Search results for "Behaviour"
showing 10 items of 1406 documents
Water retention behaviour of compacted and reconstituted scaly clays
2020
The paper presents the results of an experimental research devoted to investigate the response to suction variations of a scaly clay in compacted and reconstituted conditions. Different experimental techniques (axis translation, vapour equilibrium, dew point psychrometer suction measurements) were combined in order to explore the water retention properties in a wide suction range (0 ÷ 110 MPa). Experimental results allowed to define the water retention domains for a constant reference void ratio, highlighting the significant role of the microstructure on the response of the investigated clays. In particular, the collected results showed that in the low-medium suction range, the peculiar mic…
Cutting performance and indentation behaviour of diamond films on Co-cemented tungsten carbide
2000
Abstract Diamond films were grown by Hot Filament Chemical Vapour Deposition (HFCVD) on differently pretreated ISO-grade K10 cemented carbide (WC-5.8 wt.%Co) cutting inserts. Etching with diluted HNO3 and surface roughening by Murakami's reagent were used as substrate pretreatments. The adhesion of the films was evaluated by indentation tests. In order to obtain a reliable estimation of the adhesion by the slope of the crack radius–indentation load curves, a careful SEM measurement of the crack lengths was performed. Bare and diamond-coated cutting inserts were used for turning tests of Al2O3-reinforced aluminum alloy. The adhesion levels obtained from the indentation curves correlated well…
Mechanical Behaviour of a Green Sandwich Made of Flax Reinforced Polymer Facings and Cork Core
2015
Abstract This work investigates the flexural behavior of a composite sandwich made of flax fibers reinforced skin facings and an agglomerated cork core, to be employed as an eco-friendly solution for the making of structural components of small sailing boats. An experimental mechanical characterization of the strength and stiffness flexural behavior of the proposed sandwich is carried out, providing a comparison of performances from three implemented assembling techniques: hand-lay-up, vacuum bagging and resin infusion. Sandwich beams have been tested under three point bending (TPB) at various span lengths. A procedure is also proposed and implemented to consider the potential influence of …
Debonding Phenomena in CFRP Strengthened Calcarenite Masonry Walls and Vaults
2009
In this paper the results of an experimental investigation on full-scale reinforced masonry elements like vaults and walls are presented. The masonry type is constituted by calcarenite ashlars and bed joint mortar and the reinforcement is constituted by Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) strips. Preliminary experimental results obtained in a previous research by the authors on the local behaviour at the interface CFRP-calcarenite are summarized. Tests with controlled displacement are carried out on out-of-plane loaded walls and cylindrical vaults loaded at a quarter of the span. Results of tests carried out before and after the application of the reinforcement made it possible to evalu…
Flexural behaviour of concrete corbels containing steel fibers or wrapped with FRP sheets
2005
In the present paper an analytical and experimental investigation referring to the flexural behaviour of reinforced concrete corbels subjected to vertical forces is presented. For fixed shape and dimensions of the corbels the experimental investigation analyses the effects of the following: longitudinal and transverse steel reinforcements; fiber reinforced concrete (FRC) with hooked steel fibers; external wrapping retrofitting technique with a thin layer of carbon fiber sheet (CFRP). The analytical model based on equivalent truss structures, allows one to determine the bearing capacity of corbels, distinguishing the different ultimate states reached. The analytical results are then compared…
Brief maternal separation procedures occurring early in life affect learning and memory in adult Wistar rats: sex-related differences in cognitive be…
2015
Adverse life events during the neonatal period result in long-term effects on physiology and behavior. Early postnatal experiences, such as a modification of the mother–infant interaction, may influence the development of neural systems that underlie the expression of neuroendocrine and behavioural responses to environmental challenges. The present study was carried out to investigate the consequences of a brief, maternal separation on declarative and spatial memory, focusing on sex related alteration due to the discrete effects that hormones may play on the brain circuits. Our results indicate that a brief, daily maternal separation results in sexually-dimorphic cognitive alterations that …
Frequency constrained optimal Power Flow based on Glow-worm Swarm Optimization in Islanded Microgrids
2015
This work presents an application of a swarm optimization method to solve the optimal power flow problem taking into account the constraints of frequency and line ampacity in three-phase islanded Microgrids. Each generation unit is equipped with a Power Electronics Interface. In the considered formulation, the droop control parameters are considered as variables to be adjusted by a higher control level, while the frequency is kept in rated bounds. Another typical constraint for OPF formulation, the max ampacity of each line, is also considered. Two case studies with different dimensions and electrical features have been considered and the obtained results show the efficiency of the proposed…
Pareto-optimal Glowworm Swarms Optimization for Smart Grids Management
2013
This paper presents a novel nature-inspired multi-objective optimization algorithm. The method extends the glowworm swarm particles optimization algorithm with algorithmical enhancements which allow to identify optimal pareto front in the objectives space. In addition, the system allows to specify constraining functions which are needed in practical applications. The framework has been applied to the power dispatch problem of distribution systems including Distributed Energy Resources (DER). Results for the test cases are reported and discussed elucidating both numerical and complexity analysis.
A novel abstraction for swarm intelligence: particle field optimization
2016
Particle swarm optimization (PSO) is a popular meta-heuristic for black-box optimization. In essence, within this paradigm, the system is fully defined by a swarm of "particles" each characterized by a set of features such as its position, velocity and acceleration. The consequent optimized global best solution is obtained by comparing the personal best solutions of the entire swarm. Many variations and extensions of PSO have been developed since its creation in 1995, and the algorithm remains a popular topic of research. In this work we submit a new, abstracted perspective of the PSO system, where we attempt to move away from the swarm of individual particles, but rather characterize each …
Surrogate-Assisted Evolutionary Optimization of Large Problems
2019
This chapter presents some recent advances in surrogate-assisted evolutionary optimization of large problems. By large problems, we mean either the number of decision variables is large, or the number of objectives is large, or both. These problems pose challenges to evolutionary algorithms themselves, constructing surrogates and surrogate management. To address these challenges, we proposed two algorithms, one called kriging-assisted reference vector guided evolutionary algorithm (K-RVEA) for many-objective optimization, and the other called cooperative swarm optimization algorithm (SA-COSO) for high-dimensional single-objective optimization. Empirical studies demonstrate that K-RVEA works…