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  • About
  • The Global ETD Search service is a free service for researchers to find electronic theses and dissertations. This service is provided by the Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations.
    Our metadata is collected from universities around the world. If you manage a university/consortium/country archive and want to be added, details can be found on the NDLTD website.
241

Modélisation numérique du chauffage par induction de pièces à géométrie complexe

Klonk, Steffen 16 December 2013 (has links) (PDF)
Le chauffage par induction électromagnétique est un procédé efficace permettant de chauffer directement une zone d'épaisseur contrôlée sous la surface de pièces métalliques en vue de les tremper. Cette thèse présente un modèle mathématique couplé électromagnétique/thermique et des approches numériques pour modéliser le procédé. Le modèle électromagnétique est basé sur une formulation en potentiel vecteur magnétique. Les courants de source sont imposés à l'aide d'une formulation en potentiel scalaire électrique permettant de modéliser des inducteurs de forme géométrique arbitraire. Le problème du transfert de chaleur est modélisé à l'aide de l'équation classique de diffusion de la chaleur. Le modèle électromagnétique est entièrement transitoire, afin de permettre l'introduction des effets non linéaires. La discrétisation spatiale est basée sur une approche éléments d'arêtes en utilisant un domaine global air/pièce/inducteur. Le système linéaire d'équations issu de la formulation implicite est creux et défini semi-positif ; il possède un noyau de taille importante. Il est démontré qu'un préconditionneur basé sur une méthode multigrille algébrique construit conjointement avec un solveur du type Krylov réduit substantiellement le temps de calcul du problème électromagnétique par rapport aux méthodes classiques de solution et peut être très efficace pour le calcul parallèle. Des exemples d'application pour le traitement thermique d'un pignon et pour un vilebrequin automobile sont présentés. Le traitement thermique des surfaces des pièces aux géométries complexes nécessite l'introduction d'un mouvement relatif de la pièce et de l'inducteur pour assurer un traitement homogène de la surface. Une nouvelle méthode est proposée, basée sur une représentation discrète d'une fonction level set du mouvement de l'inducteur qui peut être utilisée pour générer des maillages éléments finis conformes dans le cadre d'une configuration lagrangienne.
242

Modélisation et simulation de l'effet Leidenfrost dans les micro-gouttes

Denis, Roland 26 November 2012 (has links) (PDF)
L'effet Leidenfrost répresente un cas particulier de caléfaction : lorsqu'une goutte de liquide est déposée sur une surface dont la température est très supérieure à la température d'ébullition du liquide, ce dernier s'évapore avant de toucher la surface et la vapeur ainsi créée forme un coussin sous la goutte qui la maintient en sustentation et l'isole de la plaque chauffante. Ce travail de thèse concerne la modélisation et la simulation de ce phénomène complexe. Dans une première partie, nous étudions un modèle avec interface raide basée sur les équations de Navier-Stokes enrichies avec des termes interfaciaux prenant en compte le changement de phase et la tension de surface. La simulation d'une couche uniforme de liquide sur un film de vapeur nous ramène à un cas unidimensionnel pour lequel on utilise la méthode ALE (Arbitrary Lagrangian Eulerian) afin de gérer la hauteur variable de chaque phase. La discrétisation du modèle est validée sur un cas test. Dans une seconde partie, on utilise la méthode de capture d'interface Level-Set dans laquelle la frontière liquide/gaz est réprésentée par la ligne de niveau zéro d'une fonction. Cette interface est artificiellement épaissie et les quantités thermodynamiques y sont régularisées. La tension de surface et le changement de phase sont alors introduits sous forme de termes volumiques dans nos équations. L'hypothèse d'incompressibilité de chaque phase pure nous amène alors à un fluide généralisé dont la compressibilité se manifeste uniquement dans la zone interfaciale, là où se produit le changement de phase. La troisième partie est consacrée à la discrétisation de ce modèle pour l'étude tridimensionnelle d'une goutte d'eau, immobile et symétrique par rotation, se ramenant ainsi à un problème bi-dimensionnel axisymétrique. La méthode Level-Set nécessite des choix numériques particuliers qui sont alors explicités : schéma d'advection peu diffusif, redistanciation par résolution d'une équation de Hamilton-Jacobi et correction globale du volume de la goutte, prenant en compte le changement de phase. Un algorithme de projection de type Chorin est également utilisé afin de satisfaire la contrainte sur la compressibilité de notre fluide. On présentera également un nouveau schéma aux différences finies à stencil compact pour l'approximation du gradient. La dernière partie présente et compare nos résultats numériques avec plusieurs courbes théoriques, décrivant chacune l'évolution de certains paramètres de la goutte de liquide : son volume, son rayon et la hauteur de la couche de vapeur.
243

