Detection of insulation flaws and thermal bridges in insulated truck box panels

This paper focuses on the detection of defects and thermal bridges in insulated truck box panels, utilising infrared thermography. Unlike the traditional way in which passive thermography is applied, this research uses both heating and cooling methods in active thermography configurations. Lamp heating is used as the hot external stimulation, while a compressed air jet is applied as the cold external stimulation. A thermal camera captures the whole process. In addition, numerical simulations under COMSOL® platform are also conducted. Experimental and simulation results for two situations are compared and discussed

Periodic thermal behavior of walls: an experimental approach

The need for testing methods that could verify the performance of building components is continuously increasing, as it is mandatory to reduce the overall energy need of the buildings. This work provides a method that determines the dynamic behavior of walls. The time-shift due to the thermal and physical properties of the component is measured using infrared thermography. A case study on a typical wall sample is proposed, validating the technique

Indoor monitoring of Scrovegni Chapel Crypt

The indoor microclimate of the Scrovegni Chapel in Padova (Italy) was analysed first in the ‘80s. The early study operates in the best way for what concerns the choice of measurement devices and their positioning. Starting from 1995 a Scientific-technical Board coordinates the various initiatives commissioned for the surveys of a conservation of the Scrovegni building structures and for the preservation of frescos. However only during the last ten years, the activities of the Board have been addressed also on the study of the hypogeal environments under the Chapel and in the external environment around it in order to prevent possible damage due to the presence of water which frequently submerges the floor and part of the vertical structures of the crypt (perimeter walls and brick partitions). The investigations have been therefore extended to the crypt. The present work reports the preliminary results of the cyclical survey campaign launched last year and still ongoing: passive thermographic techniques (non-invasive and non-destructive) have been used for the identification and the investigation of the relationship between the boundary seasonal thermohygrometric conditions and the rainfall variations and other exogenous phenomena related to the complex water system of the area on which the Scrovegni Chapel stands

Numerical Model and Experimental Analysis of the Thermal Behavior of Electric Radiant Heating Panels

Electric radiant heating panels are frequently selected during the design phase of residential and industrial heating systems, especially for retrofit of existing buildings, as an alternative to other common heating systems, such as radiators or air conditioners. The possibility of saving living and working space and the ease of installation are the main advantages of electric radiant solutions. This paper investigates the thermal performance of a typical electric radiant panel. A climatic room was equipped with temperature sensors and heat flow meters to perform a steady state experimental analysis. For the dynamic behavior, a mathematical model was created and compared to a thermographic measurement procedure. The results showed for the steady state an efficiency of energy transformation close to one, while in a transient thermal regime the time constant to reach the steady state condition was slightly faster than the typical ones of hydronic systems

Investigation of surface inclination effect during dropwise condensation of flowing saturated steam

When a pure vapor condenses over a surface, it can form a continuous liquid film or a multitude of discrete droplets, thus realizing the so-called dropwise condensation (DWC). In the literature, most of the experimental data refer to DWC on vertical condensing surfaces with quiescent vapor. However, in many applications, the condensing vapor usually has a non-zero flow velocity with a consequent effect on the sliding motion of droplets. Moreover, the drag force due to vapor velocity may be the only mechanism for liquid removal on a horizontal surface or in space applications. A systematic investigation of the effects of vapor drag and surface inclination on the heat transfer and droplet population during DWC is needed and is addressed in the present paper. Here, DWC of flowing steam is experimentally studied on sol-gel silica-based coated aluminium substrates at three different inclinations: vertical, inclined at 45°, and horizontal. Heat transfer coefficient (HTC) and droplet population measurements are performed in a wide range of heat flux (260–610 kW m−2) and average vapor velocity (3.3–13.8 m s−1). When decreasing the tilt angle, from vertical to horizontal, due to the lower contribution of the gravity force, the average droplet size increases, and a strong HTC reduction is observed above all at low vapor velocities. Because of the vapor drag force, the HTC increases with steam velocity and, at the highest mass velocity, the HTC is independent from the surface inclination. A model for the droplet departing radius in the presence of vapor velocity, initially proposed by the present authors for the sole case of vertical surfaces, is here modified to account also for the effect of surface inclination and then assessed against the present experimental data. Hence, we propose to predict the heat flux during DWC by coupling the new equation for the departing radius with the available models of heat transfer through a single droplet and drop-size distribution. The developed calculation method is found to provide satisfactory predictions of the HTC for the whole range of vapor velocity, heat flux and surface inclination

