The work of this thesis sets out to give a clearer in-depth understanding of the failure mechanics of thin-walled compression members which are associated with complex interactions between the different buckling modes during the loading process. This thesis employs the finite element method in order to examine the effect of the modelling techniques imposed at the section junctions of short struts and to investigate the influence of the local and global end conditions with regard to support and loading on the compressive response of various sections, i.e. I-sections, plain channel sections, box-sections, and lipped channel sections. The thesis also details appropriate finite element modelling strategies and solution procedures taking due account of the influence of material nonlinearity and geometrical imperfections for the determination of the coupled mode interactive response of thin-walled compression members. A detailed account of the complete loading history of the compression members from the beginning of loading through to final collapse is given in the thesis. This involves elastic local buckling, nonlinear elastic and elasto-plastic post-buckling interaction behaviour and yield propagation leading to the development of an appropriate failure mechanism which causes final collapse and unloading. A new finite element modelling strategy has been developed in the thesis with particular reference to being able to deal with the classical assumption of the stress-free in-plane boundary conditions existing at the section junctions of short length strut members during post-local buckling. Also, for fixed-ended columns, with particular reference to singly-symmetric plain channel sections, it has been shown that column deflections are initiated from the onset of local buckling for the case of the constituent plate elements of the section being locally rotationally constrained at their ends. Such columns should not therefore be considered as an overall bifurcation problem of the locally buckled member. In the case of the pinned and fixed-ended boundary conditions of the columns, the finite element simulations are shown to be able to accurately describe the rather different complex failure mechanics with a high degree of imperfection sensitivity being shown to be in evidence for the pin-ended case. Considerably good agreement has been shown to occur with the independent simulations of other researchers using the finite strip method of analysis, with the analytical solution procedures of others and with the findings from independent test work and this has provided confidence in the viability and usefulness of the modelling strategies and solution procedures developed in this thesis.

The majority of this work is concerned with the local-linear convective instability analysis of the incompressible boundary-layer flows over prolate spheroids and oblate spheroids rotating in otherwise still fluid. The laminar boundary layer and the perturbation equations have been formulated by introducing two distinct orthogonal coordinate systems. A cross-sectional eccentricity parameter e is introduced to identify each spheroid within its family. Both systems of equations reduce exactly to those already established for the rotating sphere boundary layer. The effects of viscosity and streamline-curvature are included in each analysis. We predict that for prolate spheroids at low to moderate latitudes, increasing eccentricity has a strong stabilizing effect. However, at high latitudes of ϴ ≥ 60, increasing eccentricity is seen to have a destabilizing effect. For oblate spheroids, increasing eccentricity has a stabilizing effect at all latitudes. Near the pole of both types of spheroids, the critical Reynolds numbers approach that for the rotating disk boundary layer. However, in prolate spheroid case near the pole for very large values of e, the critical Reynolds numbers exceed that for the rotating disk. We show that high curvature near the pole of prolate spheroids is responsible for the increase in critical Reynolds number with increasing eccentricity. For both types of spheroids at moderate eccentricity, we predict that the most amplified modes travel at approximately 76% of the surface speed at all latitudes. This is consistent with the existing studies of boundary-layer flows over the related rotating-disk, -sphere and -cone geometries. However, for large values of eccentricity, the traveling speed of the most amplified modes increases up to approximately 90% of the surface speed of oblate spheroids and up to 100% in the prolate spheroid case.

