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First and foremost I offer my sincerest gratitude to my supervisor, Prof. Dr. Francisco José de Souza, whose expertise, understanding, and patience, added considerably to my graduate experience when I started in the research field. In the present thesis, he supported me with his patience and knowledge whilst allowing me the room to work in my own way. I appreciate his vast knowledge and skill in many areas and his assistance in writing reports (i.e., publications, conference papers and this dissertation). I can say for sure that one simply could not wish for a better or friendlier supervisor.I thank my fellow lab mates at MFLab 1 : MSc. Bruno Tadeu, Msc. João Rodrigo and Msc. Carlos Antonio, for the stimulating discussions. However, I am indebted to Carlos Antonio for sharing his knowledge in numerical simulation applied to erosion, helped me get on the road to LATEX and provided an experienced ear for my doubts about writing a thesis and papers. These individuals always helped me to keep my life in context. Became a master is not the most important thing in life, but good friends, good times and happiness are.My deep and sincere gratitude to my family for their continuous and unparalleled love, help and support. I am grateful to my brothers for always being there for me as a friend. I am forever indebted to my parents for giving me the opportunities and experiences that have made me who I am. They selflessly encouraged me to explore new directions in life and seek my own destiny. This journey would not have been possible if not for them, and I dedicate this milestone to them.In conclusion, I recognize that this research would not have been possible without the financial assistance of Petróleo Brasileiro (PETROBRAS 2 ), the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq 3 ) , the Federal University of Uberlândia and the Department of Mechanical Engineering, and express my gratitude to those agencies.