Natural disasters usually occur without any warning. They can leave trail of destruction and cause much tragedy. We are at a time when we witness fast technological advances; hence, we need to apply the force of scientific advancements to decrease economic losses and the number of human deaths. Tsunami is one of the extreme environmental events that leaves nothing but a path of death and destruction, and as a result, it is essential to understand this phenomenon and identify the mitigation strategies. Several mitigation strategies have been proposed so far; however, more investigations are still required to achieve an acceptable solution. Researchers around the world are studying different aspects of this phenomenon. One of the proposed solutions that has received much attention is designing tsunami-resistant structures which can withstand the force of a tsunami bore. Various studies have been done so far to understand the base shear force of tsunami bore on structures. The focus of this thesis is to improve and better understand the characteristics of the tsunami base shear forces on structures. Hence, in this thesis, two numerical studies were proposed and performed with the main goal of estimating the total tsunami forces on structure under two different conditions. Those include structures with various cross sections, as well as positioning a mitigation wall at an appropriate location relative to the structure. The first study focused on developing a numerical model to study the relationship between tsunami forces and the geometry of the structure. The main goal of this study was to define a numerical model capable of simulating this case precisely. To ensure the accuracy of the model, a comparison was carried out between the results of the numerical model and experimental test performed at the NRC-CHC (National Research Council- Canadian Hydraulics Center) laboratory in Ottawa, Canada and Université Catholique de Louvain (UCL), Belgium, which revealed a very good agreement between the results of the experimental test and numerical model. Further, the validated model was applied to investigate the tsunami force on structures with various cross sections. The second study focus was on developing a numerical model for understanding the role of mitigation wall (a novel idea proposed as a mitigation strategy by the second author of technical paper 2) on reducing the exerted force of tsunami on structures. After developing various models and applying several turbulence models, a valuable result was obtained which demonstrated that a Large Eddy Simulation (LES) model seems to be an excellent approach for predicting the tsunami forces on the structure with a mitigation wall in the direction of the flow. The results of this study will be used to better estimate the tsunami forces exerted on coastal structures which will light the path to the main goal of designing tsunami resistant-structures.

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Yes / This paper presents the results from a numerical simulation study to investigate the effect of the position angle (α) of small pipeline on the local scour and the hydrodynamic force around the piggyback pipeline in steady current conditions. Results show that the local scour depth around the piggyback pipeline increases first and then decreases with the increase of α. The scour depth and width reach the maximum values as the small pipe locates at the top of the large pipeline (i.e. α = 90°). The scour around the piggyback pipeline is accelerated when α ranges between 30° and 165°, while for α = 0°–30° and 165°–180°, the local scour around the piggyback pipeline is inhibited. Furthermore, the small pipe placed in front of the large pipe has slightly larger effect on the scour hole morphology than that when it is placed behind the large pipe. The drag force coefficient increases first and reaches the maximum value at α = 75°, and then decreases with the increase of α. Eventually the drag force coefficient approaches roughly a constant. The lift force coefficient is approximately a V-shaped with the variation of α and has the maximum value at α = 90°.

