In this paper we analyze the existing methods for exploring and evaluating the characteristics of the jump mechanic in video games by comparing qualitative research done in the field of game studies. For this study we are using the jump as a centerpiece, starting with an analysis of different methodologies that break down game mechanics and assessing their functionality and possible effects on players. Primarily this focus will be on how mechanics are broken down from different perspectives and how these methodologies compare. The intent behind the review of these methodologies is to objectively simplify the process of collecting and comparing relevant research in order to familiarize the reader with the concept of game mechanics and their parts from an assortment of perspectives while also retaining knowledge on their similarities and differences. This paper comes to the conclusion that one could argue for the discovery of three thematic similarities between the methodologies.These similarities are then presented to shape an understanding of how a resonating or “Harmonic”(Swink, 2008, p.297) systems could be developed.

This thesis summarizes the equations, algorithms and design decisions necessary for dynamic simulation of flexible bodies with moving contacts. The assumed general shape function approach is also presented. The approach is expected to be computationally less expensive than FEM approaches and easier to use than other reduction techniques. Additionally, the described technique enables studies of the residual stress release during grinding of flexible bodies. The overall software system design for a flexible multi-body simulation system BEAST is presented and the specifics of the flexible modeling is specially addressed. An industrial application example is also described in the thesis. The application presents some results from a case where the developed system is used for simulation of flexible ring grinding with material removal. / <p>Report code: LiU-TEK-LIC-2002:62.</p>

No description available.

This thesis explores how interactive evolution is perceived as a game mechanic in a simulation based environment. An artifact called Genetic Olympics was created as a simulation in which interactive evolution was implemented. In the artifact, users are presented with activities that allow AI-agents, in the form of Olympians, to compete against each other. The user functions as the selection part of an evolutionary algorithm, letting the user choose the direction to evolve the Olympians by continually breeding them in different ways. Data about how users perceived interactive evolution as a game mechanic was gathered through interviews. The data from the interviews later formed a questionnaire. The answers from the questionnaire showed how the users had both positive and negative experiences when using the artifact. The users proposed how to augment the artifact to become more like a game. By adding minor goals for the user to reach, the artifact could lean more toward what a game resembles. All in all, the data shows that interactive evolution works in simulation based games.

The development of jazz during the American industrial revolution represents a broader shift in the zeitgeist of the New World. With a rich heritage of rhythmic emphasis in both art and life, African American jazz musicians were able to internalize the increasingly polyrhythmic nature of the metropolis, and groove with the potentially oppressive presence of the machine. Their brazen embrace of the temporal encouraged artists of all media, replacing the burden of permanence and exactitude with the fearlessness of an improvising jazz soloist. The jazz-inspired works of Le Corbusier and Piet Mondrian, for example, explored a synesthetic relationship between the visual and the audible has captured the imagination of the great artists, musicians, architects, and philosophers throughout the history of culture. My thesis exploration attempts to continue this tradition in the context of an increasingly accelerating speed of life, and the new, environmentally sensitive role of the machine. Just as Jazz poeticized the hectic rhythms of the industrial age, I believe that architecture should be conceived of as a synchronizing element within the contemporary urban landscape. Through my design of an adaptive reuse transit hub, my intent was to embrace the temporal in a manner that not only reflects the spirit of the age, but also creates musical architecture. / Master of Architecture

Thèse numérisée par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal.

