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Aujourd’hui, la technologie du béton ayant fortement évolué, il est, sous certaines conditions, réaliste de construire des éléments structuraux en béton ayant à la compression une résistance de 90N/mm² voire nettement plus. En conséquence, l’ingénieur concepteur peut être amené dans le cadre du dimensionnement des colonnes à en diminuer les dimensions transversales pour des raisons esthétiques ou d’encombrement. Inévitablement, cette diminution de la section transversale induit une augmentation de l’élancement et augmente ainsi les risques des instabilités de flambement. A cette question de flambement, il faut adjoindre l’influence d’une préconception qui veut qu’une structure en béton à haute résistance soit moins ductile qu’une structure construite avec un béton normal ! De ceci résulte la question à la base de ce travail : « Peut-on arriver à diminuer la section transversale d’une colonne en utilisant des résistances de béton plus élevées tout en imposant la même valeur de capacité portante et en ne réduisant pas leur ductilité ? » Afin de répondre à cette question, le travail s’est articulé autour de deux axes essentiels qui sont d’une part une campagne d’essais (afin d’obtenir des résultats fiables) sur 12 colonnes en béton armé à haute résistance (90N/mm²) d’élancement 74 et 82 dont l’excentricité de la charge est une variable, et d’autre part l’implémen- tation de deux programmes informa- tiques utilisant le principe de l’analyse au second ordre en vue de réaliser une étude paramétrique dont l’excentricité, la hauteur des colonnes, la proportion d’acier, la résistance du béton sont les variables. Trop souvent encore, les ingénieurs de bureau d’études hésitent à effectuer un calcul au second ordre et placés devant la question des dimensions de section à donner à une colonne de hauteur et de capacité portante imposées, déterminent celles-ci pour se satisfaire d’un calcul au 1er ordre. Au terme de notre étude, nous avons montré que cette approche est loin d’être optimale, qu’il est possible, au prix d’un calcul au second ordre (mais il est fait à l’ordinateur), de tirer profit d’une augmentation de la résistance du béton pour réduire les dimensions des sections et aboutir en toute sécurité à un dimensionnement plus économique en consommation de matériaux (acier, béton, ciment).

In this thesis, new design concepts for arch bridges using ultra high-performance fibre-reinforced concrete are developed for spans of 50 to 400 m. These concepts are light-weight and efficient, and thus have the potential to significantly reduce the cost of construction. Lightness is achieved by the thinning of structural components and the efficient use of precompression in the arch, rather than by the decrease of bending stiffness. Using the advanced properties of the material, the design concepts were shown to reduce the consumption of concrete in arch bridges by more than 50% relative to arches built using conventional concrete technology. In addition to span length, other design parameters including span-to-rise ratio and deck-stiffening were considered, resulting in a total of seventy-two design concepts. Other important contributions made in this thesis include: (1) the development of a simple analytical model that describes the transition of shallow arches between pure arch behaviour and pure beam behaviour, (2) a comprehensive comparative study of 58 existing concrete arch bridges that characterizes the current state-of-the-art and serves as a valuable reference design tool, and (3) the development and experimental validation of general and simplified methods for calculating the capacity of slender ultra high-performance fibre-reinforced concrete members under compression and bending. The research presented in this thesis provides a means for designers to take full advantage of the high compressive and tensile strengths of the concrete and hence to exploit the economic potential offered by the material.