The movement of granular material along a streambed has been a challenging subject for researchers for more than a century. Predicting the limiting case of nearly zero bedload transport, usually referred to as threshold of motion or critical condition, is even more challenging due to the highly fluctuating nature of turbulent flow. Numerous works have advocated that the peak turbulent forces, randomly occurring in time and space with magnitudes higher than the average, initiate the bed material motion. More recent findings have shown that not only the magnitude of the peak turbulent forces acting on individual grains but their duration as well have to be considered for determining the incipient conditions. Their product, or impulse, is better suited for specifying such conditions. The goal of this study was to investigate the mechanism responsible for initiation of sediment motion under turbulent flow conditions. The impulse concept was investigated by utilizing appropriate measurement methods in the laboratory for determining the condition of incipient motion. The experimental program included measurements of particle entrainment rates of a mobile grain and turbulence induced forces acting upon a fixed grain for a range of flow conditions. In addition, near bed flow velocities were measured synchronously with both the entrainment and pressure measurements at turbulent resolving frequencies. Results of this work covered the limitations and uncertainties associated with the experimental methods employed, and the description of the inadequacies of existing incipient motion models via the impulse framework. The extreme sensitivity of bed material activity to minute adjustments in flow conditions was explained by the associated change in the frequency of impulse events. The probability density function proposed for impulse was used together with the critical impulse to estimate the particle entrainment rate for a range of flow conditions. It was shown that the impulse events with potential to dislodge the grain were occurring mostly during sweep type of flow structures. The impulse events were also typically accompanied by positive lift forces. The force patterns showed that the positive peaks in the lift consistently occurred before and after the impulse events in the drag force. The magnitude of these lift forces were significantly higher in the wake of a cylinder compared to that of uniform flow conditions. The time average lift force in the wake of a cylinder was also observed to be positive with magnitudes reaching more than 30% of the submerged weight of the particle. The cylinder caused the downstream turbulence intensity to increase slightly but the particle entrainment rate to increase significantly. This finding provided a physically based explanation for the modification of turbulent force fluctuations and resulting changes in the particle movement rates by such unsteady flow conditions. / Ph. D.

The flow properties of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) melts at room temperature were studied by measurement of lubrication forces using an Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) colloidal force probe. A glass probe was driven toward a glass plate at piezo drive rates in the range of 12 – 120 μm/s, which produced shear rates up to ~10⁴ s⁻¹. The forces on the probe and the separation from the plate were measured. Two hypotheses were examined: (1) when a hydrophilic glass is immersed in a flow of polymer melt, does a thin layer of water form at the glass surface to lubricate the flow of polymer and (2) when a polymer melt is subject under a shear stress, do molecules within the melt spatially redistribute to form a lubrication layer of smaller molecules at the solid surface to enhance the flow? To examine the effect of a water lubrication layer, forces were compared in the presence and the absence of a thin water layer. The presence of the water layer was controlled by hydrophobization of the solid. In the second part, the possibility of forming a lubrication layer during shear was examined. Three polymer melts were compared: octamethyltrisiloxane (OMTS, n = 3), PDMS (n _avg = 322), and a mixture of 70 weight% PDMS and 30 weight% OMTS. We examined whether the spatial variation in the composition of the polymer melt would occur to relieve the shear stress. The prediction was that the trimer (OMTS) would become concentrated in the high shear stress region in the thin film, thereby decreasing the viscosity in that region, and mitigating the shear stress. / Master of Science

Les simulations des écoulements diphasiques à l’échelle réelle de l’application nécessitent des modèles pour les termes non fermés des équations macroscopiques. Des simulations numériques directes à particule résolue utilisant la méthode de pénalisation visqueuse ont été réalisées afin de mesurer les interactions entre des particules de différentes formes (sphérique et ellipsoïdale) et le fluide porteur à différents régimes d'écoulement (de stokes à l'inertiel). Deux méthodes ont été développées durant cette thèse afin d'extraire les forces hydrodynamiques ainsi que le transfert de chaleur sur les frontières immergées représentant les particules. Plusieurs validations ont été conduites pour différentes configurations de particules : de la simulation d’une particule isolée à un réseau aléatoire de sphères en passant par réseau cubique face centrée de sphères. Une corrélation du nombre de Nusselt est proposée pour un sphéroïde allongé plongé dans un écoulement uniforme. / The simulations of multiphase flows at real application scale need models for unclosed terms in macroscopic equations. Particle-Resolved Direct Numerical Simulations using Viscous Penalty Method have been carried out to quantify the interactions between particles of different shapes (spheres, ellipsoids) and the carrier fluid at different regimes (from Stokes to inertial). Two methods have been developed to extract hydrodynamic forcesand heat transfers on immersed boundaries representing the particles. Validations have been conducted for various configuration of particles: from an isolated sphere and spheroid to Face-Centered Cubic to a random arrangement of spheres. A correlation of the Nusselt number for an isolated prolate spheroid past by a uniform flow is proposed.

