Este trabalho descreve um modelo matemático para simulação da laringe humana durante a fonação. O objetivo foi produzir uma técnica computacional de grande escala de processamento para capturar os fenômenos fisiológicos que ocorrem na laringe durante a vocalização e servir de base para estudos mais aprofundados sobre esta importante estrutura do corpo humano. Usando o método dos elementos finitos como base para discretizar as equações dos tecidos musculares da laringe e das equações de Navier-Stokes, e um modelo de descrição da colisão entre as pregas vocais, o sinal glotal foi obtido a partir de diferentes geometrias de laringes com diferentes propriedades viscoelásticas. Os resultados confirmaram a teoria mioelástica-aerodinâmica que descreve a dinâmica da fonação, reproduzindo inclusive fenômenos fisiológicos que os modelos existentes são incapazes de simular. Estudos adicionais foram feitos para verificar a viabilidade do modelo para simular algumas doenças que danificam a laringe. / This work describes a mathematical model to simulate the human larynx during a phonation. The objective was to produce a large-scale computational technique to capture several physiological phenomena that take place on the larynx during the vocalization and to assist further studies about this important structure of the human body. Using the finite element methods as the way to discretize the muscle tissue equations of the larynx and the Navier-Stokes equations and a model to describe the collision between both vocal folds, the glottal signal for different larynx geometries with different viscoelastic properties was obtained. The results confirmed the myoelastic-aerodynamic theory which describes the dynamic of the phonation, also reproducing physiologic phenomena that current models are unable to simulate. Additional studies were conducted to confirm the feasibility of the model to simulate some diseases that affect the larynx.

No presente trabalho, uma combinação do método dos elementos de contorno (MEC) com o método dos elementos finitos (MEF) é apresentada para a análise da interação entre estacas e o solo, considerado como um meio infinito tridimensional e homogêneo. O meio contínuo tridimensional de domínio infinito é modelado pelo MEC, enquanto as estacas consideradas como elementos reticulares são tratadas pelo MEF. As equações das estacas oriundas do método dos elementos finitos são combinadas com as do meio contínuo obtidas a partir do método dos elementos de contorno, resultando em um sistema completo de equações, que convenientemente tratadas, proporcionam a formulação de coeficientes de rigidez do conjunto solo-estacas. Finalmente, uma formulação para a análise do comportamento não-linear do solo na interface com a estaca é desenvolvida, tornando o modelo mais abrangente. / In the present work a combination of the Boundary Element Method (BEM) and the Finite Element Method (FEM) is used for pile-soil interaction analyses, considering the soil as a homogeneous, three-dimensional and infinite medium. The three-dimensional infinite continuous medium is modeled by the BEM, and the piles are, considered as beam elements, modeled by the FEM. This combination also is used for studying the interaction of plates sitting on a continuous medium. The pile equations generated from the FEM are combined with the medium equations generated from the BEM, resulting a complete equation system. Manipulating properly this equation system, a set of stiffness coefficients for the system soil-pile is obtained. Finally, to make the model more comprehensive, it presented a formulation to take into account the soil nonlinear behavior at the pile interface.

The purpose of this study is to perform an investigation of the numerical methods that may contribute to the design and analysis of liquid containers. The study examines several of these methods individually, namely Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) analysis of sloshing and Finite Element Methods (FEM) analysis of impact, to evaluate their contribution to the design cycle. Techniques that enhance the use of the various methods are presented and examined to demonstrate effectiveness. In the case of sloshing analysis, experimental tests performed add to the understanding of the phenomena at hand and qualifies the validity of the numerical method used (CFD). As a final contribution, the study presents a method of utilising impact analysis tools, FEM, and CFD in a Multidisciplinary Design Optimisation (MDO) environment. This is an introductory attempt at demonstrating a single coupled multidisciplinary method of designing liquid containers. The results of the study demonstrate a number of valuable numerical techniques that may be used in the design of liquid containers. The presented Total Deviation Value (TDV) proves to be an effective single quantification of sloshing performance and the CFD tools used to determine the value demonstrate sufficient ability to reproduce the sloshing event itself. More advanced experimental facilities would provide a more in-depth understanding of the limitations of the CFD analysis. The use of numerical optimisation adds a valuable dimension to the use of numerical simulations. Significant design improvements are possible for several design variables without performing exhaustive studies and provide interesting information about design trends. Finally, the use of multiple disciplines, FEM and CFD, in conjunction with the available numerical optimisation routines offers a powerful multidisciplinary design tool that can be adapted to any base geometry and is capable of finding optimal trade offs between the two disciplines according to the designer’s needs. This study provides a platform for further investigations in the use and coupling of sloshing and impact analysis in the design of industrial liquid container applications. / Dissertation (MEng (Mechanical Engineering))--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering / unrestricted

