Microfluidic devices are more frequently being used in medicine as they operate with small amounts of test samples, such as blood or reagent chemicals. To work with such substances, effective mixing of the solution is usually required, which emerged as the most challenging problem in microfluidic systems. Due to the minor dimensions of the devices only laminar flow occurs, thus the turbulent eddies do not contribute to the mixing, but only the molecular diffusivity.

La dynamique des flammes de prémélange est étudiée par deux approches numériques différentes. La première résout les équations compressibles de Navier-Stokes avec une chimie simplifiée (DNS). Afin de réduire les coûts de calcul, nous analysons et développons un schéma numérique à grille décalée. Le traitement des ondes acoustiques aux sorties est connu pour rendre les flammes cylindriques légèrement carrées. Ces déformations non-physiques sont expliquées en mettant en évidence la modélisation insuffisamment précise de l'accélération du fluide lorsque l'écoulement est oblique à la sortie. Une étude paramétrique et statistique de flammes turbulentes est menée en 2D et une simulation parallèle 3D est réalisée dans un domaine de (3cm)3. En considérant la flamme infiniment mince, l'approche EEM diminue considérablement les coûts de calcul. Les mêmes simulations sont réalisées et comparées aux résultats de DNS pour tester la capacité du modèle EEM à fournir des résultats quantitatifs. / We study premixed flame dynamics using DNS and EEM approaches. DNS solves compressible Navier-Stokes equations with simplified chemistry. To reduce computational costs and increase efifciency, we analyse and develop a modified staggered scheme. Treatment of acoustic waves at boundaries is known to slightly square cylindrical flames. We try to explain these unphysical distortions by highlighting the poor modeling of fluid acceleration when mainstrean is transverse to outow. A parametric and statistical study of expanding flames is carried out in 2D and also for an expanding (3cm)3 flame. The EEM approach models the flame as an infinitely thin interface. This perturbative strategy dramatically decreases cpu costs. Simulations are carried out and compared to DNS results to check the ability of EEM modeling to give quantitative results.

L'objectif de cette thèse est de développer un nouveau schéma numérique du type volumes finis pour la dynamique des gaz. Dans deux articles, F.Berthelin, T.Goudon et S.Minjeaud proposent de résoudre le système des équations d'Euler barotrope en dimension 1 d'espace, avec un schéma d'ordre 1 fonctionnant sur grilles décalées et dont la conception des flux est inspirée des schémas cinétiques. Nous proposons d'enrichir ce schéma afin qu'il puisse résoudre le système des équations d'Euler barotrope ou complet, en dimension 2 d'espace sur maillage cartésien ou non structuré, possiblement à l'ordre 2 et le cas échéant à bas nombres de Mach. Nous commencerons par développer une version 2D du schéma sur grilles cartésiennes (ou MAC) à l’ordre 2 via une méthode de type MUSCL, d'abord pour les équations barotropes puis pour les équations complètes. Ces dernières demandent de traiter une équation d’énergie supplémentaire et l’un des problèmes -résolu- est de trouver une définition discrète convenable de l’énergie totale telle qu'elle satisfasse une équation conservative locale. Dans un troisième chapitre nous étudierons le passage à la limite du compressible vers l'incompressible et nous verrons comment utiliser les atouts de notre schéma afin de le modifier et d'en faire un schéma Asymptotic Preserving pour des écoulements à bas nombres de Mach. Dans un quatrième temps nous proposerons une adaptation du schéma sur des maillages non structurés. Notre approche sera fortement inspirée des méthodes DDFV et pourra présenter des avantages dans les régimes à faibles nombres de Mach. Cette thèse se termine par un cinquième chapitre issu d’une collaboration lors du CEMRACS 2017, où le point de vue considéré n’est plus macroscopique mais microscopique. Nous commencerons par étudier un modèle micro/macro idéalisé auquel un processus stochastique a été ajouté puis nous tenterons d'en déduire un modèle à grande échelle pour un système fortement couplé, qui soit consistant avec la description micro/macro sous-jacente du problème physique. / The objective of this thesis is to develop a new numerical scheme of finite volume type for gas dynamics. In two articles, F.Berthelin, T.Goudon and S.Minjeaud propose to solve the barotropic Euler system in dimension 1 of space, with a first order scheme that works on staggered grids and of which fluxes are inspired by kinetic schemes. We propose to enhance this scheme so that it can solve the barotropic or complete Euler systems, in dimension 2 of space on Cartesian or unstructured grids, possibly at order 2 and at Low Mach numbers where appropriate. We begin with the development of a 2D version of the scheme on Cartesian (or MAC) grids, at order 2 via a MUSCL type method, for the barotropic equations at first and then for the complete equations. The latter require to handle with an additional energy equation and one of the -solved- problems is to find a suitable discrete definition of the total energy such that it satisfies a local conservative equation. In a third chapter we study the transition from the compressible case to the incompressible limit and we shall see how to use the advantages of our initial scheme in order to make it an Asymptotic Preserving scheme at low Mach numbers. In a fourth chapter we propose an adaptation of the scheme on unstructured meshes. Our approach is strongly inspired by the DDFV methods and may have advantages in low-Mach regimes.This thesis ends with a fifth chapter issued from a collaboration during CEMRACS 2017, where the considered point of view is no longer macroscopic but microscopic. We begin by studying a simplified micro/macro model with an added stochastic process and then we attempt to deduce a large-scale model for a strongly coupled system which has to be consistent with the underlying micro / macro description of the physical problem.

