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La marge sud-chilienne constitue la seule masse continentale de l’hémisphère sud qui intercepte l’intégralité de la ceinture des vents d’ouest (SWW), en interaction avec la circulation océanique. Elle occupe donc une position stratégique pour les reconstructions paléoclimatiques et a fait l’objet d’une attention croissante ces dernières décennies. Dans le contexte des hautes latitudes sud de la marge chilienne, les objectifs de cette thèse se sont portés sur (1) l’établissement d’une chronostratigraphie précise basée sur des datations radiocarbone et la téphrochronologie et (2) sur la reconstruction de la dynamique de la calotte nord-Patagonienne en lien direct avec le régime des précipitations, les températures et/ou la dynamique interne des glaciers sur les derniers 22 ka BP à partir de l’étude d’un enregistrement marin à ultra haute résolution et à fort taux de sédimentation, collecté au large de la péninsule de Taitao (~46°S). Basé sur un modèle d’âge robuste par des datations radiocarbone associées à une étude téphrochronologique, l’enregistrement marin MD07-3088 permet une couverture temporelle large depuis le dernier maximum glaciaire, la déglaciation et l’Holocène. Plusieurs traceurs (minéralogie des argiles, granulométrie, géochimie inorganique) ont été utilisés afin de retracer la variabilité des sources et les fluctuations de la calotte nord patagonienne. Couplée aux paléoreconstructions des températures des eaux de surface et de la variabilité des proportions polliniques, cette étude a permis de retracer les variations dans le régime des précipitations et les interconnections entre les réservoirs océaniques et atmosphériques. Les résultats ont montré qu’au cours du DMG (22-18 ka BP), les températures globalement plus froides semblent contrôler les apports terrigènes en provenance de la chaine côtière proximale et la dynamique des glaciers. Lors de la déglaciation (18-11,5 ka BP), les conditions globalement plus chaudes marquent un changement radical dans la source des apports détritiques, avec une dominance de la cordillère andéenne distale. Cet intervalle est ponctué par 3 évènements de refroidissement, dont l’ACR (14,3-12,7 ka BP) pendant lesquels un regain de l’activité glaciaire est enregistré. Au cours de cet intervalle, l’expansion des tourbières Magellanes suggère des conditions climatiques plus froides et très humides résultant de la migration progressive vers le nord des Westerlies. L’Holocène Inférieur (11,5-8 ka BP) se caractérise par des conditions similaires à celles de la déglaciation avec la présence d’un événement plus grossier témoignant soit de l’influence de la légère baisse des températures (~2°C), soit d’un rôle plus important de la dynamique interne des glaciers. L’Holocène Moyen (8-3 ka BP) est illustré par la mise en place de la phase de Néoglaciation qui se traduit par un déplacement vers le nord de la cellule des vents d’ouest caractérisé par des forts apports de précipitations dans notre zone d’étude bien que peu de variations soient enregistrées dans les estimations des SST. Enfin, la faible variation des SST et la légère augmentation des précipitations enregistrées au cours de l’Holocène Inférieur (3 ka BP à l’actuel) témoignent d’un retour de la cellule des vents à une position similaire à l’actuel. / The south-chilean margin is the one continental mass to intercept the entire Westerly Winds cell (SWW), closely linked to the oceanic circulation. It constitutes a strategic area for paleoclimatic reconstructions and represents a peculiar interest since the last decades. In the southern high latitude chilean margin setting, the main objectives of this thesis were focused on (1) the establishment of a precise chronology based on radiocarbon dates and tephrochronology and (2) to restore the north-Patagonian icefield dynamic strongly linked to the rainfall features, temperatures and/or internal glaciers dynamic over the last 22 ka BP from a High-resolution and High sedimentation rate deep-sea core collected offshore the Taitao peninsula (~46°S). Based on robust age model by radiocarbon dates and tephrochronology study, the marine record MD07-3088 allows a large time-span since the Last Glacial Maximum, the deglaciation and the Holocene. Several proxies (clay mineralogy, grain-size and inorganic geochemistry) were used to restore the variability in continental source inputs and north-patagonian icefield fluctuations. Coupled to SST estimations and palynological dataset, this study allows to reconstruct rainfall changes and interconnections between oceanic and atmospheric features. Results show that during the LGM (22-18 ka BP), the globally colder temperatures play a major role in the detrital supplies from Coastal Range and glacier dynamic. During the deglaciation (18-11,5 ka BP), warmer conditions mark a drastic change in the terrigenous source with a dominance of Andean Cordillera influence. This interval is punctuated by 3 colder events, in particularly the ACR event (14,3-12,7 ka BP) during which a renewed glacial activity is recorded as shown by the expansion of Magellanes moorlands, typical of colder and more humid climate as a result of the northward migration of the Westerly Winds. The Early Holocene (11,5-8 ka BP) is marked by climatic conditions similar to those of the deglaciation with only the presence of one colder event resulting either by slightly temperatures decreasing (~2°C) or the internal glacier dynamic contribution. The Middle Holocene (8-3 ka BP) is illustrated by the settlement of the Neoglaciation phase resulting from the northward displacement of the SWW cell favouring more intense rainfalls in the study site even Tough any significant temperature variations are observed. Finally, the low SST variability and the slight increase of rainfalls recorded during the Upper Holocene (3 ka BP to present) give clues about the return of the SWW to modern location.