[pt] Nesse trabalho, estuda-se o desempenho de um absorsor pendular no controle de vibrações de torres altas e esbeltas, ocasionadas por carregamentos dinâmicos, tais como, por exemplo, cargas ambientais. Em virtude da possibilidade de oscilações de grande amplitude, considera- se na modelagem do problema a não-linearidade do pêndulo. O principal objetivo é estudar o comportamento do sistema torre-pêndulo, submetido a um carregamento harmônico, no regime não-linear, abordando-se aspectos gerais ligados à estabilidade dinâmica. Apresenta-se, inicialmente, a formulação necessária para obter o funcional de energia do sistema coluna-pêndulo, tanto para o caso linear quanto para o caso não-linear, do qual derivam-se as equações diferenciais parciais de movimento. A partir das equações lineares, obtêm-se as freqüências naturais e modos de vibração para alguns casos relevantes de coluna. A seguir, com base na análise modal do sistema coluna-pêndulo, deriva-se um modelo de dois graus de liberdade capaz de descrever com precisão o comportamento do sistema na vizinhança da freqüência fundamental da coluna, do qual obtêm-se as equações de movimento e as equações de estado não- lineares. Uma análise paramétrica detalhada das oscilações não-lineares do sistema coluna-pêndulo demonstra que o absorsor pendular passivo pode reduzir ou amplificar a resposta da coluna. No estudo da influência da não-linearidade geométrica do pêndulo, verifica-se a importância dessa na resposta do sistema, evidenciando que a nãolinearidade não pode ser desprezada nessa classe de problema. Por fim, com base nos resultados, propõe-se um absorsor pendular híbrido. Os estudos revelam que este controle é mais eficiente que o passivo e que não requer grande gasto de energia. / [en] In the present work the performance of a pendulum absorber in the vibration control of tall and slender towers, caused by dynamic loads, such as, environmental loads, is studied in detail. Due to the possibility of large amplitude oscillations, the non-linearity of the pendulum is considered in the modeling of the problem. The main objective of this research is to study the behavior of the tower-pendulum system, submitted to a harmonic load, in the nonlinear regimen, with emphasis on general aspects related to its dynamic stability. It is presented, initially, the formulation necessary for the derivation of the system´s energy functional, both for the linear and the nonlinear cases, from which the partial differential equations of motion are derived and the vibration frequencies and related vibration modes are obtained. Then, based on the modal analysis of the column-pendulum system, a two degrees of freedom model, capable of describing with precision the behavior of the system in the neighborhood of the fundamental frequency of the column is derived, from which the equations of motion and the nonlinear state-space equations are obtained. A detailed parametric analysis of the nonlinear oscillations of the system is carried out. It shows that the pendulum may reduce or amplify the response of the column. The results show a marked influence of the geometric not-linearity of the pendulum on the response of the system, showing that its not-linearity cannot be neglected in this class of problems. Finally, based on the results, a hybrid control approach is proposed. These studies show that this control strategy is more efficient than the passive control alone and that it does not require a large amount of energy.

Dans la nature les plantes sont sans cesse soumises à des sollicitations mécaniques qui affectent et modifient leur croissance. Un aspect remarquable de cette réponse est qu’elle n’est pas seulement locale mais non-locale : la flexion d’une tige ou d’une branche inhibe rapidement la croissance loin de la zone sollicitée. Cette observation suggère l'existence d'un signal pouvant se propager à travers toute la plante. Parmi les différentes hypothèses, il a été suggéré que ce signal pouvait être purement mécanique, et provenir d’un couplage hydro/mécanique entre la déformation du tissu et la pression de l’eau contenue dans le système vasculaire de la plante. L’objectif de cette thèse est de comprendre l’origine physique de ce couplage par une approche biomimétique. Pour cela, nous avons développé des branches artificielles micro-fluidiques possédant des caractéristiques mécaniques et hydrauliques similaires à celles d'une branche d'arbre. Nous avons montré que la flexion de ces branches génère une surpression globale non-nulle dans le système, qui varie comme le carré de la déformation longitudinale. Un modèle simple basé sur un mécanisme analogue à l’ovalisation des tubes permet de prédire cette réponse poroélastique non-linéaire et d’identifier le paramètre physique clé pilotant cette réponse en pression : le module de compressibilité de la branche. A la lumière de ces résultats, des expériences sur des branches d'arbre ont ensuite été conduites et des signaux similaires sont obtenus et comparés au modèle théorique. La similitude suggère le caractère générique du mécanisme physique identifié pour la génération de signaux hydraulique dans les plantes. / Plants are constantly subjected to external mechanical loads such as wind or touch and respond to these stimuli by modifying their growth and development. A fascinating feature of this mechanical-induced-growth response is that it is not only local, but also non-local: bending locally a stem or a branch can induce a very rapid modification of the growth far away from the stimulated area, suggesting the existence of a signal that propagates across the whole plant. The nature and origin of this signal is still not understood, but it has been suggested recently that it could be purely mechanical and originate from the coupling between the local deformation of the tissues and the water pressure in the vascular system. The objective of this work is to understand the origin of this hydro/mechanical coupling using a biomimetic approach. Artificial microfluidic branches have been developed, that incorporate the mechanical and hydraulic key features of natural ones. We show that the bending of these branches generates a steady overpressure in the whole system, which varies quadratically with the bending deformation. A simple model based on a mechanism analogue to tube ovalization enables us to predict this non-linear poroelastic response, and identify the key physical parameter at play, namely the elastic bulk modulus of the branch. Further experiments conducted on natural tree branches reveal the same phenomenology. Once rescaled by the model prediction, both the biomimetic and natural branches falls on the same master curve, showing the universality of the identified mechanism for the generation of hydraulic signals in plants.