Automatic soft plaque detection from CTA

Arumuganainar, Ponnappan 25 August 2008 (has links)
This thesis explores two possible ways of detecting soft plaque present in the coronary arteries, using CTA imagery. The coronary arteries are vessels that supply oxidized blood to the cardiac muscle and are thus important for the proper functioning of heart. Cholesterol or reactive oxygen species from cigarette smoke and other toxins may get adhered to the walls of coronary arteries and trigger chronic inflammation that leads to formation of the soft plaque. When the soft plaque grows bigger in volume, it occludes the blood flow to the cardiac muscle and finally results in ischemic heart attack. Moreover, smaller plaque can easily rupture due to the blood flow in arteries and can result in complications such as stroke. Hence there is a need to detect the soft plaque using non-invasive or minimally invasive techniques. In CTA imagery, the cardiac muscle appears as a dark gray color, while the blood appears as dull white color and the the calcified plaque appears as bright white. The soft plaque has an intensity which falls between the intensity level of the blood and cardiac muscle, making it difficult to directly segment the soft plaque using standard segmentation methods. Soft plaque in its advanced stages forms a concavity in the blood lumen. A watershed based segmentation method was used to detect the presence of this concavity which in turn identifies the location of the soft plaque. For segmenting the soft plaque at its earlier stages, a novel segmentation technique was used. In this technique the surface is evolved based on a region-based energy calculated in the local neighborhood around each point on the evolving surface. This method seems to be superior to the watershed based segmentation method in detecting smaller plaque deposits.
244

Análise isogeométrica aplicada a problemas de interação fluido-estrtura e superfície livre

Tonin, Mateus Guimarães January 2017 (has links)
O presente trabalho tem por objetivo desenvolver uma formulação numérica baseada em Análise Isogeométrica para o estudo de problemas de interação fluido-estrutura (IFE) em aplicações envolvendo corpos rígidos submersos, onde escoamentos incompressíveis de fluidos Newtonianos com superfície livre são considerados. Propõe-se o emprego da Análise Isogeométrica por permitir a unificação entre os procedimentos de pré-processamento e análise, melhorando assim as condições de continuidade das funções de base empregadas tanto na discretização espacial do problema como na aproximação das variáveis do sistema de equações. O sistema de equações fundamentais do escoamento é formado pelas equações de Navier-Stokes e pela equação da conservação de massa, descrita segundo a hipótese de pseudo-compressibilidade, em uma formulação cinemática ALE (Arbitrary Lagrangean- Eulerian). A consideração da superfície livre no escoamento se dá tratando o fluido como um meio bifásico, através do método Level Set. O corpo rígido apresenta não linearidade na rotação e restrições representadas por vínculos elásticos e amortecedores viscosos, sendo a equação de equilíbrio dinâmico resolvida através do método de Newmark. O esquema de acoplamento sólido-fluido adotado é o particionado convencional, que impõe condições de compatibilidade cinemáticas e de equilíbrio sobre a interface sólido-fluido, analisando ambos os meios de maneira sequencial. A discretização das equações governantes é realizada através do esquema explícito de dois passos de Taylor-Galerkin, aplicado no contexto da Análise Isogeométrica. Por fim, são analisados alguns problemas da Dinâmica de Fluidos Computacional, de onde se concluiu que os resultados obtidos são bastante consistentes com os fenômenos envolvidos, com as ferramentas exclusivas da Análise Isogeométrica, como o refinamento k, melhorando a convergência dos resultados. Para escoamentos bifásicos, verificou-se que o método Level Set obteve resultados bastante promissores apresentando, entretanto, uma dissipação numérica excessiva. Propõe-se, para estudos futuros, a elaboração de esquemas numéricos que conservem melhor o volume da fase líquida do escoamento. / The present work aims to development of a numerical formulation based on Isogeometric Analysis for the study of Fluid-Structure Interaction problems in applications involving rigid bodies submerged, considering incompressible Newtonian flows with free surface. The use of the Isogeometric Analysis allows unification between the preprocessing and analysis steps, improving then the continuity of the base functions employed, both in the spatial discretization and approximation of the variables in the system of equations. The fundamental flow equations are formed by the Navier-Stokes and the mass conservation, described by de pseudo-compressibility hypothesis, in an ALE (Arbitrary Lagrangean-Eulerian) kinematic formulation. The free surface consideration of the flow is handled treating the fluid like a two- phase medium, using the Level Set method. The rigid body considers nonlinearity in rotation, and restrictions represented by elastic springs and viscous dampers, with the dynamic equilibrium equation being resolved using the Newmark’s method. The solid-fluid coupling scheme is the conventional partitioned, which imposes kinematics and equilibrium compatibility conditions on the solid-fluid interface, analyzing both mediums in a sequential manner. The governing equations are discretized using the explicit two step Taylor-Galerkin method, applied in an Isogeometric Analisys context. Finally, some Computational Fluid Dinamics problems are analysed, from which it was concluded that the results obtained are quite consistent with phenomena involved, with the unique tools of Isogeometric Analysis, such as k-refinement, improving the convergence of the results. For biphasic flows, it was verified that the Level Set method obtained very promising results, presenting, however, an excessive numerical dissipation. For future studies, it is proposed the elaboration of numerical schemes that better preserve the volume of the liquid phase of the flow.
245

