La modélisation géométrique est importante autant en infographie qu'en ingénierie. Notre capacité à représenter l'information géométrique fixe les limites et la facilité avec laquelle on manipule les objets 3D. Une de ces représentations géométriques est le maillage volumique, formé de polyèdres assemblés de sorte à approcher une forme désirée. Certaines applications, tels que le placage de textures et le remaillage, ont avantage à déformer le maillage vers un domaine plus régulier pour faciliter le traitement. On dit qu'une déformation est \emph{quasi-conforme} si elle borne la distorsion. Cette thèse porte sur l’étude et le développement d'algorithmes de déformation quasi-conforme de maillages volumiques. Nous étudions ces types de déformations parce qu’elles offrent de bonnes propriétés de préservation de l’aspect local d’un solide et qu’elles ont été peu étudiées dans le contexte de l’informatique graphique, contrairement à leurs pendants 2D. Cette recherche tente de généraliser aux volumes des concepts bien maitrisés pour la déformation de surfaces. Premièrement, nous présentons une approche linéaire de la quasi-conformité. Nous développons une méthode déformant l’objet vers son domaine paramétrique par une méthode des moindres carrés linéaires. Cette méthode est simple d'implémentation et rapide d'exécution, mais n'est qu'une approximation de la quasi-conformité car elle ne borne pas la distorsion. Deuxièmement, nous remédions à ce problème par une approche non linéaire basée sur les positions des sommets. Nous développons une technique déformant le domaine paramétrique vers le solide par une méthode des moindres carrés non linéaires. La non-linéarité permet l’inclusion de contraintes garantissant l’injectivité de la déformation. De plus, la déformation du domaine paramétrique au lieu de l’objet lui-même permet l’utilisation de domaines plus généraux. Troisièmement, nous présentons une approche non linéaire basée sur les angles dièdres. Cette méthode définit la déformation du solide par les angles dièdres au lieu des positions des sommets du maillage. Ce changement de variables permet une expression naturelle des bornes de distorsion de la déformation. Nous présentons quelques applications de cette nouvelle approche dont la paramétrisation, l'interpolation, l'optimisation et la compression de maillages tétraédriques. / Geometric modeling is important for both computer graphics and engineering. Our ability to represent geometric information sets the limits and the ease with which we manipulate 3D objects. One such representation is the volume mesh, that is composed of polyhedra assembled to approximate a desired shape. Some applications, such as texturing and remeshing, benefit from deforming the mesh to a more regular domain in order to perform some operations. We say that a deformation is \emph{quasi-conformal} if its distortion is bounded. In this thesis, we propose algorithms for quasi-conformal deformations of volume meshes. We study these deformations because of their good local shape preservation properties and because they are still relatively unknown to the graphics community, as opposed to their 2D counterparts. This research attempts to generalize \gilles{some well-known surface deformation concepts to volumes}. First, we present a linear approach to quasi-conformality. We develop a method that deforms a solid to a parameterization domain using a linear least squares method. This method is fast and simple to implement, but the result is an approximation to quasi-conformality because distortion is not bounded. Second, we solve this latter limitation with a nonlinear approach based on vertex positions. We develop a technique to deform the parameterization domain to a solid shape using a nonlinear least squares method. Nonlinearity lets us include constraints that guarantee the injectivity of the deformation. Moreover, deforming the parameterization domain instead of the shape itself lets us use more general domains. Third, we present a nonlinear approach based on dihedral angles. Our method defines the deformation of the volume mesh using its dihedral angles instead of its vertex positions. This change of variables permits a natural expression of the bounds of the deformation distortion. We present some applications of this new approach that include volume parameterization, shape interpolation, mesh optimization, and mesh compression of tetrahedral meshes.

