A conversão da energia das ondas dos oceanos em energia elétrica é uma alternativa para o problema da falta de combustíveis fósseis. Uma das possibilidades de aproveitamento é através de dispositivos cujo princípio de funcionamento é o de Coluna de Água Oscilante (CAO). No presente trabalho o objetivo é, através da modelagem computacional e do emprego do Design Construtal, maximizar a potência hidropneumática de um dispositivo conversor de energia das ondas do mar do tipo CAO. São analisados diferentes eixos da restrição física, no formato elíptico, que representa a turbina, e duas formas geométricas na região de transição entre a câmara hidropneumática e a chaminé do dispositivo CAO: trapezoidal e semicircular. Considerando um domínio bidimensional, as restrições para estes problemas são: Área da restrição elíptica (AR), Área total do dispositivo (AT) e razão entre a área da restrição elíptica e a área total (ϕn). Os graus de liberdade analisados são: a razão entre os comprimentos dos eixos da restrição elíptica (d1/d2) para o caso da restrição física da turbina, o ângulo de inclinação da parede (α) para o caso com região de transição trapezoidal, o raio (r) e H2/l (razão entre altura e comprimento da chaminé de saída da câmara CAO) para o caso com região de transição semicircular. Para a solução numérica é empregado um código de dinâmica dos fluidos computacional, FLUENT®, baseado no Método de Volumes Finitos (MVF). O modelo multifásico Volume of Fluid (VOF) é aplicado no tratamento da interação água-ar. O domínio computacional é representado por um tanque de ondas com um dispositivo CAO acoplado. Os resultados obtidos indicam que, para o estudo da região de transição trapezoidal o desempenho do conversor tem aproximadamente o mesmo desempenho para todas as geometrias estudadas. A região de transição semicircular, apresenta resultados para os quais foi possível otimizar a potência hidropneumática. O estudo da turbina indica que foi possível determinar uma geometria capaz de converter a energia da onda incidente ao dispositivo, sem que ocorresse a obstrução do escoamento de ar na chaminé do dispositivo CAO. Assim, mostra-se a relação entre o método Design Construtal e o clima de ondas na definição das dimensões que maximizam a potência hidropneumática. / The conversion of ocean’s wave energy into electrical energy is an alternative for the scarcity of fossil fuels. One of the possibilities of energy use is through devices, whose operating principle is the Oscillating Water Column (OWC). In this work the aim is, through computer modeling and the Constructal Design, to maximize hydropneumatic power of a power converter device type OWC. Different axes of physical constraint with elliptical shape, representing the effect of the turbine , are analyzed. Two geometric shapes in the transition region between the hydropneumatic chamber and the chimney OWC device, trapezoidal and semicircular, are also analyzed. Considering a two-dimensional domain the restrictions for this problem are: Elliptical restriction area (AR), Total area device (AT) and the ratio between the area of the elliptical restraint and the total area (ϕn). The considered degrees of freedom are: the ratio between the lengths of the axes (d1/d2) of the elliptical restraint, for the turbine’s physical constraint case, the inclination angle (α) of the wall for the trapezoidal transition case, and the radius (r) and H2/l (ratio between height and length of output chimney CAO) for the semicircular transition region case. For the numerical solution, a commercial code of computational fluid dynamics, FLUENT®, which is based on the Finite Volume Method (FVM), is employed. The multiphase model Volume of Fluid (VOF) is applied in the treatment of water-air interaction. The computational domain is represented by a wave tank with a fixed OWC device. The obtained results indicate that, for the study of the trapezoidal transition region, the performance of converter don’t seems to be compensatory only by changing the geometry of the trapezoidal area. However, for the semicircular transition region, it was possible to optimize a hydropneumatic power. The study of turbine effect indicates a geometry capable of converting the energy of the incident wave to the device, without obstructing the air flow in the chimney of de OWC, showing the relationship between the Constructal Design method and the wave climate in the definition of the dimensions that maximize the hydropneumatic power.

