Search results for "ingegneria"
showing 10 items of 1227 documents
Acute toxicity tests using earthworms to estimate ecological quality of compost and digestate
2017
Ecological quality of compost and digestate, used as fertilizers for agricultural use, was assessed through an acute ecotoxicological bioassay testing the earthworm Eisenia fetida (Annelida). The test evaluates the earthworm’s attitude to dig within 15 min into a soil medium constituted by a mixture of a standardized soil and different concentrations of compost/digestate. According to different classes of behavior responses, the sample is classified as good or bad quality (ON/OFF). The validity of this test was confirmed comparing the observations with the results from a standard chronic test developed by OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development). Considering samples fro…
Industry 4.0: Advanced digital solutions implemented on a close power loop test bench
2021
Abstract The paradigm of Industry 4.0 allows to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the production. Companies that will implement advanced solutions in production systems will increase their level of competitiveness and will be able reach high market shares. The present paper is focused on the development of advanced digital solutions to be implemented on a close power loop test bench designed to test high power transmissions for naval unit. In particular, the test configuration consists of a back-to-back connection between two identical mechanical reducers. Since the efficiency of these systems are very high, it is not necessary to use large electric motors, thus managing to conta…
A portable electronic system for non-invasive real-time acquisition of multiple physiological signals
2019
In this work, we have designed and realised a portable and compact electronic system for the synchronous acquisition of multiple physiological signals. The system employs a Texas Instruments ADS1298 front-end with 24-bit resolution for data acquisition and supports up to 8 channels and 4 kHz sampling rate. The front-end communicates via SPI with a STM32 microcontroller which pre-processes the data and sends them through USB or Bluetooth to a suitable PC application. The system has been realized for the simultaneous acquisition of electrocardiographic (ECG) and photoplethysmographic (PPG) signals, but it can also be employed for acquiring other typologies of signals, e.g. breathing or electr…
Assisting Electrophysiological Substrate Quantification in Atrial Fibrillation Ablation
2019
[EN] Catheter ablation (CA) is the most popular treatment of atrial fibrillation (AF) with good results in paroxysmal AF, while its efficiency is significantly reduced in persistent AF. With the equipment used for CA strongly depending on electro-gram (EGM) fractionation quantification, the use of a reliable fractionation estimator is crucial to reduce the high recurrence rates in persistent AF. This work introduces a non-linear EGM fractionation quantification technique, which is based on coarse-grained correlation dimension (CGCD) computed over epochs of 1 second. Recordings were firstly normalized, denoised and lowpass filtered. The final CGCD value was calculated by the median CGCD valu…
Spectral decomposition of cerebrovascular and cardiovascular interactions in patients prone to postural syncope and healthy controls.
2022
We present a framework for the linear parametric analysis of pairwise interactions in bivariate time series in the time and frequency domains, which allows the evaluation of total, causal and instantaneous interactions and connects time- and frequency-domain measures. The framework is applied to physiological time series to investigate the cerebrovascular regulation from the variability of mean cerebral blood flow velocity (CBFV) and mean arterial pressure (MAP), and the cardiovascular regulation from the variability of heart period (HP) and systolic arterial pressure (SAP). We analyze time series acquired at rest and during the early and late phase of head-up tilt in subjects developing or…
The fouling phenomenon in membrane bioreactors: Assessment of different strategies for energy saving
2013
Abstract Membrane fouling represents one of the major issues for a membrane bioreactor (MBR). Membrane fouling and high aeration requirements (for inducing shear stress to limit fouling) make MBR operation economically demanding due to high energy costs. Although several studies on MBR fouling have been performed, comprehensive knowledge on how to reduce membrane fouling and consequently save energy is still lacking. An integrated mathematical model for MBR is applied to a University of Cape Town membrane bioreactor with the final aim to reduce the energy costs. In particular, the influence of the aeration intensity, the duration of filtration/backwashing cycles, and the number of membrane …
New customized elbow orthosis made by additive manufacturing
2019
Orthoses are additional devices that help people with disabilities. The focus of this work is the design and manufacture of a new customized elbow orthosis completely made by Additive Manufacturing (AM). One of the innovative characteristic of the device is the use of torsion springs that simulate the action of physiotherapists during exercises for patient rehabilitation. Parametric modeling approach based on generative algorithms was used to design the device. Finally, FEM analyses have been performed to validate the design.
Parametric Hull Design with Rational Bézier Curves and Estimation of Performances
2021
In this paper, a tool able to support the sailing yacht designer during the early stage of the design process has been developed. Cubic Rational Bézier curves have been selected to describe the main curves defining the hull of a sailing yacht. The adopted approach is based upon the definition of a set of parameters, say the length of waterline, the beam of the waterline, canoe body draft and some dimensionless coefficients according to the traditional way of the yacht designer. Some geometrical constraints imposed on the curves (e.g., continuity, endpoint angles, curvature) have been conceived aimed to avoid unreasonable shapes. These curves can be imported into any commercial Computer Aide…
Virtual prototyping of a new intramedullary nail for tibial fractures
2012
In this work a new distal interlocking system has been developed which is easy to use, allows a reduction of the operating time and consequently the exposure to radiations both for surgeon and patient. The main goal of this study has been the design of a new intramedullary nail for tibial fractures able to simplify and speed up the distal locking operation phases. After a preliminary stage during which several candidate concepts have been proposed and analysed, the best solution has been developed and deeply investigated. The new system, called “expansion nail”, has been firstly modelled by setting up a full parametric CAD model and, then, tested by running non linear FEM analyses to evalua…
A New Approach for CAD Modelling of Customised Orthoses by Generative Design
2021
The standard method of design and manufacturing customised orthoses is still very time-consuming due to their often very complex shape. Different authors have tried to solve this problem but, unfortunately, the proposed approaches cannot be easily used in clinical practice because they require substantial interaction among medical staff and engineers or technicians. The aim of this work is to present the framework of a new design approach that could allow clinicians to easily model a customised orthosis, without a skilled technician develops the entire procedure. In particular, an automatic process based on Generative Design has been implemented. The obtained results have demonstrated that …