Professional research project (Au.D.)--University of SouthFlorida, 2002. / Title from PDF of title page. / Document formatted into pages; contains 22 pages. / Includes bibliographical references. / Text (Electronic thesis) in PDF format. / ABSTRACT: The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of the binaural interaction component (BIC) in a large sample of normal hearing adults, and to measure the absolute latency and amplitude of the BIC as a function of the click rate of the stimulus and the electrode montage. The BIC is obtained by subtracting the auditory evoked potential waveform obtained with binaural stimulation from the waveform obtained by adding the responses from the left and right monaural stimulation. The tested hypothesis was that the recordings of the BIC vary among normal hearing individuals, and BIC latency and amplitude values change as a function of stimulus rate. Studies of the BIC help to explain the neural correlates of some binaural processes, and to develop an electrophysiological index of binaural processes for objective clinical evaluations.Data was completed and analyzed on 47 adults between the ages of 20 and 41 (mean = 25) with hearing in the normal range (thresholds [ 20 dB HL at 500, 1000, 2000, and 4000 Hz in each ear) and no known neurological disorders. The results revealed a great variability in BIC morphology between subjects. The BIC waveforms were categorized into five distinct groups according to the number of positive and negative peaks present. Chi-square analyses revealed a significant relationship between click rate and BIC category; however, the relationship between recording montage and BIC category was insignificant. An Analysis of Variance (ANOVAs) revealed a significant increase in absolute latency and decrease in absolute amplitude of both negative and positive peaks as click rate increased from 7.7/s to 57.7/s. The results did not reveal a significant change in the type of BIC as an effect of electrode montage.In conclusion, the BIC within the binaural difference waveform may be obtained in the majority of young individuals with normal hearing. Specifically, a slower stimulus rate revealed more components of the waveform, as well as an improvement in the morphology of the BIC compared to a faster stimulus rate. As these findings may aid in the development of an electrophysiological index of binaural neural processes in young individuals with normal hearing, more research should be attempted in the study of BIC in other age groups and patients with different audiograms. / System requirements: World Wide Web browser and PDF reader. / Mode of access: World Wide Web.

L'optimisation des systèmes de forage nécessite une meilleure compréhension des vibrations indésirables comme le stick-slip. Ce phénomène vibratoire, qui affecte principalement les outils PDC (Polycristalline Diamond Compact), met en péril l'intégrité des équipements de forage et réduit considérablement la vitesse de pénétration de l'outil. Plusieurs travaux ont été menés ces dernières années pour déterminer ses origines. Les observations réalisées en fond de puits montrent que ces oscillations s'accompagnent systématiquement d'une baisse du couple à l'outil en fonction de sa vitesse de rotation. De nombreux groupes de recherche attribuent cette baisse de performance à l'occurrence du stick-slip.L'objectif de ce travail est de développer un modèle élémentaire de coupe qui permet d'analyser l'effet de la vitesse de coupe sur la forabilité des roches dans des conditions opératoires réalistes. Dans le cadre de cette thèse, nous avons réalisé une série d'essais de coupe en utilisant des taillants et des outils à échelle réelle dans trois roches de propriétés hydromécaniques différentes, et ceci à pression atmosphérique et sous pression de fluide. Les essais réalisés à pression atmosphérique montrent que les efforts élémentaires de forage augmentent avec la vitesse de coupe. Sous pression de boue, cet effet dépend largement de la perméabilité de la roche. En effet, nous avons observé que l'effet de la vitesse est relativement faible dans les formations de faible et de moyenne perméabilité sous pression de boue de 20 MPa. En revanche, cet effet augmente d'un ordre de grandeur dans les roches très perméables.Afin de comprendre ces observations, nous avons développé un modèle hydromécanique d'interaction taillant-roche construit à partir de la théorie de la poroélastoplasticité. D'abord, le problème est résolu analytiquement en s'inspirant des travaux existants. Par la suite, nous avons apporté une résolution numérique aux éléments finis des équations de la promécanique appliquées à la coupe des roches sous pression de boue. Les deux modèles montrent que le phénomène de dilatance génère une baisse de la pression de pore qui augmente la résistance de la roche au forage. Cette chute de pression dépend de la vitesse de coupe ainsi que des caractéristiques hydrodynamiques de la roche. Les résultats théoriques ont été comparés aux nombreux résultats expérimentaux obtenus dans le cadre de ce travail. / The optimization of the drilling practice requires a better understanding of drillstring harmful vibrations such as stick-slip. This form of torsional vibrations is a typical problem of PDC (Polycristalline Diamond Compact) drillbits. It can reduce the rate of penetration drastically and can raise fatigue of the drilling devices. Many attempts were carried out in the last years in order to determine the causes of stick-slip phenomenon. Field observations show that torque on bit decreases as a function of bit velocity during stick-slip oscillations. Hence, it is widely believed that this decreasing relationship is the root cause of stick-slip.The purpose of this work is to examine cutting speed influence on rock drillability as a function of operating conditions and hydromechanical properties of the drilled formation. For this, a set of drilling tests was performed in three sedimentary rocks of different permeability using a full scale PDC drillbit and a single PDC cutter. In the first step, dry tests were carried out at atmospheric pressure. As previously observed in literature, single-cutter tests showed that drilling forces increase with cutting velocity. In a second step, we performed the same experiments at 20 MPa bottom-hole pressure. It appears that rate effect on cutting forces in the medium and low-permeability rocks is relatively low. By contrast, rate effect in the highly permeable rock increases by one order of magnitude in comparison with dry experiments.In order to understand this phenomenon, a steady state solution of the cutting model is derived in the framework of the theory of poroelastoplasticity. The problem is firstly solved analytically using some assumptions derived from previous works. Then, a numerical resolution based on finite element method is presented to solve the fully coupled problem ensuring the satisfaction of poro-material physics basic equations. Using these two different approaches, we show that pore pressure in shear-dilatant rocks decreases as a function of cutting velocity depending on rock permeability and interstitial fluid properties. This change has a hardening effect resulting in an increase of rock drilling resistance. Comparison between theory and experience shows good agreements.