High defect rates are associated with novel nanodevice-based systems owing to unconventional and self-assembly based manufacturing processes. Furthermore, in emerging nanosystems, fault mechanisms and distributions may be very different from CMOS due to unique physical layer aspects, and emerging circuit and logic styles. Thus, theoretical fault models for nanosystems are necessary to extract detailed characteristics of fault generation and propagation. Using the intuition garnered from the theoretical analysis, modular and structural redundancy schemes can be specifically tailored to the intricacies of the fabric in order to achieve higher reliability of output signals. In this thesis, we develop a detailed analytical fault model for the Nanoscale Application Specific Integrated Circuits (NASIC) fabric that can determine probabilities of output faults taking into account the defect scenarios, the logic and circuit style of the fabric as well as structural redundancy schemes that may be incorporated in the circuits. Evaluation of fault rates using the analytical model for single NASIC tiles show an inequality of the probability of output faulty ‘1’s and ‘0’s. To mitigate the effects of the unequal fault rates, biased voting schemes are introduced and are shown to achieve up to 27% improvement in the reliability of output signals compared to conventional majority voting schemes. NASIC circuits have to be cascaded in order to build larger systems. Furthermore, modular redundancy alone will be insufficient to tolerate high defect rates since multiple input modules may be faulty. Hence incorporation of structural redundancy is crucial. Thus in this thesis, we study the propagation of faults through a cascade of NASIC circuits employing the conventional structural redundancy scheme which is referred to here as the Regular Structural Redundancy. In our analysis we find that although circuits with Regular Structural Redundancy achieve greater signal reliability compared to non-redundant circuits, the signal reliability rapidly drops along the cascade due to an escalation of faulty ‘0’s. This effect is attributed to the poor tolerance of input faulty ‘0’s exhibited by circuits with the Regular Structural Redundancy. Having identified this, we design a new scheme called the Staggered Structural Redundancy prioritizing the tolerance of input faulty ‘0’s. A cascade of circuits employing the Staggered Structural Redundancy is shown to maintain signal reliability greater than 0.98 for over 100 levels of cascade at 5% defect rate whereas the signal reliability for a cascade of circuits with the Regular Structural Redundancy dropped to 0.5 after 7 levels of cascade.

The employment effect of hosting the FIFA world cup has been researched multiple times with city, municipality, or state data using a variety of methods. Arguably, the Difference-In-Difference (DID) method, first used by Hotchkiss et al. (2003) then refined by countless others, is the most common method for measuring both short-term and long-term employment effects of mega sporting events (Hagn & Maennig, 2008). This event study applies a static and a dynamic two-way fixed effects difference-in-difference model (TWFEDD) to national employment data for 24 nations throughout 42 years between 1979 and 2021. The World Cup hosts included in the study are Mexico 1986, Italy 1990, USA 1994, France 1998, Korea & Japan 2002, Germany 2006, and Russia 2018. The two TWFEDD models fail to reject the hypothesis that there is no causal employment effect when hosting a World Cup.