Análise isogeométrica aplicada a problemas de interação fluido-estrtura e superfície livre

Tonin, Mateus Guimarães January 2017 (has links)
O presente trabalho tem por objetivo desenvolver uma formulação numérica baseada em Análise Isogeométrica para o estudo de problemas de interação fluido-estrutura (IFE) em aplicações envolvendo corpos rígidos submersos, onde escoamentos incompressíveis de fluidos Newtonianos com superfície livre são considerados. Propõe-se o emprego da Análise Isogeométrica por permitir a unificação entre os procedimentos de pré-processamento e análise, melhorando assim as condições de continuidade das funções de base empregadas tanto na discretização espacial do problema como na aproximação das variáveis do sistema de equações. O sistema de equações fundamentais do escoamento é formado pelas equações de Navier-Stokes e pela equação da conservação de massa, descrita segundo a hipótese de pseudo-compressibilidade, em uma formulação cinemática ALE (Arbitrary Lagrangean- Eulerian). A consideração da superfície livre no escoamento se dá tratando o fluido como um meio bifásico, através do método Level Set. O corpo rígido apresenta não linearidade na rotação e restrições representadas por vínculos elásticos e amortecedores viscosos, sendo a equação de equilíbrio dinâmico resolvida através do método de Newmark. O esquema de acoplamento sólido-fluido adotado é o particionado convencional, que impõe condições de compatibilidade cinemáticas e de equilíbrio sobre a interface sólido-fluido, analisando ambos os meios de maneira sequencial. A discretização das equações governantes é realizada através do esquema explícito de dois passos de Taylor-Galerkin, aplicado no contexto da Análise Isogeométrica. Por fim, são analisados alguns problemas da Dinâmica de Fluidos Computacional, de onde se concluiu que os resultados obtidos são bastante consistentes com os fenômenos envolvidos, com as ferramentas exclusivas da Análise Isogeométrica, como o refinamento k, melhorando a convergência dos resultados. Para escoamentos bifásicos, verificou-se que o método Level Set obteve resultados bastante promissores apresentando, entretanto, uma dissipação numérica excessiva. Propõe-se, para estudos futuros, a elaboração de esquemas numéricos que conservem melhor o volume da fase líquida do escoamento. / The present work aims to development of a numerical formulation based on Isogeometric Analysis for the study of Fluid-Structure Interaction problems in applications involving rigid bodies submerged, considering incompressible Newtonian flows with free surface. The use of the Isogeometric Analysis allows unification between the preprocessing and analysis steps, improving then the continuity of the base functions employed, both in the spatial discretization and approximation of the variables in the system of equations. The fundamental flow equations are formed by the Navier-Stokes and the mass conservation, described by de pseudo-compressibility hypothesis, in an ALE (Arbitrary Lagrangean-Eulerian) kinematic formulation. The free surface consideration of the flow is handled treating the fluid like a two- phase medium, using the Level Set method. The rigid body considers nonlinearity in rotation, and restrictions represented by elastic springs and viscous dampers, with the dynamic equilibrium equation being resolved using the Newmark’s method. The solid-fluid coupling scheme is the conventional partitioned, which imposes kinematics and equilibrium compatibility conditions on the solid-fluid interface, analyzing both mediums in a sequential manner. The governing equations are discretized using the explicit two step Taylor-Galerkin method, applied in an Isogeometric Analisys context. Finally, some Computational Fluid Dinamics problems are analysed, from which it was concluded that the results obtained are quite consistent with phenomena involved, with the unique tools of Isogeometric Analysis, such as k-refinement, improving the convergence of the results. For biphasic flows, it was verified that the Level Set method obtained very promising results, presenting, however, an excessive numerical dissipation. For future studies, it is proposed the elaboration of numerical schemes that better preserve the volume of the liquid phase of the flow.
246

