Dans cette thèse, nous nous intéressons à la biomécanique de deux mouvements parmi les plus rapides du règne végétal. La première partie porte sur l’étude théorique du mouvement permettant la capture de proies par les pièges de l’utriculaire, des outres déformables de taille millimétrique refermées par une porte flexible. Un modèle dynamique, élaboré à partir d’ingrédients mécaniques, hydrodynamiques et élastiques, permet de relier la différence de pression entre l’intérieur et l’extérieur du piège à la position de la porte via deux équations différentielles couplées. Le modèle permet de capturer la dynamique de fonctionnement du piège et de prédire l’intégralité des comportements observés dans la nature via l’ajout d’un bruit stochastique. La seconde partie est consacrée au mouvement d’éjection des spores par les sporanges de fougères. Notre étude à la fois expérimentale et théorique permet de révéler le caractère remarquable de l’anneau, une structure spécialisée du sporange, dont la nature poroélastique lui confère un comportement comparable à celui d’une catapulte autonome. Les différentes phases du mouvement : ouverture, déclenchement par cavitation, fermeture rapide et recharge éventuelle sont observées via imagerie ultra-rapide. La courbure de l’anneau au cours du mouvement est mesurée expérimentalement puis comparée aux prédictions théoriques pour chacune des phases du mouvement. Cette étude nous permet d’identifier les différents processus physiques à l’origine du mouvement et de déterminer les paramètres caractéristiques de l’anneau : raideur, perméabilité membranaire et pression osmotique interne, ainsi que la pression négative de cavitation. / In this PhD work, we focus on the biomechanics of two motions among the fastest in plant kingdom. The first part is a theoretical study of the motion leading to a prey capture by the bladderwort’s traps, elastic millimeter-sized bladders closed by a flexible door. A dynamical model, based on mechanical, elastic and hydrodynamic ingredients, links the pressure difference between the trap and its surroundings with the door position by the means of two coupled ordinary differential equations. The model captures the dynamics of the trap and predicts all the range of behaviors found in nature by including stochastic noise in the system. The second part focuses on the fern sporangium motion allowing the spores dispersal. Our experimental and theoretical studies point out the remarkable character of the annulus, a specialized structure of the sporangium, as it behaves as an autonomous catapult due to its poroelastic nature. The different stages of the motion: opening, triggering by cavitation, fast closure and eventual reloading are observed using ultra-fast imaging. The annulus curvature is measured experimentally and then compared to the theoretical predictions for each motion phase. This study enables us to identify the physical processes governing the complete motion and to determine the characteristic parameters of the annulus: stiffness, permeability and internal osmotic pressure, and also the negative cavitation pressure.

Cette thèse se positionne au croisement de la théorie de la décision en univers incertain et de la théorie des choix d’investissements irréversibles (options réelles). Elle poursuit trois objectifs principaux :1. Tout d’abord, elle s’inscrit dans un courant de recherche dynamique, notamment en économie et en finance, qui vise à modéliser l’impact de l’ambigüité à laquelle des décideurs sont parfois confrontés lorsqu’ils contemplent des choix aux conséquences irréversibles. 2. Ensuite, elle met l’accent sur la persistance de fortes controverses théoriques portant sur les fondements axiomatiques des modèles de décision face à l’ambigüité. Aussi, nous proposons d’utiliser certaines propriétés des modèles non linéaires pour aborder sous un angle original la représentation de l’ambigüité et des préférences des individus face à celle-ci. En particulier, nous suggérons de ne pas restreindre a priori la nature des préférences individuelles face à l’ambigüité. Pour cela, nous adoptons les fondements de l’approche de Choquet, à savoir tout particulièrement l’emploi de capacités (probabilités non additives) pour pondérer les différentes alternatives ambigües. Tout en proposant ce processus stochastique ambigu, dit Choquet-Brownien, nous soulignons les conditions de l’inévitable arbitrage entre réalisme des hypothèses et souplesse d’utilisation du modèle. D’un point de vue axiomatique, une attention particulière est portée au respect de la cohérence