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"Wise Things": When smart objects stimulate reflection
No full textDespite a variety of purposes for designing Smart Objects (SOs), the design of such artifacts with the purpose of evoking people's thoughts and reflection on complex issues (e.g. environmental and societal) is still little explored. In fact, the ability of SOs to collect information and recall them in a right way and time about people's behaviors, helps them to reflect on the consequences. As an attempt, this paper introduces the concept of Wise Thing as a category of such smart objects, with augmented properties of being Deliberative, Reflectional, Experiential, and Communicative
Modelling of combustion, fuel consumption and emission formation for design, calibration and control of diesel engines
No full textThe current PhD thesis aims to describe the work during three year PhD career in a detailed and comprehensive way. As indicated by the title of thesis, the work has been concentrated on the engine modelling of combustion, fuel consumption and pollutant emission with different approaches, and the related application for the on-board engine control and offline engine calibration. The thesis has been organized as follows: Chapter 1: a general introduction of the thesis content. Chapter 2: the description of the engine setup, the experimental activity and the research background Chapter 3: a low throughput predictive physical engine model has been presented. The model includes several sub models to simulate the heat release process, the in-cylinder pressure evolution, the in-cylinder temperature distribution and the engine-out level NOx emission. Chapter 4: a fast running engine model based on the machine learning technique has been introduced. This model focuses on the prediction of combustion phasing and the engine torque. In particular, an innovative neural network training strategy on the basis of virtual engine has been discussed in detail. Chapter 5: a semi-empirical model for the prediction of significant pressure metrics has been described. This model features simple mathematical expression and maintains physical consistency simultaneously. Chapter 6: the physical engine model has been coupled with kinetic vehicle model and has been integrated in an offline optimization framework, so as to identify the optimal engine control strategy for the reduction of fuel consumption and pollutant emission. This methodology has the potential to realize the offline engine calibration in order to reduce the calibration efforts and test bench activity. Chapter 7: the physical engine model has been used for the on board open loop control of combustion phasing. In parallel, an alternative closed loop control based on pressure measured has been evaluated. These two controllers have been tested in Model in the Loop, Hardware in the Loop and Rapid Prototyping. It should be noticed that although the current thesis has been divided into several chapters, the content of each chapter is not independent from each other. In fact, the topic of the thesis can be summarized as engine modelling and its application for engine control in brief, and different chapters describe various aspects of this topic
A quantitative approach for the evaluation of rockfall risk on buildings
No full textA quantitative rockfall risk analysis at local scale is a complex and difficult task because it should consider both the randomness in the natural phenomenon and the variability of the response of the elements at risk. In engineering systems, such difficulties can be tackled with logical trees. In particular, event trees allow the determination of a set of outcomes of a given event in a probabilistic manner. Following recent publications on the estimation of rockfall risk on infrastructures (roads) by means of the event tree approach, a novel framework for the quantitative evaluation of the effects of the impact of a falling rock block on a building is presented. The method considers the occurrence of a given rockfall event, the kinetic energy of the falling block, the structural response of the impacted elements and the possibility of damage propagation within the building. An example is proposed to show the capabilities of the proposed approach
A MULTILAYERED PLATE ELEMENTS ACCOUNTING NODE-DEPENDENT KINEMATICS FOR STATIC ANALYSIS OF PIEZOELECTRIC STRUCTURES
No full textDynamic simulation of an electric stair-climbing wheelchair
No full textIn this paper, a novel stair-climbing wheelchair is proposed. This new architecture represents an improvement over previous designs, in particular with regards to stability and safety during stair-climbing operations. The proposed mechanical architecture is hybrid: two locomotion units based on a "rotating leg" system are coupled with an idle track. This structure satisfies many design requirements: small dimensions, reduced weight, and a stable and regular climbing trajectory. In particular, the focus of this study is the design of an actuation system, the choice of suitable control logics, and the dynamic analysis of the proposed solution. The behavior of the wheelchair was tested through multibody simulation. The simulation results show that the proposed device can climb a staircase in a stable and safe manner. Certain smart dynamic features of the wheelchair were also proven. In particular, the efficacy of the cooperative actuation system and the effectiveness of the proposed control logic were analyzed. In conclusion, the simulation results demonstrate the appropriate operation of the proposed device, which will be used to design a working prototype of the stair-climbing wheelchair