Les moteurs à propergol solide sont parfois le siège d'instabilités aéroacoustiques résultant d'un couplage entre l'hydrodynamique des gaz brûlés et les modes acoustiques de la chambre de combustion. Ces instabilités se traduisent par de fortes Oscillations de Pression (ODP) dans la chambre de combustion du moteur. Ces ODP entrainent des vibrations de la structure, qui si elles venaient à dépasser certains niveaux pourraient nuire à la charge utile. Au vu du coût d'un essai, il est important de disposer d'outils permettant de prédire l'apparition de ces instabilités au moment de la conception. L'objectif de cette thèse est en premier lieu la mise au point d'une chaîne de couplage permettant d'évaluer l'impact des interactions fluide-structure sur l'amplitude des oscillations aéroacoustiques présentes au sein du propulseur. Une attention particulière est portée à l'algorithme de couplage entre les solveurs fluide et solide afin d'assurer une bonne conservation de l'énergie à l'interface fluide-structure, point clé dans l'étude d'instabilités. La chaîne numérique ainsi conçue est appliquée à une configuration réduite du moteur à propergol solide d'Ariane 5 dans le cadre de deux études. La première porte sur l'impact des vibrations de la structure sur les d'instabilités aéroacoustiques. L'effet d'un croisement de fréquences des modes propres longitudinaux de la structure et un des modes acoustiques de la chambre de combustion est traité. La seconde étude s'intéresse à l'effet des battements des protections thermiques du propulseur dans l'écoulement. Une structuration de l'écoulement et un net renforcement des ODP sont mis en évidence. / Large solid propellant rocket motors may be subjected to aero-acoustic instabilities arising from a coupling between the burnt gas flow and the acoustic eigenmodes of the combustion chamber. These instabilities lead to large pressure oscillations in the combustion chamber. These pressure oscillations cause vibrations which might jeopardize the payload if they happen to be larger than a certain threshold. Given the size and cost of any single firing test or launch, it is of first importance to rely on numerical tools able to predict these instabilities so that they can be avoided at the design level. The first purpose of this thesis is to build a numerical tool in order to evaluate how the coupling of the fluid flow and the whole structure of the motor influences the amplitude of the aeroacoustic oscillations living inside the rocket. A particular attention was paid to the coupling algorithm between the fluid and the solid solvers in order to ensure the best energy conservation through the interface.The numerical chain is applied to a sub-scaled configuration of Ariane 5 solid rocket motor in two studies. The first relates to the impact of vibration of the structure on aeroacoustic instabilities. The effect of a crossover frequency between the longitudinal modes of the structure and the acoustic modes of the combustion chamber is assessed. The second study examines the effect of thermal protection oscillations in the flow. An increased of the flow organisation and a significant strengthening of pressure oscillations are highlighted.

La formation et la morphologie des boîtes quantiques est un sujet d'un grand intérêt, ces structures ayant de nombreuses application potentielles, en particulier en microélectronique et optoélectronique. Cette thèse porte sur l'étude théorique et numérique de la croissance et de la morphologie d'ilots par épitaxie par jet moléculaire. Un premier modèle de croissance est une étude non-linéaire de l'instabilité de type Asaro-Tiller-Grinfeld, il convient pour les systèmes à faibles désaccords de maille, et est plus spécifiquement appliquée au cas où le désaccord de maille est anisotrope (voir le cas du GaN sur AlGaN). Le calcul de l'instabilité que nous avons effectué prend en compte les effets élastiques causés par le désaccord de maille, les effets de mouillage et les effets d'évaporation. La résolution numérique de l'instabilité nous permet de constater une croissance plus rapide dans le cas anisotrope comparé au cas isotrope, ainsi que la croissance d'ilots fortement anisotropes.Le deuxième modèle est basé sur des simulations Monte Carlo cinétiques, qui permettent de décrire la nucléation d'ilots 3D. Ces simulations sont utilisées pour les systèmes à fort désaccord de maille, comme Ge sur Si. Nos simulations prennent en compte la diffusion des adatomes, les effets élastiques, et un terme simulant la présence de facettes (105). Des ilots pyramidaux se formaent, conformément aux expériences et subissent un mûrissement interrompu. Les résultats obtenus ont été comparés au cas de la nucléation 2D, et on retrouve en particulier une densité d'ilots en loi de puissance par rapport au rapport D/F du coefficient de diffusion et du flux de déposition. / The growth and morphology of quantum dots is currently a popular subject as these structures have numerous potential