Tissue engineering approaches have attempted to address some of the problems associated with articular cartilage defect repair, but grafts with sufficient functional properties have yet to reach clinical practice. Mechanical loads are properly controlled in the body to maintain the functional properties of articular cartilage. This inspires the inclusion of mechanical stimulation in any in vitro production of tissue engineered constructs for defect repair. This mechanical stimulation must improve the functional properties (both biochemical and structural) of engineered articular cartilage tissue. Only a few studies have applied more than two loading types to mimic the complex in vivo load/flow conditions. The general hypothesis of the present thesis proposes that the generation of functional articular cartilage substitute tissue in vitro benefits from load and fluid flow conditions similar to those occurring in vivo. It is specifically hypothesized that application of compression, shear and perfusion on chondrocyte-seeded constructs will improve their properties. It is also hypothesized that protein production of the cell-seeded constructs can be improved in a depth-dependent manner with some loading combinations. Thus, a hydromechanical stimulator system was developed that was capable of simultaneously applying compression, shear and perfusion. Functionality of system was tested by series of short-term pilot studies to optimize some of the system parameters. In these studies, agarose-chondrocytes constructs were stimulated for 2 weeks. Then, longer-term (21- 31 days) studies were performed to examine the effects of both mechanical (compression and dynamic shear) and hydromechanical (compression, dynamic shear and fluid flow) stimulation on glycosaminoglycan and collagen production. The effects of these loading conditions were also investigated for three layers of construct to find out if protein could be localized differently depth-wise. In one of the longer-term studies, the chosen mechanical and hydromechanical stimulation conditions increased total collagen production, with higher amount of collagen for hydromechanical compared with mechanical loading condition. However, their effectiveness in increasing total glycosaminoglycan production was inconclusive with the current loading regimes. The hydromechanically stimulated construct could localize higher collagen production to the top layer compared with middle and bottom layers. Some effectiveness of hydromechanical stimulation was demonstrated in this thesis. Future studies will be directed towards further optimization of parameters such as stimulation frequency and duration as well as fluid perfusion rate to produce constructs with more glycosaminoglycan and collagen.

No description available.

L'étude des matériaux argileux a de nombreuses applications en génie civil et environnemental. Ces applications, telles que l'enfouissement des déchets nucléaires, les risques naturels liés au gonflement et au retrait des sols, et l'extraction d'hydrocarbures, posent des défis technologiques qui nécessitent de comprendre et de prédire le comportement mécanique des argiles, en particulier sur le long terme. Les argiles gonflantes sont des matériaux complexes, poreux et multi-échelles dont les propriétés sont très sensibles à l'eau. Dans cette thèse, nous cherchons à comprendre l'effet de l'eau sur les propriétés mécaniques à court et long terme des argiles. Notre stratégie est de combiner des simulations numériques à l'échelle du nanomètre et des expériences à l'échelle du micromètre afin de mieux comprendre l'interaction entre ces échelles. Nous avons effectué des simulations moléculaires pour quantifier l'effet de l'eau et du cation interfoliaire sur les propriétés de gonflement, élastiques et de fluage des feuillets d'argile, qui à cette échelle sont inaccessibles à l'expérience. Nous avons également effectué une étude comparative de différents modèles de feuillets d'argile de complexité croissante afin de mieux comprendre les interactions qui régissent la cohésion entre les feuillets d'argile. Nous avons mesuré expérimentalement les propriétés de films d'argile autoporteurs bien ordonnés. Nous avons montré l'effet de l'humidité relative et de la nature du cation interfoliaire sur les déformations de ces films d'argile. En particulier, nous avons quantifié le gonflement de ces films induit par l'humidité en combinant microscopie électronique à balayage environnementale et corrélation d'images numériques. Nous avons également effectué des essais de traction et de fluage sur ces films à humidité contrôlée. Nous avons comparé les données obtenues par nos expériences aux résultats des simulations moléculaires. Cette comparaison permet de discuter les mécanismes élémentaires de déformation et les échelles pertinentes pour la compréhension du comportement hydromécanique des argiles / The study of clay-based materials has many applications in civil and environmental engineering. These applications include underground nuclear waste disposal, the natural risks associated to the swelling and shrinkage of soils, and the extraction of hydrocarbons. They pose significant technological challenges that require to understand and to predict the mechanical behavior of clays, in particular on the long term. Swelling clays are complex porous multi-scale materials and their properties are very sensitive to water. In this thesis, we aim at understanding the impact of water on the short-term and long-term mechanical properties of clays. Our strategy was to combine numerical simulations at the scale of the nanometer and experiments at the scale of the micrometer to have a better insight of the interplay between these scales. We performed molecular simulations to estimate the effect of water and of the interlayer cation on the swelling, elastic and creep properties of clay layers, which are inaccessible to experiments at this scale. We also carried out a comparative study of various numerical models of increasing complexity in order to better understand the interactions that governs the cohesion between the clay layers. We measured experimentally the properties of well-ordered self-supporting clay films. We investigated the impact of relative humidity and of the nature of the interlayer cation on the mechanical properties of these clay films. In particular, we quantified the humidity-induced swelling of these films by using a combination of environmental scanning electron microscopy and digital image correlation. We also performed tensile tests and creep tests on these films at controlled relative humidity. We compared the data obtained by our experiments to the results of the molecular simulations. This comparison makes it possible to discuss the elementary deformation mechanisms and the scales relevant to the understanding of the hydromechanical behavior of clays