In this thesis a fluid-structure coupling procedure which consists of a commercial flow solver, FLUENT, a finite element structural solver, MSC/NASTRAN, and the coupling interface between the two disciplines is developed in order to solve static and dynamic aeroelastic problems. The flow solver relies on inviscid Euler equations with finite volume discretization. In order to perform faster computations, multiple processors are parallelized. Closely coupled approach is used to solve the coupled field aeroelastic problems. For static aeroelastic analysis Euler equations and elastic linear structural equations are coupled to predict deformations under aerodynamic loads. Linear interpolation using Alternating Digital Tree data structure is performed in order to exchange the data between structural and aerodynamic grid. Likewise for dynamic aeroelastic analysis, a numerical method is developed to predict the aeroelastic response and flutter boundary. Modal approach is used for structural response and Newmark algorithm is used for time-marching. Infinite spline method is used to exchange displacement and pressure data between structural and aerodynamic grid. In order to adapt the new shape of the aerodynamic surface at each aeroelastic iteration, Computational Fluid Dynamic mesh is moved based on spring based smoothing and local remeshing method provided by FLUENT User Defined Function. AGARD Wing 445.6 and a generic slender missile are modeled and solved with the developed procedure and obtained results are compared with numerical and experimental data available in literature.

In this thesis, a loosely coupled Fluid-Structure Interaction (FSI) analysis method is developed for the solution of steady state missile/rocket aeroelastic problems. FLUENT is used as the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) tool to solve Euler equations whereas ANSYS is used as the Computational Structural Dynamics (CSD) tool to solve linear structural problem. The use of two different solvers requires exchanging data between fluid and structure domains at each iteration step. Kriging interpolation method is employed for the data transfer between non-coincident fluid and structure grids. For mesh deformation FLUENT&rsquo / s built-in spring based smoothing approach is utilized. The study is mainly divided into two parts. In the first part static aeroelastic analysis for AGARD 445.6 wing is conducted and the results are compared with the reference studies. Deformation and pressure coefficient results are compared with reference both of which are in good agreement. In the second part, to investigate possible effects of aeroelasticity on rocket and missile configurations, static aeroelastic analysis for a canard controlled generic slender missile which is similar to a conventional 2.75&rdquo / rocket geometry is conducted and results of the analysis for elastic missile are compared with the rigid case. It is seen that the lift force produced by canards and tails lessen due to deformations, stability characteristics of the missile decreases significantly and center of pressure location changes due to the deformations in the control surfaces.

In this thesis, new design concepts for arch bridges using ultra high-performance fibre-reinforced concrete are developed for spans of 50 to 400 m. These concepts are light-weight and efficient, and thus have the potential to significantly reduce the cost of construction. Lightness is achieved by the thinning of structural components and the efficient use of precompression in the arch, rather than by the decrease of bending stiffness. Using the advanced properties of the material, the design concepts were shown to reduce the consumption of concrete in arch bridges by more than 50% relative to arches built using conventional concrete technology. In addition to span length, other design parameters including span-to-rise ratio and deck-stiffening were considered, resulting in a total of seventy-two design concepts. Other important contributions made in this thesis include: (1) the development of a simple analytical model that describes the transition of shallow arches between pure arch behaviour and pure beam behaviour, (2) a comprehensive comparative study of 58 existing concrete arch bridges that characterizes the current state-of-the-art and serves as a valuable reference design tool, and (3) the development and experimental validation of general and simplified methods for calculating the capacity of slender ultra high-performance fibre-reinforced concrete members under compression and bending. The research presented in this thesis provides a means for designers to take full advantage of the high compressive and tensile strengths of the concrete and hence to exploit the economic potential offered by the material.