Le béton est un matériau dont le comportement est complexe, notamment dans le cas de sollicitations extrêmes. L’objectif de cette thèse est de caractériser expérimentalement le comportement du béton lorsque celui-ci est soumis à des sollicitations générées par un impact (compression confinée et traction dynamique) ; et de développer un outil numérique robuste permettant de modéliser son comportement de manière fiable. Dans la partie expérimentale, on a étudié des échantillons de béton provenant du centre de VTT (Centre de recherche technique en Finlande). Dans un premier temps, des essais statiques de compression triaxiale dont le confinement varie de 0 MPa (compression simple) à 600 MPa ont été réalisés. On observe que, sous l’effet de confinement la rigidité du béton devient plus importante à cause de la réduction de la porosité. Par conséquent, la résistance maximale au cisaillement du béton est augmentée. La présence d’eau joue un rôle important lorsque le degré de saturation est élevé et le béton est soumis à un fort confinement. Au delà d’un certain seuil de confinement, la résistance maximale au cisaillement diminue avec l’augmentation de la teneur en eau. L’eau influence également le comportement volumique du béton. Lorsque tous les pores libres du béton sont fermés sous l’effet de la compaction, la faible compressibilité de l’eau s’oppose à la déformation du béton, de sorte que le béton humide est moins déformé que le béton sec pour une même contrainte moyenne. Le deuxième volet du programme expérimental concerne des essais de traction dynamique à différentes vitesses de chargement, et à différents états d’humidité du béton. Les résultats obtenus montrent que la résistance en traction du béton C50 peut augmenter jusqu’à 5 fois par rapport à sa résistance statique pour une vitesse de déformation de l’ordre de 100 s-1. Dans la partie numérique, on s’intéresse à développer le modèle de comportement du béton PRM couplé (Pontiroli-Rouquand-Mazars) capable de prédire le comportement du béton sous impact. Ce modèle repose sur un couplage entre un modèle d’endommagement capable de décrire des mécanismes de dégradation et de fissuration du béton à faible confinement et un modèle de plasticité permettant de simuler le comportement du béton sous très fort confinement. L’identification du modèle a été réalisée avec les résultats des essais expérimentaux. L’amélioration du modèle, notamment sur le modèle de plasticité, porte sur trois points principaux : prise en compte de l’effet de la contrainte déviatoire dans le calcul de la contrainte moyenne ; de l’effet de l’eau avec la loi poro-mécanique au lieu de la loi des mélanges ; amélioration de la variable de couplage entre le modèle d’endommagment et le modèle élastoplastique avec une prise en compte de l’angle de Lode. Ces améliorations ont ensuite été validées par une confrontation des résultats numériques obtenus et des essais de type impact qui démontrent la fiabilité de la prédiction du modèle. Le modèle amélioré est capable de reproduire le comportement du béton sous différents trajets de chargement et à différents niveaux de confinement tout en tenant compte du degré de saturation du béton. / Concrete is a material whose behavior is complex, especially in cases of extreme loads. The objective of this thesis is to carry out an experimental characterization of the behavior of concrete under impact-generated stresses (confined compression and dynamic traction) and to develop a robust numerical tool to reliably model this behavior. In the experimental part, we have studied concrete samples from the VTT center (Technical Research Center of Finland). At first, quasi-static triaxial compressions with the confinement varies from 0 MPa (unconfined compression test) to 600 MPa were realized. The stiffness of the concrete increases with confinement pressure because of the reduction of porosity. Therefore, the maximum shear strength of the concrete is increased. The presence of water plays an important role when the degree of saturation is high and the concrete is subjected to high confinement pressure. Beyond a certain level of confinement pressure, the maximum shear strength of concrete decreases with increasing water content. The effect of water also influences the volumic behavior of concrete. When all free pores are closed as a result of compaction, the low compressibility of the water prevents the deformation of the concrete, whereby the wet concrete is less deformed than the dry concrete for the same mean stress. The second part of the experimental program concerns dynamic tensile tests at different loading velocities, and different moisture conditions of concrete. The results show that the tensile strength of concrete C50 may increase up to 5 times compared to its static strength for a strain rate of about 100 s-1. In the numerical part, we are interested in improving an existing constitutive coupled model of concrete behavior called PRM (Pontiroli-Rouquand-Mazars) to predict the concrete behavior under impact. This model is based on a coupling between a damage model which is able to describe the degradation mechanisms and cracking of the concrete at weak confinement pressure and a plasticity model which allows to reproduce the concrete behavior under strong confinement pressure. The identification of the model was done using the results of experimental tests. The improvement of this model, especially the plasticity part, focuses on three main points : taking into account the effect of the deviatoric stress in the calculation of the mean stress; better accounting for the effect of water using poromechanical law instead of mixing law, improvement of the coupling variable between the damage model and the elastoplastic model with consideration of the Lode angle. These improvements were then validated by comparing numerical results and impact tests. The improved model is capable of reproducing the behavior of concrete under different loading paths and at different levels of confinement pressure while taking into account the degree of saturation of concrete.