La desquamation en plaque est une forme de dégradation de la pierre monumentale fréquemment observée. Cette morphologie spécifique résulte de l’initiation et la propagation d’une fissure subparallèle à la surface, qui subit diverses sollicitations en conditions naturelles d’exposition. L’objectif de cette recherche est de mieux comprendre ces mécanismes d’altération et d’appréhender les paramètres déterminants dans l’initiation de la fissuration au sein des pierres mises en œuvre. Une approche en mécanique de la rupture a ainsi été proposée. L’influence des minéraux argileux, mis en cause dans ce phénomène, est étudiée et discutée. Trois pierres ont été sélectionnées, une molasse, un grès et une kersantite, présentant de nombreux exemples de desquamation lorsqu’elles sont exposées. Leur comportement hydromécanique est caractérisé en tenant compte de leur anisotropie naturelle. Les propriétés élastiques, la résistance à la traction et la ténacité sont mesurées après saturation, pour plusieurs humidités relatives en phase d’humidification et de séchage, et après plusieurs cycles de variations d’humidité relative. Un couplage de mesure des dilatations et des vitesses d’ondes acoustiques a permis un suivi précis de l’endommagement au fil des cycles. L’influence des minéraux argileux dans les processus d’altération a pu être vérifiée. Ces phases ont été identifiées comme des facteurs essentiels de la dégradation, car elles constituent des plans de fragilité favorisant l’endommagement et la fissuration du matériau, et ce d’autant plus qu’elles se dilatent lors des sollicitations naturelles. / Flaking is a deterioration pattern widely observed on monumental stone heritage. This pattern is due to the initiation and propagation of a crack subparallel to the surface of the stone exposed to natural weathering. This research aims to better understand the alteration mechanisms and to determine the parameters involved in such crack initiation within monumental stones. A fracture mechanics approach is proposed and the influence of clay minerals on this detachment alteration is discussed. The research is carried out on three stones, a molasse, a sandstone and a kersantite, showing scaling effect when submitted to natural conditions. Their hydromechanical behaviour is studied with respect to their natural anisotropy. Elastic properties, tensile strength and toughness are measured after saturation, at various RH values during humidification and drying, and after several cycles. Wave propagation combined with dilatation measurements is used to follow damage during the RH variations cycles. The influence of clay minerals on alteration processes is verified. These phases are critical factors of stone degradation as they are weakness planes leading to damage and cracking, especially generated by their swelling.