Medical devices have made a big step forward in the past decades. One of the most noticeable medical events of the twenties century was the development of long-lasting, wireless electronic implants such as identification tags, pacemakers and neuronal stimulators. These devices were only made possible after the development of small scale radio frequency electronics. Small radio electronic circuits provided a way to operate in both transmission and reception mode allowing an implant to communicate with an external world from inside a living organism. Bidirectional communication is a vital feature that has been increasingly implemented in similar systems to continuously record biological parameters, to remotely configure the implant, or to wirelessly stimulate internal organs. Further miniaturisation of implantable devices to make the operation of the device more comfortable for the patient requires rethinking of the whole radio system concept making it both power efficient and of high performance. Nowadays, high data throughput, large bandwidth, and long term operation requires new radio systems to operate at UHF (ultra-high frequency) bands as this is the most suitable for implantable applications. For instance, the MICS (Medical Implant Communication System) band was introduced for the communication with implantable devices. However, this band could only enable communication at low data rates. This was acceptable for the transmission of telemetry data such as heart beat rate, respiratory and temperature with sub Mbps rates. Novel developments such as neuronal and prosthetic implants require significantly higher data rates more than 10 Mbps that can be achieved with large bandwidth communicating systems operating at higher frequencies in a GHz range. Higher operating frequency would also resolve a strong issue of MICS devices, namely the scale of implants defined by dimensions of antennas used at this band. Operation at 2.4 GHz ISM band was recognized to be the most adequate as it has a moderate absorption in the human body providing a compromise between an antenna/implant scale and a total power efficiency of the communicating system. This thesis addresses a key challenge of implantable radio communicating systems namely an efficient and small scale antenna design which allows a high yield fabrication in a microelectronic fashion. It was demonstrated that a helical antenna design allows the designer to precisely tune the operating frequency, input impedance, and bandwidth by changing the geometry of a self-assembled 3D structure defined by an initial 2D planar layout. Novel stimuli responsive materials were synthesized, and the rolled-up technology was explored for fabrication of 5.5-mm-long helical antenna arrays operating in ISM bands at 5.8 and 2.4 GHz. Characterization and various applications of the fabricated antennas are successfully demonstrated in the thesis.

The macroscopic behavior of complex heterogeneous materials is strongly governed by the interactions between their elementary constituents within their microstructure. Beside experimental efforts characterizing the behaviors of such materials, there is growing interest, in view of the increasing computational power available, in building models representing their microstructural systems integrating the elementary behaviors of their constituents and their geometrical organization. While a large number of contributions on this aspect focus on the investigation of advanced physics in material parameter studies using rather simple geometries to represent the spatial organization of heterogeneities, few are dedicated to the exploration of the role of microstructural geometries by means of morphological parameter studies.<p>The critical ingredients of this second type of investigation are (I) the generation of sets of representative volume elements ( RVE ) describing the geometry of microstructures with a satisfying control on the morphology relevant to the material of interest and (II) the discretization of governing equations of a model representing the investigated physics on those RVEs domains. One possible reason for the under-representation of morphologically detailed RVEs in the related literature may be related to several issues associated with the geometrical complexity of the microstructures of considered materials in both of these steps. Based on this hypothesis, this work is aimed at bringing contributions to advanced techniques for the generation and discretization of microstructures of complex heterogeneous materials, focusing on geometrical issues. In particular, a special emphasis is put on the consistent geometrical representation of RVEs across generation and discretization methodologies and the accommodation of a quantitative control on specific morphological features characterizing the microstructures of the covered materials.<p>While several promising recent techniques are dedicated to the discretization of arbitrary complex geometries in numerical models, the literature on RVEs generation methodologies does not provide fully satisfying solutions for most of the cases. The general strategy in this work consisted in selecting a promising state-of-the-art discretization method and in designing improved RVE generation techniques with the concern of guaranteeing their seamless collaboration. The chosen discretization technique is a specific variation of the generalized / extended finite element method that accommodates the representation of arbitrary input geometries represented by level set functions. The RVE generation techniques were designed accordingly, using level set functions to define and manipulate the RVEs geometries. <p>The RVE methodologies developed are mostly morphologically motivated, incorporating governing parameters allowing the reproduction and the quantitative control of specific morphological features of the considered materials. These developments make an intensive use of distance fields and level set functions to handle the geometrical complexity of microstructures. Valuable improvements were brought to the RVE generation methodologies for several materials, namely granular and particle-based materials, coated and cemented geomaterials, polycrystalline materials, cellular materials and textile-based materials. RVEs produced using those developments have allowed extensive testing of the investigated discretization method, using complex microstructures in proof-of-concept studies involving the main ingredients of RVE-based morphological parameter studies of complex heterogeneous materials. In particular, the illustrated approach offers the possibility to address three crucial aspects of those kinds of studies: (I) to easily conduct simulations on a large number of RVEs covering a significant range of morphological variations for a material, (II) to use advanced constituent material behaviors and (III) to discretize large 3D RVEs. Based on those illustrations and the experience gained from their realization, the main strengths and limitations of the considered discretization methods were clearly identified. / Doctorat en Sciences de l'ingénieur / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