O objetivo deste estudo é avaliar a correspondência anatômica entre a eminência arqueada e o canal semicircular superior na superfície da fossa craniana média. Este estudo transversal descritivo foi realizado em um hospital terciário. Setenta e cinco pacientes consecutivos (150 lados), submetidos à tomografia computadorizada de alta resolução dos ossos temporais, foram analisados por dois autores. Para cada exame, a relação anatômica entre a eminência arqueada e o canal semicircular superior foi classificada como coincidente ou não coincidente. Distâncias entre os parâmetros anatômicos de maior utilidade na cirurgia da fossa média e prevalência de deiscência do canal semicircular superior também foram estudadas. A eminência arqueada foi coincidente com o canal semicircular superior em apenas 31.3% dos casos. Não foi possível identificar a eminência arqueada em 33 exames (22.0%). Deiscência do canal semicircular superior foi encontrada em cinco casos (3.3%). Poucos milímetros separaram a cóclea do canal semicircular superior. As medidas secundárias foram caracterizadas por ampla variabilidade. A eminência arqueada não se sobrepõe sistematicamente ao canal semicircular superior e não deve ser usada rotineiramente como uma referência para a localização dessa estrutura. / The objective of this study is to evaluate the anatomical coincidence between the arcuate eminence and the superior semicircular canal at the middle cranial fossa surface. This crosssectional descriptive study was performed at a tertiary hospital. Seventy-five consecutive patients (150 sides) who underwent bilateral high-resolution temporal bone computed tomography scans were analyzed by two authors. In each scan, the anatomical relationship between the arcuate eminence and the superior semicircular canal was classified as coincident or non-coincident. Distances between the most applicable anatomical landmarks for middle cranial fossa surgery and the prevalence of superior semicircular canal dehiscence were also studied. The arcuate eminence matched the semicircular canal in only 31.3% of cases. It was impossible to identify the arcuate eminence in 33 scans (22.0%). Semicircular canal dehiscence was found in 5 cases (3.3%). A few millimeters separated the cochea from SSC; secondary measurements were characterized by broad variability. The arcuate eminence does not systematically overlie the superior semicircular canal and should not be routinely used as a reference for reaching this structure in the context of middle fossa surgery.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-17T14:58:09Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 HallyjusADB_DISSERT.pdf: 2542860 bytes, checksum: a76cbfa6200b38f0f8ff5811d0315d59 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-02-18 / Composite materials have a wide application in various sectors, such as the medical field in the manufacture of prostheses, in automotive and aerospace. Thus it is essential to the development of new composite and a better understanding in the face of various loading conditions and service. Several structural elements are manufactured in the presence of geometric discontinuity (notch, hole, etc ) in their longitudinal sections and/or cross-cutting, and these affect the mechanical response of these elements. The objective is to study the mechanical response of laminated polymer matrix hybrid composites reinforced with glass fiber/jute in a uniaxial tensile test. The mechanical response takes in account both the influence of the presence of a geometric discontinuity (semicircular notches) and the orientation of fibers in the layers (anisotropy). The semicircular notches are located in longitudinal section (with a reduction in cross section) of the same. In this analysis, the anisotropy is characterized by types of configurations (with different orientations of fibers in the outer layers). A comparative study of mechanical properties with and without the presence of notches is developed. Both configurations consist of four layers of woven jute fiber bidirectional and a central layer of bidirectional woven glass fibers. In addition to the mechanical properties was also studied the characteristics of the fracture developed in each composite laminate. The results showed that in the comparative study, the anisotropy and the presence of semicircular notches directly influences the mechanical behavior of laminates composites, mainly in reducing the tensile strength, and well as the final characteristics of the fracture / Os materiais comp?sitos t?m uma ampla aplica??o nos mais variados setores, como por exemplo, na ?rea m?dica na confec??o de pr?teses, na ind?stria automotiva e no setor aeroespacial. Assim ? essencial o desenvolvimento de novos comp?sitos e uma melhor compreens?o frente ?s mais diversas condi??es de carga e servi?o. V?rios elementos estruturais s?o fabricados na presen?a de