Recozimentos realizados nos aços elétricos semiprocessados pelos fabricantes de motores sem um controle adequado da descarbonetação pode resultar em regiões das läminas com pequeno tamanho de grão e consequentemente aumento das perdas magnéticas com queda no rendimento dos motores elétricos. A maioria dos fabricantes de motores nacionais utilizam este tipo de aço e fazem internamente o recozimento final em fornos contínuos com atmosfera à base de nitrogênio com cerca de 5 a 10% de H2 e uma pequena fração de vapor dágua suficiente para gerar uma atmosfera que reaja com o carbono do aço, removendo-o. Caso esta descarbonetação não seja realizada com êxito há uma perda significativa no rendimento do motor pela aumento das perdas magnéticas. Amostras comerciais de diferentes aços com variados teores de carbono foram selecionadas para avaliar a influência do teor de carbono, do grau de redução, do tempo e da atmosfera do forno no aumento do tamanho de grão e nas perdas magnéticas. Foram realizados recozimentos a vácuo e em atmosfera descarbonetante. Medições de perdas magnéticas e do tamanho de grão além da avaliação da microestrutura foram efetuados para determinar esta influência. Foi verificado que no recozimento a vácuo, mesmo em variados graus de deformação, amostras com o teor de carbono inicial maior que 300 ppm, tiveram um significativo atraso no aumento do tamanho de grão. Nas situações em que não ocorreu significativo aumento do TG as perdas magnéticas apresentaram valores altos e 9 indesejáveis. Por outro lado amostras isentas de deformação não apresentaram aumento significativo do tamanho de grão mesmo com descarbonetação durante o recozimento. Foi verificado ainda que a formação de grãos colunares ocorre em faixas de deformação específicas, em recozimentos com descarbonetação para aços com mais de 300 ppm de carbono e onde haja um rápido aquecimento da amostra até a temperatura de recozimento. / Annealing applied by the motors plants that are made on the semi processed electrical steels without an exact and precisious control of the decarburization on the lamination can brings undesirable results on the grain size coarsening and as a result an increasing on the core losses with a significant depreciation on the efficiency of the electrical motors. Most of the domestic motors fabrics make use of this kind of electrical steel and they do on their process the final annealing on continuous furnaces with atmospheres based on nitrogenium with around 5 until 10% of hidrogeniun and a little fraction of water vapor enough to generate an atmosphere that reacts to the carbon from the steel, eliminating it. If this decarburization is not been made sucessfully there will be an effective loss on the motor efficiency due the incresing on the core losses. Commercial samples from different steels with several carbon contents were choosen to evaluate the influence of carbon content, strain grade, time and furnace atmosphere on the grain size coarsening and core losses. It was effetived vacumn and decarburizing annealing. Core losses and grain size measurements were made in addition to the evaluation of the microstructure to determine this influence. It was verified that on the vacumn annealing, even on differents strain reductions grades, the samples with initial carbon content bigger than 300 ppm, had a meaninfull late on the grain size increase. On the situation that do not occurred a significative increase on the grain size the core losses presented undesirable high values. On the other hand samples without strain did not presented a significative increase on the grain size even with decarburization during the annealing. It was still verified that the columnar grain formation occur on specific strain grades, on decarburizing annealing and to more than 300 ppm carbon content steels. In addition where there is a fast heating rate until the annealing temperature.

