Instrumented indentation testing was used to determine viscoelastic properties of bitumen, i.e. shear relaxation modulus. Review of previous studied reveals that indentation testing technique has been drawing increasing attempts in investigations of binder material mechanical properties. Various properties of bitumen, e.g. elastic, viscoelastic, have been successfully determined by indentation testing at different scales and test conditions. The response of bitumen to indentation was studied extensively under a wide range of test parameters such as temperature, loading rate, indenter geometry, etc. This experimental tool was also applied to asphalt cements grading and microstructure study. However, there have been limited numbers of studies at macro levels with the use of spherical indenters to characterize bitumen properties. This motivated the present study. Spherical indentations have been performed with balls of different curvature radii at -5 oC. Load – displacement curves have been measured and used to determine the relaxation moduli of the studied bitumen. Repeatability of the measurements has been evaluated. Obtained results were compared with the observations from DSR relaxation test. The influence of the measurement scale and load level on the results of instrumented indentation testing has been investigated. It has been found that instrumented indentation was able to characterize accurately the viscoelastic behavior of bitumen which can be described by Prony series and agrees well with the results from DSR tests. Nevertheless, the elastic solution failed to produce a proper description of bitumen response during loading phase.

La mitochondrie est restée longtemps cantonnée au rôle de centrale énergétique cellulaire. On sait désormais qu'elle est aussi la principale source d'espèces réactives oxygénées, impliquées dans le stress oxydant et la signalisation inter- cellulaire. Le dérèglement de l'activité mitochondriale est ainsi susceptible d'être la cause de l'apparition et de la progression de maladies associées au vieillissement, comme le cancer et les maladies neurodégénératives. Dans le cadre de la leucémie aiguë myéloïde, des études menées par l'équipe dirigée par Jean-Emmanuel Sarry du Centre de Recherche en Cancérologie de Toulouse, ont montré qu'il est possible de sensibiliser les cellules jusqu'alors résistantes à la chimiothérapie, en ciblant préalablement la fonction mitochondriale. C'est dans ce contexte que s'inscrit le sujet de cette de thèse, portant sur la conception et la réalisation de micro-capteurs électrochimiques dédiées à l'analyse du métabolisme mitochondrial, à l'échelle de la mitochondrie isolée. La fabrication des microsystèmes s'est déroulée dans la salle blanche du Laboratoire d'Analyse et d'Architecture des Systèmes de Toulouse, sous l'encadrement des chercheurs Jérôme Launay et Pierre Temple-Boyer, spécialisés dans la conception de capteurs pour la détection d'espèces en phase liquide. Finalement, un système complet assurant le couplage à la microscopie et à la gestion des fluides a été fabriqué, validé, et breveté. Les résultats obtenus nous permettent d'envisager l'analyse à l'échelle de la mitochondrie unique par une approche parallélisée, ce qui n'a encore jamais été réalisé. / The role of mitochondria have been restricted to oxidative phosphorylation for a long time. Now it is clear that they are also the main sources of reactive oxygen species, implied in oxidative stress and cell-to-cell signaling. Thus, mitochondrial malfunction is potentially the cause of the appearance and the progression of diseases linked to ageing like cancers and neurodegenerative troubles. In the frame of acute myeloid leukemia, studies governed by Jean-Emmanuel Sarry of the Cancer Research Center of Toulouse, showed that it is possible to improve the efficacy of current chemotherapies by targeting mitochondria's function. In this context, the objective of the thesis presented here consist in the design and the manufacturing of electrochemical micro-sensors, dedicated to the analysis of the metabolic activity of isolated mitochondria. The manufacturing occurred in the clean room facilities of the Laboratory for Analysis and Architecture of Systems of Toulouse under the supervision of Jérôme Launay and Pierre Temple-Boyer, researchers specialized in the development of solutions aiming the detection of species diluted in solution. Finally, a complete system ensuring the coupling with microscopy and fluidics have been realized, validated, and patented. The results obtained allow us to consider the analysis at the scale of the single mitochondrion with a parallelized approach, thing that have never been made.

