Models and methods for the direct simulation of rough and micropatterned surfaces

Abstract

First, I would like to express my gratitude to my advisor Prof. Gustavo Buscaglia. He did not only act as an advisor, but also as a friend, giving me valuable advice in several matters. His continuous support and guidance have been invaluable to the conclusion of this thesis. I could not have asked for a better advisor (and person) to work with, and hope that I was also up to the task. My sincere thanks also goes to Dr. Mohammed Jai for his help as co-advisor during the development of this work. His time, interest and helpful comments greatly improved this manuscript. Special thanks are in order to Prof. Roberto Ausas and Alfredo Jaramillo, coworkers without whom most of the work here presented would not have been possible. I gratefully acknowledge the funding sources that made my Ph.D. possible. These four years of work have been funded by FAPESP (Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo, grant 2011/24147-5).