The purpose of this study was to compare 4 methods that assess the lower-body stretch-shortening cycle (SSC) utilization of athletes. Eighty-six National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I athletes from 6 different sports performed 2 squat jumps and 2 countermovement jumps on a force platform. Pre-stretch augmentation percentage (PSAP), eccentric utilization ratio (EUR), and reactive strength (RS) for jump height (JH) and peak power (PP) magnitudes, and reactive strength index–modified (RSImod) were calculated for each team. A series of one-way analyses of variance with a Holm-Bonferroni sequential adjustment were used to compare differences in PSAP, EUR, RS, and RSImod between teams. Statistical differences in RSImod (p < 0.001) existed between teams, whereas no statistical differences in PSAP-JH (p = 0.150), PSAP-PP (p = 0.200), EUR-JH (p = 0.150), EUR-PP (p = 0.200), RS-JH (p = 0.031), or RS-PP (p = 0.381) were present. The relationships between PSAP, EUR, and RS measures were all statistically significant and ranged from strong to nearly perfect (r = 0.569–1.000), while most of the relationships between PSAP, EUR, and RS measures and RSImod were trivial to small (r = 0.192–0.282). Pre-stretch augmentation percentage and EUR, RS, and RSImod values indicate that women's tennis, men's soccer, and men's soccer teams may use the SSC most effectively, respectively. Pre-stretch augmentation percentage, EUR, RS, and RSImod values may show vastly different results when comparing an individual's and a team's ability to use the SSC. Practitioners should consider using RSImod to monitor the SSC utilization of athletes due to its timing component.

Computers have been assisting in recording, sound synthesis and other fields of music production for quite some time. The actual performance of music continues to be an area in which human players are chosen over computer performers. Musical performance is an area in which personalization is more important than consistency. Human players play with each other, reacting to phrases and ideas created by the players that they are playing with. Computer performers lack the ability to react to the changes in the performance that humans perceive naturally, giving the human players an advantage over the computer performers. This thesis creates a framework for describing unique musical performers that can play along in realtime with human players. FrTime, a reactive programming language, is used to constantly create new musical phrases. Musical phrases are constructed by unique user programmed performers and by chord changes that the framework provides. The reactive language creates multiple musical phrases for each point in time. A simple module which chooses musical phrases to be performed at the time of performance is created.

The thesis deals with the numerical modeling of nonreactive and nonlinearly sorbing solutes in groundwater and analysis of the effect of heterogeneity resulting from spatial variation of physical and chemical parameters on the transport of solutes. For this purpose, a hy­brid flux corrected transport (FCT) and central difference method based on operator-split approach is developed for advection-dispersion solute transport equation. The advective transport is solved using the FCT technique, while the dispersive transport is solved using a conventional, fully implicit, finite difference scheme. Three FCT methods are developed and extension to multidimensional cases are discussed. The FCT models developed are anlaysed using test problems possessing analyt­ical solutions for one and two dimensional cases, while analysing advection and dispersion dominated transport situations. Different initial and boundary conditions, which mimic the laboratory and field situations are analysed in order to study numerical dispersion, peak cliping and grid orientation. The developed models are tested to study their relative merits and weaknesses for various grid Peclet and Courant numbers. It is observed from the one dimensional results that all the FCT models perform well for continuous solute sources under varying degrees of Courant number restriction. For sharp solute pulses FCT1 and FCT3 methods fail to simulate the fronts for advection dominated situations even for mod­erate Courant numbers. All the FCT models can be extended to multidimensions using a dimensional-split approach while FCT3 can be made fully multidimensional. It is observed that a dimensional-split approach allows use of higher Courant numbers while tracking the fronts accurately for the cases studied. The capability of the FCT2 model is demonstrated in handling situations where the flow is not aligned along the grid direction. It is observed that FCT2 method is devoid of grid orientation error, which is a common problem for many numerical methods based on Cartesian co-ordinate system. The hybrid FCT2 numerical model which is observed to perform better among the three FCT models is extended to model transport of sorbing solutes. The present study analyses the case of nonlinear sorption with a view to extend the model for any reactive transport situation wherein the chemical reactions are nonlinear in nature. A two step approach is adopted in the present study for coupling the partial differential equation gov­erning the transport and the nonlinear algebraic equation governing the equilibrium sorp­tion. The suitability of explicit-implicit (EI - form) formulation for obtaining accurate solution coupling the transport equation with the nonlinear algebraic equation solved using a Newton-Raphson method is demonstrated. The performance of the numerical model is tested for a range of Peclet numbers for modelling self-sharpening and self-smearing con­centration profiles resulting from nonlinear sorption. It is observed that FCT2 model based on this formulation simulates the fronts quite accurately for both advection and dispersion dominated situations. The delay in the solute mobility and additional dispersion are anal­ysed varying the statistical parameters characterising the heterogeneity namely, correlation scale and variance during the transport of solutes and comparisons are drawn with invariant, cases. The impact of dispersion during the heterogeneous transport is discussed.