This paper is concerned with mesh refinement techniques for treating elliptic boundary value problems in domains with re- entrant edges and corners, and focuses on numerical experiments. After a section about the model problem and discretization strategies, their realization in the experimental code FEMPS3D is described. For two representative examples the numerically determined error norms are recorded, and various mesh refinement strategies are compared.

In this paper we present two hierarchically preconditioned methods for the fast solution of mesh equations that approximate 2D-elliptic boundary value problems on unstructured quasi uniform triangulations. Based on the fictitious space approach the original problem can be embedded into an auxiliary one, where both the hierarchical grid information and the preconditioner by decomposing functions on it are well defined. We implemented the corresponding Yserentant preconditioned conjugate gradient method as well as the BPX-preconditioned cg-iteration having optimal computational costs. Several numerical examples demonstrate the efficiency of the artificially constructed hierarchical methods which can be of importance in the industrial engineering, where often only the nodal coordinates and the element connectivity of the underlying (fine) discretization are available.

In the last years multilevel preconditioners like BPX became more and more popular for solving second-order elliptic finite element discretizations by iterative methods. P. Oswald has adapted these methods for discretizations of the fourth order biharmonic problem by rectangular conforming Bogner-Fox-Schmidt elements and nonconforming Adini elements and has derived optimal estimates for the condition numbers of the preconditioned linear systems. In this paper we generalize the results from Oswald to the construction of BPX and Multilevel Diagonal Scaling (MDS-BPX) preconditioners for the elasticity problem of thin smooth shells of arbitrary forms where we use Koiter's equations of equilibrium for an homogeneous and isotropic thin shell, clamped on a part of its boundary and loaded by a resultant on its middle surface. We use the two discretizations mentioned above and the preconditioned conjugate gradient method as iterative method. The parallelization concept is based on a non-overlapping domain decomposition data structure. We describe the implementations of the multilevel preconditioners. Finally, we show numerical results for some classes of shells like plates, cylinders, and hyperboloids.

Numerous vibrating electromechanical systems lack a rigid connection to the inertial frame. An artificial inertial frame can be generated by a shaker, which compensates for vibrations. In this article, we present an encapsulated and perforated unimorph bending plate for this purpose. Vibrations can be compensated up to the first eigenfrequency of the system. As basis for an efficient system simulation and optimization, a new three-port multi-domain network model was developed. An extension qualifies the network for the simulation of the acoustical behavior inside the capsule. Network parameters are determined using finite element simulations. The dynamic behavior of the network model agrees with the finite element simulation results up to the first resonance of the system. The network model was verified by measurements on a laboratory setup, too. Furthermore, the network model could be simplified and was applied to determine the influence of various parameters on the stabilization performance of the plate transducer. The performance of the piezoelectric bending plate for position stabilization had been in addition investigated experimentally by measurements on a macroscopic capsule.

This work deals with problem of dental implant area, where there are many problems at the dental implants application. The essential issue is the bone tissue quality at implant application, which sig-nificantly influences its deformation, tension and the possibility of subsequent implant failure. The knowledge of bone tissue mechanical properties of mandible and mandible with applied implant can significantly affect prediction of dental implant failure. The mechanical interaction can be described by variable determining deformation and tension of solved system. For this reason the computational modeling by using Finite Element Method was used for solving given problem. The computational model creation of solved system on the high resolution level is necessary for biomechanical assessment of implant failure, including bone tissue quality. For this purpose the biomechanical study was performed, which significantly spreads range of solved problem in this work afterwards. In this work the methodology, which describes assessment of bone tissue quality where the implant should be applied as well as mutual interaction, is presented. The results confirm necessity of bone tissue computational models creation on high resolution level including complex trabecular architecture. In this work the creation of trabecular structure computational model from data gained on micro-CT device is described. Further, the trabecular structure computational model was created on the 3D level with dental implant and the stress strain analysis was performed consequently. The last part of this work deals with introductory study of bone tissue modeling and remodeling.