Segmentation Methods for Medical Image Analysis : Blood vessels, multi-scale filtering and level set methods

Läthén, Gunnar January 2010 (has links)
Image segmentation is the problem of partitioning an image into meaningful parts, often consisting of an object and background. As an important part of many imaging applications, e.g. face recognition, tracking of moving cars and people etc, it is of general interest to design robust and fast segmentation algorithms. However, it is well accepted that there is no general method for solving all segmentation problems. Instead, the algorithms have to be highly adapted to the application in order to achieve good performance. In this thesis, we will study segmentation methods for blood vessels in medical images. The need for accurate segmentation tools in medical applications is driven by the increased capacity of the imaging devices. Common modalities such as CT and MRI generate images which simply cannot be examined manually, due to high resolutions and a large number of image slices. Furthermore, it is very difficult to visualize complex structures in three-dimensional image volumes without cutting away large portions of, perhaps important, data. Tools, such as segmentation, can aid the medical staff in browsing through such large images by highlighting objects of particular importance. In addition, segmentation in particular can output models of organs, tumors, and other structures for further analysis, quantification or simulation. We have divided the segmentation of blood vessels into two parts. First, we model the vessels as a collection of lines and edges (linear structures) and use filtering techniques to detect such structures in an image. Second, the output from this filtering is used as input for segmentation tools. Our contributions mainly lie in the design of a multi-scale filtering and integration scheme for de- tecting vessels of varying widths and the modification of optimization schemes for finding better segmentations than traditional methods do. We validate our ideas on synthetical images mimicking typical blood vessel structures, and show proof-of-concept results on real medical images.
247

A study of liquid bridge dynamics: an application to micro-assembly / Une étude de la dynamique du pont liquide: une application au micro-assemblage

Valsamis, Jean-Baptiste 31 May 2010 (has links)
Micro-assembly processes suffer from some breaches due to the continuing trend towards an increase in the production capabilities as well as in the size reduction of the components manipulated. Usual manipulating schemes have reached their limit and capillary forces constitute a valuable alternative strategy.<p><p>The goal of this work is to describe the dynamics of liquid bridges in the application of micro-assembly processes. The description is obtained using the Kelvin-Voigt model, with a spring, a damper, and a mass connected in parallel, supported by numerical simulations, analytical approximations and experiments.<p><p>The works is divided into three parts. First we present important aspects of microfluidics, as well as the constitutive equations and an overview of numerical approaches used to describe fluid flow problems with moving interfaces.<p><p>The second part is devoted to the capillary rise case, intended to validate and to compare the numerical approaches to analytical laws and experimental results. The implementation of the slipping and the dynamic contact angles is discussed.<p><p>The last part focuses on the dynamics of the liquid bridge. The liquid bridge is confined between two circular and parallel plates and presents an axial symmetry. The description reveals that the stiffness depends on the surface tension and on the shape of the air/liquid interface, the damping coefficient depends on the viscosity and the volume of liquid and the equivalent mass depends on the density and the volume.<p> / Doctorat en Sciences de l'ingénieur / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished
248

Optimisation d'antennes et de réseaux d'antennes planaires par gradient de forme et ensembles de niveaux (Level Sets) / Planar antenna and antenna array optimization by shape gradient and Level Set method