In this study, the application of bipolar electrocoagulation (EC) with iron electrode has been assessed for color removal of simulated wastewater containing Reactive Red 195. The influence of initial pH, sodium sulfate concentration, initial dye concentration, electrolysis time, and electric current were examined. The optimum operational parameters were found to be pH =11, concentration of dye = 50 mg L-1, sodium sulfate concentration = 1200 mg L-1, electrolysis time = 5 min and electric current = 4 A. In such condition, color removal efficiency achieved over 99%. This result indicates that EC can be used as an efficient and “green” method for color removal from reactive dye solution. / Trong nghiên cứu này, quá trình khử màu nhuộm hoạt tính (Reactive Red 195) được khảo sát bằng hệ thống keo tụ điện hóa điện cực kép, với vật liệu sắt. Các yếu tố ảnh hưởng đến quá trình khử màu như pH, nồng độ màu nhuộm, nồng độ muối Na2SO4, thời gian phản ứng và cường độ dòng được lựa chọn nghiên cứu. Kết quả cho thấy hệ thống điện hóa trên loại gần như hoàn toàn màu nhuộm với hiệu suất đạt trên 99 % tại pH 11, nồng độ màu 50 mgL-1 và nống độ muối Na2SO4 1200 mgL-1 trong khoảng thời gian 5phút. Kết quả trên cho thấy keo tụ điện hóa có thể xem là một phương pháp xử lý hiệu quả và “xanh” trong việc loại bỏ hoàn toàn màu từ nước thải nhuộm hoạt tính.

A reactive-ionic functional group was incorporated into the structure of fiber finishes and colorants to provide high-yield add-on and permanency. The reactive-ionic group consists of a moderately strained, cyclic ammonium group which undergoes ionic assembly on the surface of negatively charged substrates. The ionic bond is then converted to a covalent bond at elevated temperatures via a ring-opening reaction. A reactive-ionic alkyl (wax) finish was prepared from octadecanol and N-phenyl pyrrolidine then applied to a glass slide to provide a permanent, hydrophobic surface with an average contact angle increase of approximately 40°. A reactive-ionic fluorinated finish was prepared from 1H,1H,2H,2H-perfluoro-1-octanol and N-phenyl pyrrolidine and after application served as a permanent, non-wetting, anti-stain finish for nylon carpet. A reactive-ionic chromophore (dye) was prepared from C.I. Disperse Red 1 and quinuclidine. The reactive-ionic dye was applied to cellophane and nylon films and bleached cotton, nylon and silk fabrics. The percent exhaustion for a 1% owf dyeing of silk fabric was measured to be 98% using visible light absorbance spectrophotometry. K/S values obtained from reflectance spectrophotometric measurements of a 1% owf dyeing of nylon 6,6 fabric showed a 6% color loss after solvent extraction, indicating that the dyeing was indeed permanent.