Aufgrund der großen Bedeutung technischer Gummiwerkstoffe in industriellen Anwendungen ist die Vorhersage des Materialverhaltens ein aktuelles Forschungsgebiet. Insbesondere die Veränderung der Eigenschaften, die durch chemische Prozesse herbeigeführt werden, spielen eine große Rolle, da aufgrund gestiegener Anforderungen an die Haltbarkeit von Bauteilen diese Alterungseffekte verstanden, vorhergesagt und abgeschwächt werden müssen. Im Rahmen dieser Arbeit wird ein mathematisches Modell hergeleitet, das die chemischen Vorgänge vorhersagt und deren Auswirkungen auf wichtige Eigenschaften in einem mechanischen Materialmodell beachtet. Insbesondere der Oxidation durch Luftsauerstoff wird Rechnung getragen. Das mechanische Materialverhalten alternder Gummiwerkstoffe wird mit Hilfe eines neuartigen Ansatzes modelliert. Das in dieser Arbeit vorgestellte Dynamische-Netzwerk-Modell betrachtet die Auswirkungen der chemischen Reaktionen auf das mechanische Verhalten als einen kontinuierlichen Netzwerkumbau durch das Entfernen und neue Einsetzen von Verbindungen zwischen Polymerketten. Basierend auf experimentellen Erkenntnissen werden Hypothesen formuliert, die eine Kopplung zwischen den Oxidationsreaktionen und der Veränderung des mechanischen Verhaltens herstellen. Durch Beachtung von Diffusion und Reaktion kann die lokale Sauerstoffverteilung in großvolumigen Bauteilen berechnet und der Effekt der diffusionslimitierten Oxidation (DLO-Effekt) vorhergesagt werden. Um eine Bestimmung der Modellparameter zu ermöglichen, werden verschiedene Experimente vorgeschlagen, mathematisch modelliert und deren Eignung zur Parameteridentifikation analysiert. Mit einer vergleichsweise geringen Anzahl von Experimenten können sowohl die chemischen als auch die mechanischen Modellparameter sicher identifiziert werden. In dieser Arbeit wird zudem ein sogenannter gestaffelter Lösungsalgorithmus vorgeschlagen, der das Alterungsproblem nach einer mathematischen Entkopplung unterschiedlicher Feldprobleme über geeignete Kopplungsvariablen effizient berechnen kann. Mit Hilfe dieses Algorithmus kann eine Simulation effizient durchgeführt und das Alterungsverhalten komplexer Strukturen vorhergesagt werden. Die Simulation anwendungsnaher Strukturen zeigt, dass die abgeleiteten Modelle und Algorithmen problemlos in einem industriellen Umfeld einsetzbar sind. / Due to the great importance of rubber materials in industrial applications, the prediction of the material behavior is a current research field. Particularly the property changes that are induced by chemical processes play a major role, as these aging effects must be understood, predicted and reduced due to the increased requirements regarding the durability of components. In the context of this thesis, a mathematical model that predicts and considers the chemical processes and their effects on important properties in a mechanical material model is derived. Oxidation through atmospheric oxygen is specifically examined in this work. The mechanical material behavior of aging rubber materials is modeled using a novel approach. The dynamic network model introduced in this paper considers the effects of the chemical reactions on the mechanical behavior as a continuous restructuring of the network by removing and inserting new crosslinks between polymer chains. Based on experimental obervations a coupling between the oxidation reactions and a change of the mechanical material behavior is proposed. By taking into account the diffusion and reaction the local distribution of oxygen in large sized components can be computed. Thus, the effect of diffusion limited oxidation (DLO effect) can be predicted. In order to make an identification of the model parameters possible, different experiments are suggested, modeled mathematically and their suitability for parameter identification is analyzed. Not only the chemical, but also the mechanical model parameters can be identified reliably using a comparably few number of experiments. Moreover, a so-called staggered solution algorithm that can calculate the aging problem efficiently after a mathematical uncoupling of the field problems using a suitable coupling variable is introduced. This algorithm can perform a simulation efficiently and predict the aging behavior of complex structures. The simulation of application oriented structures proofs the applicability of the derived models and algorithms within an industrial environment.