Localizadas no litoral sul de Santa Catarina, as planícies costeiras holocênicas de Campos Verdes e Ji caracterizam-se por séries truncadas de cordões litorâneos alternados a campos de dunas livres. Constituem exemplo de planícies formadas em um mesmo contexto regional, porém sob condições distintas quanto ao caráter hidrodinâmico: área semiprotegida de retrobarreira (Campos Verdes) versus tômbolo de mar aberto (Ji). A meta deste trabalho é construir modelos de evolução sedimentar para estas duas planícies com base em fotointerpretação, granulometria, minerais pesados, idades LOE, cálculo de taxas de progradação e simulação computacional. A comparação visa contribuir para a compreensão dos processos formadores ou remodeladores de planícies de cordões em geral e definir o caráter, se autocíclico ou alocíclico, de cada mecanismo no caso em estudo. O desenvolvimento destas planícies teria começado durante a desaceleração da subida de NRM, pouco antes do nível máximo holocênico, alcançado por volta de 5 ka AP. A partir de padrões de transporte e retrabalhamento sedimentar deduzidos com base em estatísticas da distribuição granulométrica (tamanho médio, seleção, assimetria), combinadas com variação dos índices de minerais pesados (iINS, iMET, iZTR, iTZ, iHT, iRZ), infere-se progradação da planície de Campos Verdes para norte, com componente de crescimento longitudinal para oeste, e da planície do Ji para leste, com componente longitudinal para norte. A distribuição dos minerais pesados deve-se em parte a mudança/aproximação, no decorrer do tempo, da fonte representada pelo delta do Tubarão, com entrada crescente de sedimentos menos maturos no sistema. A evolução da planície de Campos Verdes foi dividida em cinco estágios cronológicos: anterior a 4912±270 anos AP (1); de 4199±347 a 2763±205 anos (2); de 2763±205 a 2816±193 anos (3); de 2816 ± 193 a 1946 ± 141 anos (4); e desde 1946 ± 141 anos até o presente (5); com taxas de progradação de 1,07, 0,35, 3,45, 0,76 m/a e indeterminada, respectivamente. O estágio 4 compreende fase de estabilização de dunas eólicas, com lobo deposicional datado em 2255±123 anos, e o estágio 5 inclui fase de reativação deflacionar, com duna parabólica faminta datada de 711±64 anos. Para a planície do Ji, definiram-se cinco estágios cronológicos: anterior a 2794±151 anos (1); de 2794±151 a 2537±140 anos (2); de 2537±140 a 1031±35 (3); de 1031±35 a 831±43 anos (4); e desde 751±43 anos até o presente (5). As taxas de progradação calculadas para os últimos quatro estágios foram de 2,26, 0,28, 1,47 e 1,24 m/a, respectivamente. A fase de estabilização de dunas da geração eólica 3, datada em 1346±73 anos, aconteceu durante o estágio 3. Campos de dunas transgressivos ainda ativos iniciaram seu desenvolvimento durante o estágio 5. O crescimento das duas planícies ocorreu em anti-fase, com alternância entre duas situações: a situação 1 caracteriza-se por predominância de deriva litorânea rumo NE, relacionada a incursões mais freqüentes de frentes frias e massa de ar polar na região; a situação 2 corresponde a dominância de deriva litorânea rumo SW, sob maior ação da massa tropical Atlântica e menor freqüência de incursões de frentes frias. Um boom na progradação de ambas as planícies, registrado por volta de 2700 anos AP, pode estar relacionado à ocorrência de um dos eventos climáticos de escala milenar do Holoceno, o evento Bond 2, caracterizado na região por aumento pontuado de umidade e precipitação e, por extensão, de aporte fluvial. O desenvolvimento ou reativação de dunas do estágio 5 em Campos Verdes pode estar ligado à intensificação dos ventos durante outro evento de escala milenar, a Pequena Idade do Gelo. Fluxos da ordem de 104 m3/ano foram obtidos em simulação estocástica de um cenário geral de trocas de sedimentos entre compartimentos (eg. praia e campo de dunas) no Ji. Na simulação condicionada por variáveis climáticas, observa-se que o transporte eólico, com desenvolvimento de campos de dunas, pode ocorrer mesmo durante períodos chuvosos (precipitação média superior a 400mm), desde que os fluxos eólicos sejam dez vezes maiores que os obtidos na simulação do cenário geral. / The Holocene strandplains of Campos Verdes and Ji (south coast of Santa Catarina, southern Brazil) are characterized by truncated sets of beach ridges alternated with eolian dune fields. They represent examples of neighbor coastal plains formed under the same regional context, but under different hydrodynamic contexts: in a sheltered back-barrier embayment (Campos Verdes) and in an open sea tombolo (Ji). The aim of this work is to construct evolutionary models of sedimentation for both plains based in photointerpretation, grain-size, heavy minerals, OSL ages, calculation of progradation rates and computer simulation. The comparative analysis allows the explanation of the origin of processes responsible for the development of the plains defining whether the mechanisms are autocyclic or alocyclic. Both plains would have begun during the deceleration of the RSL rise, just before the achievement of the Holocene highstand, approximately at 5 ky BP. Patterns of transport and sedimentary reworking based on statistics of grain-size distribution (mean grain-size, standard deviation and skewness) combined with variation of heavy minerals indices (INSi, METi, ZTRi, TZi, HTi, RZi) show northwards progradation with a longitudinal growth component towards west for Campos Verde and progradation towards east with an alongshore growth component towards north for Ji. The heavy mineral distribution is mainly linked to the shift and approximation of the main fluvial source area (Tubarão delta) with an input of less mature sediments into the system. The evolution of Campos Verdes was divided into five chronologic stages: before 4912±270 yr (1); from 4199±347 to 2763±205 anos (2); from 2763±205 to 2816±193 anos (3); from 2816 ± 193 to 1946 ± 141 anos (4); and from 1946 ± 141 anos until present (5); with progradation rates of 1.07, 0.35, 3.45, 0.76 m/yr and undetermined, respectively. A phase of dune stabilization happened during stage 4, indicated by a depositional lobe dated in 2255±123yr and another phase of dune reactivation occurred during stage 5, indicated by a starved parabolic dune dated in 711±64 yr. Five chronologic stages were defined for Ji: before 2794 ± 151 yr (1); from 2794 ± 151 to 2537 ± 140 yr (2); from 2537 ± 140 to 1031±35 (3); from 1031 ± 35 to 831 ± 43 yr (4); and from 751 ± 43 yr until present (5). The progradation rates determined for the last four stages are 2.26, 0.28, 1.47 and 1.24 m/yr. A phase of stabilization of eolian generation 3 was dated in 1346±73yr, within the stage 3. Eolian trangressive dune fields, that are still active, began its development during stage 5. The progradation rates (growth) of the plains show an anti-phase pattern linked to the alternation between two situations: one where there is predominance of net longshore drift towards NE, with frequent cold front incursions and more intense action of polar air mass; and another with the predominance of net longshore drift towards SW with more active tropical Atlantic air mass and less frequent cold front incursions. There was a progradational boom ca. 2700 yr with higher progradation rates in both plains, which might be linked to the occurrence of a millennial Holocene climate change, the Bond event 2, responsible for the punctual humidity and precipitation increase. Dune development or reactivation during stage 5 in Campos Verdes might be linked to an occurrence of another millennial Holocene climate event, the Little Ice Age. Eolian fluxes with magnitude of 104 m3/yr were obtained using stochastic simulation of a general scenario of sediment exchange between stocks (eg. beach and dune field) for Ji. In simulation conditioned by climatic variables, it is possible to observe that the development of dune fields can occur during rainy periods (mean precipitation above 400m) as long as the eolian fluxes are ten times greater than that ones obtained in the general scenario.

