Les fauteuils roulants électriques (FRE) ont permis à nombre de personnes handicapés moteurs de retrouver une mobilité satisfaisante, ce qui a amélioré leur qualité de vie, un vaste champ d’activités leur étant devenu accessible. Lors de la prescription d’un FRE ou d’une phase d’apprentissage à la conduite il est cependant nécessaire d’évaluer les capacités de ces personnes à piloter un fauteuil. Dans ce contexte, notre objectif consiste à déterminer des paramètres pertinents permettant de décrire la qualité de la conduite d’un FRE pour des personnes ayant des déficiences motrices sévères. Tout d’abord, nous avons modélisé le système pilote-FRE par le modèle OPCM (Optimal Preview Control Model) de Sharp. Ce modèle est basé sur la distance anticipée (Dp) par l’utilisateur durant sa conduite du FRE. Cette distance a été estimée grâce à un système de suivi du regard combiné avec le simulateur 3D ViEW du laboratoire LCOMS. Un panel de 15 sujets valides a été recruté pour faire des tests de conduite sur simulateur et valider la modélisation OPCM. La distance Dp a permis de décrire le comportement du pilote. Ensuite, une analyse de la distance anticipée Dp en fonction de différentes zones du parcours (slalom serré, virage, slalom large), a montré que ce paramètre peut être utilisé pour différencier les différents comportements de conduite liées aux différentes situations du parcours. Ensuite nous avons comparé cette distance anticipée entre deux groupes, familiarisés et novices vis-à-vis de la conduite en FRE. L’analyse a montré que le groupe familiarisé présente une distance Dp plus importante que le groupe novice. Enfin, une dernière expérience a eu lieu au Centre de Réadaptation de Flavigny sur Moselle (54, France). Nous avons estimé la distance anticipée (Dp) pour des sujets à déficiences motrices sévères, afin de valider le paramètre Dp comme indicateur de performance. Une étude de cas a été établie portant sur 5 enfants en situation de handicap, en comparant leurs résultats à ceux obtenus précédemment sur un panel de personnes valides / The Powered wheelchairs (PW) allowed many people with motor disabilities to find a suitable mobility, which improved their quality of life. Hence, a vast field of activities has become accessible for them. When prescribing a PW or in a learning phase, however, it is necessary to evaluate the ability of these people to drive a wheelchair. In this context, our goal is to determine relevant parameters to describe the quality of driving on PW for people with disabilities. First, we modeled the pilot-PW system using the OPCM (Optimal Preview Control Model) model proposed by Sharp. This model is based on the preview distance (Dp) of the user during his driving. This distance has been estimated thanks to an eye-tracking system combined with the ViEW 3D simulator of the LCOMS laboratory. A panel of 15 healthy subjects was recruited to drive the PW on a 3D simulator and to validate the OPCM modeling. This distance Dp allows to describe the behavior of the pilot. If this distance is important, it guarantees the tracking trajectory of the OPCM model. Otherwise, the OPCM model diverges. This shows that if the user looks a long part of his future path, he will better anticipate the future control applied to the PW (change of direction, braking, etc.), which allows him to follow his path. In this situation the user has a tracking behavior. In the otherwise, the user’s behavior is rather compensatory. Then, an analysis of preview distance Dp with respect to the different zones of the path (tight slalom, turn, wide slalom), showed that the parameter Dp can be used to differentiate the different driving behaviors related to the different situations of the path. Next, we compared the preview distance between two groups, familiar and novice with regard to the PW driving. The analysis showed that the familiar group has a greater distance value than the novice group. Finally, a last experiment took place at the Rehabilitation Center of Flavigny sur Moselle (54, France). We estimated the preview distance (Dp) for subjects with severe motor impairment, in order to validate the parameter Dp as a performance indicator. A case study analysis was established on five children with disabilities comparing their results with those previously obtained with the healthy subjects