dynamique.3. Enfin, cette thèse vise à encourager une prise en considération plus ambitieuse des sources d’incertitude dans le cadre des options réelles. Alors qu’ils sont présentés comme des outils privilégiés pour affronter le risque, les modèles d’options réelles ont certainement beaucoup à gagner à s’enrichir par la prise en compte également de l’ambigüité. En effet, alors que le risque est largement discuté dans la littérature des options réelles, l’impact de l’ambigüité est très largement ignoré. / The need to elaborate innovative methods to analyze risk and uncertainty has become increasingly obvious over the last decades, especially due the growing perception of the multiplicity of social and economical issues characterized by the weight of uncertainty (natural disasters, ecological risk, financial crises…).This thesis is at the crossroad between decision theory under uncertainty and the irreversible investment theory (real options). Consequently, the main goal of this thesis is three-fold: 1. First, it contributes to the dynamic stream of literature in economics and finance that models the impact of ambiguity that individuals may often face and/or perceive when contemplating irreversible choices.2. Next, this thesis emphasizes that even with the plethora of decision models already dealing with uncertainty, elaborating sound axiomatic foundations largely remains an open question. This leads us to recommending the use of non linear models (such as multiple-priors, Choquet expected utility, robust control, smooth ambiguity), which in turn raises many challenging theoretical and practical obstacles. We explore original ways of addressing some of these issues and suggest the construction of ambiguous stochastic processes in a Choquet expected utility framework (that are called Choquet-Brownian motions): ambiguity preferences are thereby directly embedded into the trajectory of some random variables that may drive a decision, such as the expected cash flows of an investment project or its exit value.3. Finally, this thesis also aims specifically at encouraging the enrichment of real option models. It is striking that only the impact of risk has been widely discussed by the real option theory so far, while the specific impact of ambiguity has been largely ignored. Considering that the real option theory is directly concerned with sources of flexibility, irreversibility and uncertainty in general, ambiguity represents a promising expansion.

In this study Monte Carlo solutions to the radiative transfer equations are used to model translational and rotational motion seismogram envelopes in random elastic media with deterministic background structure assuming multiple anisotropic scattering. The results of the Monte Carlo radiative transfer theory simulations are verified by comparisons with 3D full wave field finite difference simulations. The observation and modeling of the three additional components of rotational ground motions can provide independent information about seismic wave propagation in the Earth’s structure. Rotational motions around the vertical axis observed in the P-wave coda are of particular interest as they can only be excited by horizontally polarized shear waves and therefore indicate the conversion from P- to SH-energy by multiple scattering at 3D-heterogeneities. Scattering and attenuation parameters in south-east Germany beneath the Gräfenberg array and in the Vogtland region are estimated by comparisons of synthesized multi-component seismogram envelopes to seismic data from local and regional swarm earthquakes and to teleseismic events. In a first step, frequency dependent scattering and attenuation parameters from a local data set are estimated for the Vogtland region using nearby swarm earthquakes. The results from the elastic simulations are compared to outcomes from acoustic radiative transfer simulations. Both methods yield similar results and suggest that intrinsic attenuation dominates scattering attenuation. From the elastic simulations it is observable, that forward scattering is required to explain the data. However, the amount of forward scattering strength remains unresolvable. In a second step scattering and attenuation parameters beneath the Gräfenberg array are estimated using a nonlinear genetic inversion of seismogram envelopes from regional events at high frequencies (4–8 Hz). The preferred model of crustal heterogeneity consists of a random medium described by an exponential auto correlation function with a transport mean free path length of ∼ 420 km. The quality