Recozimentos realizados nos aços elétricos semiprocessados pelos fabricantes de motores sem um controle adequado da descarbonetação pode resultar em regiões das läminas com pequeno tamanho de grão e consequentemente aumento das perdas magnéticas com queda no rendimento dos motores elétricos. A maioria dos fabricantes de motores nacionais utilizam este tipo de aço e fazem internamente o recozimento final em fornos contínuos com atmosfera à base de nitrogênio com cerca de 5 a 10% de H2 e uma pequena fração de vapor dágua suficiente para gerar uma atmosfera que reaja com o carbono do aço, removendo-o. Caso esta descarbonetação não seja realizada com êxito há uma perda significativa no rendimento do motor pela aumento das perdas magnéticas. Amostras comerciais de diferentes aços com variados teores de carbono foram selecionadas para avaliar a influência do teor de carbono, do grau de redução, do tempo e da atmosfera do forno no aumento do tamanho de grão e nas perdas magnéticas. Foram realizados recozimentos a vácuo e em atmosfera descarbonetante. Medições de perdas magnéticas e do tamanho de grão além da avaliação da microestrutura foram efetuados para determinar esta influência. Foi verificado que no recozimento a vácuo, mesmo em variados graus de deformação, amostras com o teor de carbono inicial maior que 300 ppm, tiveram um significativo atraso no aumento do tamanho de grão. Nas situações em que não ocorreu significativo aumento do TG as perdas magnéticas apresentaram valores altos e 9 indesejáveis. Por outro lado amostras isentas de deformação não apresentaram aumento significativo do tamanho de grão mesmo com descarbonetação durante o recozimento. Foi verificado ainda que a formação de grãos colunares ocorre em faixas de deformação específicas, em recozimentos com descarbonetação para aços com mais de 300 ppm de carbono e onde haja um rápido aquecimento da amostra até a temperatura de recozimento. / Annealing applied by the motors plants that are made on the semi processed electrical steels without an exact and precisious control of the decarburization on the lamination can brings undesirable results on the grain size coarsening and as a result an increasing on the core losses with a significant depreciation on the efficiency of the electrical motors. Most of the domestic motors fabrics make use of this kind of electrical steel and they do on their process the final annealing on continuous furnaces with atmospheres based on nitrogenium with around 5 until 10% of hidrogeniun and a little fraction of water vapor enough to generate an atmosphere that reacts to the carbon from the steel, eliminating it. If this decarburization is not been made sucessfully there will be an effective loss on the motor efficiency due the incresing on the core losses. Commercial samples from different steels with several carbon contents were choosen to evaluate the influence of carbon content, strain grade, time and furnace atmosphere on the grain size coarsening and core losses. It was effetived vacumn and decarburizing annealing. Core losses and grain size measurements were made in addition to the evaluation of the microstructure to determine this influence. It was verified that on the vacumn annealing, even on differents strain reductions grades, the samples with initial carbon content bigger than 300 ppm, had a meaninfull late on the grain size increase. On the situation that do not occurred a significative increase on the grain size the core losses presented undesirable high values. On the other hand samples without strain did not presented a significative increase on the grain size even with decarburization during the annealing. It was still verified that the columnar grain formation occur on specific strain grades, on decarburizing annealing and to more than 300 ppm carbon content steels. In addition where there is a fast heating rate until the annealing temperature.

Made available in DSpace on 2017-07-10T17:31:15Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Constantino_Eleutherio_Luz.pdf: 2845155 bytes, checksum: f9e51c3d07bfcebf178a79ea1cc6f916 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-11-23 / The dissertation examines the downstream finning phenomenon as it operates in the bottom sediments in the Marrecas river, located in South West region of Parana state, Brazil. The area of basin has 865,43 km2 and encompasses he municipalities of Francisco Beltrão, Marmeleiro, Flor da Serra do Sul, Verê and Itapejara D Oeste. The Marrecas river basin inserted in Cretaceous age rock composed of basaltic rocks of the Serra Geral Formation with plateaus characterized by dissecting medium and high, elongated tops and slopes convex and straight. Were calculated the main basin morphometric index based on 1:260,000 scale map and longitudinal thalweg profile of the main channel based on 1:50,000 scale topographic maps. The botton sediments samples was performed in December 2009 and January 2010 with a van Veen samples in a location preferably located in the vicinity of the main tributaries of Marrecas river and easy access to river banks. The sandy and coarse sediments were analyzed by sieving techniques and use of gravelometer device. Were calculated grain-size statistical parameters: mean, median, sorting, skewness and kurtosis as defined by Folk & Ward (1957). The sphericity of the coarse sediments was defined by adopting the classification of Zingg (1935). The trends observed particle size showed a clear downstream finning of botton sediments in the downstream direction, changed locally due to the contribution of sediments by tributaries. The sorting showed no trend with values ranged