uses, specifically in microelectronics and optoelectronics. Control of the size, shape and distribution of these dots is of critical importance for the uses that are being considered. This thesis presents a theoretical and numerical study of the growth of islands during molecular beam epitaxy. In order to study these dots, we used two models : a nonlinear study of an Asaro-Tiller-Grinfeld like instability, and kinetic Monte Carlo simulations. The first model is appropriate for low misfit systems, and is detailed in the case where misfit is anisotropic (this is the case when depositing GaN on AlGaN). In this case we took into account elastic effects, wetting effects and evaporation. Numerical calculations show faster growth, compared to the isotropic misfit case, and the growth of strongly anisotropic islands.The second model is based on kinetic Monte Carlo simulations that can describe 3D island nucleation. We use these simulations to study systems with high misfits, specifically Ge on Si. Adatom diffusion on a surface is considered and takes into account elastic effects, and surface energy anisotropy, that allows us to stabilize (105) facets. Simulation results show the growth of pyramid-shaped 3D islands, as observed in experiments, and their ripening is interrupted. The results of these simulations are then compared to the case of 2D nucleation, and we find that several of the known 2D properties also apply to 3D islands. Specifically, island density depends on a power law of D/F, the diffusion coefficient divided by the deposition flux.

La manipulation de l’état magnétique d’un système ferromagnétique présente un grand intérêt en raison de possibles applications technologiques. Comprendre les mécanismes fondamentaux qui contrôlent l’aimantation est donc particulièrement important. La compréhension de certains mécanismes peut également avoir un impact dans d’autres domaines de la physique. C’est le cas par exemple de la dynamique de déplacement de parois de domaines sous champ magnétique dans le régime de reptation (creep) qui peut être assimilé à celui d’une interface élastique et qui présente un caractère universel. Cette thèse présente tout d’abord, à travers un travail expérimental sur des couches ultra-minces de Pt/Co/Pt, une description complète de la dynamique de déplacement de parois de domaines sous champ magnétique. Une analyse auto-cohérente permet d’extraire tous les paramètres de contrôle, des exposants universels sont confirmés et un nouveau régime dynamique (le TAFF) est identifié. Une deuxième étude porte sur le déplacement de parois sous courant électrique en géométrie étendue dans un film de (Ga,Mn)(As,P). Cette étude met en évidence des instabilités de forme des parois de domaines soumises à un gradient de courant électrique. Les limites de stabilités sont analytiquement prédites et présentent un bon accord avec les expériences. Un troisième travail porte sur le renversement de l’aimantation à l’interface entre un film de (Ga,Mn)(As,P) et une électrode non ferromagnétique. Un renversement stochastique de l’aimantation sous courant continu est mis en évidence. Son origine réside dans l’accumulation de spin à l’interface qui diminue fortement l’aimantation locale. Un modèle simplifié permet de décrire la probabilité de retournement de l’aimantation et d’extraire les temps caractéristiques associés. / Effectively manipulating the magnetic state of a ferromagnet has a great interest for possible technological applications. Understanding the underlying fundamental mechanisms is thus particularly important. In some cases, the understanding of some mechanisms may even importantly impact other areas of physics. This is the case for example with field induced magnetic domain walls motion in the creep regime, where the wall can be assimilated to an elastic interface and follows an universal behavior. This thesis presents through an experimental work on Pt/Co/Pt ultra-thin samples, a complete description of the temperature and field dependent domain wall dynamics. A self-consistent analysis allows the extraction of all control parameters, identifying the new Thermally Activated Flux Flow regime, and confirming universal thermal scaling exponents. A second study focuses on current induced domain wall motion in an extended geometry of a (Ga,Mn)(As,P) ferromagnetic film. This study unveils domain wall shape instabilities under a gradient of current. The instability limits are analytically predicted in agreement with the experimental observations. A third work concerns the magnetization reversal mechanism evidenced at the interface between a (Ga,Mn)(As,P) film and a non-ferromagnetic electrode under a current flow. The reversal is shown to be stochastic and mainly governed by the spin accumulation at the interface, which reduces importantly the local magnetization. A simplified model allows the description of the reversal probability and the time scales involved in the mechanism of reversal are accessed and discussed.