factor for elastic S-wave attenuation Q iS is around 700. In a final step simulations of teleseismic P-wave arrivals, using this estimated set of scattering and attenuation parameters, are compared to observed seismogram envelopes from deep events. Simulations of teleseismic events with the parameters found from the regional inversion show good agreement with the measured seismogram envelopes. This includes ringlaser observations of vertical rotations in the teleseismic P-wave coda that naturally result from the proposed model of wave scattering. The model also predicts, that the elastic energy recorded in the teleseismic P-coda is not equipartitioned, unlike the coda of regional events, but contains an excess of shear energy. The combined results from the three different data sets suggest that scattering generating the seismic coda mainly occurs in the crustal part of the lithosphere beneath the receivers. The observations do not require scattering of high frequency waves in the mantle, but weak scattering in the lithospheric mantle cannot be ruled out. / In dieser Studie werden Monte Carlo Lösungen für die Energietransfergleichungen genutzt, um Seismogrammeinhüllende von Translations- und Rotationsbewegungen zu modellieren. Die Ergebnisse der Monte Carlo Simulationen werden durch einen Vergleich mit 3D finiten Differenzen Simulationen verifiziert. Diese Modellierung findet in einem elastischen Zufallsmedium mit deterministischer Hintergrundstruktur unter Annahme multipler anisotroper Streuung statt. Die Beobachtung und Modellierung der drei zusätzlichen Komponenten der Rotationsbodenbewegungen kann unabhängige Informationen über die Ausbreitung seismischer Wellen im Erdkörper liefern. Rotationsbewegungen um die vertikale Achse in der P-Wellen Koda sind in diesem Zusammenhang von speziellem Interesse, da sie nur von horizontal polarisierten Scheerwellen angeregt werden können. Die gemessenen Rotationsbewegungen deuten folglich auf Konversionen von P- zu SH-Energie durch multiple Streuung an 3D-Heterogenitäten hin. Für die Bestimmung von Streu- und Dämpfungsparametern im Südosten Deutschlands (Gräfenberg Array, Vogtland) werden synthetisch erzeugte, mehrspurige Seismogrammeinhüllende mit Daten lokaler und regionaler Schwarmbeben und teleseismicher Ereignisse verglichen. In einem ersten Schritt werden frequenzabhängige Krustenparameter für die Vogtlandregion mittels eines lokalen Datensatzes von nahen Schwarmbeben bestimmt. Die Resultate mittels elastischer Energietransfertheorie werden mit Ergebnissen aus Simulationen mittels akustischer Energietransfertheorie verglichen. Beide Methoden liefern ähnliche Parameter und sagen einen größeren Einfluss der intrinsichen Dämpfung im Vergleich zur Streudämpfung voraus. Aus den elastischen Simulationen geht hervor, dass für die Beschreibung der Daten Vorwärtsstreung angenommen werden muss, die Stärke dieser lässt sich jedoch nicht auflösen. In einem zweiten Schritt werden die Streu- und Dämpfungseigenschaften der Erdkruste im Untergrund des Gräfenberg Arrays untersucht. Hierzu wird eine nicht-lineare genetische Inversion von Seismogrammeinhüllenden regionaler Ereignisse bei hohen Frequenzen (4–8 Hz) verwendet. Das bevorzugte Modell der Krustenheterogenität wird durch ein exponentielles Zufallsmedium, einer mittleren freien Transportweglänge von ca. 420 km und einem Qualitätsfaktor für S-Wellen Q iS von ca. 700 beschrieben. Ein letzter Schritt vergleicht Simulationen von teleseismischen P-Welleneinsätzen mit beobachteten Seismogrammeinüllenden von tiefen Erdbeben unter der Nutzung der Parameter aus der regionalen Inversion. Die Simulationen der teleseismischen Ereignisse mit den Parametern der regionalen Inversion zeigen eine gute Übereinstimmung mit den gemessenen Seismogrammeinhüllenden. Dieser Vergleich beinhaltet Ringlaserbeobachtungen der Rotationsbewegungen um die vertikale Achse, welche aus dem angenommenen Streumodell resultieren. Das Modell sagt voraus, dass die elastische Energie in der teleseismischen P-Wellen Koda im Gegensatz zur Koda lokaler oder regionaler Ereignisse nicht gleichverteilt ist, sondern einen Überschuss an Scheerenergie beinhaltet. Die Resultate aus den Untersuchungen der lokalen, regionalen und teleseismischen Datensätze zeigen, dass die Streuereignisse, welche die seismische Koda erklären, hauptsächlich in der Kruste unterhalb der seismischen Empfänger stattfinden. Streuung des Wellenfeldes im Mantel wird für die Erklärung der Daten nicht benötigt, schwache Streuung im lithosphärischen Mantel kann jedoch nicht ausgeschlossen werden.