Bulk Metallic Glasses (BMGs), also known as amorphous metals, are of considerable scientific and commercial interest due to their random or chaotic structure. Given their potential use as engineering materials, there is a concomitant need to establish their mechanical properties. However, BMGs are not conveniently available in sufficient volumes (especially experimental and combinatorial compositions), making property determination via conventional tensile or compression testing problematic. Instrumented indentation is ideally suited for this purpose because the testing requires only small sampling volumes and can probe multiaxial deformation characteristics at various length scales. In this technique, conducted generally on a sub-micron regime, the depth of penetration of an indenter, usually a diamond, is measured as a function of the applied load and expressed graphically as load (P) - displacement (h) curves from which a host of mechanical properties can be extracted and studied. In this work, a methodology for using instrumented indentation at nano- and micro- scales to determine the mechanical response of BMGs was developed and implemented. The implementation primarily focused on deformation in the elastic regime but included preliminary results related to the onset of inelastic deformation. The methodology developed included calibration techniques, formulations to extract the machine compliances, verifications using standards and verification for uniqueness of instrument deformation under a spherical indenter. The methodology was different for the two platforms used based on the load-depth response characteristics of the instrument. In the case of the Micro Test platform, the load-depth response of the instrument was linear. In the case of the Nano Test platform, the instrument load-depth response followed a 3/2 power law, representative of Hertzian behavior. The load-depth response of the instrument was determined by subtracting the theoretical response from the corresponding raw load-depth response obtained by elastically indenting a standard steel specimen of known modulus. The true response of the sample was then obtained by subtracting the instrument's response from the corresponding uncorrected load-depth response (raw data). An analytical model to describe the load-train compliance was developed. The methodology was verified using quartz and tungsten standards. Indentation experiments were conducted on Zr41.25Ti13.75Cu12.5Ni10Be22.5 (Vitreloy 1), Cu60Hf25Ti15, Cu60Zr30Ti10 and Fe60Co7Zr10Mo5W2B16 bulk metallic glasses using spherical indenters with diameters 2.8 mm and 100 [micro]m. The spherical geometry results in a simpler stress distribution under the indenter (when compared to a sharp geometry) and furthermore by recourse to spherical indenters the onset of plastic deformation was delayed. In the case of the Zr-based BMG, the experiments showed that the elastic response did not depend on the diameter of the indenter used indicative of the absence of residual stresses in the sample. Large scale plastic deformation was observed when the sample was indented using a smaller diameter indenter. Log scale analysis (i.e., examining the results on a log load vs. log depth response to check for deviation from Hertzian behavior) showed a deviation from a 3/2 fit indicating a deviation from elastic behavior. The onset implied a yield strength value of ~ 4 GPa, higher than the value reported in the literature (~ 2 GPa). Hence, it is believed that the first signs of plastic deformation occurred at lower loads than the predicted loads from the log scale analysis procedure and is expected to occur as discrete bursts. Discrete plastic events or "pop-ins" were observed in the load-depth indentation responses under quasistatic loading conditions, which were believed to be associated with shear band activity. An attempt was made to formulate a mathematical model based on three yield criteria (Drucker-Prager, Mohr-Coulomb and von Mises). Based on the von Mises predictions and comparable experiments on a quartz standard, it was established that the pop-ins observed were real and not an instrument artifact. Multiple load cycles following partial unload experiments showed that the pop-ins affected the subsequent indentation response. The moduli and the yield strength values obtained for the Cu-based BMGs were comparable to the values reported in the literature. There was significant scatter in the indentation data from the Fe-based BMG. Porosity and lack of 100 % compaction were believed to be the reasons for scatter in the data. The financial support of NSF through grant DMR 0314212 is gratefully acknowledged.

No description available.

