development of a bem cfd tool for vertical axis wind turbines based on the actuator disk model

Abstract The present work focuses on the numerical simulation of Vertical Axis Wind Turbines by means of an "in-house" BEM-based User Defined Function to be used 39ith the CFD code ANSYS Fluent. Typical VAWT unsteady and 3D phenomena, such as dynamic stall, flow curvature and tip losses, are taken into account by original and literature-based sub-models. The presence of the blades is mimicked by replacing them with suitable momentum sources. For the present work, the Actuator Cylinder Model has been employed. 3D analysis, of a SANDIA rotor, are carried out in order to assess the accuracy of our model against numerical simulations and experimental data. The current User Defined Function is able to give a satisfactory agreement with the reference cases especially from a qualitative point of view, with a significant computational time reduction to a factor of 10 compared to the case with the moving bodies. A typical wake behavior can be noticed in our simulations even though its recovery is strongly influenced by the lack of turbulence inherent to the chosen actuator model. The torque and the power coefficient of the turbines are also analyzed and compared against the reference cases, finding a remarkable agreement. The model has been successfully applied to predict the transient aerodynamic loads of an offshore 5 MW troposkein turbine subjected to the pitching motion of its platform. The operating conditions have been chosen in order to allow a qualitative comparison with a floating 5 MW horizontal axis turbine which performance under pitching motion is available in literature

Reshaping the Museum of Zoology in Rome by Visual Storytelling and Interactive Iconography

This article summarizes the concept of a new immersive and interactive setting for the Zoology Museum in Rome, Italy. The concept, co-designed with all the museum’s curators, is aimed at enhancing the experiential involvement of the visitors by visual storytelling and interactive iconography. Thanks to immersive and interactive technologies designed by Centro Studi Logos, developed by Logosnet and known as e-REALâ and MirrorMeä, zoological findings and memoirs come to life and interact directly with the visitors in order to deepen their understanding, visualize stories and live experiences, and interact with the founder of the Museum (Mr. Arrigoni degli Oddi) who is now a virtualized avatar, or digital human, able to talk with the visitors. All the interactions are powered through simple hand gestures and, in a few cases, vocal inputs that transform into recognized commands from multimedia systems

Dynamic and hybrid variational multiscale models for the simulation of bluff-body flows on unstructured grids

The computation of massively separated flows is a challenging problem of particular in- terest in industrial applications. For the purpose of properly simulating these complex flows on not too heavy unstructured meshes as usually employed in industry, appropriate numerical and turbulent models must be used. In the present work, the computation of the flow past a circular cylinder at different Reynolds numbers is chosen as benchmark. The spatial discretization is based on a mixed finite element/finite volume formulation on unstructured grids. The numerical dissipation of the upwind scheme is made of sixth-order space derivatives in order to limit as far as possible the interactions between numerical and subgrid scale (SGS) dissipation, which could deteriorate the accuracy of the results [4]. A variational multi-scale large-eddy simulation (VMS-LES) with dynamic SGS models and a RANS/VMS-LES model are evaluated on the proposed benchmark for subcritical and supercritical flow regimes respectively (see Fig. 1 and Tab. 1). In the VMS-LES used in this work, the separation between the large and the small resolved scales is obtained through a variational projection operator based on spatial average on agglomerated cells [1]. The dynamic procedure allows the adaptation of the constant of the SGS model to the spatial and temporal variation of the flow characteristics, while the VMS formulation restricts the SGS model effects to the smallest resolved scales. The dynamic versions of the Smagorinsky and of the WALE SGS models are considered herein. The non-dynamic counterparts of these SGS models are also used in order to evaluate the impact of dy- namic SGS modeling in the considered VMS-LES approach for the simulation of massively separated flows. However, the Reynolds number range useful for LES-like simulation is limited as LES grid needs to be sufficiently fine to resolve a significant part of the turbulence scales. With the aim of simulating high Reynolds number flows, it is considered in the present work a hybridization strategy using a blending parameter, such that a VMS- LES simulation is obtained where the grid resolution is fine enough to resolve a significant part of the turbulence fluctuations [2], while a RANS model is acting in the regions of coarse grid resolution, as, for instance, near the body surface

Necessidades (de saúde) de adolescentes do D.A. Raposo Tavares, SP, referidas à família, escola e bairro

Este estudo, de natureza epidemiológica descritiva, objetiva caracterizar as necessidades de saúde dos adolescentes do Distrito Administrativo Raposo Tavares - município de São Paulo, que apresenta diversas situações de vulnerabilidade social. Foram estudados 133 adolescentes e suas famílias, inscritos em 1 2 escolas públicas e I Centro de Juventude, buscando localizar as suas necessidades de saúde a partir das suas formas de inserção social (plenamente incluidos, precariamente incluidos e excluidos). Os resultados indicam que às formas de reprodução evidenciadas na amostra estudada se associavam necessidades diferenciados, seja do ponto de vista quantitativo, seja do ponto de vista qualitativo, relacionadas às agências e ao espaço de socialização: família, escola e bairro. São necessárias ações intersetoriais, não só de incremento das políticas sociais públicas, mas de capacitação dos adolescentes para que exerçam seus direitos sociais e possam dispor de processos de socialização acolhedores e protetores.This is an epidemiological descriptive study which has lhe objective of characterizing lhe health needs of adolescente who tive in a social vulnerable neighborhood of lhe city of SãoPaulo (Raposo Tavares). A questionnaire and a form were utilized to collect data Dom a sample of 133 adolescente from lhe 12 public schools and lhe Youth Center of lhe community. Data Dom social reproduction indicators were organized to socially classify the adolescents’ families in three social groups. The results indicated that 16.5% of them were in a socially included group, 51.1%, in a precariously included group and, finally, ~2.3% of the adolescents were considered being in a socially excluded group. There were some significant quantitative and qualitative differences in the health needs felt by the adolescents when they refer to family, school and neighborhood. To satisfy these needs, it is necessary to improve social public policies and to empower youngsters to exercise their rights in order to guarantee care and protectionduring their socialization processes

