Numerical derivation of constitutive models for unbonded flexible risers

This is the post-print version of the final paper published in International Journal of Mechanical Sciences. The published article is available from the link below. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication.In this paper a new constitutive model for flexible risers is proposed and a procedure for the identification of the related input parameters is developed using a multi-scale approach. The constitutive model is formulated in the framework of an Euler–Bernoulli beam model, with the addition of suitable pressure terms to the generalized stresses to account for the internal and external pressures, and therefore can be efficiently used for large-scale analyses. The developed non-linear relationship between generalized stresses and strains in the beam is based on the analogy between frictional slipping between different layers of a flexible riser and frictional slipping between micro-planes of a continuum medium in non-associative elasto-plasticity. Hence, a linear elastic relationship is used for the initial response in which no-slip occurs; an onset-slip function is introduced to define the ‘no-slip’ domain, i.e. the set of generalized stresses for which no slip occurs; a non-associative rule with linear kinematic hardening is used to model the full-slip phase. The results of several numerical simulations for a riser of small-length, obtained with a very detailed (small-scale) non-linear finite-element model, are used to identify the parameters of the constitutive law, bridging in this way the small scale of the detailed finite-element simulations with the large scale of the beam model. The effectiveness of the proposed method is validated by the satisfactory agreement between the results of various detailed finite-element simulations for a short riser, subject to internal and external uniform pressure and uniform cyclic bending loading, with those given by the proposed constitutive law.Lloyds Register EME

The design of electoral rules and their impact on economic growth: the Italian case

Economic Growth, Electoral System, Corruption, Public expenditure, Education

Variational analysis of self-focusing of intense ultrashort pulses in gases

By using perturbation theory we derive an expression for the electrical field of a Gaussian laser pulse propagating in a gas medium. This expression is used as a trial solution in a variational method to get quasianalytical solutions for the width, intensity and self-focusing distance of ultrashort pulse. The approximation gives an improved agreement with results of numerical simulations for a broad range of values of the input power of the pulse than previous analytical results available in the literature.Comment: 19 pages, 8 figure

Examination of the overlap between DSM-111-R overanxious disorder and DSM-IV generalized anxiety disorder in childhood

Since DSM-III-R criteria for Overanxious Disorder (OAD) was subsumed under Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) in DSM-IV, three studies have investigated the overlap between the diagnoses. Although two studies have identified children meeting both OAD and GAD criteria (OAD/GAD group), a third study has identified children who met criteria for OAD, but not GAD (OAD group). Based on finding these two groups of children, we examined whether children in the OAD group (n= 30) could be differentiated from children in the OAD/GAD group (n=81) based on self and parent report of anxious symptoms and level of functional impairment. Conditional probability rates were also calculated for each of the DSM anxious symptoms to determine their overall clinicalutility. Findings revealed that the OAD group of children experienced fewer anxious symptoms than children in the OAD/GAD group, though both groups showed some amount of impairment. The implications for research and practice are discussed

Production of Succinic Acid From Basfia succiniciproducens

Basfia succiniciproducens is a facultative anaerobic capnophilic bacterium, isolated from rumen, that naturally produces high amounts of succinic acid by fixing CO2 and using fumarate as final electron acceptor. This metabolic feature makes it one of the ideal candidates for developing biotechnological industrial routes that could eventually replace the polluting and environment unfriendly petrochemical ones that are still main sources for the production of this value-added compound. In fact, due to the large number of applications of succinic acid that range from the more traditional ones as food additive or pharmaceutical intermediate to the most recent as building block for biopolymers and bioplastic, increasing demand and market size growth are expected in the next years. In line with a “green revolution” needed to preserve our environment, the great challenge is the establishment of commercially viable production processes that exploit renewable materials and in particular preferably non-food lignocellulosic biomasses and waste products. In this review, we describe the currently available literature concerning B. succiniciproducens since the strain was first isolated, focusing on the different renewable materials and fermentation strategies used to improve succinic acid production titers to date. Moreover, an insight into the metabolic engineering approaches and the key physiological characteristics of B. succiniciproducens deduced from the different studies are presented

International Approaches To Renewable Energy Education – A Faculty Professional Development Case Study With Recommended Practices For STEM Educators

Calls for increased international competency in U.S. college graduates and the global nature of the renewable energy industry require an exploration of how to incorporate a global perspective in STEM curricula, and how to best develop faculty providing them with global knowledge and skills necessary to update and improve existing teaching practices. To expand awareness of the global renewable energy sector, a cohort of renewable energy educators from across the United States participated in two international learning exchanges to Australia/New Zealand and Germany/Denmark. The exchanges provided opportunities for the participants to meet with technical educators, visit teaching labs, review industry partnerships, talk with policy makers and government representatives, and to share knowledge and best teaching practices.  Three years after the initial international exchange, participant data was collected to measure the extended impact of the experience and the perceived value of various learning activities.  The results show that the exchanges expanded participant’s knowledge of renewable energy technologies and issues both in the U.S. and abroad, and also influenced teaching curriculum and instruction, and academic community engagement. This study serves as a model program for providing STEM faculty with rich international experience. The findings in this manuscript highlight the key components to building a successful international professional development program, and illustrate the type of impacts that can result from these activities.  The lessons learned are meaningful to other institutions or organizations planning similar international activities in a variety of disciplines.

Flogosi post-trapianto di cornea

Il Trapianto di Cornea, o Cheratoplastica, che prevede la sostituzione sub-totale della cornea mediante un innesto circolare di tessuto omologo (lembo), rappresenta la procedura d’elezione per il trattamento di diverse patologie corneali congenite o acquisite. Se ne discutono tutti i determinanti e le prospettive

Distributed energy-aware resource allocation in multi-antenna multi-carrier interference networks with statistical CSI

Resource allocation for energy efficiency optimization in multi-carrier interference networks with multiple receive antennas is tackled. First, a one-hop network is considered, and then, the results are extended to the case of a two-hop network in which amplify-and-forward relaying is employed to enable communication. A distributed algorithm which optimizes a system-wide energy-efficient performance function, and which is guaranteed to converge to a stable equilibrium point, is provided. Unlike most previous works, in the definition of the energy efficiency, not only the users' transmit power but also the circuit power that is required to operate the devices is taken into account. All of the proposed procedures are guaranteed to converge and only require statistical channel state information, thus lending themselves to a distributed implementation. The asymptotic regime of a saturated network in which both the active users and the number of receive antennas deployed in each receiver grow large is also analyzed. Numerical results are provided to confirm the merits of the proposed algorithms

Tetravalent Chromium (Cr(4+)) as Laser-Active Ion for Tunable Solid-State Lasers

During 10/31/91 - 3/31/92, the following summarizes are major accomplishments: (1) numerical modeling of the four mirror astigmatically compensated, Z-fold cavity was performed; and (2) the simulation revealed several design parameters to be used for the construction of a femtosecond forsterite laser