In this thesis, X-ray spectral and pulse timing analysis of the high mass X-ray binary pulsar 4U 1907+09, based on the observations with Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE) and International Gamma-Ray Astrophysics Laboratory (INTEGRAL), are presented. INTEGRAL (October 2005 - November 2007) and RXTE (June 2007 - December 2008) observations confirm that the luminosity of the source is highly variable such that, flaring and dipping activities are observed. The results of time-averaged energy spectra of RXTE and INTEGRAL observations are consistent with the previous studies. Orbital phase resolved spectroscopy with RXTE data, reveals that the Hydrogen column density varies through the orbit reaching to its maximum value just after periastron. This variation approves that the location of the absorbing material is the accretion flow. A slight spectral softening with increasing luminosity is aslo observed. 4U 1907+09 had been steadily spinning down for more than ~15 years with a rate of -3.54x10-14 Hz s-1. RXTE observations of the source in 2001 showed a ~60% decrease in the spin-down rate and INTEGRAL observations in 2003 showed a reversal to spin-up. The timing analysis presented in this thesis reveals a new spin-down episode with a rate of -3.59x10-14 Hz s-1, which is close to the previous steady spin-down rate. This result implies that a recent torque reversal before June 2007 has taken place. The reversal is a rare event for 4U 1907+09 and it indicates the variations in the mass accretion rate and/or geometry. Using RXTE observations, 24 new pulse periods are measured to demonstrate the period evolution. Energy resolved pulse profiles confirm that the profile has a double peak sinusoidal shape at energies below 20 keV, whereas the leading peak significantly loses its intensity above 20 keV. This energy dependence indicates that the physical circumstances of the two polar caps are different.

The primary objective of this research was to investigate and develop an electrostatic energy-harvesting voltage-constrained CMOS/BiCMOS integrated circuit (IC) that harnesses ambient kinetic energy from vibrations with a vibration-sensitive variable capacitor and channels the extracted energy to charge an energy-storage device (e.g., battery). The proposed harvester charges and holds the voltage across the vibration-sensitive variable capacitor so that vibrations can induce it to generate current into the battery when capacitance decreases (as its plates separate). To that end, the research developed an energy-harvesting system that synchronizes to variable capacitor's state as it cycles between maximum and minimum capacitance by controlling each functional phase of the harvester and adjusting to different voltages of the on-board battery. One of the major challenges of the system was performing all of these duties without dissipating the energy harnessed and gained from the environment. Consequently, the system reduces losses by time-managing and biasing its circuits to operate only when needed and with just enough energy while charging the capacitor through an efficient inductor-based precharger. As result, the proposed energy harvester stores a net energy gain in the battery during each vibration cycle.

The city of Shanghai was transformed from a treaty port of around half a million people when the British first arrived after the end of the Opium War to become the most populous, prosperous, and cosmopolitan metropolis in China by the early 20th century. The development of public transportation systems contributed significantly to the urban expansion and growth of the city, as well as in reshaping the city's identity. This dissertation examined the impact of public transportation on the urban landscape of Shanghai by focusing on three major issues: "tradition versus modernity", state and society relations, and the relationship between technology and society. As a divided city governed by three separate political jurisdictions, Shanghai offered a unique perspective in understanding the roles public transportation and urban planning played in changing a city's layout. This dissertation addressed the specific differences in the development of urban infrastructure and its impact on population growth, mobility and accessibility, and economic prosperity of the British controlled International Settlement, the French Concession, and the Chinese city. The first half of the dissertation analyzed the roles in which "traditional" man-powered vehicles such as the wheelbarrow, sedan chair, horse-drawn carriage, and rickshaw played, before delving into the arrival of "modern" machine-powered vehicles such as automobiles, trams, trolleys, and buses in the early 20th century. Each form of transportation vehicle is discussed for its specific role, and the type of clientele it catered. This dissertation argued that man-powered vehicles and machine-powered vehicles did not necessarily compete with each other for passengers, as each type of vehicle served its specific purposes and clients. Public transportation; just like food, clothing, or housing is a form of material culture where one's socioeconomic or class status is revealed by the type of transport one chooses. Because the different types of vehicles did not directly compete with each other, they all saw significant increases in ridership. The 'tradition versus modernity" theme is aimed at addressing the bigger picture of "continuity and change", where Shanghai was transformed by foreign influences yet at the same time it still retained traditional Chinese characteristics to form a complex identity. The second half of the dissertation dealt with state and society relations, and the relationship of technology and society. The issue of public versus private responsibility is addressed with historical analysis of government orchestrated urban planning and the private sector providing the services to fulfill the people's needs and demands. In focusing on these two themes, this dissertation argued that technology has inherent political agenda attached to it, as government policies specifically created areas of the city which had better public transportation infrastructure, which led to these parts of the city being more commercially prosperous and vibrant than others. Routes, lines, and stops were designated with specific political purposes in mind, and public transportation accessibility contributed to the uneven economic developments across the city. The Greater Shanghai Project of 1927-1937 was a specific attempt by the Chinese government to create a new city center that could shift the population away from the foreign concessions into the Chinese territories. This dissertation argued that this campaign would not have been feasible even without the Japanese attack due to insufficient public funds. The findings in this dissertation will hopefully add to the scholarship on the history of Shanghai and the history of technology in China.