<p>We study the effect of minute perturbations by using blowing jets at upstream and bio-inspired micro denticles on turbulence large-scale motions which are observed to be crucial in controlling heat transfer, noise and drag reduction. This work is divided into two phases. In first phase, we studied the effect of blowing perturbations at upstream on large-scale motions and associated co?herent vortical structures which are crucial in enhancing heat transfer by promoting mixing. The second phase is focused on impact of flow dynamics in preventing the biofouling using micro bioinspired structures and the importance of flow regime in designing the antifouling coating us?ing bioinspired structures is demonstrated, and subsequently, separation bubble dynamics and its characterization is carried out for a transonic channel imposed with pressure gradient to further expand our thesis outcomes to utilize micro bioinspired structures in aerospace applications, noise reduction, and to delay separation.</p> <p><br></p> <p>Extensive studies were focused on the importance of large-scale motions (LSM) and their con?tribution to TKE and turbulence mixing. Although there are studies focusing on the λ2 coherent vortical structures and large-scale motions separately, there are no studies addressing the control?ling using upstream perturbations on the large-scale motions and their associated λ2 vortices. In the first phase of our studies, we used the DNS data of channel flow for Reτ = 394 generated using in-house code. In these simulations, we created blowing perturbations using spanwise jets of low blowing ratio, 0.2, placed at upstream. The spatial large-scale motions are extracted using a a novel 3D adaptive Gaussian filtering technique developed based on Lee and Sung [1] for turbulent pipe flows. POD is used to extract the energetic large-scale motions and coherent vortical structures are extracted using λ2-criterion for its efficiency in educing coherent structures in cross flow jets. The results show that the upstream perturbations enhance streamwise heat flux via energetic LSM and also create a secondary peak of scalar production in the log-layer showing that the perturbations alter LSMs to enhance the heat transfer. Filtered large-scale field from Gaussian filtering technique have an integral length scale greater than 2h (where h is channel half-height) are used to obtain λ2 vortices. The resulted λ2 vortices are of ring-type and have higher signature of temperature than their counterpart. The pre-multiplied spectra shows that the upstream perturbations can excite the large-scale wave-numbers which are in the same order as the jet diameter and spacing between them. Simulations show the presence of secondary peak in the log-layer and increased turbulence production which are eminent of large-scales. Furthermore, our results suggest that jet spacing and diameter are crucial in exciting large-scale field to control turbulent flows.</p> <p><br></p> <p>Evans, Hamed, Gorumlu, et al. [2] modeled the denticles present on Mako shark skin into a diverging micro-pillars. They conducted experimental studies in a water tunnel using these on the back of airfoil exposed to an adverse pressure gradient flow. They observed that presence of these pillars reduced the re-circulation bubble (form drag) by 50%. They proposed a blowing and suction type mechanism by which the micro pillars interact with the boundary layer. However, the details of underlying interfacial mechanism is not completely understood. The unique impact of flow conditions on anti-biofouling and the corresponding mechanisms for the first time is illustrated. We employed commercially available bioinspired structures as micro-diverging pillars making it feasible to apply in real life. We demonstrated the underlying mechanism by which bio?inspired structures are responsible for anti-biofouling. To study the pressure gradient effects on the separation under transonic conditions, we performed direct numerical simulations (DNS) in a non?equilibrium flow created by a sinsuoidal contraction and also, we quantified the separation length,</p> <p>detachment, and attachment points of separation bubble imposed with various pressure gradients and their variation in the transonic and subsonic regimes. We noticed that the resultant shear at the attachement led to the enhancement of coherent structures which are extended into the outer layer under transonic flow which is quite different than the subsonic flow.</p>