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Avanços tecnológicos no ramo das ciências dos materiais e de processos construtivos, combinado a um cenário econômico favorável, têm levado a um crescimento substancial na construção de edifícios de múltiplos andares pelo mundo. Estes edifícios têm sido construídos com estruturas cada vez mais arrojadas e com elevados níveis de esbeltez, tornando-se verdadeiras obras de arte. Todavia, a compatibilidade dos requisitos arquitetônicos com as condições necessárias de estabilidade de tais estruturas é fundamental, e requer dos engenheiros civis um conhecimento teórico substancial desde a concepção do projeto estrutural até o processo construtivo propriamente dito. Assim sendo, o objetivo desta dissertação de mestrado é o de investigar o comportamento estrutural de um edifício de 20 pavimentos misto (aço-concreto) submetido às ações de cargas de vento não determinísticas. No núcleo interno da edificação três tipos de contraventamentos são empregados e analisados. De forma semelhante, no desenvolvimento do modelo computacional são empregadas técnicas usuais de discretização, via método dos elementos finitos, por meio do programa Ansys. Assim, a resposta dinâmica não determinística do modelo estrutural, em termos dos valores máximos médios dos deslocamentos e das acelerações, é obtida e comparada com os valores limites propostos por normas e recomendações de projeto. / Technological advances of material sciences and construction processes, combined with a favorable economic scenario, have brought a substantial growth into the construction of multi-storey buildings around the world. These buildings have been constructed with increasingly daring structures and with greater slenderness, and have become true works of art. However, the compatibility between the requirements of architecture and the necessary conditions for stability is essential and it requires a substantial amount of theoretical knowledge from the civil engineers related to structural design and construction processes. Therefore, this research work aims to investigate the structural behaviour of a 20 story (steel-concrete) composite building, when submitted to the non-deterministic wind dynamic actions. In the buildings interior core three types of bracings are presented and analysed. Similary, in the development of the computational model, usual mesh refinement techniques are presented in finite element method simulations, and implemented in the Ansys program. The investigated structural model non-deterministic dynamic response, in terms of displacements and peak accelerations, is obtained and then compared to the limiting values proposed by several authors and design standards.

At low Reynolds number flows, the effect of inertia becomes negligible and the fluid motion is dominated by the effect of viscous forces. Understanding of the behaviour of low Reynolds number flows underpins the prediction of the motion of microorganisms and particle sedimentation as well as the development of micro-robots that could potentially swim inside the human body to perform targeted drug/cell delivery and non-invasive microsurgery. The work in this thesis focuses on developing an understanding in the mathematical analysis of objects moving at low Reynolds numbers. A boundary element implementation of the Method of regularized Stokeslets (MRS) is applied to analyse the low Reynolds number flow field around an object of simple shape (sphere and cube). It also showed that the results obtained by a boundary element implementation for an unbounded cube, where singularities are presented in the corners of the cube, agrees with more complex solutions methods such as a GBEM and FEM.A methodology for analysing the effect of walls by locating collocation points on the surface of the walls and the object is presented. First at all, this methodology is validated with a boundary element implementation of the method of images for a sphere at different locations. Then, the method is extended when more than one wall is presented. This methodology is applied to predict the velocity filed of a cube moving in a tow tank at low Reynolds numbers for two different cases with a supporting rod similar to an experimental set-up, and without the supporting rod as in the CFD simulations based on the FVM. The results indicate a good match between CFD and the MRS, and an excellent approximation between the MRS and experimental data from PIV measurements. The drag, thrust and torque generated by helices moving at low Reynolds numbers in an unbounded medium is analysed by the resistive force theory, a slender body theory, and a boundary element method of the MRS. The results show that the resistive force theory predict accurately the drag, thrust and torque of moving helices when the resistive force coefficients are calculated from a slender body theory approximation by calculating independently the resistive force coefficients for translation and rotation, because it is observed that the resistive force coefficients depend also of the nature of motion. Moreover, the thrust generated by helices of different pitch angles is analysed calculated by a CFD numerical simulation based on the FVM and a boundary element implementation, an compared with experimental data. The results also show an excellent prediction between the boundary element implementation, the CFD results and the experimental data. Finally, a boundary element implementation of the MRS is applied to predict swimming of a biomimetic swimmer that mimics the motion of E.coli bacteria in an unbounded medium. The results are compared with the propulsive velocity and induced angular velocity measurement by recording the motion of the biomimetic swimmer in a square tank. It is observed that special care needs to be taken when the biomimetic swimmer is modelled inside the tank, as there is an apparent increment in the calculate thrust propulsion which does not represent a real situation of the biometic swimmer which propels by a power supply. However, this increment does not represent the condition of the biomimetic swimmer and a suggested methodology based on the solution from an unbounded case and when the swimmer is moving inside the tank is presented. In addition, the prediction of the free-swimming velocity for the biomimetic swimmer agrees with the results obtained by the MRS when the resistive force coefficients are calculated from a SBT implementation. The results obtained in this work have showed that a boundary element implementation of the MRS produces results comparable with more complex numerical implementations such as GBEM, FEM, FVM, and also an excellent agreement with results obtained from experimentation. Therefore, it is a suitable and easy to apply methodology to analyse the motion of swimmers at low Reynolds numbers, such as the biomimetic swimmer modelled in this work.