the turbulent structure of the boundary layer. It is believed that hairpin vortices organized within the boundary layer are stretched and then broken up over the favorable pressure gradient. Energy from these hairpin structures is transferred to smaller turbulent eddies as well as back into the mean flow creating a fuller mean velocity profile. It was determined that the effects of favorable pressure gradients on the basic structure of a turbulent Mach 5.0 boundary layer were significant, therefore increasing the complexity of computational modeling.

Previous studies have shown that favorable pressure gradients reduce the turbulence levels and length scales in supersonic flow. Wall roughness has been shown to reduce the large-scales in wall bounded flow. Based on these previous observations new questions have been raised. The fundamental questions this dissertation addressed are: (1) What are the effects of wall topology with sharp versus blunt leading edges? and (2) Is it possible that a further reduction of turbulent scales can occur if surface roughness and favorable pressure gradients are combined? To answer these questions and to enhance the current experimental database, an experimental analysis was performed to provide high fidelity documentation of the mean and turbulent flow properties along with surface and flow visualizations of a high-speed ( 2.86 M = ), high Reynolds number (Re 60,000 q » ) supersonic turbulent boundary layer distorted by curvature-induced favorable pressure gradients and large-scale ( 300 s k + » ) uniform surface roughness. Nine models were tested at three separate locations. Three pressure gradient models strengths (a nominally zero, a weak, and a strong favorable pressure gradient) and three roughness topologies (aerodynamically smooth, square, and diamond shaped roughness elements) were used. Highly resolved planar measurements of mean and fluctuating velocity components were accomplished using particle image velocimetry. Stagnation pressure profiles were acquired with a traversing Pitot probe. Surface pressure distributions were characterized using pressure sensitive paint. Finally flow visualization was accomplished using schlieren photographs. Roughness topology had a significant effect on the boundary layer mean and turbulent properties due to shock boundary layer interactions. Favorable pressure gradients had the expected stabilizing effect on turbulent properties, but the improvements were less significant for models with surface roughness near the wall due to increased tendency towards flow separation. It was documented that proper roughness selection coupled with a sufficiently strong favorable pressure gradient produced regions of “negative” production in the transport of turbulent stress. This led to localized areas of significant turbulence stress reduction. With proper roughness selection and sufficient favorable pressure gradient strength, it is believed that localized relaminarization of the boundary layer is possible.

An issue that has always caused controversy, both in the theory and in the practice, is the application of the law over time, which becomes more complex in terms of its non-retroactivity or retroactivity. In the present article, the author develops theretroactivity of the most favorable rule principle. First, the author describes the concept and fundamentals of retroactivity. Then, he reports its normative support and its delimitation. Finally, the author exposes the most discussed and controversial assumptions on its application and non-application, making parallels with its regulation in Spain. / Un tema que siempre ha causado controversia, tanto en la teoría como en la práctica, es la aplicación de la norma jurídica en el tiempo, la cual se complejiza en cuanto a su irretroactividad o retroactividad. En el presente artículo, el autor desarrolla el principio de la retroactividad de la norma más favorable. En primer lugar, describe el concepto y fundamentos de la retroactividad. A continuación, informa sobre su sustento normativo y su delimitación. Finalmente, expone los supuestos discutidos sobre su aplicación e inaplicación, haciendo un paralelismo con su regulación en España.