Dans cette thèse, nous étudions plusieurs aspects de la radiation de Hawking en présence de violations de l'invariance locale de Lorentz. Ces violations sont introduites par une modification de la relation de dispersion, devenant non-linéaire aux courtes longueurs d’onde. Les principales motivations de ces travaux ont une double origine. Il y a d’une part le développement en matière condensée de trous noirs analogues, ou l’écoulement d’un fluide est perçu comme une métrique d’espace-temps pour les ondes de perturbations et ou la radiation de Hawking pourrait être détectée expérimentalement. D’autre part, il se pourrait que des effets de gravité quantique puissent être modélisés par une modification de la relation de dispersion. En premier lieu, nous avons obtenu des caractérisations précises des conditions nécessaires au maintien de l’effet Hawking en présence de violation de l’invariance de Lorentz. De plus, nous avons étudié l’apparition d’une onde macroscopique de fréquence nulle, dans des écoulements de type trous blancs et également pour des champs massifs. Une autre partie de ce travail a consisté à analyser une instabilité engendrée par les effets dispersifs, ou la radiation de Hawking est auto-amplifiée, générant ainsi un flux sortant exponentiellement croissant dans le temps. / In this thesis, we study several features of Hawking radiation in the presence of ultraviolet Lorentz violations. These violations are implemented by a modified dispersion relation that becomes nonlinear at short wavelengths. The motivations of this work arise on the one hand from the developing field of analog gravity, where we aim at measuring the Hawking effect in fluid flows that mimic black hole space-times, and on the other hand from the possibility that quantum gravity effects might be approximately modeled by a modified dispersion relation. We develop several studies on various aspects of the prob- lem. First we obtain precise characterizations about the deviations from the Hawking result of black hole radiation, which are induced by dispersion. Second, we study the emergence, both in white hole flows or for massive fields, of a macroscopic standing wave, spontaneously produced from the Hawking effect, and known as ‘undulation’. Third, we describe in detail an instability named black hole laser, which arises in the presence of two horizons, where Hawking radiation is self-amplified and induces an exponentially growing in time emitted flux.

O efeito Hall quântico surge em gases de elétrons bidimensionais (2DEG) na presença de altos campos magnéticos B. O campo magnético quantiza o movimento planar dos elétrons em órbitas ciclotrônicas caracterizadas pelos níveis de Landau. Neste regime a resistividade transversal (ou Hall) ρxy em função de B exibe platôs em submúltiplos inteiros de e2/h, i.e., ρxy = ν-1 e2/h, sendo ν o fator de preenchimento dos níveis de Landau. Por sua vez, a resistividade longitudinal ρxx apresenta picos nas transições entre platôs de ρxy. Em primeira instância, ρxx é uma medida indireta da densidade de estados no nível de Fermi g(εF), e os picos dos mesmos indicam cruzamentos do nível de Fermi εF com niveis de Landau. Assim, o diagrama de densidade de elétrons n2D e B dos picos de ρxx ~ g(εF) fornece um mapa topológico da estrutura eletrônica do sistema. Em sistemas de duas subbandas, ρxx(n2D, B) exibe estruturas em forma de anel devido a cruzamentos de níveis de Landau de subbandas distintas [experimentos do grupo do Prof. Jiang (UCLA)]. Estes cruzamentos podem ainda levar a instabilidades ferromagnéticas. Investigamos estas instabilidades usando a teoria do funcional da densidade (DFT) para o cálculo da estrutura eletrônica, e o modelo de Ando (formalismo de Kubo) para o cálculo de ρxx e ρxy. Para temperaturas mais altas (340 mK) obtemos as estruturas em forma de anel em ρxx. Para temperaturas mais baixas (70 mK), observamos uma quebra dos anéis devido a transições de fase ferromagnéticas. Variando-se o ângulo θ de B com relação ao 2DEG observa-se o encolhimento do anel. Nossos resultados mostram que o ângulo de colapso