Le travail présenté dans ce mémoire a porté sur l’auscultation d’un versant rocheux potentiellement instable, les Rochers de Valabres, soumis aux variations naturelles de température de surface. En effet, les variations thermiques sont supposées agir comme facteur préparatoire aux éboulements. Leur action est continu, lente et quasi-imperceptible mais le phénomène est peu exploré et rarement quantifié. Préalablement à l’auscultation, une phase de caractérisation du versant, basée sur des relevés topographiques par scannérisation laser, des mesures de contraintes et des essais en laboratoire, a été menée. Ces investigations ont permis d’appréhender les paramètres intrinsèques du versant et de mettre en évidence, dans la zone superficielle, un état de contraintes élevées, marqué par une forte rotation des axes principaux et influencé par la topographie et la présence d’hétérogénéités. L’auscultation des phénomènes thermomécaniques a été réalisée par un réseau de mesures de déformations et de températures en forage. Les mesures de température ont permis d'évaluer les apports de chaleur, en fonction du temps et de l’espace. Les mesures de déformations, bien qu’affectées par de nombreux artefacts instrumentaux, ont permis de quantifier le phénomène, à l’échelle quotidienne et annuelle, en terme de déformations, de contraintes équivalentes et de profondeurs d’influence. Afin d’explorer l’hypothèse de propagation de fissures sous contraintes d’origine thermique, une approche analytique, basée sur la mécanique de la rupture, a été mise en œuvre. Cette démarche a permis de révéler que les niveaux de contraintes / déformations mesurés sur le site étaient suffisants, sous certaines conditions et hypothèses, pour induire la propagation de fissures préexistantes. Par conséquent, les travaux menés dans cette thèse permettent de confirmer que les phénomènes thermomécaniques constituent un facteur préparatoire non négligeable aux éboulements et peuvent contribuer à la dégradation de la matrice rocheuse et/ou des ponts rocheux par propagation de fissures préexistantes / The present work focuses on the monitoring of a rockslope, prone to instability, named “Rochers de Valabres”, subjected to natural thermal fluctuation at the rock surface. Thermal variations are supposed to be a preparatory factor for rockfalls. Their action is continuous, slow and imperceptible. This phenomenum is not widly studied and seldom quantified. As a first step, investigations, based on topographic survey using Lidar, stress measurements and laboratory testing, have been performed. They reveals parameters of the rockslope, as well as the stress field at shallow depths, characterized by high magnitudes, high turnover of the principal orientations and affected by topography and geological heterogeneities. Thermomechanical monitoring was performed by a network composed of strain cells and thermal sensors, deployed in boreholes. Thermal data give us information about thermal transfer, as a function of time or space. Strain variation data, although affected by thermal artefacts, give quantitative information on strains, equivalent stresses and depth of influence, on daily and seasonal basis. In order to evaluate the assumption of fracture propagation on thermal loading, an analytical model, based on fracture mechanic, is suggested. Using specific conditions and assumptions, this model reveals that measured stress and strains are sufficient to lead to propagation of pre-existing discontinuities. Consequently, this study confirms that thermomechanical variations can be considered as a non negligible preparatory factor for rockfall and can contribute to mechanical degradation of the rock masse and discontinuities

Cette étude se focalise principalement sur la modélisation et l’amélioration d’un accumulateur industriel de bande. Le premier chapitre présente la modélisation non-linéaire, puis la linéarisation autour d'un point de fonctionnement, d’un accumulateur industriel comportant un chariot pneumatique ou motorisé. Cette modélisation complète prend en compte les non-linéarités des différents types d’actionneurs du chariot. Les paramètres mécaniques les plus influents sur les performances de ces accumulateurs sont mis en évidence, puis les stratégies de commandes industrielles classiques sont testées sur ces accumulateurs. Le second chapitre présente l’optimisation des performances de l’accumulateur. Des améliorations de la commande sont réalisées : prise en compte de la robustesse, optimisations multi-objectifs, nouvelles structures de commandes. Ces améliorations montrent un net gain des performances concernant la tension de bande à la sortie de l'accumulateur. De nouvelles structures d’accumulateurs incluant un danseur sont proposées, améliorant fortement les performances. Une comparaison des performances des différents accumulateurs est présentée. Le dernier chapitre présente l’étude du frottement bande textile/rouleau. Le comportement au frottement de bandes textiles glissant sur un rouleau est identifié. L'évolution du coefficient de frottement est déterminée expérimentalement pour différents paramètres et types de bandes. Suite à ces mesures, un modèle de bande défilant sur un rouleau, incluant coefficient de frottement et perte d’adhérence est proposé et montre l’influence du coefficient de frottement sur la réponse du système à une variation de vitesse de bande. / This study focuses mainly on modeling and optimization of industrial web accumulators. The chapter one presents the nonlinear model of an industrial accumulator including a pneumatic actuated or a motorized carriage. The nonlinear model is then linearized around a working point. This model takes into account nonlinearities of both carriage actuators. The most influent mechanical parameters on the accumulator performances are highlighted and then, classical industrial control strategies are tested on the modeled accumulators. The chapter two concerns the accumulator performances optimization. Firstly, controllers are improved by taking into account the robustness against parameter variations, by using multi-objective controllers optimization or by using new control strategies. All these improvements show drastic performances gain. New accumulator structures including a dancer roll are proposed and improve also the accumulator performances. A performances comparison of the entire presented accumulator is presented at the end of this chapter. The last chapter presents the study of the friction between textile fabric and roll. The friction behavior of a web sliding on a roll is identified. The friction coefficient evolution is experimentally determined for different experimental parameters and kind of webs. These measures have permitted to build a model of a web sliding on a roll. This model, including the friction coefficient and the adherence loss between web and roll highlights the response of the web/roll system against web velocity variation.