from moderately to very poorly. Skewness shows a trend of variation of positive values in the upper reaches of the Marrecas river for negative values in the lower reaches, while the kurtosis showed a slight tendency passing values platikurtic to leptokurtic. The predominance of spherical shape in bottom sediments was attributed to spheroidal weathering and low resistance to abrasion of the rock. / A presente dissertação trata sobre a variação longitudinal das características texturais dos sedimentos de fundo no rio Marrecas, localizado na região Sudoeste do Paraná. A área da bacia do rio Marrecas possui 865,43 km2 e abarca parte dos municípios de Francisco Beltrão, Marmeleiro, Flor da Serra do Sul, Verê e Itapejara D Oeste. O total da bacia do rio Marrecas está inserida em terrenos de idade cretácea formada por rochas basálticas da formação Serra Geral que formam planaltos caracterizados por dissecação média e alta, topos alongados, vertentes convexas e retilíneas. Foram calculados os principais índices morfométricos da bacia baseados em mapas em escala 1:260.000 e elaborado perfil longitudinal do canal principal com base em cartas topográficas em escala 1:50.000. A coleta de sedimentos de fundo foi executada em dezembro de 2009 e janeiro de 2010, com amostrador de mandíbula tipo Van Veen em locais situados preferentemente nas imediações dos principais afluentes do rio Marrecas e em trechos de acesso fácil às margens do rio. Os sedimentos arenosos e rudáceos foram analisados mediante técnicas de peneiramento e emprego de cascalhômetro. Foram calculados os seguintes parâmetros estatísticos: diâmetro médio, mediana, grau de seleção, assimetria e curtose segundo a definição de Folk & Ward (1957). A esfericidade dos sedimentos rudáceos foi definida adotando a classificação de Zingg (1935). As tendências granulométricas observadas mostraram uma nítida granodecrescência dos sedimentos de fundo em direção à jusante, alterada localmente devido ao aporte de sedimentos pelos afluentes. O grau de seleção não mostrou nenhuma tendência e variou de moderadamente a muito pobremente selecionado. A assimetria mostra uma tendência de variação de valores positivos nos trechos superiores do rio Marrecas para valores negativos nos trechos inferiores, enquanto que a curtose exibiu uma passagem de valores platicúrticos para leptocúrticos em direção à jusante. O predomínio da forma esférica nos sedimentos de fundo foi atribuído a decomposição esferoidal do basalto e a baixa resistência desta rocha à abrasão.

Made available in DSpace on 2017-05-12T14:42:47Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Constantino_Eleutherio_Luz.pdf: 2845155 bytes, checksum: f9e51c3d07bfcebf178a79ea1cc6f916 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-11-23 / The dissertation examines the downstream finning phenomenon as it operates in the bottom sediments in the Marrecas river, located in South West region of Parana state, Brazil. The area of basin has 865,43 km2 and encompasses he municipalities of Francisco Beltrão, Marmeleiro, Flor da Serra do Sul, Verê and Itapejara D Oeste. The Marrecas river basin inserted in Cretaceous age rock composed of basaltic rocks of the Serra Geral Formation with plateaus characterized by dissecting medium and high, elongated tops and slopes convex and straight. Were calculated the main basin morphometric index based on 1:260,000 scale map and longitudinal thalweg profile of the main channel based on 1:50,000 scale topographic maps. The botton sediments samples was performed in December 2009 and January 2010 with a van Veen samples in a location preferably located in the vicinity of the main tributaries of Marrecas river and easy access to river banks. The sandy and coarse sediments were analyzed by sieving techniques and use of gravelometer device. Were calculated grain-size statistical parameters: mean, median, sorting, skewness and kurtosis as defined by Folk & Ward (1957). The sphericity of the coarse sediments was defined by adopting the classification of Zingg (1935). The trends observed particle size showed a clear downstream finning of botton sediments in the downstream direction, changed locally due to the contribution of sediments by tributaries. The sorting showed no trend with values ranged from moderately to very poorly. Skewness shows a trend of variation of positive values in the upper reaches of the Marrecas river for negative values in the lower reaches, while the kurtosis showed a slight tendency passing values platikurtic to leptokurtic. The predominance of spherical shape in bottom sediments was attributed to spheroidal weathering and low resistance to abrasion of the rock. / A presente dissertação trata sobre a variação longitudinal das características texturais dos sedimentos de fundo no rio Marrecas, localizado na região Sudoeste do Paraná. A área da bacia do rio Marrecas possui 865,43 km2 e abarca parte dos municípios de Francisco Beltrão, Marmeleiro, Flor da Serra do Sul, Verê e Itapejara D Oeste. O total da bacia do rio Marrecas está inserida em terrenos de idade cretácea formada por rochas basálticas da formação Serra Geral que formam planaltos caracterizados por dissecação média e alta, topos alongados, vertentes convexas e retilíneas. Foram calculados os principais índices morfométricos da bacia baseados em mapas em escala 1:260.000 e elaborado perfil longitudinal do canal principal com base em cartas topográficas em escala 1:50.000. A coleta de sedimentos de fundo foi executada em dezembro de 2009 e janeiro de 2010, com amostrador de mandíbula tipo Van Veen em locais situados preferentemente nas imediações dos principais afluentes do rio