Tra territorio e città

By summarising some selected bachelor and master's degree theses, the volume offers an overview of the study activities conducted within the Degree courses in Planning of the University of Florence, Empoli Campus. The different sections constituting the work highlight a multi-scale and multidisciplinary work methodology, which feeds on an approach mainly based on the importance given to the value of places and of specific territorial contexts. The result is an original picture of contributions, representing a potentially innovative way for the comparison of territorial and urban studies with the various operational dilemmas which arise at the intersection between the drafting of policies, the construction of long-lasting territorial projects and the local development guidelines

A Plackett-Burman Design to Optimize Wood Chipper Settings

The wood-chipping process is affected by several factors, notably chipper settings and wood characteristics. It is often difficult to test all of these factors in a full factorial experimental plan, due to the large number of trials required. On the other hand, a screening design of the experiment makes it possible to manage a large number of variables in a small number of trials. Hence, this approach is used to test six factors, in order to optimize the productivity and chip quality of a drum wood-chipper. These factors are: feeding speed, screen size, PTO-speed, wood species, wood moisture content, and wood diameter. Productivity was significantly affected by screen size, while chip quality was related to feeding speed, screen size, PTO-speed, and wood species. The results suggest that the optimal configuration can be achieved by adjusting feeding speed, the PTO-speed, and the wood species, as these settings maximize chip quality. Screen size requires further analysis, as larger sizes increase productivity but reduce quality, while the opposite is true for smaller sizes. Thus, the optimal screen size requires a consideration of costs and benefits that may change according to the retail price of premium and regular wood chips, and production costs