descontinuidade geom?trica (entalhe, furo etc.) em suas se??es longitudinais e/ou transversais, e essas prejudicam a resposta mec?nica desses elementos. O objetivo do trabalho ? estudar a resposta mec?nica de laminados comp?sitos h?bridos de matriz polim?rica refor?ado com fibras de vidro/juta em um ensaio de tra??o uniaxial. A resposta mec?nica leva em conta tanto a influ?ncia da presen?a de uma descontinuidade geom?trica (entalhes semicirculares) quanto da orienta??o das fibras nas camadas (anisotropia). Os entalhes semicirculares est?o localizados na se??o longitudinal (com redu??o da se??o transversal) dos mesmos. Nessa an?lise, a anisotropia ? caracterizada por dois tipos de configura??es (com diferentes orienta??es das fibras nas camadas externas). Um estudo comparativo das propriedades mec?nicas com e sem a presen?a dos entalhes ? desenvolvido. As duas configura??es consistem de quatro camadas de tecidos bidirecionais de fibras de juta e uma camada central de tecido bidirecional de fibras de vidro. Al?m das propriedades mec?nicas, tamb?m foi estudada as caracter?sticas da fratura desenvolvidas em cada laminado comp?sito. Os resultados mostraram que, no estudo comparativo, a anisotropia e a presen?a dos entalhes semicirculares influi diretamente no comportamento mec?nico dos laminados comp?sitos, principalmente na redu??o da resist?ncia ? tra??o, e bem como na caracter?stica final da fratura

A conversão da energia das ondas dos oceanos em energia elétrica é uma alternativa para o problema da falta de combustíveis fósseis. Uma das possibilidades de aproveitamento é através de dispositivos cujo princípio de funcionamento é o de Coluna de Água Oscilante (CAO). No presente trabalho o objetivo é, através da modelagem computacional e do emprego do Design Construtal, maximizar a potência hidropneumática de um dispositivo conversor de energia das ondas do mar do tipo CAO. São analisados diferentes eixos da restrição física, no formato elíptico, que representa a turbina, e duas formas geométricas na região de transição entre a câmara hidropneumática e a chaminé do dispositivo CAO: trapezoidal e semicircular. Considerando um domínio bidimensional, as restrições para estes problemas são: Área da restrição elíptica (AR), Área total do dispositivo (AT) e razão entre a área da restrição elíptica e a área total (ϕn). Os graus de liberdade analisados são: a razão entre os comprimentos dos eixos da restrição elíptica (d1/d2) para o caso da restrição física da turbina, o ângulo de inclinação da parede (α) para o caso com região de transição trapezoidal, o raio (r) e H2/l (razão entre altura e comprimento da chaminé de saída da câmara CAO) para o caso com região de transição semicircular. Para a solução numérica é empregado um código de dinâmica dos fluidos computacional, FLUENT®, baseado no Método de Volumes Finitos (MVF). O modelo multifásico Volume of Fluid (VOF) é aplicado no tratamento da interação água-ar. O domínio computacional é representado por um tanque de ondas com um dispositivo CAO acoplado. Os resultados obtidos indicam que, para o estudo da região de transição trapezoidal o desempenho do conversor tem aproximadamente o mesmo desempenho para todas as geometrias estudadas. A região de transição semicircular, apresenta resultados para os quais foi possível otimizar a potência hidropneumática. O estudo da turbina indica que foi possível determinar uma geometria capaz de converter a energia da onda incidente ao dispositivo, sem que ocorresse a obstrução do escoamento de ar na chaminé do dispositivo CAO. Assim, mostra-se a relação entre o método Design Construtal e o clima de ondas na definição das dimensões que maximizam a potência hidropneumática. / The conversion of ocean’s wave energy into electrical energy is an alternative for the scarcity of fossil fuels. One of the possibilities of energy use is through devices, whose operating principle is the Oscillating Water Column (OWC). In this work the aim is, through computer modeling and the Constructal Design, to maximize hydropneumatic power of a power converter device type OWC. Different axes of physical constraint with elliptical shape, representing the effect of the turbine , are analyzed. Two geometric shapes in the transition region between the hydropneumatic chamber and the chimney OWC device, trapezoidal and semicircular, are also analyzed. Considering a two-dimensional domain the restrictions for this problem are: Elliptical restriction area (AR), Total area device (AT) and the ratio between the area of the elliptical restraint and the total area (ϕn). The considered degrees of freedom are: the ratio between the lengths of the axes (d1/d2) of the elliptical restraint, for the turbine’s physical constraint case, the inclination angle (α) of the wall for the trapezoidal transition case, and the radius (r) and H2/l (ratio between height and length of output chimney CAO) for the