L'influence des paramétrisations chimiques et météorologiques sur les concentrations de polluants calculées avec un modèle de qualité de l'air est étudiée. L'influence des différences entre deux mécanismes chimiques de la phase gazeuse sur la formation d'ozone et d'aérosols en Europe est faible en moyenne. Pour l'ozone, les fortes différences observées localement proviennent principalement de l'incertitude associée à la cinétique des réactions d'oxydation du monoxyde d'azote (NO) d'une part et de la représentation des différents chemins d'oxydation des composés aromatiques d'autre part. Les concentrations d'aérosols sont surtout influencées par la prise en compte des précurseurs majeurs d'aérosols secondaires et le traitement explicite des régimes chimiques correspondant au niveau d'oxydes d'azote (NOx). L'influence des paramétrisations météorologiques sur les concentrations d'aérosols et leur répartition verticale est évaluée sur l'Île de France par comparaison à des données lidar. L'influence de la paramétrisation de la dynamique de la couche limite atmosphérique est importante ; cependant, c'est l'utilisation d'un modèle de canopée urbaine qui permet d'améliorer considérablement la modélisation de la répartition verticale des polluants / The influence of chemical mechanisms and meteorological parameterizations on pollutant concentrations calculated with an air quality model is studied. The influence of the differences between two gas-phase chemical mechanisms on the formation of ozone and aerosols in Europe is low on average. For ozone, the large local differences are mainly due to the uncertainty associated with the kinetics of nitrogen monoxide (NO) oxidation reactions on the one hand and the representation of different pathways for the oxidation of aromatic compounds on the other hand. The aerosol concentrations are mainly influenced by the selection of all major precursors of secondary aerosols and the explicit treatment of chemical regimes corresponding to the nitrogen oxides (NOx) levels. The influence of the meteorological parameterizations on the concentrations of aerosols and their vertical distribution is evaluated over the Paris region in France by comparison to lidar data. The influence of the parameterization of the dynamics in the atmospheric boundary layer is important ; however, it is the use of an urban canopy model that improves significantly the modeling of the pollutant vertical distribution

Les Composés Organiques Volatils biogènes (COVB) sont des molécules issues du métabolisme secondaire des végétaux, dont l'émission peut être modulée par les conditions environnementales. Parmi ces composés, l'isoprène a été très étudié du fait des flux d'émission important et de son implication dans la photochimie troposphérique. Cependant, les mécanismes d'action des facteurs environnementaux sont encore mal connus, et notamment celui de l'impact du stress hydrique. Dans le contexte de changements climatiques, ce type de stress va particulièrement impacter la région méditerranéenne.Nous avons étudié l'impact du stress hydrique sur les émissions d'isoprène de Quercus pubescens Willd. Cette espèce, très présente dans cette région, serait la seconde source d'isoprène en Europe.Deux étude ont été menées.La première, effectuée en pépinière, a consisté à appliquer un stress hydrique modéré et sévère d'avril à octobre. Une augmentation des émissions d'isoprène des arbres modérément stressés a été observée alors qu'il n'y a eu aucune modification des émissions pour les arbres très stressés.La seconde a consisté à faire un suivi saisonnier du stress hydrique au sein d'une chênaie pubescente. Un stress hydrique amplifié a été appliqué par un système d'exclusion de pluie, permettant de diminuer la quantité de pluie de 30%. Nous avons observé que le stress hydrique amplifié augmentait les facteurs d'émission d'isoprène des arbres.Cette base de données a permis le développement, par Réseau de Neurones Artificiels (RNA), d'un algorithme d'émission d'isoprène. Nous avons ainsi mis en évidence l'impact prédominant du contenu en eau du sol sur les émissions d'isoprène. / Biogenic Volatile Organic Compounds (BVOC) are plants secondary-metabolism-molecules. Their emissions are modulated by environmental conditions. Among these compounds, isoprene has been particularly studied due to its intense emission fluxes as well as its major contribution to tropospheric photochemistry. However, the impacts of environmental constraints on isoprene emission are still not yet well known. In particular, water stress impact is still a contradictory issue. In a world facing multiple climatic changes, models expect this kind of stress to hit Mediterranean area.This work focused on the impact of water stress on Quercus pubescens Willd. isoprene emissions. This species, widely spread in this area, is the second isoprene emitter in Europe.Two types of study were used.First, during an experimental carried out in a nursery, Q. pubescens saplings were grown under a moderate and severe water stress from April to October. This experimentation highlighted an increase of isoprene emissions for mid-stressed trees, while no emission changes were observed for the highly stressed trees.Secondly, an experimentation was conducted on a pubescent oak forest with trees acclimated to long lasting stress periods. We followed, during a whole season, the impact, on isoprene emissions, of a water stress created by artificially reducing 30% of the rains by means of a specific deploying roof. Isoprene emission factors were observed to increase under water stress.The database thus obtained was used in an Artificial Neural Network (ANN) to develop an appropriate isoprene emission algorithm. We underlined the predominant impact of soil water content on isoprene emissions.