Submitted by Fabio Sobreira Campos da Costa (fabio.sobreira@ufpe.br) on 2017-07-20T12:25:34Z No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 811 bytes, checksum: e39d27027a6cc9cb039ad269a5db8e34 (MD5) documento.pdf: 6110083 bytes, checksum: e763b9e4b979081c4ada6fef0eb596a6 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-07-20T12:25:34Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 811 bytes, checksum: e39d27027a6cc9cb039ad269a5db8e34 (MD5) documento.pdf: 6110083 bytes, checksum: e763b9e4b979081c4ada6fef0eb596a6 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-08-03 / ANP-PRH26 / Aimportânciadageomecânicaedoestudodeesquemasdeacoplamentoentreageomecânica e fluxo multifásico têm sido cada vez mais importantes e utilizados pela indústria a medida que formações cada vez mais profundas vêem sendo descobertas e exploradas. O entendimento do comportamento do estado de tensão em um reservatório permite produzir um melhor entendimento das implicações geomecânicas que ocorrem durante a fase de explotação, isso porque durante esta fase, as alterações na poro-pressão conduzem perturbações no equilíbrio mecânico afetando o estado de tensão de formações profundas, de maneira a alterar as propriedades da rocha tais como permeabilidade e porosidade. No entanto, a simulação acoplada (hidromecânica) em um grande campo heterogêneo implica na solução de equações de fluxo e mecânica, associadas a um grande número de graus de liberdade que torna esse tipo de abordagem inviável e computacionalmente cara. Neste contexto, um simulador geomecânico-linhas de fluxoé apresentado dentro de um algoritmo sequencial iterativo. Neste trabalho, aplica-se o método de elementos finitos com volume de controle para o subproblema poro-mecânico que fornece um campo de velocidade de Darcy pós-processado e a porosidade como entradas para o subproblema de transporte. Este subproblema é resolvido através do método de decomposição de operador, no qual basea-se em um esquema preditor-corretor com os passos preditor e corretor discretizados pelos esquemas baseados em tempo de vôo e volumes finitos, respectivamente. Simulações numéricas de injeção de água foram comparadas com soluções encontradas na literatura, mostrando bons resultados. Em problemas dominados pela advecção, envolvendo um reservatório naturalmente fraturado, a abordagem implementada foi capaz de predizer a distribuição do campo de saturação ao longo de toda simulação. Além disso, para avaliar a resposta geomecânica, simulações numéricas foram realizadas em um grande sistema de reservatório-rocha capeadora em uma fase de recuperação primária de hidrocarboneto, mostrou que a formulação apresentada provou ser: uma alternativa promissora para simulação hidro-geomecânica tradicional; úteis para o modelo de fluxo de redução de ordem nos casos em que o comportamento geomecânico são mais importantes do que o comportamento de fluxo e de uma ferramenta complementar para simulação geomecânica convencional. / The importance of geomechanics and the study of coupling between geomechanics and multiphase flow have been increasingly recognized and used by the industry as deeper formations are discovered and exploited. The knowledge of the state of stress in a reservoir yields a better understanding of the geomechanical implications during exploitation stage, because during the primary recovery stage, changes in pore pressure leads to perturbations inthemechanicalequilibrium,affectingthestressstateintheformationsinawaythatalters the rock properties such as permeability and porosity. However, the coupled simulation (hydromechanical) in large field heterogeneous models involves stress and flow equations solving, associated with a large number of degrees-of-freedom which becomes infeasible and computationally costly. In this context, a geomechanical-streamline simulator is presented within a iteratively coupled framework algorithm. In the present work, we applied control volume finite element method for the poromechanics subproblem which provides a Darcy velocityfieldthroughapost-processingvelocityprocedureandporosityasinputfieldstothe transportsubproblem.Suchsubproblemissolvedbymeansofanoperatorsplittingmethod, which is based on a predictor-corrector scheme with the predictor and corrector steps discretized by a time-of-flight and a finite volume based schemes, respectively. Numerical simulations of water-flooding are compared to the numerical results available in literature, showing good results. In convection-dominated problems, involving a naturally fractured reservoir, the approach was able to predict the saturation distributions for the whole simulation correctly. Furthermore, to appraisal the geomechanical response, numerical simulation was performed in a large reservoir-caprock system in a primary hydrocarbon recovery stage, showing that the formulation presented proved be: an promising alternative to traditional hydro-geomechanical simulation; useful for flow model order reduction in cases where the geomechanical behavior are more important than the flow behavior and a complementary tool for conventional geomechanical simulations.

