Ce travail a pour objectif de mieux comprendre et maîtriser les défaillances mécaniques par fissuration liées à la réduction d'échelle des circuits intégrés appliquant la mécanique de la rupture à la microélectronique. La démarche scientifique pour discuter de l'intégrité mécanique de structures complexes telles que les interconnexions, a été conduite en deux étapes.<br /><br />- Comprendre et caractériser les mécanismes de fissurations sur les films minces fragiles de low-k par deux méthodes expérimentales, nanoindentation coin de cube et multifissuration canalisée en flexion 4 points. Les valeurs de ténacités obtenues, étant les plus critiques, servent ainsi de valeurs seuils pour estimer les risques de rupture d'une structure d'interconnexion.<br />- Estimer les risques de perte d'intégrité d'une structure par des approches numériques par Eléments finis. L'une est basée sur un critère d'amorçage de fissure aux singularités géométriques et matérielles, la seconde sur un critère énergétique de propagation de fissure pré-existante.<br /><br />Les résultats obtenus permettent d'établir les tendances générales d'influence de l'architecture des structures sur leur risque de fissuration.

Cette étude concerne principalement la rupture à 20°C d'un acier inoxydable moulé ZCND19-10M, contenant 20% de ferrite, vieilli 700 h à 400°C, afin d'en tirer un critère de rupture d'un élément de volume, dans le cadre de l'approche locale de la rupture. Des essais de traction sur des éprouvettes axisymétriques entaillées permettent d'étudier l'effet de la triaxialité des contraintes sur la ductilité. Les mécanismes de rupture sont étudiés sur des coupes métallographiques, et des examens fractographiques. Des fissures de clivage sont amorcées dans la ferrite et s'arrêtent dans l'austénite. Elles croissent par émoussement dans l'austénite, puis forment une macro-fissure par coalescence. Ces fissures de clivage sont groupées en "amas". Une étude cristallographique montre qu'elles apparaissent dans des grains d'austénite se déformant en glissement simple, la contrainte d'incompatibilité entre les deux phases étant plus élevée dans ce cas. A une échelle supérieure, l'analyse mécanique des conditions de germination des fissures, montre que celle-ci est contrôlée par la déformation plastique. De plus, les fissures apparaissent progressivement quand la déformation augmente. Un modèle de comportement de matériau poreux de Gurson, a été utilisé pour simuler la rupture ductile de ce matériau. A l'aide de tirages aléatoires des grains fortement endommagés (les amas de fissures) dans les éprouvettes entaillées, et de calculs aux éléments finis de ces mêmes éprouvettes, nous montrons que la ductilité est contrôlée par la rupture des amas, et que sa grande dispersion peut être correctement reproduite

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Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg / Background and objectives Prelabour rupture of the membranes (PROM) is a major obstetric problem affecting about 20% of pregnancies. Complications include preterm labour, ascending intrauterine and perinatal infections, and neonatal mortality. Standard guidelines are formulated and continually reviewed to improve the clinical management of PROM and to reduce poor perinatal outcomes associated with this condition. The objectives of this study, conducted using women in Johannesburg as a sample population, were: 1) to audit the implementation of the standard protocol on management of PROM, and 2) to determine the maternal and fetal outcomes of this condition. Methods A cross-sectional descriptive study was done on women admitted to the antenatal wards of Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital with PROM. Inclusion criteria were that PROM was the main reason for admission, gestation ≥24 weeks, and maternal age 18 years or more. Hospital clinical files were studied for obstetric and clinical characteristics, adherence by doctors to the management protocol, and final outcome including latency period, induction rate, mode of delivery, and neonatal outcome. Results Ninety-seven women participated in the study. Their mean age was 27.0 years, and 37 (38%) were nulliparous. Eighty-five (87%) had attended antenatal clinic. Twenty-nine (30%) were HIV-infected, 23 (79%) of them on highly active antiretroviral treatment. 6 The mean gestational age on admission was 32.8 weeks, with 78 (80%) women having preterm PROM at GA<37 weeks and 52 (54%) at GA <34 weeks. The most frequent methods of diagnosis were visual inspection in 77 (79%), speculum examination in 49 (51%) and ultrasound scan in 81 (84%) of the women. Antibiotics were given to 96 women (99%), and antenatal corticosteroids were used in all women <34 weeks pregnant. No cases of clinical chorioamnionitis were detected. The mean latency from PROM to delivery for women <37 weeks pregnant was 15 days, and for those <34 weeks, it was 19 days. Twenty-nine women (30%) required induction of labour, and 25 (25.8%) had caesarean sections. There were 12 perinatal deaths (with the exclusion of three late neonatal deaths), resulting from prematurity (n=4), congenital anomalies (n=2), neonatal jaundice (n=2), respiratory distress syndrome (n=2) and perinatal asphyxia / hypoxic ischaemic encephalopathy (n=2). There were no recorded cases of either neonatal or puerperal sepsis. Conclusion The study may have under-represented term PROM, so the findings are most applicable to preterm PROM. The condition was mostly managed appropriately within the local protocol, especially in terms of corticosteroid and antibiotic use. Overt or clinically evident chorioamnionitis was not detected. However, the perinatal mortality rate was high, and whatever the causes of perinatal death in this group, it is clear that PROM is a high-risk condition deserving of close clinical attention.