The main purpose of this thesis is the systematic, experimental investigation of how a soft interlayer affects the impact response and energy dissipation mechanisms of all-polymer multi-laminates. An instrumented, intermediate impact velocity experimental setup with strain rates on the order of 100 s-1, is used to assess the impact mechanics of three-layered samples consisting of a poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) front, polymer interlayer or adhesive, and polycarbonate (PC) back layer. Instrumentation of the gas gun is achieved with a shock accelerometer measuring contact force and optical displacement sensors recording deflection. Previous impact research utilizing instrumented gas guns by Levy and Goldsmith, and Delfosse et al. have measured contact force, but did not record simultaneous out-of-plane displacement. Signals acquired are temporally aligned allowing for insight into the response of the multi-laminate during impact, which is inaccessible with typical gas guns. Impact testing is completed on bonded and unbonded sample configurations, with two thermoplastic polyurethane and four polyacrylate interlayers. Quantitative metrics from force and displacement signals, along with post-impact damage observations, are used to compare impact performance between configurations and impact velocities (12 and 22 m/s). In general, the presence and bonding of an interlayer increases impact resistance by mitigating and localizing the impact load. The interlayers are characterized at various strain rates in tension, compression, and shear adhesion. In tension, all interlayers display rate dependence, non-linearity, and hysteretic behavior showing varying degrees of increasing energy dissipation with strain rate. Several trends between sample fracture and energy absorption mechanisms, quasi-static and low rate interlayer response, and metric results are established and discussed. / Master of Science

Yes / An idealised model of core-out in water assisted injection moulding (WAIM) is set up to isolate the effect of cooling by the water on the deposited layer thickness. Based on simulations, this is investigated for a specific case as a function of Pearson number and power law index. It is found that cooling significantly reduces the layer thickness to the extent that a change in the flow regime ahead of the bubble, from bypass to recirculating flow, is possible. For shear thinning melts with high temperature coefficient of viscosity, the simulations show very low layer thickness, which may indicate unfavourable conditions for WAIM. Although in the real moulding situation, other effects will be superimposed on those found here, the results provide new insights into the fundamentals of WAIM. Investigation of other effects characterised by Fourier and Reynolds numbers will be reported subsequently. Some early process measurement results from an experimental WAIM mould are presented. Reductions in residual wall thickness are observed as the water injection set pressure is increased and the duration of water bubble penetration through the melt is determined experimentally. The formation of voids within the residual wall is noted and observed to reduce in severity with increasing water injection pressure. The presence of such voids can be detected by the signature from an infrared temperatures sensor.

This project was sponsored by two companies interested in promoting the use of pultruded glass fibre/polyester composites in the construction of freight containers. Thus, the research was to understand and quantify the damage mechanisms caused by low velocity impact on the composite system and to produce a finite element impact model to further the understanding of these events.

A computação ubíqua explora o fato de que é possível embutir em um ambiente sistemas computacionais que transparentemente apóiem tarefas cotidianas do usuário. Sistemas desse tipo podem ser aplicados a diferentes domínios contribuindo, por exemplo, com atividades educacionais, médicas ou administrativas. A captura automática de informação em ambientes de computação ubíqua visa documentar atividades cotidianas de modo a possibilitar, posteriormente, o acesso às informações capturadas. O nível de transparência da interação do usuário com as chamadas aplicações ubíquas de captura e acesso é um desafio para projetistas, uma vez que os requisitos da aplicação devem ser conhecidos em profundidade para que a interação usuário-ambiente seja eficiente, eficaz e satisfatória. O trabalho realizado teve por objetivo especificar uma versão da aplicação para comunicação síncrona entre usuários que participem de reuniões distribuídas usando o DiGaE (Distributed Gathering Environment), desenvolver protótipos de interfaces, avaliá-los e sugerir soluções que facilitem a interação do usuário, aproximando o modelo conceitual da aplicação de seu