Ce travail de thèse fait partie intégrante de l’ANR PLAYER (début janvier 2012), projet visant à étendre les simulations d'écoulements gaz-particules à des particules non-sphériques ayant une inertie couvrant une large gamme. Les avancées de cette ANR portent notamment sur la détermination des forces et couples élémentaires sur de tels objets avec la question du nombre de degrés de liberté supplémentaires à prendre en compte, l'impact de la forme et de l’effet d'inertie ainsi que l’influence d’une force extérieure telle que la gravité sur les interactions particule-turbulence. Dans ce cadre, l’objectif de ce travail de thèse est d'étudier finement la dispersion de particules non-sphériques rigides dans un écoulement turbulent à l’échelle mésocospique (il est supposé que les particules sont des points matériels). Pour ce faire, un suivi lagrangien de particules ellipsoïdales couplé à un code de simulation numérique directe d’un écoulement turbulent de canal a été utilisé. Cette méthode nécessite alors une bonne estimation des forces et couples hydrodynamiques agissant sur ce type de particules, ainsi qu’un couplage des équations du mouvement de translation et de rotation. En se basant sur les résultats obtenus par une simulation numérique directe résolue à l’échelle de la particule (Ansys Fluent, body-fitted method), nous avons établi, dans un premier temps, des corrélations pour les coefficients hydrodynamiques (traînée, portance, couple de tangage) dépendant du nombre de Reynolds particulaire, de la forme, et de l'orientation des particules. L’originalité de ce travail réside en la validité de ces corrélations pour des gammes étendues de facteurs de forme (rapport entre la longueur et la largeur de la particule w ∈ [0,2-32] et de Reynolds particulaires Rep ∈ [1-240]. Ces corrélations ainsi que les équations du mouvement de rotation ont été ensuite intégrées dans le code « maison » de simulation numérique directe d’un écoulement turbulent gaz-solide à l’échelle mésocospique. Après avoir validé ce code à travers différents cas tests, nous avons étudié la dispersion de différentes particules ellipsoïdales dans un écoulement de canal turbulent pour un nombre de Reynolds modéré. Trois principaux effets sont à l’étude : l’effet de forme, l'effet d'inertie et l'effet du croisement de trajectoires. / The present work is a part of a program research ANR PLAYER (started from January 2012), the aim of the project is to extend the simulations of gaz-particles flow to the non-spherical particles with a large range of inertia. The main objectives of this project consist, firstly, on the founding of hydrodynamic forces and torques occurring on these non-spherical particles. As results, we focus on the additional degrees of freedom that must be considered, shape effects and effects of inertia. Secondly, we are interested on the study of particle-turbulence interaction and particle-particle interaction. The aim of this Phd thesis consists on the studying of the dispersion of solide non-spherical particles in turbulent channel flow at mesoscopic scale. In order to achieve this work, we considered a one way coupling and we used a technique of Particles Lagrangian Tracking coupled with a Direct Numerical Simulation of the turbulent channel flow (DNS/PLT). This technique requires a well prediction of hydrodynamic forces and torques occurring on each particle. In addition, this technique requires a coupling of translational and rotational motions. Firstly, a Direct Numerical Simulation is used with a body-fitted method in CFD code Ansys-Fluent to simulate flow around ellipsoids. Based on the obtained results, models of correlation for hydrodynamic coeffients (drag, lift and torque) are proposed. The major results of this part is the accuracy models for a large ranges of particles Reynolds number, aspect ratio and orientations. Indeed these models take the particle Reynolds number Rep ∈ [1-240], the shape (aspect ratio w ∈ [0.2-32]) and the orientation of the particle into account. Secondly, these models of correlation as well as translational and rotational motions are implemented in the in-house DNS code. After a rigorous validation of the code using a different test cases, simulations of dispersion of ellipsoidals particles in a tubulent channel flow is performed for a moderate Reynolds number. Three main effects are investigated in this study: shape effect, inertial effect and the “effect of crossing trajectories”.