An efficient application and development of renewable energy sources is one of the most important contribution to the energetic balance of the human society. Anyhow, statistical model of the renewable energy market, which would fundamentally explain relevant economical rules related to these perspective energetic resources, is not clearly known up to now. Nevertheless, the relevant statistical data concerning application of solar energy (photovoltaic and thermo-solar heating) are available for the last twenty years. Based on the economic models, statistical data concerning sales of photovoltaic models and thermo-solar collectors sales have been analysed in this work. It has been shown that the model of constant elasticity predicts an exponential increase which will slow down when a certain level of annual cumulative sales was reached. The model of constant elasticity was found to be successful to interpret past sales data. In the approach of variable elasticity model the parameter of the elasticity has been modified as a function of variables such as market volume, price and time through the statistical evaluation. It enabled to calculate initial, saturation and competitive market conditions, as well. Whereas the constant elasticity demand model describes exponential growth of sales and installations, which was characteristic for the beginning of the application of these renewable resources of energy, the variable elasticity demand model describes a more realistic situation, where cumulative sales either increase or decrease and prices vary subsequently. Simple growth model of unlimited demand based on the growing sales is not realistic and could not be feasible in the long term. The market elasticity could be understood as a real economical parameter representing percentual market increase or decrease at a given time; in the variable demand elasticity model, the constant elasticity is replaced by a function of a market volume, price and time. In this case, we can estimate model parameters for the different market conditions: growth, saturation and decrease. The function representing the capital adequacy in the generalized market model has also been deliberated. Statistical models have been used to determine cumulative sales and market prices of photovoltaic modules and thermo-solar collectors. Moreover, model parameters have been used for the calculation of the realized photovoltaic and thermo solar projects' capital adequacy on the renewable energy market. By using model parameters, renewable energy market forecast up to 2020 has been estimated. We have used generalized market model to credibly estimate future renewable energy market until 2020; as well as extend model parameterization on other resources of renewable energy (water and wind, geothermal sources, biomass) and set prices of energy produced from these renewable sources. Potential energetic savings have been estimated for households (apartments and private houses), who can be relevant consumers of energy from renewable sources. We have performed statistical findings on randomly selected files, where we have reached a real energy consumption, to prove this. This research allowed us to perform a real estimate of a renewable energy contribution to the total energy balance. We have successfully proved that linearly growing capital adequacy function, with an annual growth between 2.5% and 3.0%, is reflecting the renewable energy market sufficiently and is fully in line with an average growth of the total energy consumption. Renewable energy share on the total energy balance will grow substantially to reach a level of 15% in 2015 on the world market and a level of 8% in the Czech Republic for the same period with a perspective to reach a level of 11% in 2020 respectively. Assuming this level of renewable energy on the total production will lead to a decrease of CO2 emissions by three million of tones in 2015 and by four million of tones in 2020. Final reach of this status quo is fully predicted by our statistical model for renewable energy market.