total do anel depende de uma competição entre o termo de troca da interação de Coulomb (princípio de Pauli) e cruzamentos evitados devido ao ângulo θ finito. As transições de fase exibem ainda o fenômeno de histerese. Na região de instabilidade ferromagnética obtemos diferentes soluções variando B de forma crescente ou decrescente. Estas soluções possuem energias total diferentes, de forma que representam estados fundamental e excitado de muitos corpos. Esta observação, juntamente com resultados anteriores do grupo [Freire & Egues (2007)], representam as primeiras realizações teóricas da previsão da possibilidade de estados excitados como mínimos locais do funcional de energia do estado fundamental [Perdew & Levy (1985)]. O modelo aqui proposto fornece excelente acordo com os experimentos considerados. Adicionalmente, a observação sistemática e experimentalmente verificada dos estados excitados valida as previsões de Perdew & Levy. Aplicamos ainda estas mesmas ideias no cálculo da estrutura eletrônica e condutância de fios quânticos na presença de campos magnéticos, mostrando que cruzamentos de modos transversais também exibem instabilidades ferromagnéticas observadas em experimentos recentes [Dissertação de Mestrado de Filipe Sammarco, IFSC/USP], fortalecendo a validade do modelo apresentado nesta tese. / The quantum Hall effect arises in two dimensional electron gases (2DEG) under high magnetic fields B. The magnetic field quantizes the planar motion of the electrons into cyclotron orbits given by the Landau levels. In this regime the transversal (Hall) resistivity ρxy shows plateaus as a function of B at integer sub-multiples of e2/h, i.e., ρxy = ν-1 e2/h, where n is the filling factor of the Landau levels. The longitudinal resistivity ρxx shows peaks at the transition between the plateaus of ρxy. In principle, ρxx is an indirect measure of the density of states at the Fermi level g(εF), so that the peaks indicate when the Fermi level εF crosses a Landau level. Therefore, a density-B-field diagram n2D-B of the ρxx ~ g(εF) peaks shows a topological map of the electronic structure of the system. In two-subband systems, ρxx( n2D, B) shows ringlike structures due to crossings of spin-split Landau levels from distinct subbands [experiments from the group of Prof. Jiang (UCLA)] that could lead to ferromagnetic instabilities. We study these instabilities using the density functional theory (DFT) to calculate the electronic structure, and Ando\'s model (Kubo formalism) for ρxx and ρxy. At higher temperatures (340 mK) we also obtain the ringlike structures in ρxx. At lower temperatures (70 mK) we see broken rings due to quantum Hall ferromagnetic phase transitions. Tilting B by theta with respect to the 2DEG normal we find that the ring structure shrinks. Our results show that the angle of full collapse depends on a competition between the exchange term from the Coulomb interaction (Pauli principle) and the anticrossing of Landau levels due to the finite angle theta. Additionally, at the instabilities we observe hysteresis. Sweeping the B field up or down near these regions we obtain two different solutions with distinct total energies, corresponding to the ground state and an excited state of the many-body system. This result, together with previous results of our group [Freire & Egues (2007)], are the first realizations of the theoretical prediction of the possibility of excited states as local minima of the ground state energy functional [Perdew & Levy (1985)]. The model proposed here shows an excellent agreement with the experiments. Additionally, the systematic and experimentally verified observation of excited states corroborates the predictions of Perdew & Levy. Similar ideas as presented here when applied to the electronic structure and conductance of quantum wires with an in-plane magnetic field show ferromagnetic instabilities at crossings of the wire transverse modes [Master Thesis of Filipe Sammarco, IFSC/USP], also with excellent experimental agreement. This strengthen the range of validity of the model proposed in this Thesis.