Gait asymmetry in Winters' group I hemiplegic children
No full textHemiplegia is a neurological disorder that in children is a common consequence of cerebral palsy. Hemiplegia involves one-half of the body, while the other half is typically not affected. Aim of the study was to evaluate gait asymmetry in Winters' group I hemiplegic children (W1), by identifying possible differences between hemiplegic and non-hemiplegic side in foot-floor contact and activation patterns of gastrocnemius lateralis (GL). To this aim, basographic and EMG data from 12 hemiplegic cerebral palsy children (Winters' group I) were analyzed. Gait data from 100 normal developing children were used as reference. Mean decrease (p<0.05) of normal cycles (i.e. normal sequence of gait phases HFPS) and a concomitant increase (p<0.05) of atypical cycles (PFPS) were detected in hemiplegic side of W1, with respect to both non-hemiplegic side and control group. No relevant variations of GL recruitment were observed between hemiplegic and non-hemiplegic side of W1, in terms of muscle activation patterns and occurrence frequency. In conclusion, the study suggested that gait asymmetries detected in W1 lie in foot-floor contact patterns, but not in GL recruitment
Process analysis for structural optimisation of thermoplastic composite component using the building block approach
No full textThe paper aim is to establish and optimise the prediction model of a thermoplastic fibre reinforced component designed and manufactured through an integrated injection moulding process (Hybrid Moulding). This is done by the Finite Element Analysis (FEA) and then the process simulations, considering the composite material as an elastic anisotropic woven fabric to study the deformations undergone during the manufacturing process. The proposed methodology for creating the predictive model is fairly accurate, and it is a novel method which can be easily integrated and adapted into a components initial design phase. This optimisation technique can replace the expensive and traditional trial and error procedures during the design and prototyping phase, and it significantly decreases the time to build the final component. The final scope of the research is to simplify the product development phase of general lightweight automotive thermoplastic components by creating an innovative methodology for predictive modelling
Paraloup: un modello di rinascita della montagna
No full textArticolo a firma di Maurizio Ferrari presidente dell'Associazione culturale Amo la Montagna Editore della "Voce della Montagna" sul recupero della borgata Paraloup: "Il recupero è iniziato con l'acquisto da parte della Fondazione Revelli delle baite di questa piccola borgata alpina ed un team di architetti (Dario Castellino, Valeria Cottino, Giovanni Barberis, coordinati dal professor Daniele Regis del Politecnico di Torino) si è occupato del progetto che, fra l'altro, è stato presentato anche alla Biennale di Architettura di Venezia, nel 2012, ed ha ricevuto particolare menzione al Premio Konstruktiv come migliore architettura alpina in ambito europeo". (Maurizio Ferrari
Self-consistent coupling of DSMC method and SOLPS code for modeling tokamak particle exhaust
No full textIn this work, an investigation of the neutral gas flow in the JET sub-divertor area is presented, with respect to the interaction between the plasma side and the pumping side. The edge plasma side is simulated with the SOLPS code, while the sub-divertor area is modeled by means of the direct simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) method, which in the last few years has proved well able to describe rarefied, collisional flows in tokamak sub-divertor structures. Four different plasma scenarios have been selected, and for each of them a user-defined, iterative procedure between SOLPS and DSMC has been established, using the neutral flux as the key communication term between the two codes. The goal is to understand and quantify the mutual influence between the two regions in a self-consistent manner, that is to say, how the particle exhaust pumping system controls the upstream plasma conditions. Parametric studies of the flow conditions in the sub-divertor, including additional flow outlets and variations of the cryopump capture coefficient, have been performed as well, in order to understand their overall impact on the flow field. The DSMC analyses resulted in the calculation of both the macroscopic quantities—i.e. temperature, number density and pressure—and the recirculation fluxes towards the plasma chamber. The consistent values for the recirculation rates were found to be smaller than those according to the initial standard assumption made by SOLPS