The study of neutron star magnetospheres with LOFT

This is a White Paper in support of the mission concept of the Large Observatory for X-ray Timing (LOFT), proposed as a medium-sized ESA mission. We discuss the potential of LOFT for the study of magnetospheres of isolated neutron stars. For a summary, we refer to the paper.Comment: White Paper in Support of the Mission Concept of the Large Observatory for X-ray Timin

Comparative genomics of the genus Lactobacillus reveals robust phylogroups that provide the basis for reclassification

The genus Lactobacillus includes over 200 species that are widely used in fermented food preservation and biotechnology or that are explored for beneficial effects on health. Naming, classifying, and comparing lactobacilli have been challenging due to the high level of phenotypic and genotypic diversity that they display and because of the uncertain degree of relatedness between them and associated genera. The aim of this study was to investigate the feasibility of dividing the genus Lactobacillus into more homogeneous genera/clusters, exploiting genome-based data. The relatedness of 269 species belonging primarily to the families Lactobacillaceae and Leuconostocaceae was investigated through phylogenetic analysis (by the use of ribosomal proteins and housekeeping genes) and the assessment of the average amino acid identity (AAI) and the percentage of conserved proteins (POCP). For each subgeneric group that emerged, conserved signature genes were identified. Both distance-based and sequence-based metrics showed that the Lactobacillus genus was paraphyletic and revealed the presence of 10 methodologically consistent subclades, which were also characterized by a distinct distribution of conserved signature orthologues. We present two ways to reclassify lactobacilli: a conservative division into two subgeneric groups based on the presence/absence of a key carbohydrate utilization gene or a more radical subdivision into 10 groups that satisfy more stringent criteria for genomic relatedness. Importance: Lactobacilli have significant scientific and economic value, but their extraordinary diversity means that they are not robustly classified. The 10 homogeneous genera/subgeneric entities that we identify here are characterized by uniform patterns of the presence/absence of specific sets of genes which offer potential as discovery tools for understanding differential biological features. Reclassification/subdivision of the genus Lactobacillus into more uniform taxonomic nuclei will also provide accurate molecular markers that will be enabling for regulatory approval applications. Reclassification will facilitate scientific communication related to lactobacilli and prevent misidentification issues, which are still the major cause of mislabeling of probiotic and food products reported worldwide

Field evidence for the upwind velocity shift at the crest of low dunes

Wind topographically forced by hills and sand dunes accelerates on the upwind (stoss) slopes and reduces on the downwind (lee) slopes. This secondary wind regime, however, possesses a subtle effect, reported here for the first time from field measurements of near-surface wind velocity over a low dune: the wind velocity close to the surface reaches its maximum upwind of the crest. Our field-measured data show that this upwind phase shift of velocity with respect to topography is found to be in quantitative agreement with the prediction of hydrodynamical linear analysis for turbulent flows with first order closures. This effect, together with sand transport spatial relaxation, is at the origin of the mechanisms of dune initiation, instability and growth.Comment: 13 pages, 6 figures. Version accepted for publication in Boundary-Layer Meteorolog

Headache: Prevalence and relationship with office or ambulatory blood pressure in a general population sample (the Vobarno Study).

The association of headache and arterial hypertension is still controversial, although headache is usually considered a symptom of hypertension. The aim of this study is to evaluate the prevalence of headache in a general population sample and the relationship with arterial hypertension, as diagnosed by office measurements and ambulatory monitoring of blood pressure (BP).In the randomized sample of the Vobarno population, 301 subjects (126 males, 175 females, age range 35-50 years) underwent a structured standardized headache questionnaire, office and 24-h ambulatory BP monitoring.Prevalence of lifetime headache and of migraine was greater in females than in males. Office and 24-h BP values did not differ between subjects without headache and subjects with headache. No differences in headache prevalence (58% vs 55%), migraine prevalence (32% vs 28%) and use of analgesic drugs in the presence of headache (82% vs 78%) were observed between hypertensive patients (93.5% newly diagnosed, 6.5% treated) and normotensive subjects.In a general population sample, hypertension (diagnosed by office and/or 24-h BP) is not associated with headache

Facing the urgency of therapies for progressive MS — a Progressive MS Alliance proposal

Therapies for infiltrative inflammation in multiple sclerosis (MS) have advanced greatly, but neurodegeneration and compartmentalized inflammation remain virtually untargeted as in other diseases of the nervous system. Consequently, many therapies are available for the relapsing–remitting form of MS, but the progressive forms remain essentially untreated. The objective of the International Progressive MS Alliance is to expedite the development of effective therapies for progressive MS through new initiatives that foster innovative thinking and concrete advancements. Based on these principles, the Alliance is developing a new funding programme that will focus on experimental medicine trials. Here, we discuss the reasons behind the focus on experimental medicine trials, the strengths and weaknesses of these approaches and of the programme, and why we hope to advance therapies while improving the understanding of progression in MS. We are soliciting public and academic feedback, which will help shape the programme and future strategies of the Alliance