Este trabalho descreve o estudo das instabilidades magneto-hidro-dinâmicas (MHD) comumente observadas nas descargas elétricas de plasma no tokamak TCABR, do Instituto de Física da USP. Dois diagnósticos principais foram empregados para observar essas instabilidades: um conjunto poloidal de 24 bobinas magnéticas (bobinas de Mirnov) colocadas próximas à borda do plasma e um medidor de emissões na faixa do Ultra Violeta e de raios X moles com 20 canais (sistema SXR), cujo circuito de condicionamento de sinais foi aprimorado como parte deste trabalho. Esses diagnósticos foram escolhidos porque fornecem informações complementares, uma vez que o sistema SXR observa a parte central da coluna de plasma, enquanto as bobinas de Mirnov detectam as instabilidades MHD na região mais externa da coluna. As informações coletadas por esses diagnósticos foram submetidas à análise espectral com resolução temporal e espacial, possibilitando determinar a evolução das características espectrais e espaciais das instabilidades MHD observadas. Essas análises revelaram que durante a etapa inicial da formação do plasma (quando a corrente de plasma ainda está aumentando) ilhas magnéticas com números de onda decrescente, identificadas como sendo modos kink de borda, são detectadas nas bobinas de Mirnov. Após a formação do plasma, quando os parâmetros de equilíbrio estão relativamente estáveis (platô), oscilações são detectadas tanto nas bobinas de Mirnov quanto no sistema de SXR, indicando a presença de instabilidades MHD em toda a coluna de plasma. Em geral as oscilações medidas nas bobinas de Mirnov tem baixa amplitude e correspondem a pequenas ilhas magnéticas que foram identificadas como sendo modos de ruptura (modos tearing). Por outro lado, as instabilidades na região central foram identificadas como dentes de serra, que correspondem a relaxações periódicas da região interna à superfície magnética com fator de segurança q=1 e que são acompanhadas de oscilações precursoras, cuja amplitude depende da fase do ciclo de relaxação. Devido à essa modulação de amplitude, aparecem picos de frequência satélite nos espectrogramas dos sinais do SXR. Além disso, devido ao fato dos ciclos de relaxação não serem sinusoidais, os harmônicos da frequência de relaxação também aparecem nesses espectrogramas. No entanto, em muitas descargas do TCABR, a intensidade das oscilações medidas nas bobinas de Mirnov aumentam significativamente durante o platô, com efeitos sobre a frequência de todas as instabilidades MHD, até mesmo sobre os dentes de serra localizados na região central da coluna. Em todos os casos, observou-se que durante o platô a frequência das ilhas magnéticas coincide com a frequência das oscilações precursoras do dente de serra, apesar de serem duas instabilidades distintas, localizadas em posições radiais muito diferentes. Essa coincidência de frequências possibilitou descrever a evolução em frequência de todas as oscilações detectadas em diversos diagnósticos com base em apenas duas frequências básicas: a dos ciclos de relaxação dente de serra e a das ilhas magnéticas. / This work describes the study of magneto-hydro-dynamic instabilities (MHD) commonly observed in plasma discharges in tokamak TCABR (at Instituto de Física da USP). Two main diagnostics were employed to observe these instabilities: a poloidal set of 24 magnetic coils (Mirnov coils) placed near the plasma border and a detector of emissions in the Ultra Violet and soft X-ray range with 20 channels (SXR system) which improvement of the signal conditioning circuit was done as part of this work. These diagnostics were chosen because they provide complementary information, since the SXR system measures the central part of the plasma column, while the Mirnov coils detect the MHD instabilities in the outer part of the column. The information collected by these diagnoses was submitted to spectral analysis with temporal and spatial resolution, making it possible to determine the evolution of the spectral and spatial characteristics of the observed MHD instabilities. These analyzes revealed that during the initial stage of the plasma formation (when the plasma current is still increasing) magnetic islands with decreasing wave numbers, identified as edge kink modes, are detected in the Mirnov coils. After the plasma formation, when the equilibrium parameters are relatively flat (plateau), oscillations are detected in both Mirnov coils and SXR system, indicating the presence of MHD instability in the whole plasma column. In general, the fluctuations measured by the Mirnov coils have low amplitude corresponding to small magnetic islands, which were identified as tearing