Grâce à son accessibilité, sa polyvalence et sa sécurité, l'échocardiographie est devenue la technique d'imagerie la plus utilisée pour évaluer la fonction cardiaque. Au vu du succès de l'échographie ultrarapide par ondes planes des techniques similaires pour augmenter la résolution temporelle en échocardiographie ont été mise en oeuvre. L’augmentation de la résolution temporelle de l’échographie cardiaque au-delà des valeurs actuellement atteignables (~ 60 à 80 images par secondes), pourrait être utilisé pour améliorer d’autres caractéristiques de l'échocardiographie, comme par exemple élargir la plage de vitesses détectables en imagerie Doppler couleur limitées par la valeur de Nyquist. Nous avons étudié l'échocardiographie ultrarapide en utilisant des fronts d’ondes ultrasonores divergentes. La résolution temporelle atteinte par la méthode d'ondes divergentes a permis d’améliorer les capacités des modes d’échocardiographie en mode B et en Doppler couleur. La résolution temporelle de la méthode mode B a été augmentée jusqu'à 633 images par secondes, tout en gardant une qualité d'image comparable à celle de la méthode d’échocardiographie conventionnelle. La vitesse de Nyquist de la méthode Doppler couleur a été multipliée jusqu'à 6 fois au delà de la limite conventionnelle en utilisant une technique inspirée de l’imagerie radar; l’implémentation de cette méthode n’aurait pas été possible sans l’utilisation de fronts d’ondes divergentes. Les performances avantageuses de la méthode d'échocardiographie ultrarapide sont supportées par plusieurs résultats in vitro et in vivo inclus dans ce manuscrit. / Because of its low cost, versatility and safety, echocardiography has become the most common imaging technique to assess the cardiac function. The recent success of ultrafast ultrasound plane wave imaging has prompted the implementation of similar approaches to enhance the echocardiography temporal resolution. The ability to enhance the echocardiography frame rate beyond conventional values (~60 to 80 fps) would positively impact other echocardiography features, e.g. broaden the color Doppler unambiguous velocity range. We investigated the ultrafast echocardiography imaging approach using ultrasound diverging waves. The high frame rate offered by the diverging wave method was used to enhance the capabilities of both B-mode and color Doppler echocardiography. The B-mode temporal resolution was increased to 633 fps whilst the image quality was kept almost unchanged with reference to the conventional echocardiography technique. The color Doppler Nyquist velocity range was extended to up to 6 times the conventional limit using a weather radar imaging approach; such an approach could not have been implemented without using the ultrafast diverging wave imaging technique. The advantageous performance of the ultrafast diverging wave echocardiography approach is supported by multiple in vitro and in vivo results included in this manuscript.

A esfera é utilizada como domínio computacional na modelagem de diversos fenômenos físicos, como em previsão numérica do tempo. Sua discretização pode ser feita de diversas formas, sendo comum o uso de malha regulares em latitude/longitude. Recentemente, também para melhor uso de computação paralela, há uma tendência ao uso de malhas mais isotrópicas, dentre as quais a icosaédrica. Apesar de já existirem modelos atmosféricos que usam malhas icosaédricas, não há consenso sobre as metodologias mais adequadas a esse tipo de malha. Nos propusemos, portanto, a estudar em detalhe diversos fatores envolvidos no desenvolvimento de modelos atmosféricos globais usando malhas geodésicas icosaédricas. A discretização usual por volumes finitos para divergente de um campo vetorial utiliza como base o Teorema da Divergência e a regra do ponto médio nas arestas das células computacionais. A distribuição do erro obtida com esse método apresenta uma forte relação com características geométricas da malha. Definimos o conceito geométrico de alinhamento de células computacionais e desenvolvemos uma teoria que serve de base para explicar interferências de malha na discretização usual do divergente. Destacamos os impactos de certas relações de alinhamento das células na ordem da discretização do método. A teoria desenvolvida se aplica a qualquer malha geodésica e também pode ser usada para os operadores rotacional e laplaciano. Investigamos diversos métodos de interpolação na esfera adequados a malhas icosaédricas, e abordamos o problema de interpolação e reconstrução vetorial na esfera em malhas deslocadas. Usamos métodos alternativos de reconstrução vetorial aos usados na literatura, em particular, desenvolvemos um método híbrido de baixo custo e boa precisão. Por fim, utilizamos as técnicas de discretização, interpolação e reconstrução vetorial analisadas em um método semi-lagrangiano para o transporte na esfera em malhas geodésicas icosaédricas. Realizamos experimentos computacionais de transporte, incluindo testes de deformações na distribuição do campo transportado, que mostraram a adequação da metodologia para uso em modelos atmosféricos globais. A plataforma computacional desenvolvida nesta tese, incluindo geração de malhas, interpolações, reconstruções vetoriais e um modelo de transporte, fornece uma base para o futuro desenvolvimento de um modelo atmosférico global em malhas icosaédricas. / Spherical