semicircular transition region case. For the numerical solution, a commercial code of computational fluid dynamics, FLUENT®, which is based on the Finite Volume Method (FVM), is employed. The multiphase model Volume of Fluid (VOF) is applied in the treatment of water-air interaction. The computational domain is represented by a wave tank with a fixed OWC device. The obtained results indicate that, for the study of the trapezoidal transition region, the performance of converter don’t seems to be compensatory only by changing the geometry of the trapezoidal area. However, for the semicircular transition region, it was possible to optimize a hydropneumatic power. The study of turbine effect indicates a geometry capable of converting the energy of the incident wave to the device, without obstructing the air flow in the chimney of de OWC, showing the relationship between the Constructal Design method and the wave climate in the definition of the dimensions that maximize the hydropneumatic power.

O objetivo deste estudo é avaliar a correspondência anatômica entre a eminência arqueada e o canal semicircular superior na superfície da fossa craniana média. Este estudo transversal descritivo foi realizado em um hospital terciário. Setenta e cinco pacientes consecutivos (150 lados), submetidos à tomografia computadorizada de alta resolução dos ossos temporais, foram analisados por dois autores. Para cada exame, a relação anatômica entre a eminência arqueada e o canal semicircular superior foi classificada como coincidente ou não coincidente. Distâncias entre os parâmetros anatômicos de maior utilidade na cirurgia da fossa média e prevalência de deiscência do canal semicircular superior também foram estudadas. A eminência arqueada foi coincidente com o canal semicircular superior em apenas 31.3% dos casos. Não foi possível identificar a eminência arqueada em 33 exames (22.0%). Deiscência do canal semicircular superior foi encontrada em cinco casos (3.3%). Poucos milímetros separaram a cóclea do canal semicircular superior. As medidas secundárias foram caracterizadas por ampla variabilidade. A eminência arqueada não se sobrepõe sistematicamente ao canal semicircular superior e não deve ser usada rotineiramente como uma referência para a localização dessa estrutura. / The objective of this study is to evaluate the anatomical coincidence between the arcuate eminence and the superior semicircular canal at the middle cranial fossa surface. This crosssectional descriptive study was performed at a tertiary hospital. Seventy-five consecutive patients (150 sides) who underwent bilateral high-resolution temporal bone computed tomography scans were analyzed by two authors. In each scan, the anatomical relationship between the arcuate eminence and the superior semicircular canal was classified as coincident or non-coincident. Distances between the most applicable anatomical landmarks for middle cranial fossa surgery and the prevalence of superior semicircular canal dehiscence were also studied. The arcuate eminence matched the semicircular canal in only 31.3% of cases. It was impossible to identify the arcuate eminence in 33 scans (22.0%). Semicircular canal dehiscence was found in 5 cases (3.3%). A few millimeters separated the cochea from SSC; secondary measurements were characterized by broad variability. The arcuate eminence does not systematically overlie the superior semicircular canal and should not be routinely used as a reference for reaching this structure in the context of middle fossa surgery.

Despite our understanding of the impact of noise-induced damage to the auditory system, much less is known about the impact of noise exposure on the vestibular system. In this article, we review the anatomical, physiological, and functional evidence for noise-induced damage to peripheral and central vestibular structures. Morphological studies in several animal models have demonstrated cellular damage throughout the peripheral vestibular system and particularly in the otolith organs; however, there is a paucity of data on the effect of noise exposure on human vestibular end organs. Physiological studies have corroborated morphological studies by demonstrating disruption across vestibular pathways with otolith-mediated pathways impacted more than semicircular canal-mediated pathways. Similar to the temporary threshold shifts observed in the auditory system, physiological studies in animals have suggested a capacity for recovery following noise-induced vestibular damage. Human studies have demonstrated that diminished sacculo-collic responses are related to the severity of noise-induced hearing loss, and dose-dependent vestibular deficits following noise exposure have been corroborated in animal models. Further work is needed to better understand the physiological and functional consequences of noise-induced vestibular impairment in animals and humans.