Zhao, Zhidong 23 November 2015 (has links)
L'objectif de cette thèse est de trouver la forme optimale d'une antenne planaire ou d'un réseau d'antennes planaires à partir de contraintes imposées (diagramme de rayonnement, gain ou directivité) ou de reconstruire la forme à partir de mesures expérimentales. L'algorithme d'optimisation développé est basé sur une méthode de type gradient et la reconstruction des contours par une méthode d'ensembles de niveaux (Level Sets) ou "contours actifs". Le problème direct est résolu en utilisant une formulation intégrale du problème électromagnétique et une méthode d'éléments finis pour la discrétisation. Le gradient de forme est calculé en utilisant deux méthodes différentes. Tout d'abord, une méthode par différences finies basée sur la dérivée à un nœud du maillage, pour une modification infinitésimale des éléments triangulaires du contour, suivant la direction de la normale extérieure. La deuxième méthode est basée sur le gradient topologique pour le calcul de la déformation des contours. Une méthode d'ensembles de niveaux avec bande étroite a été développée pour faire évoluer le contour des antennes utilisant la vitesse de déformation calculée à partir du gradient de forme. Différentes configurations d'antennes et réseaux d'antennes planaires ont été utilisées pour étudier les performances de l'algorithme d'optimisation. Des techniques de type saut de fréquence et multifréquence ont été utilisées pour optimiser la forme dans une bande de fréquence. L'optimisation de forme pour la miniaturisation d'antennes planaires concerne de nombreuses applications, en particulier, pour les réseaux réflecteurs / The objective of this thesis work is to find the optimal shape of planar antenna elements and arrays from imposed constraints (e.g. desired or imposed radiation patterns, gain or directivity) or to reconstruct the shape from experimental measurements. The optimization algorithm is based on the gradient-type method and an active contour reconstruction by means of the Level Set method. The forward problem is solved using an integral formulation of the EM problem with finite element discretization. The shape gradient is computed using two different methods: one is finite differential method based on nodal point mesh derivation with an infinitesimal modification of the triangular elements on the contour along the outward normal direction, another the topological shape gradient, which is computed based on a topological deformation on a contour. A narrow band level set method has been developed to evolve the contour of antennas and arrays using the deformation velocity computed from the shape gradient. Different configurations of antennas and antenna arrays are studied for investigating the performance of the optimization algorithm. Frequency hopping and multi-frequency techniques have been used for optimizing the shape within a frequency band. Shape optimization for planar antenna miniaturization has a large number of applications, particularly, for reflectarrays
249

Contribution à la théorie des EDP non linéaires avec applications à la méthode des surfaces de niveau, aux fluides non newtoniens et à l'équation de Boltzmann / A contribution to non-linear PDEs with applications to the level set method, non-Newtonian fluid flows and the Boltzmann equation