The bond between concrete and reinforcing steel is fundamental to the load bearing capacity of reinforced concrete structures. Several experimental studies indicate strength or rather resistance enhancements coming with increasingly dynamic loading. The phenomenon is known as strain or loading rate effect and its causes are still not fully clarified. The work presented herein provides a numerical view of the bond of reinforcement in concrete and investigates its loading rate dependent behaviour. Finite element analyses focusing on structural and inertia effects are carried out. Modelling is conducted at the rib scale, where bond is predominately controlled by mechanical interaction. In the first step, the model is developed and calibrated. Its quality, credibility, and limitations are assessed by a series of numerical case studies and the results are compared with available experimental data. Numerical parametric studies follow. The loading rate dependence of bond is featured, loading rate dependent characteristics are identified, and conclusions on causes of the phenomenon drawn. It is shown that structural effects are strongly involved and the same holds for hydrostatic pressure stress states and inertia effects. The thesis concludes in reviewing currently available methods for incorporating the results into large-scale simulations and highlighting further investigations and developments that are necessary in order to design dynamic loading-resistant structures in the future.

The linear instability of laterally diverging/converging flows is an important aspect towards understanding the laminar-transition process in many viscous flows. In this work the linear instability of constant pressure laterally diverging/converging flow has been investigated. The laminar velocity field for laterally diverging/converging flows, under the source/sink approximation, has been reduced to two-dimensional flows. This reduction is alternative to the Mangier transformation used earlier. For a constant pressure laterally strained flow, the laminar velocity is found to be governed by the Blasius equation for flow over a flat plate. The non-parallel linear instability of constant pressure laterally strained flows has been examined. The instability equation is found to be same as that for the Blasius flow. This implies that the stability is same as that for the Blasius flow. A lateral divergence/convergence is shown to alter the Reynolds number from that in a two-dimensional flow. The instability of a laterally converging/diverging flow thus can be obtained from the available results for the Blasius flow by scaling the Reynolds numbers. This leads to the result that while a diverging flow is more unstable than the Blasius flow, a converging flow is more stable. Some additional relevant results are also presented.