Metabolic connectivity of resting-state networks in alpha synucleinopathies, from prodromal to dementia phase

Previous evidence suggests that the derangement of large-scale brain networks reflects structural, molecular, and functional mechanisms underlying neurodegenerative diseases. Although the alterations of multiple large-scale brain networks in Parkinson’s disease (PD) and Dementia with Lewy Bodies (DLB) are reported, a comprehensive study on connectivity reconfiguration starting from the preclinical phase is still lacking. We aimed to investigate shared and disease-specific changes in the large-scale networks across the Lewy Bodies (LB) disorders spectrum using a brain metabolic connectivity approach. We included 30 patients with isolated REM sleep behavior disorder (iRBD), 28 with stable PD, 30 with DLB, and 30 healthy controls for comparison. We applied seed-based interregional correlation analyses (IRCA) to evaluate the metabolic connectivity in the large-scale resting-state networks, as assessed by [18F]FDG-PET, in each clinical group compared to controls. We assessed metabolic connectivity changes by applying the IRCA and specific connectivity metrics, such as the weighted and unweighted Dice similarity coefficients (DC), for the topographical similarities. All the investigated large-scale brain resting-state networks showed metabolic connectivity alterations, supporting the widespread involvement of brain connectivity within the alpha-synuclein spectrum. Connectivity alterations were already evident in iRBD, severely affecting the posterior default mode, attentive and limbic networks. Strong similarities emerged in iRBD and DLB that showed comparable connectivity alterations in most large-scale networks, particularly in the posterior default mode and attentive networks. Contrarily, PD showed the main connectivity alterations limited to motor and somatosensory networks. The present findings reveal that metabolic connectivity alterations in the large-scale networks are already present in the early iRBD phase, resembling the DLB metabolic connectivity changes. This suggests and confirms iRBD as a risk condition for progression to the severe LB disease phenotype. Of note, the neurobiology of stable PD supports its more benign phenotype

In vitro Antimicrobial Activity of Chlorquinaldol against Microorganisms Responsible for Skin and Soft Tissue Infections : Comparative Evaluation with Gentamicin and Fusidic Acid

Skin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs) are a major therapeutic challenge for clinicians. The emergence of pathogens with decreased susceptibility to available therapies has become an emerging problem often associated with treatment failure. Hence, there is an urgent need for novel broad-spectrum antimicrobial agents. The purpose of this study was to assess the feasibility of chlorquinaldol as an alternative approach to currently used topical antibiotics for the treatment of skin and soft tissue infections. The activity of chlorquinaldol was investigated against a collection of bacterial isolates responsible for skin infections, including strains resistant to fusidic acid and gentamicin. After determination of MIC and MBC, time-kill experiments were carried out by counting colonies grown after 0, 3, 6, 9, 24, and 48 h of incubation with concentrations equal to \ubc 7, \ubd 7, 1 7, 2 7, and 4 7 MIC of chlorquinaldol, gentamicin, or fusidic acid. Staphylococci resulted the Gram-positives most sensitive to chlorquinaldol, with MIC-values ranging from 0.016 to 0.5 mg/L. A lower activity was observed against Gram-negative bacteria, with 77% of the isolates being inhibited at concentrations ranging from 128 to 512 mg/L. Generally, in time-kill studies, chlorquinaldol showed a bactericidal activity at the higher concentrations (2 7, 4 7 MIC) after 24-48 h of incubation. In conclusion, chlorquinaldol may represent a valuable alternative to conventional topical antibiotics for the treatment of skin and soft tissue infections

Gradient-based optimization techniques for the design of static controllers for Markov jump linear systems with unobservable modes

The paper formulates the static control problem of Markov jump linear systems, assuming that the controller does not have access to the jump variable. We derive the expression of the gradient for the cost motivated by the evaluation of 10 gradient-based optimization techniques. The numerical efficiency of these techniques is verified by using the data obtained from practical experiments. The corresponding solution is used to design a scheme to control the velocity of a real-time DC motor device subject to abrupt power failuresFAPESP (03 / 06736-7, 04 / 06947-0)CNPq (471557 / 2009-9, 304.856 / 2007-0, 304.429 / 2007-4, 306.466 / 2010-4)Fundación Carolina (Fundación Carolina - Programa "Movilidad de Professores e Investigadores Brasil-España. C.2010 "