for supporting and guiding me throughout my study. I would especially like to offer my sincerest gratitude to my principal supervisor, Dean S. Oliver, for his great knowledge, patience, caring, and excellent guidance. I would also like to express my special thanks to Hervé Chauris and Daniela Donno (Mines ParisTech), for their warm support and insightful discussions during my academic visit. In my daily work I have been blessed with a friendly and cheerful group of friends and colleagues at Uni CIPR, who have provided me with an excellent social and research atmosphere during my PhD study. I would especially like to thank Kristian, Svenn, Alina and Dongfang for their accompany and help not only in the study but also in everyday life. I am also deeply thankful to my parents and elder sister, Yanfen, for supporting me and encouraging me with best wishes. A special thanks to my wife, Weiwei, for always being there cheering me up and standing by me through the good times and bad, and for bringing me the best gift in the world, my little angel, Fanfei.
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