modelo mental. Foram utilizados conceitos de Engenharia de Software para especificação e modelagem do sistema, e de Interação Humano-Computador para o desenvolvimento e a avaliação das interfaces. O projeto realizado orientou a implementação de um protótipo do ambiente DiGaE pela equipe do Projeto TIDIA-Ae, em cujo contexto este trabalho se insere. A principal contribuição do trabalho é um projeto que considera usabilidade em ambientes ubíquos para comunicação remota entre usuários, de modo a tornar a interação fácil, eficiente, eficaz e satisfatória até mesmo para usuários não especialistas em informática / Ubiquitous computing explores the possibility of instrumenting an environment with computational infrastructure that transparently supports users in their daily tasks. This kind of systems can be applied in different contexts contributing in medical, educational or administrative activities, for instance. The automatic capture of information in ubiquitous computing environments aims at documenting daily activities so that the corresponding information can be later accessed for review. Achieving a high level of transparency concerning the user interaction in such environments is a challenge to designers, since many users\' requirements must be gathered so that the user-environment interaction is efficient, effective and satisfactory. The main objective of the work reported is the specification of a version of the DiGaE (Distributed Gathering Environment) application which allows the synchronous communication among remote users in distributed meetings developing interfaces prototypes, evaluating them and suggesting solutions to facilitate users\' interaction. Concepts from Software Engineering were employed to specify and model the application, and Human-Computer Interaction concepts were employed to develop and evaluate the interfaces. The project guided the implementation of a DiGaE prototype by TIDIA-Ae Project team, in which context this work is inserted. The main contribution of this work is a project which considers usability in ubiquitous distributed gathering environments in order to make the interaction easy, efficient, effective and satisfactory, even for non-expert users

Atualmente, sabe-se que grande parte dos acidentes graves ocorridos envolvendo uma diversidade de sistemas como plataformas de petróleo, aeronaves ou plantas de processos industriais, poderiam ser evitados caso possuíssem dispositivos de controle projetados especificamente para manter a segurança durante a ocorrência de falhas no funcionamento dos mesmos. Por outro lado, observam-se complicações em realizar o controle de sistemas remotos em que é possível não haver garantia de monitoração em tempo real, como o caso de sondas espaciais ou robôs de exploração. Neste contexto, podem-se encontrar ambas as dificuldades no controle do funcionamento de um Dispositivo de Assistência Ventricular (DAV) que desempenha a função de auxiliar o bombeamento de sangue para o sistema circulatório de um paciente com insuficiência cardíaca. Este tipo de dispositivo, quando usado para terapia de destino, deve apresentar um elevado nível de segurança, pois, caso haja falha, o risco de morte é eminente. Por sua vez, o sistema deve apresentar um elevado índice de autonomia, já que as características comportamentais e fisiológicas de um paciente estão em constante mudança e afetam diretamente o modo como deve ocorrer a interação entre o DAV e o sistema cardiovascular do paciente. Sendo assim, há uma necessidade premente de aprimoramento do projeto de sistemas de controle de DAVs autônomos e seguros. A proposta do presente trabalho consiste em aplicar conceitos mecatrônicos para o projeto de um sistema de controle de DAVs e, considerando a natureza dos sinais que indicam a ocorrência de falhas, considerar a teoria de Sistemas a Eventos Discretos (SED), ferramentas de análise de risco e técnicas de diagnóstico e tratamento de falhas para a obtenção de modelos de controle considerando-se uma arquitetura modular e distribuída. Desta forma, foi desenvolvida uma arquitetura de controle supervisório para DAVs considerando características de variações de comportamento do sistema circulatório do paciente e do próprio DAV. Esta arquitetura de controle contempla o diagnóstico e tratamento de falhas desenvolvendo um método para a classificação de falhas e, de acordo com a severidade de cada uma delas é proposto um sistema de controle que atua na regeneração ou degeneração do DAV para um estado seguro, v observando, também, o cumprimento de normas médicas e técnicas de segurança. Para atingir este objetivo, propõe-se uma sistemática para o projeto do sistema de controle para DAVs considerando o aspecto multidisciplinar pertinente a este contexto. A base dessa sistemática consiste em realizar uma efetiva análise de risco do sistema utilizando a ferramenta de estudo HAZOP (Hazard and Operability Studies). A partir do conhecimento obtido sobre o comportamento do sistema em situações críticas desenvolvem-se modelos formais utilizando rede Bayesiana e rede de Petri para o diagnóstico e tratamento das possíveis falhas. O comportamento do DAV controlado pode ser analisado de duas formas: (i) a partir de ensaios in vitro utilizando técnicas de análise por simulação e ferramentas computacionais adequadas, além de testes em simuladores cardiovasculares físicos que emulam interação com o sistema circulatório humano; (ii) a partir de ensaios in vivo em animais que poderão ser utilizados para simular modelos físicos de insuficiência cardíaca e permitir uma avaliação fidedigna dos efeitos do implante do DAV. O procedimento proposto foi aplicado para um caso real de desenvolvimento de um DAV envolvendo uma equipe de pesquisadores da Escola Politécnica da USP e do Instituto Dante Pazanesse de Cardiologia. Assim, é possível obter-se um sistema de controle autônomo e seguro que atenda normas técnicas aderentes a esse assunto e os rigorosos requisitos de projeto impostos a essa classe de sistema. / Nowadays, it is kwon that the several of severe disasters compromising a great variety of systems such as oil platforms, aircrafts or industrial plants, could have been avoided if these systems had controllers designed specifically to maintain the safety levels in case of fault. On the other side, many complications are observed on performing the control of remote systems, where there is no guarantee of real time monitoring of the system, as in space probes or reconnaissance robots. In this context, both obstacles can be found on the control of ventricular assist devices (VAD), which have the role of assisting to pump the blood into the patients circulatory system, in case of irregular heartbeat or heart failure. Devices such as the VAD must possess very high safety levels, as in case of fault, the consequences are severe and might result on the dead of the patient. Nevertheless, these systems must have high degree of autonomy, as the patients physiology and behavior are constantly changing, and these changes impact directly the interactions between the VAD and the patient´s cardiovascular system. Thus, there is a pressing need to improve the design of safe and autonomous control systems for VADs. The present work proposes applying mechatronic concepts to the development of control systems for VADs, considering the nature of the fault indicating signals, as well as the Discrete Event Systems (DES) theory and through the application of tools for risk analysis, and fault diagnostic and treatment techniques aiming the development of control models based on modular and distributed architectures. Thereby, a VAD supervisory control architecture was developed, where the behavior variations of the patient´s circulatory system as well as of the VAD were taken into consideration. This control architecture features the diagnostic and treatment of faults, where methods for faults classification where developed, and according to the severity each fault is proposed a control system that performs the regeneration or degeneration of the VAD to a secure state and is according to medical standards and safety techniques. To achieve this goal is proposed a systematic for the design of the VAD control system considering the multidisciplinary context of the device. The foundation of this systematic is the performance of an effective risk analysis through the use of the toolset known vii as HAZOP (Hazard and Operability Studies). From the knowledge acquired about the system behavior during critical conditions, formal models are developed employing Bayesian Networks and Petri Nets for the diagnostic and treatment of faults. The behavior of the controlled VAD can be analyzed in two possible ways: (i) from in vitro experiments, through the use of simulation analysis tools and proper computational tools, as well as tests on real cardiovascular simulators, where the interactions between the VAD and the human circulatory system can be emulated; (ii) from in vivo experiments, animals can be used to simulate physical models of irregular heartbeat or heart failure and allow reliable valuations of the VAD implant. The proposed procedure was applied on the VAD development, which was performed by a team of researchers from the Escola Politécnica da USP and from the Instituto Dante Pazanesse de Cardiologia. Thus, is possible to achieve an autonomous and safe control system that complies with the applicable technical standards, as well as the strict project requirements for this class of system.