This thesis has made two significant contributions to the field of reactive crystallisation. First, new data from batch cooling crystallisation and semi-batch reactive crystallisation experiments of mono-ammonium phosphate (MAP) were obtained to describe the key factors that influence crystal nucleation and growth rates, crystal size distribution (CSD), and crystal shape. The second contribution is the development of a numerical scheme for solving the population balance equations, which can be used to describe the evolution of CSD during the crystallisation process. This scheme combines the finite difference method with a wavelet method, and is the first reported application of this approach for crystallisation modelling and simulation. / Experiments into the batch cooling crystallisation of MAP were conducted both with and without seed crystals. The effects of key factors such as cooling rate, initial level of supersaturation and seeding technique, including seed concentration and seed size, on the real time supersaturation, final CSD, crystal yield and crystal shape were investigated. It was found that a seed concentration of 20-30% effectively suppressed nucleation. The growth and nucleation rate were estimated by using an isothermal seeded batch approach and their parameters were calculated by non-linear optimisation techniques. / The second series of experiments involved the semi-batch reactive crystallisation of MAP. Both single-feed and dual-feed systems were investigated. In the single-feed arrangement, an ammonia solution was fed into a charge of phosphoric acid. In the dual-feed system, phosphoric acid and ammonia solution were fed into a charge of saturated MAP solution. The molar ratio of the reactants, initial supersaturation, presence or absence of seed crystals, initial MAP concentration, reactants’ flow rate, feeding time and stirring speed were varied, and the effects upon the real time supersaturation, final CSD, crystal yield, crystal shape and solution temperature were measured. X-ray diffraction analysis showed that MAP can be produced in both the single-feed and dual-feed arrangements. For the single feed system, the N/P mole ratio controlled the degree of reaction and the CSD of the product. Di-ammonium phosphate (DAP) was not be observed in the single-feed system due to its high solubility. In the dual-feed system, a seeded solution with slow feed addition, moderate stirring speed and a low initial supersaturation provided the most favourable conditions for generating a desirable supersaturation profile, and thus obtaining a product with good CSD and crystal shape. / A comparative numerical study was undertaken in order to evaluate the existing numerical schemes for solving the population balance equations (PBE) that describe crystallisation. Several analytical solutions to the PBE were used to benchmark the following numerical schemes: Upwind Finite Difference, Biased Upwind Finite Difference, Orthogonal Collocation with Finite Elements, and Wavelet Orthogonal Collocation. The Wavelet Finite Difference (WFD) method has been applied here for the first time for solving PBE problems. The WFD scheme was adapted to solve the batch cooling and the semi-batch reactive crystallisation models, and the solutions were validated against experimental data that we obtained. / In summary, the experimental data provide an improved understanding of MAPreaction and crystallisation mechanisms. The adaptability of the WFD method has beendemonstrated validating the two crystallisation systems, and this should help extendthe application of wavelet-based solutions beyond crystallisation processes and intomore diverse areas of chemical engineering.

Sistema multiagente é um tema de estudo em IAD, no qual um conjunto de agentes interage em um ambiente comum. A IAD baseia-se no comportamento social de agentes (humanos e artificiais), enfatizando as ações e as interações dos mesmos. Esses agentes podem ser cognitivos ou reativos. Os sistemas multiagentes reativos têm sido usados em pesquisas e estudos ligados a campos importantes de aplicação, gerando o desenvolvimento de sistemas não apenas para a área acadêmica, mas também para atender às necessidades do mercado industrial. Com o objetivo de abranger um ramo de pesquisas em sistemas multiagentes, este trabalho propôs a definição e a implementação de um protótipo de um ambiente de software que possibilita o desenvolvimento de aplicações em sistemas multiagentes reativos. Este ambiente tem a finalidade de facilitar a criação de tais aplicações com o uso de agentes, atingindo um resultado satisfatório. O ambiente definido é o SIMULA, que possibilita ao usuário criar suas aplicações através de elementos de uma interface gráfica. O usuário, na interação com o ambiente, determina os agentes envolvidos no problema e como eles agirão no processo de