<p> A method for tlie dynamic analysis· of planar coupled shear walls subjected to ground motions is developed herein. The method is capable of application to nonuniform coupled shear walls resting on flexible foundations. The possibility-of development of yield hinges at the ends of the connecting beams is included in the analysis . Also P-& Effect is incorporated in the stiffness of the structure. </p> <p> The method is based on the transfer matrix technique in combination with the continuum method. A step-by-step integration approach is used in solving the equation of motion. The response to a number of earthquake records are obtained. The effect of the rotational ductility factor of connecting beams is studied. </p> / Thesis / Master of Engineering (MEngr)

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Les étoiles naines blanches représentent la fin de l’évolution de 97% des étoiles de notre galaxie, dont notre Soleil. L’étude des propriétés globales de ces étoiles (distribution en température, distribution de masse, fonction de luminosité, etc.) requiert l’élaboration d’ensembles statistiquement complets et bien définis. Bien que plusieurs relevés d’étoiles naines blanches existent dans la littérature, la plupart de ceux-ci souffrent de biais statistiques importants pour ce genre d’analyse. L’échantillon le plus représentatif de la population d’étoiles naines blanches demeure à ce jour celui défini dans un volume complet, restreint à l’environnement immédiat du Soleil, soit à une distance de 20 pc (∼ 65 années-lumière) de celui-ci. Malheureusement, comme les naines blanches sont des étoiles intrinsèquement peu lumineuses, cet échantillon ne contient que ∼ 130 objets, compromettant ainsi toute étude statistique significative. Le but de notre étude est de recenser la population d’étoiles naines blanches dans le voisinage solaire a une distance de 40 pc, soit un volume huit fois plus grand. Nous avons ainsi entrepris de répertorier toutes les étoiles naines blanches à moins de 40 pc du Soleil à partir de SUPERBLINK, un vaste catalogue contenant le mouvement propre et les données photométriques de plus de 2 millions d’étoiles. Notre approche est basée sur la méthode des mouvements propres réduits qui permet d’isoler les étoiles naines blanches des autres populations stellaires. Les distances de toutes les candidates naines blanches sont estimées à l’aide de relations couleur-magnitude théoriques afin d’identifier les objets se situant à moins de 40 pc du Soleil, dans l’hémisphère nord. La confirmation spectroscopique du statut de naine blanche de nos ∼ 1100 candidates a ensuite requis 15 missions d’observations astronomiques sur trois grands télescopes à Kitt Peak en Arizona, ainsi qu’une soixantaine d’heures allouées sur les télescopes de 8 m des observatoires Gemini Nord et Sud. Nous avons ainsi découvert 322 nouvelles étoiles naines blanches de plusieurs types spectraux différents, dont 173 sont à moins de 40 pc, soit une augmentation de 40% du nombre de naines blanches connues à l’intérieur de ce volume. Parmi ces nouvelles naines blanches, 4 se trouvent probablement à moins de 20 pc du Soleil. De plus, nous démontrons que notre technique est très efficace pour identifier les étoiles naines blanches dans la région peuplée du plan de la Galaxie. Nous présentons ensuite une analyse spectroscopique et photométrique détaillée de notre échantillon à l’aide de modèles d’atmosphère afin de déterminer les propriétés physiques de ces étoiles, notamment la température, la gravité de surface et la composition chimique. Notre analyse statistique de ces propriétés, basée sur un échantillon presque trois fois plus grand que celui à 20 pc, révèle que nous avons identifié avec succès les étoiles les plus massives, et donc les moins lumineuses, de cette population qui sont souvent absentes de la plupart des relevés publiés. Nous avons également identifié plusieurs naines blanches très froides, et donc