Ce travail est une contribution à l'analyse du comportement à l'endommagement des matériaux ductiles. L'endommagement ductile désigne le processus de dégradation progressive des propriétés physiques et mécaniques d'un matériau lorsqu'il subit, sous l'effet d'un chargement et avant rupture, une déformation plastique importante à température ambiante ou peu élevée. L'objectif de ce travail est de déterminer un critère de propagation de fissures pour simuler la déchirure des matériaux ductiles en se basant sur les modèles d'endommagements locaux. Nous avons mené une campagne expérimentale sur 3 matériaux structurellement très différents: un acier 12NC6, un aluminium 2024T351 et un polymère PA66. Le modèle de croissance des cavités Rice-Tracey s'est révélé très limité à décrire la rupture des matériaux testés, nous avons alors proposé une modification de ce modèle en l'enrichissant de paramètres micromécaniques permettant de prendre en compte l'effet de la croissance et des interactions entre les cavités. Le modèle proposé a été implanté dans un code de calcul par éléments finis pour simuler l'amorçage d'une fissure et sa propagation au cours du chargement. Nous avons validé ce modèle analytique à l'aide des résultats expérimentaux des trois matériaux. Les résultats numériques obtenus en termes de courbes R et «charge-déplacement» comparés aux résultats expérimentaux ont permis de valider le modèle sur les trois matériaux étudiés. / The purpose of this thesis is to contribute to the study of ductile fracture of materials on micromechanical models based on local approach. Ductile fracture of metals occurs mainly by nucleation, growth and coalescence of voids. Concerning the local approach of ductile fracture, the emphasis is laid on the micromechanical model of Rice-Tracey. The latter based on growth cavities is verified in order to describe the ductile tearing in stainless steel NiCr(12NC6), 2024T351 aluminium alloy and polymer PA66. The experimental study is carried out on compact tension ct , central crack panel ccp, single edge notched tension sent and tensile axisymetric notched specimens to characterize ductile failure in different materials. The comparison of the experimental results with the classical Rice-Tracey model shows that it cannot make a good prediction using "j -da" curve. On the basis of fitting procedure and numerical simulation a correction of coefficients is introduced to improve the Rice-Tracey model. A methodology of identification of parameters is presented. Ductile crack growth, defined by the" j -da" curve, has been correctly simulated using the numerical calculations by adjusting the three parameters of " modified Rice-Tracey model in the calibration procedure. The proposed model is implemented into a finite element code. Close agreement between the computed results aj'ld experimentally measured values justifies the usefulness of the present modified model.