Ntovoris, Eleftherios 12 September 2016 (has links)
Cette thèse comporte trois chapitres indépendants, consacrés à l’étude mathématique de trois problèmes physiques distincts, ayant pour modèles trois équations aux dérivées partielles différentes. Ces équations relèvent plus précisément de la méthode des surfaces de niveau, de la théorie de l’écoulement incompressible des matériaux non newtoniens et de la théorie cinétique des gaz raréfiés. Le premier chapitre de la thèse porte sur la dynamique des frontières en mouvement et contient une justification mathématique de la procédure numérique dite de ré-initialisation, dont les applications sont nombreuses dans le contexte de la célèbre méthode des surfaces de niveau. Nous appliquons ces résultats pour une classe d’équations issues de la méthode des surfaces de niveau de premier ordre. Nous écrivons la procédure de ré-initialisation comme un algorithme de décomposition et nous étudions la convergence de l’algorithme en utilisant des techniques d’homogénéisation dans la variable temporelle. Grâce à cette analyse rigoureuse nous introduisons également une nouvelle méthode pour l’approximation de la fonction de distance dans le contexte de la méthode des surfaces de niveau. Dans le cas où l’on cherche seulement une fonction de l’ensemble de niveau avec un gradient minoré proche du niveau zéro, nous proposons une approximation plus simple. Dans le cas général, où le niveau zéro pourrait présenter des changements de topologie, nous introduisons une nouvelle notion de limites relâchées. Dans le deuxième chapitre de la thèse, nous étudions un problème de frontière libre résultant de l’étude de l’écoulement incompressible d’un matériau non-newtonien, avec limite d’élasticité de type Drucker-Prager, sur un plan incliné et sous l’effet de la pesanteur. Nous obtenons une équation sous-différentielle, que nous formulons comme un problème variationnel avec un terme à croissance linéaire de type gradient, et nous étudions le problème dans un domaine non borné. Nous montrons que les équations sont bien posées et satisfont certaines propriétés de régularité. Nous sommes alors capables de relier les paramètres physiques avec le problème abstrait et de prouver des propriétés quantitatives de la solution. En particulier, nous montrons que la solution a un support compact, la limite de ce que nous appelons la frontière libre. Nous construisons également des solutions explicites d’une équation différentielle ordinaire qui peut estimer la frontière libre. Enfin, le troisième et dernier chapitre de la thèse est dédié aux solutions de l’équation de Boltzmann homogène avec molécules maxwelliennes et énergie infinie. Nous obtenons de nouveaux résultats d’existence de solutions éternelles pour cette équation dans un espace de mesures de probabilité d’énergie infinie (i.e. de moment d’ordre deux infini). Elles permettent de décrire le comportement asymptotique en temps d’autres solutions d’énergie infinie, mais elles apparaissent aussi comme des états asymptotiques intermédiaires dans l’étude des solutions d’énergie finie, mais arbitrairement grande. Les méthodes issues de l’analyse harmonique sont utilisées pour étudier l’équation de Boltzmann, où la variable de vitesse est exprimée en Fourier. Enfin, un changement d’échelle logarithmique en la variable temporelle permet de déterminer le bon comportement asymptotique à l’infini des solutions / This thesis consists of three different and independent chapters, concerning the mathematical study of three distinctive physical problems, which are modelled by three non- linear partial differential equations. These equations concern the level set method, the theory of incompressible flow of non-Newtonian materials and the kinetic theory of rare- fied gases. The first chapter of the thesis concerns the dynamics of moving interfaces and contains a rigorous justification of a numerical procedure called re-initialization, for which there are several applications in the context of the level set method. We apply these results for first order level set equations. We write the re-initialization procedure as a splitting algorithm and study the convergence of the algorithm using homogenization techniques in the time variable. As a result of the rigorous analysis, we are also able to introduce a new method for the approximation of the distance function in the context of the level set method. In the case where one only looks for a level set function with gradient bounded from below near the zero level, we propose a simpler approximation. In the general case where the zero level might present changes of topology we introduce a new notion of relaxed limits. In the second chapter of the thesis, we study a free boundary problem arising in the study of the flow of an incompressible non-Newtonian material with Drucker-Prager plasticity on an inclined plane. We derive a subdifferential equation, which we reformulate as a variational problem containing a term with linear growth in the gradient variable, and we study the problem in an unbounded domain. We show that the equations are well posed and satisfy some regularity properties. We are then able to connect the physical parameters with the abstract problem and prove some quantitative properties of the solution. In particular, we show that the solution has compact support and the support is the free boundary. We also construct explicit solutions of an ordinary differential equation, which we use to estimate the free boundary. The last chapter of the thesis is dedicated to the study of infinite energy solutions of the homogeneous Boltzmann equation with Maxwellian molecules. We obtain new results concerning the existence of eternal solutions in the space of probability measure with infinite energy (i.e. the second order moment is infinite). These solutions describe the asymptotic behaviour of other infinite energy solutions but could also be useful in the study of intermediate asymptotic states of solutions with finite but arbitrarily large energy. We use harmonic analysis tools to study the equation, where the velocity variable is expressed in the Fourier space. Finally, a logarithmic scaling of the time variable allows to determine the correct asymptotic scaling of the solutions
250

Visual Tracking of Deformation and Classification of Object Elasticity with Robotic Hand Probing

Hui, Fei January 2017 (has links)
Performing tasks with a robotic hand often requires a complete knowledge of the manipulated object, including its properties (shape, rigidity, surface texture) and its location in the environment, in order to ensure safe and efficient manipulation. While well-established procedures exist for the manipulation of rigid objects, as well as several approaches for the manipulation of linear or planar deformable objects such as ropes or fabric, research addressing the characterization of deformable objects occupying a volume remains relatively limited. The fundamental objectives of this research are to track the deformation of non-rigid objects under robotic hand manipulation using RGB-D data, and to automatically classify deformable objects as either rigid, elastic, plastic, or elasto-plastic, based on the material they are made of, and to support recognition of the category of such objects through a robotic probing process in order to enhance manipulation capabilities. The goal is not to attempt to formally model the material of the object, but rather employ a data-driven approach to make decisions based on the observed properties of the object, capture implicitly its deformation behavior, and support adaptive control of a robotic hand for other research in the future. The proposed approach advantageously combines color image and point cloud processing techniques, and proposes a novel combination of the fast level set method with a log-polar mapping of the visual data to robustly detect and track the contour of a deformable object in a RGB-D data stream. Dynamic time warping is employed to characterize the object properties independently from the varying length of the detected contour as the object deforms. The research results demonstrate that a recognition rate over all categories of material of up to 98.3% is achieved based on the detected contour. When integrated in the control loop of a robotic hand, it can contribute to ensure stable grasp, and safe manipulation capability that will preserve the physical integrity of the object.

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