The safety of Powered Two Wheelers (PTWs) is important for public authorities and roadadministrators around the world. Recent official figures show that PTWs are estimated to represent only 2% of the total traffic but represent 30% of total deaths on French roads. However, as these estimated figures are obtained by simply counting the number plates registered, they do not give a true picture of the PTWs on the road at any given moment. This dissertation comes under the project METRAMOTO and is a technical applied research work and deals with two problems: detection of PTWsand the use of a laser scanner to count PTWs in the traffic. Traffic generally contains random vehicles of unknown nature and behaviour such as speed,vehicle interaction with other users on the road etc. Even though there are several technologies that can measure traffic, for example radars, cameras, magnetometers etc, as the PTWs are small-sized vehicles, they often move in between lanes and at quite a high speed compared to the vehicles moving in the adjacent lanes. This makes them difficult to detect. the proposed solution in this research work is composed of the following parts: a configuration to install the laser scanner on the road is chosen and a data coherence method is introduced so that the system is able to detect the road verges and its own height above the road surface. This is validated by simulator. Then the rawd ata obtained is pre-processed and is transform into the spatial temporal domain. Following this, an extraction algorithm called the Last Line Check (LLC) method is proposed. Once extracted, the objectis classified using one of the two classifiers either the Support Vector Machine (SVM) or the k-Nearest Neighbour (KNN). At the end, the results given by each of the two classifiers are compared and presented in this research work. The proposed solution in this research work is a propototype that is intended to be integrated in a real time system that can be installed on a highway to detect, extract, classify and counts PTWs in real time under all traffic conditions (traffic at normal speeds, dense traffic and even traffic jams).