resolução do mesmo. O usuário define a sua aplicação criando um modelo para ela. Para definir as características do ambiente SIMULA, foram estudados e analisados três modelos de sistemas multiagentes reativos, encontrados em [STE 90], [DEM 93] e [FER 91], e estabelecido um quadro comparativo dos mesmos, segundo alguns critérios determinados. Esses modelos permitem que se faça a modelagem de aplicações nas quais o processo de resolução dos problemas, representados por tais aplicações, parece se adequar às características dos agentes reativos. A validação do uso do ambiente SIMULA envolveu a modelagem de três aplicações: a atuação de robôs na busca de minerais, definido em [STE 90], o jogo PENGI, definido em [AGR 87] e [FER 91], e a atuação de parasitas no controle de pragas de plantações. Esta última sendo uma novidade para a resolução com agentes reativos. / Multiagent Systems is a subject of study in DAI (Distributed Artificial Intelligence) in which a group of agents interacts with the same tool . DAI is based on social behavior of agents (human and artificial ones) focus on actions and interactions of them . Those agents can be cognitive or reactive . Reactive Multiagent Systems have been used in research and studies linked to important fields of use that generates the development of systems not only for academic areas but also to meet the needs of industrial market. As we have the objective of ranging a research field of multiagent systems, this work comes up with a definition and implementation of a prototype of a software tool which enables the application development in reactive multiagent system . This tool has the purpose to ease the creation of such applications like the use of agents and consequently achieving a satisfactory result . The tool is called SIMULA and it enables the user to create his own applications through elements from a graphic interface . The user who interacts with the tool determines the agents involved in the problem and how they will act in the process of solving this matter . Applications are developed based in models created by the user. In order to characterize the tool SIMULA , three models of reactive multiagent systems found in [STE 90] , [DEM 93] and [FER 91] have been studied and analyzed. A comparative table has been made according to definite criteria. These models allow shaping the applications in which the process of problem solving represented by such applications seems adequate to the characteristics of reactive agents . Validation of use of SIMULA tool involved modeling of three applications : performance of robots in mineral prospection defined in [STE 90] , PENGI game defined in [AGR 87] and [FER 91] and perfomance of parasite in controlling crop plagues that is being a novelty.

Le mélange de polymères est une méthode répandue pour élaborer des matériaux polymères. Cependant, la plupart des polymères sont thermodynamiquement immiscibles entre eux, engendrant une séparation de phase des mélanges et une détérioration de leurs propriétés. Afin de palier ces problèmes, la méthode dite compatibilisation réactive est souvent employée. Elle est basée sur la formation in-situ de copolymères à bloc ou greffés par l’intermédiaire de réactions interfaciales entre polymères réactifs. Cette thèse a pour objet de développer un concept dit agent compatibilisant-traceur réactif qui permettra d’utiliser de faibles quantités d’agents compatibilisants réactifs pour évaluer leurs efficacités de compatibilisation directement sur des extrudeuses bi-vis industrielles, d’une part ; et de caractériser la performance du mélange d’une extrudeuse bi-vis en fonction des conditions opératoires et/ou du profil de vis employé. Ses principales contributions se résument ci-après. L’anthracène de 9-méthylaminométhyle (MAMA), une molécule fluorescente, est incorporée dans un copolymère statistique de styrène (St) et d’isocyanate de 3-isopropenyle-?, ?’-diméthylebenzène (TMI), noté PS-TMI, pour former un agent compatibilisant-traceur réactif, noté PS-TMI-MAMA. Ce dernier sert à la fois comme agent compatibilisant réactif grâce aux groupements isocyanate et traceur grâce aux groupements fluorescents. Il est utilisé pour les mélanges à base de polystyrène (PS) et de polyamide 6 (PA6) afin d’évaluer son efficacité de compatibilisation. Les mélanges PS/PA6 sont élaborés dans un mélangeur discontinu et une extrudeuse bi-vis, respectivement. Dans le cas du mélangeur discontinu, la quantité du copolymère greffé formé in-situ, noté PS-g-PA6-MAMA, augmente alors que le diamètre des domaines de la phase dispersée (DDD) diminue considérablement au début du mélange. Lorsque le mélange se poursuit, le nombre de greffons en PA6 du PS-g-PA6-MAMA augmente, engendrant une composition très asymétrique du PS-g-PA6-MAMA qui est thermodynamiquement instable aux interfaces. De ce fait, il peut être arraché