Marrecas e em trechos de acesso fácil às margens do rio. Os sedimentos arenosos e rudáceos foram analisados mediante técnicas de peneiramento e emprego de cascalhômetro. Foram calculados os seguintes parâmetros estatísticos: diâmetro médio, mediana, grau de seleção, assimetria e curtose segundo a definição de Folk & Ward (1957). A esfericidade dos sedimentos rudáceos foi definida adotando a classificação de Zingg (1935). As tendências granulométricas observadas mostraram uma nítida granodecrescência dos sedimentos de fundo em direção à jusante, alterada localmente devido ao aporte de sedimentos pelos afluentes. O grau de seleção não mostrou nenhuma tendência e variou de moderadamente a muito pobremente selecionado. A assimetria mostra uma tendência de variação de valores positivos nos trechos superiores do rio Marrecas para valores negativos nos trechos inferiores, enquanto que a curtose exibiu uma passagem de valores platicúrticos para leptocúrticos em direção à jusante. O predomínio da forma esférica nos sedimentos de fundo foi atribuído a decomposição esferoidal do basalto e a baixa resistência desta rocha à abrasão.

In recent years there has been a growing demand to produce lightweight high pressure die cast (HPDC) parts for structural applications to decrease vehicle mass and to reduce manufacturing costs. Due to the coupled rapid heat flow and complex flow/deformation that occur in the process, the formation of microstructure and defects in HPDC are still not fully understood. Developing a better understanding of microstructure formation is essential to enable advances in die design and process optimisation, as well as alloy development, to improve the quality and productivity of HPDC components. Therefore, this thesis aims to enhance this understanding by conducting detailed microstructural analysis of samples produced in controlled HPDC experiments. In the first series of experiments, various microstructure characterisation techniques were used to study salient HPDC microstructural features. The microstructures of castings were characterised at different length scales, from the scale of the casting to the scale of the eutectic interlamellar spacing. The results show that the salient as-cast microstructural features, e.g. externally solidified crystals (ESCs), defect bands, surface layer, grain size distribution, porosity and hot tears were similar for both two HPDC-specific Al alloys used, AlSi4MgMn and AlMg5Si2Mn. The formation of these features has been explained by considering the influence of flow and solidification during each stage of the HPDC process. The formation of defect bands is further studied by investigating the ratio between band thickness ( ) and average grain size in the band ( ). Suitable methods for measuring w and dsb in HPDC have been developed. The w/dsb relationship of defect bands has been investigated in HPDC specimens from a range of alloys, casting geometries and band locations within castings. The bands were measured to be 7-18 mean grains wide. This is substantial evidence that defect bands form due to strain localisation in partially solidified alloys during cold-chamber and hot-chamber HPDC. At the end of solidification, dilatant shear bands contain a higher eutectic volume fraction and/or porosity content than adjacent material. In the cross-section of the AM50 Mg alloy, the centrally-located band contains a much higher volume fraction of concentrated porosity than the second-outermost band and insignificant porosity was found in the outermost band. The level of porosity in bands was attributed to the relative difficulty of feeding shrinkage for each band location. As the feeding of material during the intensification stage is important for the reduction of porosity, the influence of intensification pressure (IP) and gate thickness on the transport of material through the gate during the latter stages of HPDC were investigated. Microstructural characterisation of the gate region indicated a marked change in feeding mechanism with increasing IP and gate size. Castings produced with a high IP and/or thick gate contained a relatively low fraction of total porosity and shear band-like features existed through the gate, suggesting that semi-solid strain localisation in the gate is involved in feeding during the pressure intensification stage. When a low IP is combined with a thin gate, no shear band was observed in the gate and feeding was less effective, resulting in a higher level of porosity in the HPDC component. As equiaxed primary crystals are subjected to intense shear during HPDC, their agglomeration and bending behaviour were investigated in the last series of experiment. Samples produced by near-static cooling, HPDC and Thixomoulding®, where the solidifying crystals experience different levels of mechanical stresses, were characterised. The electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) technique was used to acquire grain misorientation data which is linked to the crystal agglomeration and bending behaviour during solidification. The number fraction of low-energy grain boundaries in HPDC and Thixomoulded samples was substantially higher than in ‘statically cooled’ samples. This is attributed to the much higher shear stresses and pressure applied on the solidifying alloy in HPDC and Thixomoulding, which promote crystal collisions and agglomeration. In-grain misorientations were found to be significant only in branched dendritic crystals which were subjected to significant shear stresses. This is related to the increased bending moment acting on long protruding dendrite arms compared to more compact crystal morphologies.