Effects of engine placement on flutter characteristics of a very flexible high-aspect-ratio wing are investigated using the code NATASHA (Nonlinear Aeroelastic Trim And Stability of HALE Aircraft). The analysis was validated against published results for divergence and flutter of swept wings and found to be in excellent agreement with the experimental results of the classical wing of Goland. Moreover, modal frequencies and damping obtained for the Goland wing were found in excellent agreement with published results based on a new continuum-based unsteady aerodynamic formulation. Gravity for this class of wings plays an important role in flutter characteristics. In the absence of aerodynamic and gravitational forces and without an engine, the kinetic energy of the first two modes are calculated. Maximum and minimum flutter speed locations coincide with the area of minimum and maximum kinetic energy of the second bending and torsion modes. Time-dependent dynamic behavior of a turboshaft engine (JetCat SP5) is simulated with a transient engine model and the nonlinear aeroelastic response of the wing to the engine's time-dependent thrust and dynamic excitation is presented. Below the flutter speed, at the wing tip and behind the elastic axis, the impulse engine excitation leads to a stable limit cycle oscillation; and for the ramp kind of excitation, beyond the flutter speed, at 75% span, behind the elastic axis, it produces chaotic oscillation of the wing. Both the excitations above the flutter speed are stabilized, on the inboard portion of the wing. Effects of engine placement and sweep on flutter characteristics of a backswept flying wing resembling the Horten IV are explored using NATASHA. This aircraft exhibits a non-oscillatory yawing instability, expected in aircraft with neither a vertical tail nor yaw control. More important, however, is the presence of a low frequency “body-freedom flutter” mode. The aircraft center of gravity was held fixed during the study, which allowed aircraft controls to trim similarly for each engine location, and minimized flutter speed variations along the inboard span. Maximum flutter speed occurred for engine placement just outboard of 60% span with engine center of gravity forward of the elastic axis. The body-freedom flutter mode was largely unaffected by the engine placement except for cases in which the engine is placed at the wing tip and near the elastic axis. In the absence of engines, aerodynamics, and gravity, a region of minimum kinetic energy density for the first symmetric free-free bending mode is also near the 60% span. A possible relationship between the favorable flutter characteristics obtained by placing the engines at that point and the region of minimum kinetic energy is briefly explored. Effects of multiple engine placement on a similar type of aircraft are studied. The results showed that multiple engine placement increases flutter speed particularly when the engines are placed in the outboard portion of the wing (60% to 70% span), forward of the elastic axis, while the lift to drag ratio is affected negligibly. The behavior of the sub- and supercritical eigenvalues is studied for two cases of engine placement. NATASHA captures a hump body-freedom flutter with low frequency for the clean wing case, which disappears as the engines are placed on the wings. In neither case is there any apparent coalescence between the unstable modes. NATASHA captures other non-oscillatory unstable roots with very small amplitude, apparently originating with flight dynamics. For the clean-wing case, in the absence of aerodynamic and gravitational forces, the regions of minimum kinetic energy density for the first and third bending modes are located around 60% span. For the second mode, this kinetic energy density has local minima around the 20% and 80% span. The regions of minimum kinetic energy of these modes are in agreement with calculations that show a noticeable increase in flutter speed at these regions if engines are placed forward of the elastic axis. High Altitude, Long Endurance (HALE) aircraft can achieve sustained, uninterrupted flight time if they use solar power. Wing morphing of solar powered HALE aircraft can significantly increase solar energy absorbency. An example of the kind of morphing considered in this thesis requires the wings to fold so as to orient a solar panel to be hit more directly by the sun's rays at specific times of the day. In this study solar powered HALE flying wing aircraft are modeled with three beams with lockable hinge connections. Such aircraft are shown to be capable of morphing passively, following the sun by means of aerodynamic forces and engine thrusts. The analysis underlying NATASHA was extended to include the ability to simulate morphing of the aircraft into a “Z” configuration. Because of the “long endurance” feature of HALE aircraft, such morphing needs to be done without relying on actuators and at as near zero energy cost as possible. The emphasis of this study is to substantially demonstrate the processes required to passively morph a flying wing into a Z-shaped configuration and back again.