Ascending thoracic aortic aneurysms (ATAAs) are focal dilatations in the aorta that are prone to rupture or dissect. Currently, the clinically used indicator of the rupture risk is the diameter. However, it has been demonstrated that the diameter alone may not properly predict the risk. To evaluate the rupture risk, one must look into the local mechanical conditions at the rupture site and understand how rupture is triggered in the tissue which is a layered fibrous media. A challenge facing experimental studies of ATAA rupture is that the ATAA tissue is highly heterogeneous; experimental protocols that operate under the premise of tissue homogeneity will have difficulty delineating the heterogeneous properties. In general, rupture initiates at the location where the micro-structure starts to break down and consequently, it is more meaningful to investigate the local conditions at the rupture site. In this work, a combined experimental and computational method was developed and employed to characterize wall stress, strain, and property distributions in harvested ATAA samples to a sub-millimeter resolution. The results show that all tested samples exhibit a significant degree of heterogeneous in their mechanical properties. Large inter-subject variability is also observed. A heterogeneous anisotropic finite strain hyperelastic model was introduced to describe the tissue; the distributions of the material parameters were identified. The elastic energy stored in the tissue was computed. It was found that the tissue fractures preferentially in the direction of the highest stiffness, generating orifices that are locally transverse to the peak stiffness direction. The rupture appears to initiate at the position absorbed of the highest energy. Machine learning was used to classify the curves at rupture and non-rupture locations. Features including material properties and curve geometric characteristics were used. The work showed that the rupture and non-rupture states can indeed be classified using pre-rupture response features. Support vector machine(SVM) and random forest algorithm was employed to provide insight on the importance of the features. Inspired by the importance scores provided by random forest, the rupture groups were interrogated and some strong correlations between the strength and the response features were revealed. In particular, it was found that the strength correlates strongly with the tension at the point where the curvature of the total tension strain curve attains maximum, which occurs early in the response.

This report aims to raise awareness of the hazards of surface fault rupture and to identify parameters that influence structural performance during earthquake fault rupture. In researching structures subject to surface rupture, both damaged and sound, guidelines and procedures to evaluate buildings in potential hazard areas are developed herein. Little to no guidance on how to design for surface fault offset exists in current codes and design guides. Thus it is important create tools for designers to appropriately analyze structures by developing guidance and requirements to aid designers in their strength assessment of a structure subject to this particular hazard. Case studies of structures damaged by fault rupture, detailed in Section 4.0, provide important clues as to how structures respond when subject to surface offset. These case studies highlight structures that have been tested under the imposed deformations of the ground, providing insight into how building layout and construction techniques can protect the structure, even under extreme offsets. A sample evaluation for Bowles Hall (UC Berkeley) is provided herein in addition to preliminary code equations that may be used to verify and determine a structure’s resistance to surface rupture.

Traditional tribology is based on the surface with random micro structures due to limitations of manufacturing technology. The modern manufacturing technology now promises to fabricate surfaces with regular micro structures (or asperities). The word asperity refers to a single physical entity on the surface of a material, contributing to a concept called roughness in traditional tribology. Regular asperity surfaces imply that all asperities on the surface of a material have the same shape and size, and a deterministic distribution over the surface. The emergence of regular asperity surfaces will have a transformative impact to the discipline of tribology.<p> The overall objective of this thesis is to study how the regular asperity would affect the tribological behavior. Specifically, this thesis develops a computational model to demonstrate and characterize the effect of the surface with regular anisotropic asperities (RAA) on the directional friction behavior when the surface is in a fully lubricated state. By directional friction, it is meant that friction force changes its magnitude with the change of the relative motion direction. By anisotropic asperity, it is meant that the geometry of the asperity is not symmetrical along the motion direction.<p> This thesis presents a detailed development of the computational model by employing computational fluid dynamics (CFD) techniques. In particular, the model takes the Navier-Stokes (NS) equation as a governing equation and the Half-Sommerfeld Condition (HSC) to represent fluid behavior in the cavitation region; as such the model is named NS-HSC for short. Verification of the NS-HSC model is conducted with the information available in literature. A theory is proposed to explain the relationship between directional friction behavior and specific RAA structures. The thesis concludes: (1) the NS-HSC model is more accurate than the existing model in the literature and can be used to predict directional friction behavior and to design RAA surfaces, and (2) the proposed theory is excellent consistent with the NS-HSC model and thus useful to analysis and design of RAA surfaces for directional friction.<p> The major contributions of this thesis are: (1) the first model in the field of tribology to predict the directional friction behavior for RAA surfaces under a fully lubricated status, (2) the first investigation, in the field of CFD, into combining the NS and HSC for modeling a laminar flow with cavitation, and (3) the first theory in the field of tribology for directional friction on fully lubricated RAA surfaces.