des interfaces vers la phase PA6 et peut y former des micelles. Lorsqu’il est arraché des interfaces, il perdra son efficacité de compatibilisation et le DDD augmentera. L’action du mélange a un double effet sur le procédé de compatibilisation réactive. Il promeut la réaction interfaciale entre le PS-TMI-MAMA et le PA6, d’une part ; et aggrave l’arrachage du PS-g-PA6-MAMA de l’interface, d’autre part. L’utilisation de faibles quantités de l’agent compatibilisant-traceur réactif permet de mesurer les évolutions de la teneur en agent compatibilisant-traceur réactif, du DDD et de la teneur en agent compatibilisant-traceur réactif ayant réagi en fonction du temps de séjour dans une extrudeuse bi-vis. Pour une masse molaire donnée, l’efficacité de compatibilisation d’un agent compatibilisant-traceur réactif augmente avec l’augmentation de la teneur en TMI dans une certaine limite. Pour une teneur en TMI donnée, la réaction interfaciale est plus rapide avec la diminution de la masse molaire dans une certaine limite et le DDD devient plus petit en un temps plus court. L’influence du taux de remplissage de la vis est plus significative que celle du temps de séjour. Lorsque le taux de remplissage de la vis augmente, le taux de la réaction interfaciale augmente et le DDD diminue. Lorsque l’angle d’un élément de mélange augmente, les efficacités du mélange distributif et du mélange dispersif augmentent, ce qui se traduit par une augmentation de la quantité du PS-g-PA6-MAMA formée et une diminution du DDD par rapport à la même quantité de PS-g-PA6-MAMA produite. Lorsque la largeur d’un élément de mélange augmente, l’efficacité du mélange distributive augmente alors que celle du mélange dispersif demeure inchangée. La substitution d’éléments de mélange par des éléments inverses améliore l’efficacité du mélange distributif et celle du mélange dispersif / Polymer blending is a common method to prepare high-performance polymer materials. However, most polymer pairs are thermodynamically immiscible, leading to phase separation and deterioration in material properties. To overcome such problems, the most common method is reactive compatibilization which is based on the in-situ formation of a graft or block copolymer by interfacial reaction between reactive polymers. This thesis aims at developing a concept of reactive compatibilizer-tracer which will allow using small amounts of reactive compatibilizers to evaluate their compatibilizing efficiency in industrial scale twin screw extruders, on the one hand; and to characterize the mixing performance of a twin screw extruder as a function of process conditions and/or screw profile. Its main contributions are summarized below. 9-(methylaminomethyl) anthracene (MAMA), a fluorescent molecule, is incorporated into a random copolymer of styrene (St) and 3-isopropenyl-?, ?’-dimethylbenzene isocyanate (TMI), denoted as PS-TMI, to form a reactive compatibilizer-tracer, denoted as PS- TMI-MAMA. The latter serves both as a reactive compatibilizer due to its isocyanate moieties and a tracer due to its fluorescent moieites. It is used for polystyrene (PS)/polyamide 6 (PA6) blends to evaluate its compatibilizing efficiency. Compatibilized PS/PA6 blends are processed in a batch mixer and in a twin screw extruder, respectively. In the case of the batch mixer, the amount of the in-situ formed graft copolymer denoted as PS-g-PA6-MAMA increases and the dispersed phase domain diameter (DDD) decreases drastically in the initial period of mixing. As the mixing further proceeds, the number of PA6 grafts of the PS-g-PA6-MAMA increases, resulting in a highly asymmetrical composition of the PS-g-PA6-MAMA which causes thermodynamic instablility at the interface. As a result, it could be pulled out of the interface to the PA6 phase and form micelles. Once it is pulled out of the interface, it will lose its compatibilizing efficiency and the dispersed phase domain diameter increases sharply. Mixing has a dual effect on the reactive compatibilization process. On the one hand, it promotes the interfacial reaction between the PS-TMI-MAMA and PA6. On the other hand, it aggravates the pull out of the resulting PS-g-PA6-MAMA from the interface. The use of small amounts of the reactive compatibilizer-tracer together with transient experiments for RTD allows assessing the evolutions of the reactive compatibilizer-tracer content (CC), the dispersed phase domain diameter (DDD), and the reacted reactive compatibilizer-tracer content (RCC) as a function of residence time in a twin-screw extruder. Based on the above results, the emulsification curve (DDD vs. CC), the RCC vs. CC curve and effective emulsification curve (DDD vs. RCC) are obtained. When the molar mass of the reactive compatibilizer-tracer is fixed, its compatibilizing efficiency increases with increasing TMI content within an appropriate