Baigiamajame magistro darbe atliekami eksperimentiniai gelžbetoninių sijų, sustiprintų pneumatiniu montažiniu pistoletu mechaniškai tvirtinama anglies pluošto juosta, elgsenos tyrimai, nagrinėjama jungių skaičiaus ir išdėstymo įtaka sijos elgsenai. Darbą sudaro: įvadas, trys pagrindiniai skyriai, pasiūlymai ir išvados, literatūros sąrašas. Įvade aptariama tiriamoji problema, darbo aktualumas ir naujumas, pristatomas darbo objektas, formuluojami tikslai ir uždaviniai, pateikiama tyrimų metodika. Pirmajame skyriuje pateikiamos bendros žinios apie sijų stiprinimą, apžvelgiama stiprinimo metodų raida, aptariamos statybiniams kompozitams gaminti naudojamos medžiagos ir aprašomi populiariausi metodai, naudojami statybiniais kompozitais sustiprintų sijų skaičiavimui. Antrajame skyriuje plačiau aptariamas sluoksnių skaičiavimo metodas, atliekama jo parametrinė analizė. Trečiajame skyriuje plačiai aprašomas bandinių paruošimas ir jų bandymo metodika, pateikiami eksperimentinių tyrimų rezultatai, jie palyginami su teoriniais skaičiavimais bei kitų autorių gautais rezultatais. Darbo pabaigoje pateikiami sijų stiprinimo pneumatiniu montažiniu pistoletu mechaniškai tvirtinama anglies pluošto juosta pasiūlymai, formuluojamos išvados. Darbo apimtis – 69 p. teksto be priedų, 33 paveikslai, 5 lentelės, 32 bibliografiniai šaltiniai. / This thesis presents the analysis based on experimental testing of reinforced concrete beams, strengthened by mechanically fastened fiber reinforced polymer strips, when high pressure air powered pinner was used to fasten the strips. The influence of the number and arrangement of fasteners is investigated. Thesis consists of introduction, three main chapters, recommendations and conclusions, literature list. The introduction presents an overview, objectives, scope, methodology and significance of thesis. The first chapter shows the development of beam strengthening, introduces composite materials and methods used for calculating beams strengthened using FRP strips. In the second chapter the chosen calculation method is described in detail and its parametric analysis is performed. Third chapter gives a detailed description on the test specimen preparation and the methodology of testing. Experimental results and their comparison with theoretically obtained values and values obtained by other researchers are given here. The recommendations on the technology of strengthening the beams using mechanically fastened fiber reinforced polymer strips are given and the conclusions are drawn. Thesis contains 69 pages. There are 33 pictures, 5 tables and 32 references in the thesis.

In this thesis, X-ray observations of four accretion powered pulsars are presented. Using RXTE observations of 4U 1907+09, we found three new pulse periods of the source. We found that the source spun-down almost at a constant rate of $dot nu$ = (-3.54 $pm 0.02) times 10^{-14}$ Hz s$^{-1}$ for more than 15 years. Using RXTE observations, X-ray flux related spectral and timing features in 2S 1417-62 were, in general, interpreted as a sign of a disc accretion with a similar geometry with a varying mass accretion rate, whereas spectral and timing features of the low X-ray flux regions were interpreted as a sign of possible temporary accretion geometry change prior to the next periastron. Using XMM-Newton and RXTE observations of SAX J2103.5+4545, we discovered quasi periodic oscillations around 0.044 Hz (22.7 sec) while the source was spinning-up with a rate of $(7.4pm0.9)times10^{-13}$Hz s$^{-1}$. In the X-ray spectrum, we also found a soft component consistent with a blackbody emission with ${rm{kT}}sim1.9$keV. Using RXTE observations, we also studied spectral evolution of Her X-1

Rising from the “excess demand” modern societies and economies place on limited road resources, congestion causes increased vehicle emissions, decreases national efficiency, and wastes time (Downs, 2004). In order to minimise congestion’s impacts, traffic management systems gather traffic data and use it to implement efficient management algorithms (Downs, 2004). This dissertation’s purpose has been the development of a distributable vehicle presence detection sensor, which will wirelessly provide vehicle presence information in real time. To address the sensor’s wireless power requirements, the feasibility of self-powering the device via harvested energy has been investigated. Piezoelectric, electrostatic, and electromagnetic energy harvesting devices’ principles of operation and underlying theory has been investigated in detail and an overview presented alongside a literature review of previous vibration energy harvesting research. An electromagnetic energy harvesting device was designed, which consists of: a nylon reinforced rubber bladder, hydraulic piston, neodymium magnets, and wire-wound coil housing. Preliminary testing demonstrated a harvested energy between 100mJ and 205mJ per axle. This amount is able to be transferred to a 100O load when driven over at speeds between 10km/h and 50km/h. Combined with an embedded circuit, the energy harvester facilitated the development of a passive sensor, which is able to wirelessly transmit a vehicle’s presence signal to a host computer. The vehicle detected event is displayed via a graphical user interface. Energy harvesting’s ability to power the embedded circuit’s wireless transmission, demonstrated the feasibility of developing systems capable of harvesting energy from their environment and using it to power discrete electronic components. The ability to wirelessly transmit a vehicle’s presence facilitates the development of distributable traffic monitoring systems, allowing for remote traffic monitoring and management.

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