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-12-23T14:08:14Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Capa, Cap 1 e Cap 2 ate secao 2-2-1-9.pdf: 1005078 bytes, checksum: 68579a03ea37b6d408ea44008ec9ad0f (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-12-20 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Este trabalho tem o objetivo de avaliar uma possível relação entre as propriedades mecânicas calculadas a partir dos dados de micropenetração instrumentada e o comportamento sob desgaste microabrasivo dos compósitos à base de tungstênio (W) infiltrados por latão, usados em coroas diamantadas utilizadas em sondagem mineral. As amostras dos compósitos de tungstênio foram sinterizadas com combinações de diferentes tamanhos de partículas W e adições de ligas à base de outros elementos, além de adições de abrasivos secundários (SiC). Após a preparação metalográfica, as amostras foram analisadas em um micropenetrador instrumentado com um pen etrador do tipo Vickers. As fases foram penetradas com uma carga de 30 mN, exceto o carbeto de silício, com carga de 250 mN. As curvas geradas a cada penetração permitiram calcular a microdureza e o módulo de elasticidade para cada fase. Estes resultados foram comparados com os coeficientes de desgaste microabrasivo dimensionais obtidos em um trabalho anterior, através de ensaios de microabrasão com lamas abrasivas à base de carbeto de silício, sílica e hematita, efetuados com equipamento do tipo Calowear. Foi observada uma diminuição na microdureza conforme o tamanho dos grãos de tungstênio aumenta. Para a lama abrasiva contendo SiC, uma diminuição no coeficiente de desgaste microabrasivo se seguiu à diminuição na microdureza do tungstênio. O oposto foi observado com a lama de SiO2, enquanto, para a lama de Fe2O3, nenhuma correlação clara foi obtida. Também é importante dizer que o efeito da dureza do latão infiltrado (fase aglutinante) tornou-se mais significativa nos ensaios com as pastas de SiO2 e de Fe2O3. Quando as ligas à base de outros elementos são adicionadas, para o abrasivo SiC, o aumento da plasticidade do latão aumenta o desgaste, porque as deformações plásticas são aumentadas, levando em consideração a relação Habr./Hfase muito alta. A plasticidade da fase W parece não interferir no desgaste. Ocorre o contrário para o abrasivo SiO2. Para ambos os abrasivos, o cobre adicionado aumenta a fração volumétrica de fase macia , proporcionando um desgaste ainda maior. Para o abrasivo Fe2O3, o aumento na plasticidade do latão aumenta o coeficiente de desgaste, pois leva a indentações maiores, ou seja, a maiores deformações plásticas. Dependendo do tipo do abrasivo, os mecanismos observados foram riscamento e rolamento de partículas (múltiplas indentações), além da ocorrência de ambos simultaneamente, embora dissociados / This work intends to evaluate a possible relationship between the mechanical properties calculated from instrumented microindentation data and the microabrasive wear behavior of infiltrated tungsten (W) composites used in impregnated diamond bits for rock drilling. Specimens of brass-infiltrated W composites were sintered with combinations of different W particle sizes, and additions of alloys based on other elements, as well as additions of secondary abrasives. After metallographic preparation, the specimens were analyzed in an instrumented microindenter with a Vickers indenter. All phases were indented with a load of 30 mN, except the silicon carbide, with a load of 250 mN. The indentation curves allowed the calculation of microhardness and Young s modulus for each phase. Those results were compared with dimensional microabrasive wear coefficients obtained in a previous work, by testing microabrasion with abrasive slurries based on silicon carbide, silica and hematite, performed with Calower equipment. It was observed a decrease in microhardness as the tungsten grains size increase. For the SiC abrasive slurry, a decrease in microabrasive wear coefficient followed the decrease in tungsten microhardness. The opposite was observed with the SiO2 slurry, whereas, for the Fe2O3 slurry, no clear correlation was obtained. It is also important to say that the effect of infiltrated brass (binder phase) hardness became more significant in the tests with the SiO2 and Fe2O3 slurries. When the alloys based on other elements are added, to the SiC abrasive, the increase of the brass plasticity increases its wear, because the plastic deformations are increased, taking into account the very high Habr./Hphase relation. The plasticity of the W phase seems not to interfere in wear. The opposite is true for the SiO2 abrasive. For both abrasives, the copper added increases the "soft" phase volumetrical fraction, providing an additional wear. For the Fe2O3 abrasive, the increase in the brass plasticity increases the wear coefficient, since it leads to larger indentations, i. e., to larger plastic deformations. Depending on the abrasive type, the observed mechanisms were grooving and particles rolling (multiple indentations), besides the occurrence of both simultaneously, although, dissociated