This thesis submits a proposal production technology of single parts from sheet steel No. 11 305, thickness of 2 mm, made from a semi-finished product with a diameter of 246 mm, production run of 50 000 pieces per year. To manufacture the component a technology of hydromechanical drawing is proposed. On the basis of a literary study and calculations a drawing tool was designed, fixed in hydraulic press LPS 4000. To prepare a semi-finished product, flange trimming, and hole punching, a sheet metal cutting is used.

<p>Positive displacement gear machines are widely used in a variety of industrial applications ranging from fuel injection applications to fluid handling systems to fluid power machinery. Simulation models for these machines are increasingly being developed with greater applicability and more accuracy to meet the industry needs. In this work, a research study is done on contact forces in positive displacement gear machines towards improving the accuracy of the simulation models, which can help gain insights on the underlying physics that govern the performance of the machines.</p> <p><br></p> <p>First, the importance of considering contact forces in simulating a positive displacement gear machine is addressed. For this purpose, an orbit motor reference unit is chosen. A multi-domain simulation tool to evaluate the performance of this reference unit, considering contact features, is developed. The approach for creating the simulation tool is based on coupling of different models: pre-processor tools are created that can provide information needed by fluid dynamic model; a 2D CFD model is created that can evaluate leakages through the lubricating gaps based on pressures from fluid dynamic model; and a fluid dynamic model that can accept inputs from other models and evaluate the primary flow of the unit using a lumped parameter approach. This approach allows an accurate prediction of performance characteristics of orbit unit and the results are compared with those of experiments in terms of flow rate (maximum deviation up to 2.5%) and torque (maximum deviation up to 10%). Variation of performance of the unit by modification of contact features is presented, thus drawing the importance of contact forces in simulating a positive displacement gear machine.</p> <p><br></p> <p>After presenting the importance of contact forces, emphasis is placed on creating an accurate model of the traction contact force, in terms of traction coefficient. The traction coefficient is evaluated  by solving a mixed thermal EHL system, for the case of lubricated non-conformal contacts, considering possible asperity effects and temperature change. A few required characteristics of the reference lubricant are obtained using experiments, along with asperity friction coefficient for the lubricant-solid combination for two different roughnesses. The solver is further validated, both in magnitude and trend, against experimental results for the variation of roughness and slide-to-roll ratio of the surfaces. The solver is further used to obtain curve-fit relations of the traction coefficient components with reasonable accuracy.</p> <p><br></p> <p>Lastly, the curve-fit relations of the traction coefficient are used to evaluate the meshing torque loss, and thus the hydro-mechanical efficiency for the case of two external gear machine units, having different gear flank roughnesses. The simulated hydro-mechanical efficiencies are further validated using the results from experiments, with a maximum deviation of up to 3%, but less than 0.5% deviation at many operating conditions. The experimentally obtained variation of hydro-mechanical efficiency with respect to gear flank roughness is captured in the simulations at majority of the operating conditions, thus laying emphasis on the importance of accurate contact force models.</p> <p><br></p> <p>The approaches followed in this work, along with the findings and proven accuracy with experiments, can be considered valuable and can be used to create simulation models that can capture the effects of interference/clearance and gear flank roughness on the performance of positive displacement gear units.</p>

Geotechnical structures under realistic field conditions are usually influenced with complex interactions of coupled hydromechanical behavior of porous materials. In many geotechnical applications, however, these important coupled interactions are ignored in their constitutive models. Under coupled hydromechanical behavior, stress in porous materials causes volumetric change in strain, which causes fluid diffusion; consequently, pore pressure dissipates through the pores that results in the consolidation of porous material. The objective of this research wasto demonstrate the advantages of using hydromechanical models to estimate deformation and pore water pressure of porous materials by comparing with mechanical-only models. Firstly, extensive literature survey was conducted about hydromechanical models based on Biot’s poroelastic concept. Derivations of Biot’s poroelastic equations will be presented. To demonstrate the hydromechanical effects, a numerical model of poroelastic rock materials was developed using COMSOL, a commercialized multiphysics finite element software package, and compared with the analytical model developed by Wang (2000). Secondly, a series of sensitivity analyses was conducted to correlate the effect of poroelastic parameters on the behavior of porous material. The results of the sensitivity analysis show that porosity and Biot’s coefficient has dominant contribution to porous material behavior. Thirdly, a coupled hydromechanical finite element model was developed for a real-world example of embankment consolidation. The simulation results show excellent agreement to field measurements of embankment settlement data.