Cette thèse a pour objectif d'améliorer la compréhension des effets d'un gradient sur une couche limite turbulente à l'équilibre. On s'intéresse en particulier aux effets d'un gradient de pression sur la partie aérodynamique de l'écoulement, ainsi que sur le bruit émis par la couche limite turbulente. En effet, une couche limite turbulente est une source de bruit omniprésente en aéronautique, automobile ou encore en ferroviaire. Cette source provient de la pression fluctuante produite par la couche limite turbulente se développant à la surface de la paroi extérieure du véhicule. Deux contributions au bruit de couche limite turbulente à l'intérieur de l'habitacle d'un véhicule peuvent être observées. La première contribution est une contribution de type aéroacoustique et est appelée contribution directe. Elle est due à la génération d'ondes acoustiques par les fluctuations de pressions générées par la couche limite turbulente. La deuxième contribution est due à des mécanismes de vibro-acoustique et est appelée contribution indirecte. Elle est due à l'excitation structurale engendrée par les fluctuations de pression sur la paroi du véhicule. Les fluctuations de pression d'une couche limite turbulente sont de plus responsables de la génération d'un rayonnement acoustique qui est de même nature que celui de la contribution directe mais qui est dirigé vers l'extérieur du véhicule. Dans le cadre de cette thèse, des calculs directs à l'aide d'un solveur numérique permettant la résolution des équations de Navier-Stokes en régime compressible sont réalisées pour des cas de couches limites avec gradients de pression adverses et favorables. L'étude de ces résultats nous permet de mettre en évidence l'augmentation des niveaux du rayonnement acoustique avec un gradient adverse et leur diminution avec un gradient favorable en comparaison du cas sans gradient de pression. De plus, l'étude des spectres de la pression fluctuante sous les différentes couches limites étudiées, a également permis d'observer l'augmentation des deux contributions au bruit de couche limite, à savoir les contributions directe et indirecte avec un gradient de pression adverse et leur diminution avec un gradient de pression favorable. On observe de plus que ces effets sont amplifiés avec l'augmentation de l'intensité du gradient. / The aim of this study is to provide a better understanding of the effects of a pressure gradient on an equilibrium turbulent boundary layer. In particular, the effects on the aerodynamic part and on the turbulent boundary layer noise are studied here. In fact, in the framework of transport industry, boundary layers constitute a fundamental source of aerodynamic noise. A turbulent boundary layer over a wall can provide a direct and an indirect contribution to the noise felt inside a vehicle. The indirect contribution corresponds to the structural excitation of the structure below and the direct contribution consists in the propagation of pressure waves. Wall pressure fluctuations are also responsible for the propagation of pressure waves outside the turbulent boundary layer. In this regard, simulations of turbulent boundary layers in presence of adverse and favorable pressure gradients are carried out using direct noise computation by solving the compressible Navier-Stokes equations. This method provides the direct contribution and the wall pressure fluctuations, which are responsible for the indirect contribution to the aerodynamic noise. Results show that an adverse pressure gradient leads to higher levels of the direct acoustic emission whereas lower levels are obtained in presence of a favorable pressure gradient in comparison to the zero gradient case. The study of the spectra of the wall pressure fluctuations for the different gradients cases we present, yield to the same hierarchy of levels. We further observed that these effects are amplified with the increase in the intensity of the gradient.

The focus of this research is on hypotheses testing involving inequality constraints. In the first chapter of this dissertation, we propose Kolmogorov-Smirnov type tests for stochastic dominance relations between the potential outcomes of a binary treatment under the unconfoundedness assumption. Our stochastic dominance tests compare every point of the cumulative distribution functions (CDF), so they can fully utilize all information in the distributions. For first order stochastic dominance, the test statistic is defined as the supremum of the difference of two inverse-probability-weighting estimators for the CDFs of the potential outcomes. The critical values are approximated based on a simulation method. We show that our test has good size properties and is consistent in the sense that it can detect any violation of the null hypothesis asymptotically. First order stochastic dominance tests in the treated subpopulation, and higher order stochastic dominance tests in the whole population and among the treated are shown to share the same properties. The tests are applied to evaluate the effect of a job training program on incomes, and we find that job training has a positive effect on real earnings. Finally, we extend our tests to cases in which the unconfoundedness assumption does not hold. On the other hand, there has been a considerable amount of attention paid to testing inequality restrictions using Wald type tests. As noted by Wolak (1991), there are certain situations where it is difficult to obtain tests with correct size even asymptotically. These situations occur when the variance-covariance matrix of the functions in the constraints depends on the unknown parameters as would be the case in nonlinear models. This dependence on the unknown parameters makes it computationally difficult to find the least favorable configuration (LFC) which can be used to bound the size of the test. In the second chapter of this dissertation, we extend Hansen's (2005) superior predictive ability (SPA) test to testing hypotheses involving general inequality constraints in which the variance-covariance matrix can be dependent on the unknown parameters. For our test we are able to obtain correct size asymptotically plus test consistency without requiring knowledge of the LFC. Also the test can be applied to a wider class of problems than considered in Wolak (1991). In the last chapter, we construct new Kolmogorov-Smirnov tests for stochastic dominance of any pre-specified order without resorting to the LFC to improve the power of Barrett and Donald's (2003) tests. To do this, we first show that under the null hypothesis if the objects being compared at a given income level are not equal, then the objects at this given income level will have no effect on the null distribution. Second, we extend Hansen's (2005) recentering method to a continuum of inequality constraints and construct a recentering function that will converge to the underlying parameter function uniformly asymptotically under the null hypothesis. We treat the recentering function as a true underlying parameter function and add it to the simulated Brownian bridge processes to simulate the critical values. We show that our tests can control the size asymptotically and are consistent. We also show that by avoiding the LFC, our tests are less conservative and more powerful than Barrett and Donald's (2003). Monte Carlo simulations support our results. We also examine the performances of our tests in an empirical example. / text