range. When its TMI content is fixed, the interfacial reaction goes faster as the molar mass of the reactive compatibilizer-tracer decreases within a certain range, and the DDD becomes smaller in a shorter time. The effect of degree of fill fixed by the throughput Q/screw speed N ratio is more dominant than that of residence time. As the degree of fill increases, the interfacial reaction increases and the DDD decreases. As the angle of adjacent the kneading block increases, its distributive and dispersive mixing efficiencies increase, resulting in an increase in interfacial area generation and a decrease in DDD on the basis of the same amount of PS-g-PA6-MAMA. On the other hand, as the width of the kneading block increases, the distributive mixing efficiency increases and the dispersive mixing efficiency remains unchanged. Substitution of kneading blocks by reverse ones increase both the distributive and dispersive mixing efficiencies

Sistema multiagente é um tema de estudo em IAD, no qual um conjunto de agentes interage em um ambiente comum. A IAD baseia-se no comportamento social de agentes (humanos e artificiais), enfatizando as ações e as interações dos mesmos. Esses agentes podem ser cognitivos ou reativos. Os sistemas multiagentes reativos têm sido usados em pesquisas e estudos ligados a campos importantes de aplicação, gerando o desenvolvimento de sistemas não apenas para a área acadêmica, mas também para atender às necessidades do mercado industrial. Com o objetivo de abranger um ramo de pesquisas em sistemas multiagentes, este trabalho propôs a definição e a implementação de um protótipo de um ambiente de software que possibilita o desenvolvimento de aplicações em sistemas multiagentes reativos. Este ambiente tem a finalidade de facilitar a criação de tais aplicações com o uso de agentes, atingindo um resultado satisfatório. O ambiente definido é o SIMULA, que possibilita ao usuário criar suas aplicações através de elementos de uma interface gráfica. O usuário, na interação com o ambiente, determina os agentes envolvidos no problema e como eles agirão no processo de resolução do mesmo. O usuário define a sua aplicação criando um modelo para ela. Para definir as características do ambiente SIMULA, foram estudados e analisados três modelos de sistemas multiagentes reativos, encontrados em [STE 90], [DEM 93] e [FER 91], e estabelecido um quadro comparativo dos mesmos, segundo alguns critérios determinados. Esses modelos permitem que se faça a modelagem de aplicações nas quais o processo de resolução dos problemas, representados por tais aplicações, parece se adequar às características dos agentes reativos. A validação do uso do ambiente SIMULA envolveu a modelagem de três aplicações: a atuação de robôs na busca de minerais, definido em [STE 90], o jogo PENGI, definido em [AGR 87] e [FER 91], e a atuação de parasitas no controle de pragas de plantações. Esta última sendo uma novidade para a resolução com agentes reativos. / Multiagent Systems is a subject of study in DAI (Distributed Artificial Intelligence) in which a group of agents interacts with the same tool . DAI is based on social behavior of agents (human and artificial ones) focus on actions and interactions of them . Those agents can be cognitive or reactive . Reactive Multiagent Systems have been used in research and studies linked to important fields of use that generates the development of systems not only for academic areas but also to meet the needs of industrial market. As we have the objective of ranging a research field of multiagent systems, this work comes up with a definition and implementation of a prototype of a software tool which enables the application development in reactive multiagent system . This tool has the purpose to ease the creation of such applications like the use of agents and consequently achieving a satisfactory result . The tool is called SIMULA and it enables the user to create his own applications through elements from a graphic interface . The user who interacts with the tool determines the agents involved in the problem and how they will act in the process of solving this matter . Applications are developed based in models created by the user. In order to characterize the tool SIMULA , three models of reactive multiagent systems found in [STE 90] , [DEM 93] and [FER 91] have been studied and analyzed. A comparative table has been made according to definite criteria. These models allow shaping the applications in which the process of problem solving represented by such applications seems adequate to the characteristics of reactive agents . Validation of use of SIMULA tool involved modeling of three applications : performance of robots in mineral prospection defined in [STE 90] , PENGI game defined in [AGR 87] and [FER 91] and perfomance of parasite in controlling crop plagues that is being a novelty.