domains are used to model many physical phenomena, as, for instance, global numerical weather prediction. The sphere can be discretized in several ways, as for example a regular latitude-longitude grid. Recently, also motivated by a better use of parallel computers, more isotropic grids have been adopted in atmospheric global circulation models. Among those, the icosahedral grids are promising. Which kind of discretization methods and interpolation schemes are the best to use on those grids are still a research subject. Discretization of the sphere may be done in many ways and, recently, to make better use of computational resources, researchers are adopting more isotropic grids, such as the icosahedral one. In this thesis, we investigate in detail the numerical methodology to be used in atmospheric models on icosahedral grids. The usual finite volume method of discretization of the divergence of a vector field is based on the divergence theorem and makes use of the midpoint rule for integration on the edges of computational cells. The error distribution obtained with this method usually presents a strong correlation with some characteristics of the icosahedral grid. We introduced the concept of cell alignment and developed a theory which explains the grid imprinting patterns observed with the usual divergence discretization. We show how grid alignment impacts in the order of the divergence discretization. The theory developed applies to any geodesic grid and can also be used for other operators such as curl and Laplacian. Several interpolation schemes suitable for icosahedral grids were analysed, including the vector interpolation and reconstruction problem on staggered grids. We considered alternative vector reconstruction methods, in particular, we developed a hybrid low cost and good precision method. Finally, employing the discretizations and interpolations previously analysed, we developed a semi-Lagrangian transport method for geodesic icosahedral grids. Several tests were carried out, including deformational test cases, which demonstrated that the methodology is suitable to use in global atmospheric models. The computational platform developed in this thesis, including mesh generation, interpolation, vector reconstruction and the transport model, provides a basis for future development of global atmospheric models on icosahedral grids.

Un frein majeur au développement des énergies renouvelables à finalité électrogène réside dans l’inadéquation entre les moments de forte disponibilité des ressources, et les moments de forte demande de la part des consommateurs. Un élément de solution éventuel consisterait à utiliser l’énergie électrique excédentaire, en périodes de surproduction, pour produire du méthane de synthèse (power-to-gas). Cette approche présente l’avantage d’autoriser un lissage à l’échelle des saisons, car le méthane peut être stocké, transporté et utilisé facilement avec les systèmes existants. La réaction de méthanation CO_2+4.H_2⇄CH_4+2.H_2 O, étape clé de la chaine de power-to-gas, peut être réalisée dans un réacteur catalytique à lit fixe refroidi par la paroi. La conception d’un tel réacteur présente des difficultés d’ordre théorique et technologique. Du fait de la forte exothermicité de la réaction, cette dernière tend à être instable (emballement vs. extinction). De plus, la puissance électrique excédentaire varie au cours du temps : le régime de fonctionnement du réacteur (débit de mélange réactif à convertir) doit pouvoir varier en conséquence. L’exigence de fonctionnement dynamique, pour une réaction instable, fait apparaitre des difficultés spécifiques auxquelles ne sont pas confrontés les réacteurs fonctionnant en régime permanent (risque d’emballement transitoire). Dans ce contexte, un projet impliquant le Laboratorie de Thermique, Energétique et Procédés et la start-up industrielle ENOSIS a été mis en place pour contribuer au développement d’un réacteur performant et sûr. Ce projet bénéficie du financement de la région Nouvelle-Aquitaine.Dans la présente thèse, un critère théorique est introduit pour quantifier la marge de sécurité dont bénéficie un réacteur vis-à-vis des instabilités transitoires. Un logiciel est développé pour simuler, au premier ordre, le fonctionnement dynamique d’un réacteur. Cela permet d’illustrer l’optimisation d’un réacteur, en prenant en compte la contrainte de stabilité transitoire. Il est montré que l’utilisation d’un catalyseur dont la dilution est étagée, stratégie connue pour améliorer la sécurité et la performance des réacteurs en fonctionnement permanent, peut se réveler contre-productive en regard de critères transitoires de performance et/ou de sécurité. Une caractéristique clé du fonctionnement intermittent réside dans le temps de démarrage (ou de redémarrage à chaud) de la réaction, lors de l’injection soudaine de réactifs. Aussi, un examen de la durée de (re)démarrage d’un réacteur en fonction de sa température juste avant injection est mené. La relation entre température et vitesse de (re)démarrage se révèle approximativement affine. Dans un second temps, un modèle plus précis est développé et le logiciel correspondant est écrit, afin de distinguer le comportement thermique des grains catalytiques proprement-dits du comportement de grains inertes. Ces derniers, outre leur rôle de diluant, peuvent également présenter des propriétés thermiques dont