Le bois est un matériau cellulaire naturel et excellent absorbeur d’énergie. Employé au sein de structures du type limiteur d’impact, il subit de nombreux phénomènes lors d’un cas de chute. Une large campagne expérimentale est réalisée afin d’analyser les réponses en compression du hêtre et de l’épicéa, en fonction de la direction de sollicitation, de la vitesse de déformation pour la plage [0.001-600] s−1 et de deux types de restrictions latérales qualifiées d’extrêmes. La direction longitudinale se révèle la plus sensible à la vitesse ainsi qu’au type de restrictions latérales et les conséquences sur la capacité d’absorption d’énergie du bois sont alors significatives. Par ailleurs, les protocoles développés ont vocation à être déclinés pour un large panel d’essences aux propriétés mécaniques variées. Un modèle matériau élastoplastique, isotrope transverse et sensible à la vitesse de déformation est élaboré à l’aide des techniques multi-échelles et de la micromécanique. Les propriétés élastiques macroscopiques sont estimées à l’aide du schéma d’homogénéisation de Mori-Tanaka à partir de données issues de la microstructure. Un critère de type Gurson étendu reposant sur l’approche micromécanique de l’endommagement ductile est employé pour retranscrire le comportement non linéaire, la densification et le caractère compressible du bois. Des paramètres de dégradation découplés du critère sont appliqués selon la direction longitudinale. La modélisation proposée repose sur une description simplifiée du bois et les résultats numériques associés illustrent la bonne capacité du modèle à reproduire les différentes réponses observées lors d’un cas de chute. / Wood is a natural cellular material, which is widely and advantageously used as shock absorber for the transport of radioactive materials. Accident situations are evaluated based on the 9 m drop test, which allows us to observe the complex crushing behavior of wood. A compressive experimental study is conducted on spruce and beech wood species over a large range of strain rates (from 0.001 to 600 s−1) to investigate the effect of the loading direction and of two extreme lateral confinements. The longitudinal direction is the most sensitive to the effect of strain rate and of lateral confinements which have significant consequences on the energy absorption. Besides, the experimental investigation can be adapted to various wood species with very different mechanical properties. A strain rate dependent elastoplastic model with transversal isotropy is developed using multi-scale and micromechanics techniques. The elastic macroscopic properties of wood are estimated with a Mori-Tanaka scheme and information extracted from the microstructure. The Gurson type criterion based on the micromechanical approach of the ductile damage is used in order to describe the non linear behavior of wood, its densification regime and its compressibility as well. Additionally, uncoupled degradation parameters are applied to reproduce the failure mechanisms involved in the longitudinal response. A simplified description of wood is used within the modeling and the numerical results exhibit the good ability of the model to reproduce the various wood responses during an accident situation.

Kraft recovery boiler smelt is shattered into small droplets by an impinging steam jet to prevent smelt-water explosions in the dissolving tank. Inadequate shattering increases the likelihood of dissolving tank explosions. While industry has not dedicated much effort to smelt shattering, the safety implications require smelt shattering to be studied in detail. An experimental set-up was constructed to simulate the shattering operation using a water-glycerine solution and air instead of smelt and steam respectively. The objective was to examine how physical properties and flow characteristics affect shattering. It was found that increasing shatter jet velocity greatly reduced droplet mean diameter. Increasing the liquid flow rate greatly increased droplet size, as expected. Shattering was not significantly affected by viscosity, unless a weak shatter jet was used on a highly viscous fluid. Increasing the proximity of the shatter jet nozzle decreased droplet size.

Kraft recovery boiler smelt is shattered into small droplets by an impinging steam jet to prevent smelt-water explosions in the dissolving tank. Inadequate shattering increases the likelihood of dissolving tank explosions. While industry has not dedicated much effort to smelt shattering, the safety implications require smelt shattering to be studied in detail. An experimental set-up was constructed to simulate the shattering operation using a water-glycerine solution and air instead of smelt and steam respectively. The objective was to examine how physical properties and flow characteristics affect shattering. It was found that increasing shatter jet velocity greatly reduced droplet mean diameter. Increasing the liquid flow rate greatly increased droplet size, as expected. Shattering was not significantly affected by viscosity, unless a weak shatter jet was used on a highly viscous fluid. Increasing the proximity of the shatter jet nozzle decreased droplet size.