Sistema multiagente é um tema de estudo em IAD, no qual um conjunto de agentes interage em um ambiente comum. A IAD baseia-se no comportamento social de agentes (humanos e artificiais), enfatizando as ações e as interações dos mesmos. Esses agentes podem ser cognitivos ou reativos. Os sistemas multiagentes reativos têm sido usados em pesquisas e estudos ligados a campos importantes de aplicação, gerando o desenvolvimento de sistemas não apenas para a área acadêmica, mas também para atender às necessidades do mercado industrial. Com o objetivo de abranger um ramo de pesquisas em sistemas multiagentes, este trabalho propôs a definição e a implementação de um protótipo de um ambiente de software que possibilita o desenvolvimento de aplicações em sistemas multiagentes reativos. Este ambiente tem a finalidade de facilitar a criação de tais aplicações com o uso de agentes, atingindo um resultado satisfatório. O ambiente definido é o SIMULA, que possibilita ao usuário criar suas aplicações através de elementos de uma interface gráfica. O usuário, na interação com o ambiente, determina os agentes envolvidos no problema e como eles agirão no processo de resolução do mesmo. O usuário define a sua aplicação criando um modelo para ela. Para definir as características do ambiente SIMULA, foram estudados e analisados três modelos de sistemas multiagentes reativos, encontrados em [STE 90], [DEM 93] e [FER 91], e estabelecido um quadro comparativo dos mesmos, segundo alguns critérios determinados. Esses modelos permitem que se faça a modelagem de aplicações nas quais o processo de resolução dos problemas, representados por tais aplicações, parece se adequar às características dos agentes reativos. A validação do uso do ambiente SIMULA envolveu a modelagem de três aplicações: a atuação de robôs na busca de minerais, definido em [STE 90], o jogo PENGI, definido em [AGR 87] e [FER 91], e a atuação de parasitas no controle de pragas de plantações. Esta última sendo uma novidade para a resolução com agentes reativos. / Multiagent Systems is a subject of study in DAI (Distributed Artificial Intelligence) in which a group of agents interacts with the same tool . DAI is based on social behavior of agents (human and artificial ones) focus on actions and interactions of them . Those agents can be cognitive or reactive . Reactive Multiagent Systems have been used in research and studies linked to important fields of use that generates the development of systems not only for academic areas but also to meet the needs of industrial market. As we have the objective of ranging a research field of multiagent systems, this work comes up with a definition and implementation of a prototype of a software tool which enables the application development in reactive multiagent system . This tool has the purpose to ease the creation of such applications like the use of agents and consequently achieving a satisfactory result . The tool is called SIMULA and it enables the user to create his own applications through elements from a graphic interface . The user who interacts with the tool determines the agents involved in the problem and how they will act in the process of solving this matter . Applications are developed based in models created by the user. In order to characterize the tool SIMULA , three models of reactive multiagent systems found in [STE 90] , [DEM 93] and [FER 91] have been studied and analyzed. A comparative table has been made according to definite criteria. These models allow shaping the applications in which the process of problem solving represented by such applications seems adequate to the characteristics of reactive agents . Validation of use of SIMULA tool involved modeling of three applications : performance of robots in mineral prospection defined in [STE 90] , PENGI game defined in [AGR 87] and [FER 91] and perfomance of parasite in controlling crop plagues that is being a novelty.