CFD model-based analysis and experimental assessment of key design parameters for an integrated unglazed metallic thermal collector façade

Active façade systems incorporating solar thermal collectors currently offer very promising energetic solutions. From among the available systems, a simple solution is the unglazed heat collector for potential integration in low-temperature applications. However, when adopting system definitions, the modification of some design parameters and their impact has to be fully understood. In this study, the case of an unglazed collector integrated into a sandwich panel is assessed and a specific analysis is performed for a proper assessment of the influence of key design parameters. Based on that case study of the real built system, a CFD model is developed and validated and a parametric assessment is then performed, by altering the configurations of both the panel and the hydraulic circuit. In this way, the potential of each measure to harness solar energy can be evaluated and each parameter with its different level of impact can be highlighted, to identify those of higher relevance. A characterization of the real solution completes the study, by providing the efficiency curves and the total energy collected during the experimental campaign. The maximum estimate of the efficiency of a 6 m2 façade was within a range between 0.47 and 0.34 and the heat loss factor was between 4.8 and 7.5. The case study exercises reveal the real energy efficiency and solar production patterns. There was also an opportunity to consider significant improvements to increase the output of the active façade. The main conclusions concerned the different criteria that improved the definition of the system and greater comprehension of alternative designs that may be integrated in the underlying concept.The authors are grateful to the Basque Government for fundingthis research through projects IT781-13 and IT1314-19 and to allthose involved in the different stages for their guidance andinvaluable help.The authors would also like to thank all those companies andresearchers participating in the BASSE project for their stronginvolvement during that research. Results from BASSE project haveinspired present research. The BASSE project received funding fromthe European Union, RFCS Program, Research Fund for Coal and Steel project Building Active Steel Skin (BASSE, Grant Agreement noRFSR-CT-2013-00026

SHORT-TERM EFFECTS OF CROP HUSBANDRY ON THE WEED COMMUNITY OF A CEREAL-LEGUME ROTATION, “TILMAN-ORG session”

Several agricultural practices can be used to control weed population thus avoiding the use of herbicides. Tillage, fertilization and growth of a green manure are found among them. In the context of a mid-term experiment set up in an organic field in Gallecs (Barcelona), we analysed the effect of chisel vs mouldboard ploughing, application of fertilizer and growth of a green manure on the density of weeds and on composition of the weed community. We evaluated weed density and community composition in April 2012 (spelt crop), February 2013 (green manure cover) and May 2013 (chickpea crop) and also analysed the sources of variation of density for the most abundant species in all periods. Our results show that, under the cereal crop, mouldboard plough had a negative effect on weed densities and also affected weed community composition. While green manure was standing on the field, its presence also had a negative effect on weed density. We found differences in composition between sown and unsown plots. After removal of green manure, though, these effects disappeared. For total weed density in the chickpea crop, we could not find differences due to any of the treatments applied. However, single species analyses showed that Setaria viridis and Polygonum convolvulus responded positively to tillage and fertilization and that P. convolvulus and Convolvulus arvensis were negatively affected by previous presence of green manure. Weed community composition were found to be unaffected by any of our treatments

Surco en cabeza femoral como signo de inestabilidad de cadera en pacientes con Síndrome de Down.

La inestabilidad de cadera en pacientes afectos de síndrome de Down es una entidad poco frecuente, en la actualidad todavía existe controversia sobre las anomalías anatómicas asociadas. El objetivo de este trabajo es describir los cambios anatómicos en las caderas de pacientes con inestabilidad en el síndrome de Down (SD). Hemos revisado las tomografías computarizadas (TC) de los pacientes afectos de luxación de cadera con SD. A tres de los 7 pacientes intervenidos en nuestro centro, se les había realizado TC de caderas. En todas las TC mostraban la presen - cia de lesión lineal vertical (surco) localizada en región epifisaria, atravesando la fisis, de localización antero-interna. Creemos que la posición adoptada cuando duermen (flexión, aducto y rotación interna) puede producir hiperpresión de la cabeza femoral sobre la ceja acetabular posterior, produciendo un surco vertical. La presencia de esta lesión puede ser sugestiva de inestabilidad subclínica de cadera en ausencia de episodio de luxación.Hip instability in patients with Down syndrome is a rare entity, currently there is still controversy about the associated anatomical anomalies. The aim of the study is to describe the anatomical changes in the hips of patients with instability in Down syndrome (DS). We have reviewed the computed tomography (CT) of patients with hip dislocation with SD. Three of the 7 patients treated in our center are performed CT had hips. All CT showed the presence of vertical linear lesion (groove) located in epiphyseal region, crossing the physis, antero-internal location. We believe that the position taken when sleeping (flexion, adduction and internal rotation) can produce overpressure of the femoral head over the posterior acetabular rim, producing a vertical groove. The presence of this lesion can be suggestive of subclinical instability in the absence of hip dislocation