Este trabalho consiste em um estudo do comportamento de nós de pórtico de ligações viga-pilar de concreto armado submetidos a ações cíclicas. O trabalho é composto por duas etapas: uma de investigação experimental e outra de cunho teórico. A etapa experimental teve como base os ensaios realizados em cinco modelos físicos de ligações viga-pilar. Os resultados desses ensaios permitiram a observação de diversos aspectos do comportamento estrutural dos nós de pórtico frente às ações cíclicas e a avaliação da influência de algumas variáveis. Neste trabalho, as variáveis escolhidas foram a variação do carregamento aplicado e o detalhamento da armadura transversal na região do nó. Os principais efeitos das ações cíclicas sobre as cinco ligações ensaiadas foram: aumento generalizado dos deslocamentos globais, perda de resistência e de rigidez dos elementos estruturais, propagação e aumento da abertura das fissuras inicialmente formadas, tendência de uniformização das deformações dos estribos do nó ao longo dos ciclos e maior deterioração do nó de pórtico em relação aos elementos viga e pilar. Na etapa teórica, foram empregados essencialmente dois tipos de modelos: i) modelos derivados das idealizações dos modelos clássicos de biela e tirante. ii) modelos simplificados que empregam conceitos da Mecânica do Dano e da Fratura, para a avaliação dos efeitos de perda de rigidez (dano) e das deformações permanentes (plasticidade) na resposta global da ligação viga-pilar. Por fim, foram feitas comparações entre os resultados experimentais e teóricos, chegando-se a importantes conclusões sobre o comportamento mecânico do nó frente às cargas cíclicas e sobre a eficiência dos modelos teóricos em simular a resposta do nó de pórtico e da ligação como um todo. As comparações mostraram que, dentro de certos limites, os modelos teóricos fornecem resultados satisfatórios frente aos resultados experimentais / The present thesis studies the behavior of frame joints in reinforced concrete beam-column joints subjected to cyclic loads. The thesis is divided into two parts: an experimental study and a theoretical-based study. The experimental study is based on laboratory tests on five physical models of beam-column joints. The results of this experimental study permitted the observation of various aspects of the structural behavior of frame joint subjected to cyclic load and estimating the influence of certain variables the affect the behavior of such joints. In the present thesis, the variables studied are the applied load and reinforcement detailing at the joint location. The effects of cyclic loads on the tested joints were: an increase in the overall deformation, loss of strength and stiffness of structural elements, crack propagation and increase in crack width of previously formed cracks, a tendency towards a uniform strain distribution in the transverse reinforcement at the joint section and a more rapid deterioration of frame joints compared to beam/column joints. At the theoretical level, two types of models were used to study the behavior of the joint: i) a model derived from the idealization of the classical strut-tie model, and ii) a simplified damage and fracture mechanics-based model for estimating the effects of the loss of stiffness (damage) and permanent strains (plasticity) on the overall response of the beam column joint. To reach any conclusion on the mechanical behavior and the efficiency of existing theoretical models employed in the design of reinforced beam-column joints and other joints subjected to cyclic loading, a comparative study between the theoretical and experimental results was carried out. The results show that within certain limits, the theoretical models employed are in good agreement with experimental results

L'objectif est d'élaborer un nouveau procédé de fabrication de mousses métalliques par voie de fonderie en modélisant l'infiltration et la solidification d'un métal liquide dans un milieu poreux. La modélisation est faite en deux étapes.Tout d'abord, à l'échelle locale un brin de la mousse métallique est considéré comme un tube capillaire et l'infiltration et solidification d'un métal liquide dans un moule cylindrique est étudiée. Deuxièmement,le modèle macroscopique de la solidification diffusive d'un métal liquide dans un milieu poreux est obtenu par prise de moyenne volumique. Le modèle local est codée dans un outil CFD opensource et trois études paramétriques ont été faites permettant la détermination des relations de la longueur et le temps d'infiltration en fonction de paramètres de fonctionnement. La modélisation de la solidification d’un métal liquide dans un milieu poreux est simplifié en considérant que le moule est complètement saturé par un métal liquide au repos,par suite la solidification se produit par diffusion pure (pas de convection). L'équilibre thermique local (LTE) est considéré entre les phases solide et liquide du métal tandis qu'un non équilibre thermique local (LTNE) est retenue entre la phase métallique et le moule. Les problèmes de fermeture associés ainsi que le problème macroscopique ont été résolus numériquement. / The objective of this work is to elaborate a new manufacturing process of metal foams via casting by modelling the infiltration and solidification of liquid metal inside a porous medium.However, due to the complexity of this problem the study is divided into two steps. First, at local scale one strut of the metal foam is considered as a capillary tube and the infiltration and solidification of liquid metal inside a cylindrical mould is studied. Second, a macroscopic model of diffusive solidification is derived using the volume average method. The local model is coded in an open source CFD tool and three parametric studies were done where the relations between the infiltration length and time as function of the operating parameters are determined. The modelling of the solidification of liquid metal inside a porous medium is simplified by considering that the mould is fully saturated by liquid metal at rest, solidification occurs by pure diffusion. Local thermal equilibrium (LTE) is considered between the solid and liquid phases of the metal while local thermal non equilibrium (LTNE) is retained between the metallic mixture and the mould. The associated closure problems as well as the macroscopic problem were numerically solved.