Compression fracture specimens are ideally suited for miniaturization down to tens of microns. Fracture testing of thermal barrier coatings, ceramics and glasses are also best accomplished under compression or indentation. Compression fracture specimen of finite size with constant form factor was not available in the literature. The finite-sized specimen of edge cracked semicircular disk (ECSD) is designed which has the property of constant form factor. The novel ECSD specimen is explored further using weight function concept. This thesis, therefore, is mainly concerned with the design, development and geometric optimization of compression fracture specimen vis a vis their characterization of form factors, weight functions and isotropic points in the uncracked geometry. Inspired by the Brazilian disk geometry, a novel compression fracture specimen is designed in the form of a semicircular disk with an edge crack which opens up due to the bending moment caused by the compressive load applied along its straight edge. This new design evolved from a set of photoelastic experiments conducted on the Brazilian disk and its two extreme cases. Surprisingly, normalized mode-I stress intensity factor of the semicircular specimen loaded under a particular Hertzian way, is found constant for a wide range of relative crack lengths. This property of constant form factor leads to the development of weight function for ECSD for deeper analysis of the specimen. The weight function of a cracked geometry does not depend on loading configuration and it relates stress intensity factor to the stress distribution in the corresponding uncracked geometry through a weighted integral. The weight function for the disk specimen is synthesized in two different ways: using the conventional approach which requires crack opening displacement and the dual form factor method which is newly developed. Since stress distribution in the uncracked specimen is required in order to use weight function concept, analytical solution is attempted using linear elasticity theory. Since closed form solution for stresses in the uncracked semicircular disk is seldom possible with the available techniques, a new semi-analytical method called partial boundary collocation (PBC), is developed which may be used for solving any 2-D elasticity problem involving a semi-geometry. In the new method, part of the boundary conditions are identically satisfied and remaining conditions are satisfied at discrete boundary points. The classical stress concentration factor for a semi-in finite plate with a semicircular edge notch re-derived using PBC is found to be accurate to the eighth decimal. To enhance the form factor in order to test high-toughness materials, edge cracked semicircular ring (ECSR) specimen is designed in which bending moment at the crack-tip is increased significantly due to the ring geometry. ECSR is analyzed using nite element method and the corresponding uncracked problem is analyzed by PBC. Constant form factor is found possible for the ring specimen with tiny notch. In order to avoid varying semi-Hertzian angle during practice and thereby ensure consistent loading conditions, the designs are further modified by chopping at the loading zones and analyzed. Photoelastic isotropic points (IPs) which are a special case of zeroth order fringe (ZOF) are often found in uncracked and cracked specimens. An analytical technique based on Flamant solution is developed for solving any problem involving circular domain loaded at its boundary. Formation of IPs in a circular disk is studied. The coefficients of static friction between the surfaces of disk and loading fixtures, in photoelastic experiments of three-point and four-point loadings, are explored analytically to confirm with experimental results. The disk under multiple radial loads uniformly spaced on its periphery is found to give rise to one isolated IP at the center. Splitting of this IP into a number of IPs can be observed when the symmetry of normal loading is perturbed. Tangential loading is introduced along with normal loading to capture the effect of the composition on formation of IPs. Bernoulli's lemniscate is found to fit fringe order topology local to multiple IPs. Isotropic points along with other low fringe order zones including ZOF are ideal locations for material removal for weight reduction. Making a small hole in the prospective crack path at the IP location in the uncracked geometry might provide dual benefits: 1. Form factor enhancement; 2. Crack arrestor. Thus, this thesis describes experimental, theoretical and computational investigations for the design, development and calibration of novel compact compression fracture specimens.