Oscillation damping of chiral string loops

Chiral cosmic string loop tends to the stationary (vorton) configuration due to the energy loss into the gravitational and electromagnetic radiation. We describe the asymptotic behaviour of near stationary chiral loops and their fading to vortons. General limits on the gravitational and electromagnetic energy losses by near stationary chiral loops are found. For these loops we estimate the oscillation damping time. We present solvable examples of gravitational radiation energy loss by some chiral loop configurations. The analytical dependence of string energy with time is found in the case of the chiral ring with small amplitude radial oscillations.Comment: 10 pages, 2 figures. Accepted for publication in Physical Review

Inflationary potentials in DBI models

We study DBI inflation based upon a general model characterized by a power-law flow parameter $\epsilon(\phi)\propto\phi^{\alpha}$ and speed of sound $c_s(\phi)\propto\phi^{\beta}$, where $\alpha$ and $\beta$ are constants. We show that in the slow-roll limit this general model gives rise to distinct inflationary classes according to the relation between $\alpha$ and $\beta$ and to the time evolution of the inflaton field, each one corresponding to a specific potential; in particular, we find that the well-known canonical polynomial (large- and small-field), hybrid and exponential potentials also arise in this non-canonical model. We find that these non-canonical classes have the same physical features as their canonical analogs, except for the fact that the inflaton field evolves with varying speed of sound; also, we show that a broad class of canonical and D-brane inflation models are particular cases of this general non-canonical model. Next, we compare the predictions of large-field polynomial models with the current observational data, showing that models with low speed of sound have red-tilted scalar spectrum with low tensor-to-scalar ratio, in good agreement with the observed values. These models also show a correlation between large non-gaussianity with low tensor amplitudes, which is a distinct signature of DBI inflation with large-field polynomial potentials.Comment: Minor changes, reference added. Version submitted to JCA

Síndrome compartimental en joven con alteración hemática

El síndrome compartimental es una patología bien conocida que se produce por un aumento de la presión dentro de un compartimiento miofascial. Presentamos el caso de un paciente con trombopenia que sufrió un traumatismo banal. Necesitó fasciotomía del compartimiento anteroexterno de la pierna y, más tarde, esplenectomía. El diagnóstico y tratamiento tardíos de esta complicación, así como una descomprensión inadecuada, pueden conducir a la pérdida de función en una extremidad.The compartment syndrome is a well described cli- nical entity that results from increased pressure within a myo- fascial compartment. An unusual case of a patient with thrombopenia and a minimal traumatism, is reported. He required fasciotomy of the anterolateral compartment of the leg and, later, splenectomy. Late recognition and treatment of this complication, as well as inadequate decompression, can lead to loss of limb

Preheating After Modular Inflation

We study (p)reheating in modular (closed string) inflationary scenarios, with a special emphasis on Kahler moduli/Roulette models. It is usually assumed that reheating in such models occurs through perturbative decays. However, we find that there are very strong non-perturbative preheating decay channels related to the particular shape of the inflaton potential (which is highly nonlinear and has a very steep minimum). Preheating after modular inflation, proceeding through a combination of tachyonic instability and broad-band parametric resonance, is perhaps the most violent example of preheating after inflation known in the literature. Further, we consider the subsequent transfer of energy to the standard model sector in scenarios where the standard model particles are confined to a D7-brane wrapping the inflationary blow-up cycle of the compactification manifold or, more interestingly, a non-inflationary blow up cycle. We explicitly identify the decay channels of the inflaton in these two scenarios. We also consider the case where the inflationary cycle shrinks to the string scale at the end of inflation; here a field theoretical treatment of reheating is insufficient and one must turn instead to a stringy description. We estimate the decay rate of the inflaton and the reheat temperature for various scenarios.Comment: 34 pages, 10 figures. Accepted for publication in JCA

Accidental Inflation in the Landscape

We study some aspects of fine tuning in inflationary scenarios within string theory flux compactifications and, in particular, in models of accidental inflation. We investigate the possibility that the apparent fine-tuning of the low energy parameters of the theory needed to have inflation can be generically obtained by scanning the values of the fluxes over the landscape. Furthermore, we find that the existence of a landscape of eternal inflation in this model provides us with a natural theory of initial conditions for the inflationary period in our vacuum. We demonstrate how these two effects work in a small corner of the landscape associated with the complex structure of the Calabi-Yau manifold P^4_[1,1,1,6,9] by numerically investigating the flux vacua of a reduced moduli space. This allows us to obtain the distribution of observable parameters for inflation in this mini-landscape directly from the fluxes.Comment: 40 pages, 11 figure