modes. On the other hand, the instabilities at the central region were identified as sawteeth oscillations that correspond to periodic relaxations in the internal region of the magnetic surface with safety factor q = 1 and that are accompanied by precursor oscillations which amplitude depends on the phase of the relaxation cycles. Due to this amplitude modulation, frequency satellite peaks appear in the spectrograms of the SXR signals. Furthermore, due to the fact that relaxation cycles are not sinusoidal, harmonics of the relaxation frequency also appear in the spectrograms. However, in many TCABR discharges, the intensity of the oscillations measured by the Mirnov coils increase significantly during the plateau, with affects the frequency of all MHD instabilities, even over the sawteeth in the central region of the column. In all cases, it was observed that during the plateau the frequency of the magnetic islands coincides with the frequency of the sawtooth precursors, although they are two different instabilities located in separated radial positions. This coincidence of frequencies allowed describing the frequency evolution of all measured oscillations by considering only two basic frequencies: the cycles of sawtooth relaxation and the magnetic islands.

A teoria de elasticidade não-linear é apropriada para a investigação de instabilidades materiais relacionadas ao amolecimento e à formação de bandas de cisalhamento. Estes fenômenos podem surgir em compósitos constituídos de fases que, isoladamente, não apresentam tais fenômenos sob as mesmas condições de carregamento. O objetivo principal desta tese de doutorado é utilizar métodos computacional e de homogeneização na investigação do comportamento de laminados bifásicos compostos de lâminas elásticas não-lineares. Em particular, utilizam-se o método dos elementos finitos (MEF) clássico e os métodos de homogeneização assintótica (MHA) e de segunda ordem tangencial para gerar resultados computacionais e analíticos que possam ser comparados entre si. Com este objetivo em mente, estuda-se primeiramente o comportamento efetivo de bilaminados compostos por distribuições periódicas de lâminas elástico-lineares, homogêneas e isotrópicas. Os bilaminados estão em equilíbrio na ausência de forças de corpo. Gera-se uma sequência de bilaminados com número crescente de lâminas e simulam-se ensaios de tração uniaxial no regime de pequenas deformações utilizando malhas de elementos finitos refinadas. Resultados destas simulações computacionais são comparados a resultados analíticos obtidos de ensaio de tração uniaxial similar de um sólido homogeneizado via MHA. Os resultados computacionais tendem aos resultados analíticos à medida que o número de lâminas na sequência de bilaminados tende ao infinito. Em seguida, investiga-se o comportamento efetivo de bilaminados compostos por distribuições periódicas de lâminas elásticas não-lineares, homogêneas, quase-incompressíveis e isotrópicas submetidos a condições de deformação impostas em seus contornos. Utilizando-se o método de homogeneização de segunda ordem tangencial, determinam-se as propriedades efetivas dos bilaminados. Estas propriedades são utilizadas na condição de Legendre-Hadamard para predizer perda de elipticidade das equações governantes. A violação desta condição está relacionada à formação de bandas de cisalhamento no compósito. Utilizando malha de elementos finitos refinada, simula-se numericamente o problema de equilíbrio de um bilaminado com número elevado de lâminas na ausência de força de corpo e sujeito a deformações impostas no contorno. Os resultados computacionais predizem perda de elipticidade para um nível de deformação próximo ao nível de deformação da perda de elipticidade predita pelo método de homogeneização. Os resultados analíticos e computacionais indicam que a perda de elipticidade é fortemente influenciada pelo contraste de heterogeneidade entre as fases e pelas condições de contorno. / The theory of nonlinear elasticity is suitable for the investigation of material instabilities related to softening and formation of shear bands. These phenomena can arise in composites consisting of phases which, taken separately, do not exhibit such phenomena under the same loading conditions. The main objective of this thesis is to use both computational and homogenization methods in the investigation of the behavior of two-phase laminates composed of nonlinear elastic laminae. In particular, we use the finite element method (FEM) and both the asymptotic homogenization method (AHM) and the tangent second-order homogenization method to generate computational and analytical results that can be compared