L'augmentation constante de la circulation automobile a travers le monde fait des effluents gazeux un des problèmes majeurs de toutes les sociétés modernes. Tant d'un point de vue économique et écologique, chacun s'accorde sur le fait que la consommation de carburants fossiles utilisés dans le transport doit baisser, principalement en réduisant le poids des véhicules. Le développement de matériaux à hautes performances et à bas prix est donc indispensable. Pour atteindre cet objectif, cette étude visait à élucider les interactions entre la déformation et les transformations de phase dans les aciers a hautes performances qui pourraient remplir les conditions de réduction de poids. En effet, une large gamme de travaux a montrer que les transformations de phase induites mécaniquement (effet TRIP) de l'austénite peuvent être à l'origine d'une amélioration des propriétés mécaniques dans de nombreuses nuances d'acier. Les transformations de phase induites par la déformation dépendent de deux paramètres : la stabilité relative et l'énergie de fautes d'empilement de l'austénite, qui sont affectes par différents facteurs. Les interactions entre les transformations de phase et les propriétés mécaniques de différentes nuances Cr-Ni et Mn-Si-Al furent examinées sous plusieurs conditions de taille de grain, de température et d'état de chargement. Des relations particulières furent établies entre les phénomènes qui se produisent a l'échelle des grains individuels et a l'échelle macroscopique. Les mécanismes cristallographiques des transformations de phase successives (austénite - martensite e - martensite a') ont été mis en évidence. Finalement, différentes techniques de raffinage de la taille de grain furent utilisées pour produire des aciers inoxydables comportant des tailles de grain variées, et l'efficacité de ces techniques a été comparée. Pour cela, les cinétiques de retransformation, recrystallisation et croissance des grains ont été étudiées. La réduction de taille des grains par cycles de transformations de phase fut établie comme plus efficace de la méthode classique par déformation - recristallisation. / The continuously increasing use of automobiles all over the world, is making of gas effluents one of the major concerns for all modern societies. From economical and ecological points of view, everyone agrees on the fact that the consumption of fossil fuels for transport must decrease, particularly by vehicle weight reduction. Development of high performance materials at low cost is therefore needed. In order to achieve this requirement, the present work aimed at investigating the interactions between straining and phase transformations in high performance steels that could meet the weight saving requirements. Indeed, a wide range of studies has shown that mechanically-induced phase transformations (TRIP effect) of the austenite may bring about improved mechanical properties in different steel grades. Strain-induced phase transformations depend on two parameters : the relative stability and the stacking fault energy of the austenite, which are affected by different factors. The interactions between the phase transformations and the mechanical properties of different Ni-Cr and Mn-Si-Al grades were examined under various conditions of grain size, temperature or stress state. Particular relationships were clearly established between the phenomena taking place at the scale of the individual grains and at the macroscopic scale. The crystallographic mechanisms of the successive strain-induced phase transformations (austenite - e-martensite - a'-martensite) has been clarified. Finally, different techniques of grain refinement were used to process stainless steels with various grain sizes, assessing the efficiency of these techniques. Therefore, the kinetics of retransformation, recrystallisation and grain growth were studied. Grain refinement by cycles of phase transformations was found more effective than the classical deformation - recrystallisation method.

<p><font face="TimesNewRomanPSMT"> <p align="left">Natural radioactivity studies have been carried out to study the textural characteristics, heavy mineral composition, provenance, sediment transport, and depositional environment of beach placer deposits. The naturally occurring radionuclides such as properties of beach sands, which reflect the geological characteristics such as transport and sorting processes and the depositional environment. The present work focuses on the radiometric characteristics of beach sand deposits along the west coastof South Africa. Beach sands samples were collected at the Melkbosstrand (MBS) and Ouskip (OSK) beach. The activity concentrations of these radionuclides were determined by high-resolution gamma-ray spectrometry using a high-purity germanium (HPGe) detector in a low-background configuration.</p> </font></p>