Les infections bactériennes touchant la circulation sanguine conduisent à un vaste éventail de graves pathologies, comme les chocs septiques ou les infections locales (endocardites et méningites). Neisseria meningitidis colonise avec succès l’endothélium vasculaire et cause des sepsis sévères. Ces infections résultent de la colonisation des cellules endothéliales de l’hôte, étape clef de la pathophysiologie à laquelle les travaux présentés dans ce manuscrit se sont intéressés. La colonisation de l’endothélium par N. meningitidis est un processus complexe qui implique l’adhésion et la multiplication des bactéries à la surface des cellules endothéliales dans le contexte particulier de la circulation sanguine, où des forces mécaniques sont générées par le flux sanguin sur les objets circulants. Bien que de nombreuses études se soient intéressées à l’interaction entre les cellules endothéliales et N. meningitidis, plusieurs aspects demeurent incertains comme par exemple l’impact des contraintes générées par le flux sanguin et la participation relative des deux partenaires de l’interaction dans la colonisation de l’endothélium par N. meningitidis.L’adhésion de la bactérie à la surface des cellules endothéliales est dépendante de facteurs bactériens (les pili de type IV, PT4) et induit une réponse de la part de la cellule hôte, qui se traduit par un remodelage de la membrane plasmique et une réorganisation du cytosquelette d’actine sous les microcolonies. Dans un premier temps, ces travaux de thèse montrent que la réponse cellulaire induite par N. meningitidis participe activement à la colonisation. En effet, la formation de projections membranaires permet à chaque bactérie de la microcolonie d’établir des contacts avec la cellule hôte, nécessaires à la résistance des microcolonies face aux forces mécaniques générées par le flux sanguin. De plus, nous montrons que la protéine PilV, composant des PT4, est impliquée dans le remaniement de la membrane plasmique et la réorganisation du cytosquelette. Nous avons développé une méthode combinant vidéo-microscopie et analyse de fluorescence pour décrypter les événements précoces prenant place lors du contact entre les bactéries et la surface des cellules hôtes. Nous avons alors montré que le remodelage de la membrane induit par N. meningitidis ne dépend pas de la réorganisation du cytosquelette d’actine au site d’infection mais plutôt des propriétés intrinsèques de la bicouche lipidique.Dans un second temps, nous nous sommes intéressés aux étapes tardives de l’infection, c'est-à-dire à l’initiation d’un nouveau cycle de colonisation. Bien que solidement ancrées à la surface des cellules par l’intermédiaire des projections membranaires, quelques bactéries se détachent des microcolonies pour coloniser des nouveaux sites au sein de l’hôte. Nous avons démontré l’importance de modifications post-traductionnelles de la piline majeure dans cette étape de l’infection et caractérisé les mécanismes impliqués.Cette étude a permis d’affiner les mécanismes impliqués dans l’induction de la réponse cellulaire induite par N. meningitidis et son impact sur la colonisation efficace de l’endothélium par ce pathogène. / Bacterial infections targeting the bloodstream lead to a wide array of severe clinical manifestations, such as septic shock or focal infections (endocarditis and meningitis). Neisseria meningitidis colonizes successfully the vascular wall and causes severe sepsis. Such infections result from an efficient colonization of host endothelial cells, a key step in meningococcal diseases which has been the subject of the work presented here. Endothelium colonization by N. meningitidis is a complex process implying bacterial adhesion and multiplication on the endothelial cell surface in the specific context of the bloodstream, where mechanical forces generated by the blood flow are applied on circulating bacteria. Even though many studies focused on the interaction between N. meningitidis and the endothelial cell, many aspects remain elusive, such as the impact of shear stress generated drag forces and the relative contribution of the two partners involved in this interaction.Adhesion to the endothelial cell surface is dependent on bacterial factors called type IV pili (Tfp) and leads to induction of a host cell response, characterized by a local remodeling of the plasma membrane and reorganization of actin cytoskeleton underneath bacterial microcolonies. First, we have shown that the cellular response induced by N. meningitidis actively participate in the colonization process. Indeed, membrane deformation allows contact with every bacterium inside the microcolony, which is necessary for microcolony resistance to mechanical forces. Additionally, we have demonstrated that the PilV protein, a Tfp component, is involved in plasma membrane remodeling and actin cytoskeleton reorganization. We designed a method combining high resolution live-cell fluorescence video-microscopy and fluorescence quantification to decipher the early events induced on contact of bacterial aggregates with the host cell surface. Using this technique we have shown that membrane remodeling does not rely on actin cytoskeleton reorganization but rather on intrinsic properties of the lipid bilayer. Second, we focused on latter steps of the infection process when initiation of a new colonization cycle is initiated. While firmly attached to the host cell surface through the membranous projections, some bacteria can detach from the microcolony to disseminate throughout the host. We have demonstrated the importance of post-translational modification of the major piline in this step and characterized the underlying mechanisms.This work allows refinement of the molecular mechanisms involved in the induction of the cellular response induced by N. meningitidis and its impact on successful endothelium colonization by this pathogen.

