Search results for "behaviour"
showing 10 items of 1406 documents
Personnalité, stratégies d'approvisionnement et d'appariement chez les Diamants Mandarins (taeniopygia guttata)
2011
In evolutionary biology, phenotypic variation has for a long time been considered as the raw material on which natural selection acts. However, research on the consistency of behaviour led to the development of the animal personality concept during the 1990s. This concept was based on the characterization of traits such as neophobia, aggressiveness, exploratory tendencies and risk-taking behaviour. Since then, several studies have shown that personality can evolve through natural selection and is related to many life-history traits, such as dispersal or anti-predator behaviour.Pairing strategies and foraging strategies are two fundamental components of an organism’s life, but their relation…
Investigating the mechanical properties of GeSn nanowires.
2019
Germanium tin (GeSn) has been proposed as a promising material for electronic and optical applications due to the formation of a direct band-gap at a Sn content >7 at%. Furthermore, the ability to manipulate the properties of GeSn at the nanoscale will further permit the realisation of advanced mechanical devices. Here we report for the first time the mechanical properties of GeSn nanowires (7.1-9.7 at% Sn) and assess their suitability as nanoelectromechanical (NEM) switches. Electron microscopy analysis showed the nanowires to be single crystalline, with surfaces covered by a thin native amorphous oxide layer. Mechanical resonance and bending tests at different boundary conditions were use…
Corrosion behaviour of a highly alloyed austenitic alloy UB6 in contaminated phosphoric acid
2013
The influence of temperature (20–80°C) on the electrochemical behaviour of passive films anodically formed on UB6 stainless steel in phosphoric acid solution (5.5 M H3PO4) has been examined by using potentiodynamic curves, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, and Mott-Schottky analysis. UB6 stainless steel in contaminated phosphoric acid is characterised by high interfacial impedance, thereby, illustrating its high corrosion resistance. The obtained results show that the films behave as n-type and p-type semiconductors in the potential range above and below the flat band potential, respectively. This behaviour is assumed to be the consequence of the semiconducting properties of the iron …
Flexural behaviour of glulam timber beams reinforced with FRP cords
2015
Abstract Glued laminated timber (glulam) is widely used as a construction material to make up lightweight and large span structures. The basic principle of this material consists in bonding together a number of layers of dimensioned timber with structural adhesives, in order to increase strength and stiffness of the member, and allowing to make up sustainable structures with great visual impact. Recent applications showed the effectiveness of fibre-reinforced polymer (FRP) composites in enhancing the structural performances of glulam beams, with particular reference on their flexural and shear strength. In fact FRP reinforcements could be used to strengthen existing structures or to reduce …
Impact behaviour of flax/epoxy composite plates
2015
This paper presents an experimental investigation of the impact behaviour of flax/epoxy composite plates submitted to low-velocity transverse impact. Low energy drop-weight impact tests have been performed on two types of quasi-isotropic flax/epoxy composites, rectangularly shaped with edges lengths of 142 mm × 94 mm and 2.85 mm thick. Residual properties have been assessed by compression after impact tests. A detailed description of damage development, especially the increase of the rear face crack with respect to the impact energy is given by the microscopic observation. The influence of impact damage on the residual strength is described. A loss of 15%–30% in compression resistance was n…
Formulation of a truss element for modelling the tensile response of FRCM strips
2022
Modelling the tensile behaviour of Fabric Reinforced Cementitious Matrix (FRCM) is not a straightforward task due to the inner complexity of the mechanics of this kind of composite materials. In fact, after that the matrix is cracked, the compatibility between the fibre and the surrounding mortar is lost and the system behaves as two separate elements connected by a brittle interface. For this reason, several research studies proposed computational approaches for evaluating the tensile behaviour of FRCM composites, usually referring to brick-based 3D Finite Element Models (FEM) or to complex numerical procedures. This paper shows the formulation of a simplified coupled truss element for mod…
Dynamical behaviour of pneumatic artificial muscles
2014
The mechanical response of pneumatic artificial muscles is analyzed in transient and periodic conditions, assuming the inextensibility of the sheathing fibres and considering the influence of the texture geometry, of the dissipation due to the mutual sliding between the braids and of the stress field inside the bladder thickness, where the constituent elastomer is regarded as a two-parameter Mooney–Rivlin material. The polytropic exponent of the thermodynamic air evolution inside the muscle during the charging and discharging phases may be properly chosen depending on the working frequency. The muscle end shape is taken into account profiling the meridian section by a simple m-degree parabo…
HPMA Based Amphiphilic Copolymers Mediate Central Nervous Effects of Domperidone
2011
In this study we give evidence that domperidone encapsulated into amphiphilic p(HPMA)-co-p(laurylmethacrylate) (LMA) copolymer aggregates is able to cross the blood-brain barrier, since it affected motor behaviour in animals, which is a sensitive measure for CNS actions. Carefully designed copolymers based on the clinically approved p(HPMA) were selected and synthesized by a combination of controlled radical polymerization and post-polymerization modification. The hydrodynamic radii (R(h) ) of amphiphilic p(HPMA)-co-p(LMA) alone and loaded with domperidone were determined by fluorescence correlation spectroscopy.
Anti-Arrhenian behaviour of conductivity in octanoic acid–bis(2-ethylhexyl)amine systems: a physico-chemical study
2015
Pure surfactant liquids and their binary mixtures, owing to the amphiphilic nature of the molecules involved, can exhibit nano-segregation and peculiar transport properties. The structural and dynamic properties of octanoic acid (OA)–bis(2-ethylhexyl)amine (BEEA) liquid mixtures at various compositions have been studied by Wide Angle X-ray Scattering (WAXS), 1H-NMR and broadband dielectric spectroscopy as a function of temperature. It was found that the self-assembly occurs via proton exchange between the OA COOH group and the BEEA NH one; such self-assembled local structures are affected anisotropically by a temperature increase so that the thermal dilatation is more marked in a direction …
Aging resistance of bio-epoxy jute-basalt hybrid composites as novel multilayer structures for cladding
2017
Abstract Aging resistance of jute reinforced laminates is compared with two jute/basalt hybrid laminates prepared with different stacking sequences (i.e., sandwich and intercalated configuration). To this aim, composites are exposed to cyclic conditions comprising hygrothermal stress and UV radiation to promote an accelerated aging, for a period of 84 days. Specimens of each laminate are tested after 14, 28, 56 and 84 days, respectively. Quasi-static flexural tests, Charpy impact tests and dynamic mechanical tests are performed according to international ASTM and ISO standards. Furthermore, scanning electron microscopy and differential scanning calorimetry are used to evaluate the morpholog…