Este trabalho discutiu a relação entre o espaçamento inter-estrias , isto é, a taxa de propagação da trinca microscópica SL (local) e SP (projetada) e a taxa de propagação macroscópica , da/dN, obtido após o ensaio de propagação de trinca por fadiga. Corpos de prova compacto C(T) foram extraídos na orientação LT do centro de uma placa laminada de liga de alumínio SAE-AMS 7475 T7351 onde posteriormente foram realizados ensaios de fadiga sob carga ou &#916K constantes, à temperatura ambiente de acordo com a Norma ASTM-E647 (1993). Para o ensaio sob carga constante foram obtidos os dados do estágio II e III da curva da/dN vs. &#916K. Para o ensaio de fadiga sob &#916K constante, quatro níveis de &#916K foram utilizados com taxas de crescimento de trinca variando entre 0,15 à 2,4 &#956m/ciclo. Adicionalmente foram realizados ensaios de tenacidade à fratura, KIC nas direções LT e TL conforme a Norma ASTM-E1820 (1999). A análise fratográfica por microscopia eletrônica de varredura foi conduzida no ensaio de fadiga a &#916K constante para determinar os espaçamentos inter-estrias. As taxas de propagação macroscópica e microscópica foram comparadas e boas correlações foram obtidas para um intervalo entre 0,1 a 1,0 &#956m/ciclo. Através da técnica proposta por Berkovitz (1995), o espectro de carregamento foi estimado através da técnica de parametrização do fator K e os resultados foram comparados ao espectro de carregamento real imposto pela máquina de ensaio. Utilizando o espaçamento inter-estrias local, SL, e para valores de &#916K menores que 23 MPam 1/2 (região de Paris), a estimativa de carregamento exibiu um erro menor que 15%. As vidas estimadas em propagação fornecidas pelas taxas microscópicas de propagação de trinca foram comparadas à vida real de propagação obtida a partir da taxa de propagação de trinca macroscópica e o erro absoluto entre ambos os valores foi menor que 15,7 %. Estes resultados sugerem que a vida em fadiga e o espectro de carga podem ser adequadamente estimados utilizando o espaçamento inter-estrias local, SL. / This work discusses the relationship between striation spacing, i.e. the microscopic crack propagation rate, SL (local) e SP (projected), as measured in post-mortem fractographic inspection of fatigue fractured surfaces, and the macroscopic crack propagation rate, da/dN, as monitored during fatigue crack growth tests. Compact tensile specimens C(T) were extracted in LT orientation from the core of a laminated plate of a SAE-AMS 7475-T7351 Al alloy and subsequently fatigue tested either at constant load or at constant &#916K, at room temperature, according to ASTM-E647. For constant amplitude loading fatigue tests, da/dN- &#916K data points were obtained for Regions II and III of crack growth curve. For constant &#916K fatigue tests, four &#916K levels were selected to give crack growth rates typically ranging from 0.15 to 2.4 &#956m/cycle. Additionally, KIC fracture toughness tests were performed in both LT and TL directions, according to ASTM E1820. SEM fractographic analysis was conducted on constant &#916K fatigue specimens, in order to determine striation spacing created during the fatigue test. Macro- and microscopic crack growth rates were compared and good correlation have been obtained for data within the range from 0,1 to 1,0 &#956m/ciclo. Using the technique proposed by Berkovitz, loading history was estimated by the K-factor parametrization and the results were compared to the true loading spectrum imposed by the testing machine. Using the local striation spacing SL and for &#916K values lower than 23 MPam 1/2 (Paris region), the estimated loading exhibits an error less than 15%. Propagation life estimated by local striation spacing (microscopic crack growth rate) was compared to the true propagation life obtained from macroscopic crack growth rate values and the absolute difference between them was less than 15,7%. These results suggest that both life and loading history can be adequately estimated using the local SL striation spacing values.

Le prototypage virtuel des circuits pneumatiques de puissance, par exemple les circuits de freinage des véhicules industriels, constitue un enjeu important en raison de la complexité des écoulements en régime transsonique et des couplages entre les échelles locales et macroscopiques. Ces problèmes sont rencontrés lors de la conception, de la synthèse des commandes et de l'analyse des performances statiques et dynamiques de ces circuits et l'analyse. La mise au point des modèles numériques de ces systèmes induit des coûts et des temps importants par rapport à d'autres systèmes. La démarche proposée dans cette thèse repose sur la construction numérique de bases de données permettant de caractériser le comportement local et macroscopique d'un composant de circuit en fonction de la variation de certains paramètres physiques ou géométriques par rapport à un point de fonctionnement de référence. Les bases de données résultent de l'extrapolation de la solution des équations de Navier Stokes moyennées (RANS) pour le point de référence considéré obtenu à l'aide d’un logiciel de paramétrisation en mécanique des fluides (Turb’Opty). La contribution de cette thèse repose pour l'essentiel dans un travail d'analyse des solutions issues de la paramétrisation dans deux contextes différents: la tuyère De Laval et un élément "coude", des composants élémentaires de circuit. Nous avons montré que ces exemples "simples" conduisent déjà à des difficultés importantes en termes de paramétrisation du problème et du calcul des dérivées des champs aérodynamiques en raison de la taille du problème. Pour pallier cette difficulté, nous avons proposé de déraffiner le maillage et nous avons alors montré que cette démarche conduit parfois à déplacer ou à atténuer certains phénomènes (chocs). La deuxième contribution de ce travail repose sur l'évaluation de la qualité des solutions extrapolées, de leur domaine de validité et la construction des liens entre grandeurs locales et macroscopiques. Nous avons enfin proposé une démarche permettant de reconstruire la caractéristique en débit d'un composant à partir de la détermination de la solution extrapolée pour un nombre limité de points de référence. / Virtual prototyping pneumatic circuits for power transmission, for example braking circuits of trucks, is still a difficulty because of the complexity of the flow behavior in transonic conditions and of the coupling between local and macroscopic scales. These problems are met during system design, control synthesis and for static and dynamic performance analysis. Tuning accurate numerical models requires important costs and time when compared to other systems. The methodology proposed in this PhD thesis relies on numerically determining a data base that characterizes the local and macroscopic behavior of a circuit component according the variation from a reference point of some physical or geometrical parameters. The data bases are obtained from the extrapolation of the Mean Navier Stokes solution (RANS) for a given reference point with the help of a parametrization software dedicated to fluid mechanics (Turb'Flow). The main contribution of this thesis relies io the analysis of the solution obtained from the parametrization in two different cases: the De Laval nozzle and un "elbow" connecting element, which are elementary component in a circuit. We have shown that these two "simple" cases lead already to important difficulties in term of problem parametrization and calculation of the derivatives of the aerodynamic fields because of the problem dimension. In order to tackle this, we proposed to reduce the spatial discretization (mesh derefining) and we showed that this approach could sometimes lead to damp or move some phenomena (shocks). The second contribution of this work relies on evaluating the quality of the extrapolated solution and their validity domain, and on building links between local and macroscopic behavior. Finally, we proposed a method that allows the mass flow rate characteristic of a component to be determined from the calculation of the extrapolated solution issued from a limited number of reference points.