Regression analysis is one of the most applied statistical techniques. The sta- tistical inference of a linear regression model with a monotone constraint had been discussed in early analysis. A natural question arises when it comes to the difference between the cases of with and without the constraint. Although the comparison be- tween confidence intervals of linear regression models with and without restriction for one predictor variable had been considered, this discussion for multiple regres- sion is required. In this thesis, I discuss the comparison of the confidence intervals between a multiple linear regression model with and without constraints.

Regression analyses constitutes an important part of the statistical inference and has great applications in many areas. In some applications, we strongly believe that the regression function changes monotonically with some or all of the predictor variables in a region of interest. Deriving analyses under such constraints will be an enormous task. In this work, the restricted prediction interval for the mean of the regression function is constructed when two predictors are present. I use a modified likelihood ratio test (LRT) to construct prediction intervals.

En pocos años, la estructura típica de cualquier país europeo, basada en la supremacía de los convenios sectoriales del máximo ámbito, ha sido puesta en entredicho por el legislador, que presionado por la crisis económica y financiera ha introducido diversas fórmulas para convertir en prioritario el convenio de ámbito empresarial. Al análisis de tales fórmulas se dedica el presente estudio, a través de la revisión de la legislación y jurisprudencia europea (principalmente del Tribunal de Justicia Europeo y del Tribunal Europeo de Derechos Humanos), en el marco de la estructura interestatal de la Unión Europea. In just a few years, the typical structure of any European country, based on the supremacy of broad sectorial agreements, has been called into question by legislators who - pressured by the economic and financial crisis - have introduced different formulas to give priority to agreements in the business sphere. This study analyzes these arrangements through an examination of European legislation and jurisprudence (principally the European Court of Justice and the European Court of Human Rights) in the framework of the inter-state structure of the European Union.

Regression analysis constitutes a large portion of the statistical repertoire in applications. In case where such analysis is used for exploratory purposes with no previous knowledge of the structure one would not wish to impose any constraints on the problem. But in many applications we are interested in a simple parametric model to describe the structure of a system with some prior knowledge of the structure. An important example of this occurs when the experimenter has the strong belief that the regression function changes monotonically in some or all of the predictor variables in a region of interest. The analyses needed for statistical inference under such constraints are nonstandard. The specific aim of this study is to introduce a technique which can be used for statistical inferences of a multivariate simple regression with some non-standard constraints.

The diploma thesis deals with the right to a favorable environment in case-law of the Czech courts. The main aim of this thesis is to provide a comprehensive overview of its progression in the case-law on the right to a favorable environment for legal entities, especially societies (environmental non-governmental organizations). At first it follows up definition of key concepts and sources of law related to the right to a favorable environment. The thesis discusses the environmental protection processes (such as the land-use planning, the environmental impact assessment procedure and integrated permitting), the Aarhus Convention, legal protection and locus standi as the most important topics. The main part of the thesis analyzes the relevant case law of the Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic and the Supreme Administrative Court of the Czech Republic. The conclusion of the thesis is a summary and evaluation of its progression in the case-law on the right to a favorable environment for legal entities.