l’exploitation autoriserait possiblement une stabilisation des transitoires critiques. Aussi, quelques simulations sont lancées sur des configurations de réacteur non-conventionnelles (grains inertes pouvant être chauffés par induction, grains à changement de phase). Les résultats obtenus permettent de mieux appréhender certaines difficultés qui seront à résoudre pour permettre l’utilisation éventuelle de ces technologies disruptives. En complément du travail théorique et numérique, une micro-campagne expérimentale a été menée au sein du Combustion and Catalysis Laboratory de New-York (mise en place d’un dispositif, collecte de premières données en vue d’une validation).En parallèle de ces différents axes de recherche, une solution technologique brevetable (non détaillée dans le présent manuscrit) a également été trouvée. / The development of renewable energy for electricity generation is significantly hindered by the discrepancy between the moments when high amounts of energy are available and the moments when consumers demand most power supply. A prospective solution consists in using electric power surplus to produce synthetic methane, during extra production periods (power-to-gas). This solution would enable to smoothen the electric balance from a season to another, since methane can be easily stored, transported and used in existing devices. The methanation reaction CO_2+4.H_2⇄CH_4+2.H_2 O is a key step in power-to-gas. It can be completed in a fixed-bed wall-cooled reactor. Designing such a reactor leads to theoretical and technological difficulties. Because the reaction is highly exothermic, it tends to be unstable (runaway vs. blow-out). Moreover, power surplus varies over time: the reactor must therefore enable dynamic operation (reactants flow rate variations). Dynamic completion of an unstable reaction leads to specific issues which do not exist for steady-state operating reactors (risk of a transient runaway). In this context, a project involving the Laboratoire de Thermique, Energétique et Procédés and the start-up company ENOSIS has been set up (with the financial support of French region Nouvelle-Aquitaine), to obtain a contribution to the development of a safe and efficient reactor. In the present work, a theoretical criterion is introduced to quantify the safety margin of a reactor towards transient instabilities. A software is developed to perform a simplified simulation of a reactor’s dynamic operation. This simulation tool is used to illustrate the process of optimizing a reactor, taking into account the transient stability constraint. It is shown that using a staggered catalyst dilution – a well known strategy to improve safety and efficiency for steady state operating reactors – can be counter-productive when it comes to transient safety/efficiency criteria. A key characteristic of intermittent operation lies in the start-up time (or warm restart-up time) of the reaction, when reactants are injected sharply. Therefore, we examined the (re)start-up time of a reactor as a function of its temperature just before injection begins. The temperature-(re)start time relation turns out to be nearly linear.Secondly, a more accurate model is developed and the corresponding software is encoded, with the aim of distinguishing the catalytic pellets from the inert pellets, in terms of thermal behavior. Not only do inert pellets play a diluting role, but they can also have specific thermal properties to stabilize critical transient sequences. A few simulations are thus performed on non-conventional reactor configurations (inert grains can be heated by induction, or undergo a phase change). The results provide a better understanding of some difficulties that should be solved before such disruptive technologies could eventually be operational.As a complement to the theoretical and numerical work, a micro experimental campaign is performed in the Combustion and Catalysis Laboratory of New-York (setting-up an experimental device, collecting data for future validation of the simulator).Alongside these lines of research, a patentable technological solution has also been found (not detailed in this manuscript).

This thesis investigates the strength behavior of a representative highly skewed and horizontally curved bridge as well as analysis and design procedures for these types of structures. The bridge responses at and above a number of limits in the AASHTO (2007) Specifications are considered. The study includes the evaluation of various attributes of the elastic analysis of the subject bridge. These attributes include: (1) the accuracy of 3-D grid versus 3-D FEA models, (2) first-order versus second-order effects during the construction, (3) the ability to predict layover at bearing lines using simplified equations and (4) the benefit of combining the maximum and concurrent major-axis and flange lateral bending values due to live load compared to combining the maximums due to different live loads when checking the section resistances. The study also addresses the ability of different AASHTO 2007 resistance equations to capture the ultimate strength behavior. This is accomplished by comparing the results from full nonlinear 3-D FEA studies to the elastic design and analysis results. Specifically the use of the 2007 AASHTO moment based one-third rule equations is evaluated for composite sections in positive bending.