to each other. With this goal in mind, we study first the effective behavior of bilaminates composed of periodic distributions of linearly elastic, homogeneous, and isotropic laminae. The bilaminates are in equilibrium in the absence of body forces. A sequence of bilaminates with increasing number of laminae is used to numerically simulate uniaxial tensile tests in the small strain regime using refined finite element meshes. Computational results are then compared with analytical results obtained from a similar tensile test of a solid homogenized via MHA. The computational results tend to the analytical result as the number of laminae in the sequence of bilaminates tends to infinity. Next, we investigate the effective behavior of bilaminates composed of periodic distributions of nonlinearly elastic, homogeneous, isotropic, and quasi-incompressible laminae that are subjected to deformation conditions on their boundaries. Using the tangent second-order homogenization method, the effective properties of the bilaminates are determined. These properties are used in the Legendre-Hadamard condition to predict loss of ellipticity of the governing equations. Violation of this condition is related to the formation of shear bands in the composite. Using refined finite element meshes, we simulate numerically the problem of equilibrium of a bilaminate with a high number of laminae in the absence of body force and subjected to deformation conditions on the boundary. The computational results predict loss of ellipticity at a deformation level close to the deformation level for which loss of ellipticity is predicted by the homogenization method. The computational and analytical results indicate that the loss of ellipticity is strongly influenced by both the heterogeneity contrast between the phases and the boundary conditions.

Flows, instabilities, and magnetism play significant roles in the internal and atmospheric dynamics of objects ranging from the smallest exoplanets to the largest stars. These phenomena are governed by the equations of magnetohydrodynamics (MHD), which link the flows and magnetic fields, and from which the operational parameters and growth rates of instabilities can be recovered. Here we present an overview of interesting phenomena (such as the internal dynamics of stellar and planetary objects, as well as instabilities which might operate within these environs), as well as computational techniques by which these phenomena might both be understood and analysed (through both ‘simplifications’ of the MHD equations and different numerical/computational approaches). We first present an investigation into the Heat-Flux-Driven Buoyancy Instability (HBI) within stellar and planetary atmospheres, considering both the parameter space it might operate within as well as its non-linear effects during said operation. We find that whilst the HBI may be able to play a role in Solar, stellar and planetary atmospheres, it is likely to be quite limited in scope, only operating within small regions. However, its dramatic consequences for heat transport in the non-linearly evolved state, and the prospects that it may operate outside the narrow regimes that our analytical analysis suggested, suggest that it may merit further study. This is followed with a discussion of a method by which the surface flows of exoplanets might be measured: The Rossiter-Mclaughlin Effect at Secondary Eclipse (RMse). We formulate the effect, showing that the formalism is identical to the traditional Rossiter-Mclaughlin effect, albeit in a different frame (a planet transiting a star becomes a star transiting a planet), and consider its observational implications: the effect should be observable for the brightest planet hosting stars using upcoming 40m-class telescopes (i.e.E-ELT). We finish with a series of 3D anelastic simulations of fully convective stars, designed to investigate how the internal flows are affected by varying stellar parameters, as well as a possible link between residual entropy and differential rotation contours, and a method by which this link can be used (via the thermal wind equation - TWE) to extrapolate the internal rotation. We find a clear transition between ‘solar-like’ and ‘anti-solar’ internal dynamics, characterised in the meridional circulation, differential rotation, residual entropy, and angular momentum flux profiles. Furthermore we find that, whilst the alignment between residual entropy and differential rotation contours is somewhat varied, the resultant extrapolation, via the TWE, produces a generally good fit to the differential rotation contours, suggesting a general robustness to the theory.