Experiments are done using a smooth solid rigid homogeneous acrylic sphere rolling on an inclined plane which is submerged in water. The motivation for these experiments comes from a need to understand a class of solid-fluid interaction problems that include sediment transport, movement of gravel on ocean floor and river bed due to water currents. Experiments are performed in a glass water tank 15 cm wide by 14 cm deep by 61 cm long which can be tilted to desired angle. The sphere is released from rest on the inclined false bottom of the tank in quiescent water. Our experimental study has twofold aim: (1)to study the boundary layer separation, the three-dimensional eddying motion in the wake and the near-wake structure and(2) to establish hydrodynamic force coefficients by analyzing kinematical data of the sphere motion from start to till it attains terminal velocity. Experiments are carried out at moderate Reynolds number Rearound1500. Previous studies on the first problem exist in the literature for Reup to 350. Previous studies on the second problem do not clearly define the added-mass coefficient and the influence of the water tank side-walls on the drag coefficient. In the first study, the characterization of the wake is done using flow visualization methods (fluoresce in dye visualization and particle streak visualization) and Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV). Laser light sheet obtained from an argon ion continuous laser beam is taken in different orientations to illuminate the fluoresce in dye or 14 m silver-coated hollow glass spheres. These experiments show that the wake behind the rolling sphere up to 1.6 diameters (or 1.6D) downstream is confined within height 1.2Dand width1.2D. At about 1.8Ddownstream, the wake sways alternately on either side of the equatorial plane, moving in lateral-vertical direction and moving out of the confining region; this gives zigzag appearance to the wake. Also in these experiments, we observe that the flow separations from the surface of the rolling sphere show three separation zones. The eddies shed from the primary separation surface on the upper hemisphere are symmetrical about the equatorial plane with Strouhal number St=1.0. The primary separation is affected by the symmetrical secondary separations on the rear surface in the piggyback region — it is the region near the upper rear surface of the sphere behind the transverse equatorial plane and below the primary separation surface. The lower eddies below the primary separation zone are shed alternately on either side of the equatorial plane with shedding frequency St=0.5. Our experiments show that there is a viscous blockage of width 0.4Dat the crevice near the point of contact. On either side of the viscous blockage at the crevice, we see weak symmetric eddies. Based on our experimental observations, we proceed to build a simple physical model of the separated flow on the surface of the rolling sphere. In the second study, the motion of the sphere is photographed and paired data of the displacement and time is obtained for the sphere motion from the start of motion till terminal velocity is reached at about 4.5 sphere diameters from the point of release of the sphere. Equation of motion of the sphere is solved numerically treating added-mass coefficient Ca and drag coefficient Cd as parameters. Experimental data is fitted on these solutions and the best fit gives the values of the force coefficients. Theoretical value of Ca equal to 0.621 is confirmed experimentally. Value of Cd is found to be 1.23 at Re=990 and it is 1.06 at Re= 1900. Side-wall effects become important for ratio of diameter of sphere to width of tank greaterthan0.20.