potentiellement très vieilles, qui nous permettent de mieux définir le côté froid de la fonction de luminosité, et éventuellement l’âge du disque de la Galaxie. Finalement, nous avons aussi découvert plusieurs objets d’intérêt astrophysique, dont deux nouvelles étoiles naines blanches variables de type ZZ Ceti, plusieurs naines blanches magnétiques, ainsi que de nombreux systèmes binaires non résolus. / White dwarf stars represent the endpoint of stellar evolution for 97% of stars in the Galaxy. Our own Sun, in particular, will lose its external gas layers in about 5 billion years, and end up as an Earth-sized white dwarf. The study of their global properties (temperature distribution, mass distribution, luminosity function, etc.) requires statistically complete samples, free from any selection bias, and thus the best strategy to adopt when surveying these low-luminosity objects is to restrict the search to a given volume such as the immediate vicinity of the Sun. However, the current census of white dwarfs in the solar neighborhood suffers from significant statistical biases, since the most representative sample of the local white dwarf population, i.e. the stars within a sphere with a radius of 20 pc from the Sun (~ 65 light-years), contains only ~ 130 objects, and is thus dominated by large uncertainties due to small-number statistics. In order to perform a statistical analysis of the local white dwarf population which is more statistically significant, we present a study aimed at obtaining a complete sample of white dwarfs in the solar neighborhood within 40 pc of the Sun, thus increasing the sampled volume by a factor of 8. To identify every white dwarf within 40 pc of the Sun, we rely on SUPERBLINK, a large catalog containing proper motions and photometric information for over 2 million stars. Our approach is based on reduced proper motion diagrams, which are efficient at separating white dwarfs from other stellar populations. The distances for all white dwarf candidates in the northern hemisphere are determined from theoretical color-magnitude relations, in order to identify the stars that lie within 40 pc of the Sun. The spectral confirmation of the resulting ~ 1100 candidates required 15 observing runs with 3 large telescopes at Kitt Peak, Arizona, as well as ~ 60 hours of allocated time on the 8-m telescopes of Gemini North and South Observatories. From these spectroscopic observations, we identified 322 new white dwarf stars, among which 173 lie within 40 pc the Sun, thus increasing the current census of white dwarfs in this volume of space by 40%. Among the new white dwarf identifications, 4 could even belong to the 20 pc sample. We also show that our method is efficient at recovering white dwarfs in the densely populated area of the Galactic plane. We then present a spectroscopic and photometric analysis of our sample with state-of-the-art model atmospheres in order to determine their physical properties, in particular the effective temperature, surface gravity, and chemical composition of each star. Our statistical analysis of these properties --- based on a sample almost three times larger than the 20 pc sample --- reveals that we are successfully uncovering the most massive, and thus less luminous stars of this population, which are often missing in most surveys reported in the literature. We also identify a significant number of very cool, and thus potentially old white dwarfs, which are useful to sample the cool end of the luminosity function used to constrain the age of the Galactic disk. Finally, we report the discovery of several objects of astrophysical interest, including two new ZZ Ceti variable stars, several magnetic white dwarfs, and a few unresolved double degenerate binaries.

OPTIMUS MOTUS (R) ist ein grafischer Editor, um komplexe Bewegungsabläufe zu modellieren, zu optimieren, zu testen und schließlich als Funktionsbausteine für die SPS-Welt zu exportieren. So können SPS-Bewegungsprogramme erheblich schneller entwickelt und geändert werden als bei manueller Programmentwicklung. Die aus der Kurventechnik bekannte Bewegungsqualität kommt damit auch bei Servoantrieben zum Tragen. Das Debugging entfällt, weil die Quelltexte maschinell erzeugt werden.