Nuclear power generation is being regarded as a solution to ever increasing demand for electricity, and concerns over global warming and climate change due to the use of fossil fuels. Although nuclear power generation is considered to be reliable, economical, clean, and safe, the wastes produced from the nuclear fuel cycle are not, and can remain hazardous for hundreds of thousands of years. An international consensus has developed over the past several decades that deep geologic disposal of low, intermediate, and high level radioactive wastes is the best option to protect the biosphere. In this thesis, both regional scale and sub-regional scale models are created to simulate groundwater flow and transport for a representative Canadian Shield setting, honouring site-specific topography and surface water features. Sub-surface characteristics and properties are derived from numerous geoscience studies. In addition, a regional scale model is developed, centred on the Bruce Nuclear Power Development (BNPD) site near Tiverton, Ontario, and located within the Michigan Basin. Ontario Power Generation (OPG) has proposed a Deep Geologic Repository (DGR) for low & intermediate level waste (L&ILW) at the BNPD site. Paleoclimate simulations using various combinations of parameters are performed for both the Canadian Shield Sub-Regional model, and the Michigan Basin Regional model. Fracture zone permeability is a very important parameter when modelling crystalline rock settings. Migration of a unit tracer representing glacial recharge water can occur to depth in fractures of high permeability. Representative rock compressibility values are necessary as compressibilities are used to calculate storage coefficients, and the one-dimensional loading efficiency; these affect the subsurface propagation of elevated pore pressures due to glacial loading at surface. Coupled density-dependent flow and transport in paleoclimate simulations affects deep flow systems and provides a measure of flow stability, as well as increasing the mean life expectancy at depth. Finally, hydromechanical coupling is a very important mechanism for reducing vertical hydraulic gradients during a glaciation event when a hydraulic boundary condition equal to the pressure at the base of an ice-sheet is applied at ground surface. Pore water velocities are reduced, thereby retarding migration of surface waters into the subsurface environment.

Nuclear power generation is being regarded as a solution to ever increasing demand for electricity, and concerns over global warming and climate change due to the use of fossil fuels. Although nuclear power generation is considered to be reliable, economical, clean, and safe, the wastes produced from the nuclear fuel cycle are not, and can remain hazardous for hundreds of thousands of years. An international consensus has developed over the past several decades that deep geologic disposal of low, intermediate, and high level radioactive wastes is the best option to protect the biosphere. In this thesis, both regional scale and sub-regional scale models are created to simulate groundwater flow and transport for a representative Canadian Shield setting, honouring site-specific topography and surface water features. Sub-surface characteristics and properties are derived from numerous geoscience studies. In addition, a regional scale model is developed, centred on the Bruce Nuclear Power Development (BNPD) site near Tiverton, Ontario, and located within the Michigan Basin. Ontario Power Generation (OPG) has proposed a Deep Geologic Repository (DGR) for low & intermediate level waste (L&ILW) at the BNPD site. Paleoclimate simulations using various combinations of parameters are performed for both the Canadian Shield Sub-Regional model, and the Michigan Basin Regional model. Fracture zone permeability is a very important parameter when modelling crystalline rock settings. Migration of a unit tracer representing glacial recharge water can occur to depth in fractures of high permeability. Representative rock compressibility values are necessary as compressibilities are used to calculate storage coefficients, and the one-dimensional loading efficiency; these affect the subsurface propagation of elevated pore pressures due to glacial loading at surface. Coupled density-dependent flow and transport in paleoclimate simulations affects deep flow systems and provides a measure of flow stability, as well as increasing the mean life expectancy at depth. Finally, hydromechanical coupling is a very important mechanism for reducing vertical hydraulic gradients during a glaciation event when a hydraulic boundary condition equal to the pressure at the base of an ice-sheet is applied at ground surface. Pore water velocities are reduced, thereby retarding migration of surface waters into the subsurface environment.