Natural surfaces are usually associated with feature graphs, such as the cortical surface with anatomical atlas structure. Such a feature graph subdivides the whole surface into meaningful sub-regions. Existing brain mapping and registration methods did not integrate anatomical atlas structures. As a result, with existing brain mappings, it is difficult to visualize and compare the atlas structures. And also existing brain registration methods can not guarantee the best possible alignment of the cortical regions which can help computing more accurate shape similarity metrics for neurodegenerative disease analysis, e.g., Alzheimer’s disease (AD) classification. Also, not much attention has been paid to tackle surface parameterization and registration with graph constraints in a rigorous way which have many applications in graphics, e.g., surface and image morphing. This dissertation explores structural mappings for shape analysis of surfaces using the feature graphs as constraints. (1) First, we propose structural brain mapping which maps the brain cortical surface onto a planar convex domain using Tutte embedding of a novel atlas graph and harmonic map with atlas graph constraints to facilitate visualization and comparison between the atlas structures. (2) Next, we propose a novel brain registration technique based on an intrinsic atlas-constrained harmonic map which provides the best possible alignment of the cortical regions. (3) After that, the proposed brain registration technique has been applied to compute shape similarity metrics for AD classification. (4) Finally, we propose techniques to compute intrinsic graph-constrained parameterization and registration for general genus-0 surfaces which have been used in surface and image morphing applications.

In response to global climate change, many important earth-systems-oriented science programs have been established in the past. One such program, the Fluxnet program, studies the response of world forests and other natural ecosystems by measuring biospheric fluxes of carbon dioxide (CO2), water vapour, and energy with eddy-covariance (EC) techniques to assess the role of world ecosystems in offsetting increases in CO2 emissions and related impacts on global climate. The EC methodology has its limitations particularly when weather is inclement and during system stoppages. These limitations create non-trivial problems by creating data gaps in the monitored data stream, diminishing the integrity of the dataset and increasing uncertainty with data interpretation. This Thesis deals with the development of a parsimonious, semi-empirical approach for gap filling of net ecosystem productivity (NEP) data. The approach integrates the effects of environmental controls on diurnal NEP. The approach, because of its limited number of parameters, can be rapidly optimized when appropriate meteorological, site, and NEP target values are provided. The procedure is verified by applying it to several gap-filling case studies, including timeseries collected over balsam fir (Abies Balsamea (L.) Mill.) forests in New Brunswick (NB), Canada and several other forests along a north-south temperaturemoisture gradient from northern Europe to the Middle East. The evaluation showed that the model performed relatively well for most sites; i.e., r2 ranged from 0.68-0.83 and modelling efficiencies, from 0.89-0.97, demonstrating the possibility of applying the model to forests outside NB. Inferior model performance was associated with sites with less than complete input datasets.

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

The influence of chemical mechanisms and meteorological parameterizations on pollutant concentrations calculated with an air quality model is studied. The influence of the differences between two gas-phase chemical mechanisms on the formation of ozone and aerosols in Europe is low on average. For ozone, the large local differences are mainly due to the uncertainty associated with the kinetics of nitrogen monoxide (NO) oxidation reactions on the one hand and the representation of different pathways for the oxidation of aromatic compounds on the other hand. The aerosol concentrations are mainly influenced by the selection of all major precursors of secondary aerosols and the explicit treatment of chemical regimes corresponding to the nitrogen oxides (NOx) levels. The influence of the meteorological parameterizations on the concentrations of aerosols and their vertical distribution is evaluated over the Paris region in France by comparison to lidar data. The influence of the parameterization of the dynamics in the atmospheric boundary layer is important ; however, it is the use of an urban canopy model that improves significantly the modeling of the pollutant vertical distribution