Dynamic response of a viscously damped two adjacent degree of freedom system linked by inerter subjected to base harmonic excitation

The study investigates the dynamic response of a viscously damped two adjacent single degree-of-freedom (2-ASDOF) system coupled by a connection that includes an inerter element. The dynamical model of a pair of simple oscillators coupled with various connection elements is synthetic but also representative to describe different classes of structures (i.e. contiguous buildings, adjacent walls and frames and so on). The specific kind of connection fundamentally alters the dynamic behavior of the entire system. Coupling elements typically studied are springs, dampers, linear or non-linear, passive, semi-active or active, e.g. [1,2]. The inerter is a novel device able to generate a resisting force, proportional to the relative acceleration of its terminals, equivalent to a force produced with an apparent (inertial) mass two orders of magnitude greater than its own physical (gravitational) mass [3]. In this study, a non-conservative connection, realized with a spring-inerter-viscous damper elements, adjusted in parallel, is considered as linking scheme for the 2-ASDOF system. In order to perform modal analysis, the first order state-space representation is adopted and the modal equations for the viscously damped system are derived. By solving the eigenvalue problem, the attention is focused on how modal parameters, i.e. the natural frequencies, the modal damping ratios and modes are affected by the connection. The system is then subject to harmonic base excitation and frequency response functions are depicted showing the influence of the link (through spring stiffness, inertance and damping coefficient) on the dynamic response. From the analysis with the different linking schemes, it emerges that the specific kind of connection influences the system dynamic characteristics

Vibration control of steel liquid storage tanks equipped with Inerter-based isolation systems

Base isolation represents a very widely used strategy to mitigate the effects of earthquake excitation on structures. However, it can induce high displacements between the isolation layer and the ground, which may cause serious damage, and even heavy and dangerous consequences in case of industrial components. Among them, big steel tanks for storage of petroleum or other chemical products, should be considered very carefully. Moreover, isolation technique doesn’t seem to be effective in the control of the sloshing modes, due to the length of their periods of vibration. This fact can imply severe negative effects on the free surface of the storage tank, where the sloshing wave can exceed the upper limit of the tank, overtopping it, or inducing breaking on the floating roof. Moving from the results available in the Literature, in which the introduction in civil applications of a two terminal device, named inerter, able to generate an inertial mass much greater than its gravitational mass, is proposed; the force produced by the inerter is proportional to the difference of acceleration between its terminals. This work concerns the evaluation, through numerical models, of the seismic performance of a passive base isolation system involving a ground inerter system, called IBIS in the following, connecting the isolation layer of a steel liquid storage tank to the ground. The model considered in the numerical analysis consists in a reduced 2DOF linear system. The first degree of freedom is represented by the first sloshing mode; the second is relative to the base isolation system, whose mass includes the basement, the tank and the impulsive component of liquid mass. The aim is to gain a reduction of the response in terms both of isolation layer displacement and of sloshing height. The effectiveness of the control strategy proposed has been evaluated considering both a random white noise process and earthquakes (near-fault and far-field) as base input, achieving strong reduction of the response, in terms of sloshing height and isolation displacement

Optimal design of the ideal grounded tuned mass damper inerter for comfort performances improvement in footbridges with practical implementation considerations

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Ge-Doped microstructured multicorefiber for customizable supercontinuum generation

Supercontinuum generation in a multicore fiber in which several uncoupled cores were doped with dissimilar concentrations of germanium was studied experimentally. Germanium doping provided control over the separation between the zero-dispersion wavelength and the 1064-nm wavelength of a Q-switched Nd:YAG pump laser. Supercontinua generated independently in each core of the same piece of fiber displayed clear and repeatable differences due to the influence of germanium doping on refractive index and four-wave mixing. The spectral evolution of the subnanosecond pump pulses injected into the different cores was accurately reproduced by numerical simulations

Smoke, alcohol and drug addiction and male fertility

In recent decades, the decline in human fertility has become increasingly more worrying: while therapeutic interventions might help, they are vexing for the couple and often burdened with high failure rates and costs. Prevention is the most successful approach to fertility disorders in males and females alike. We performed a literature review on three of the most common unhealthy habits - tobacco, alcohol and drug addiction - and their reported effects on male fertility. Tobacco smoking is remarkably common in most first-world countries; despite a progressive decline in the US, recent reports suggest a prevalence of more than 30% in subjects of reproductive age - a disturbing perspective, given the well-known ill-effects on reproductive and sexual function as well as general health. Alcohol consumption is often considered socially acceptable, but its negative effects on gonadal function have been consistently reported in the last 30 years. Several studies have reported a variety of negative effects on male fertility following drug abuse - a worrying phenomenon, as illicit drug consumption is on the rise, most notably in younger subjects. While evidence in these regards is still far from solid, mostly as a result of several confounding factors, it is safe to assume that cessation of tobacco smoking, alcohol consumption and recreational drug addiction might represent the best course of action for any couple trying to achieve pregnancy

Chromatic confocal setup for displacement measurement using a supercontinuum light source

Chromatic confocal microscopy is a technique to measure distances by analyzing the spectrum of the light reflected by a sample. The key element of the confocal setup is a dispersive lens, which focuses different wavelengths at different distances from the lens. In this paper,a novel setup realized with a supercontinuum light source and a spatial filter composed by reflective elements is described.The supercontinuum source is implemented by injecting high power pulses from a microchip laser into a Ge-doped microstructured optical fiber. The usage of metallic parabolic mirrors, for the focusing and collimation required in the spatial filter, lets the dispersive lens be the only dispersive element of the confocal setup and improves the efficiency of the spatial filter itself. A silicon-based spectrometer is used for the acquisition of the spectra, which are normalized and Gaussian-fitted before extracting the displacement information. A complete calibration is performed, and the set of wavelengths from 500 nm to 900 nm can be mapped into a280 um measuring range. The obtained relativ eaccuracy of 0.36% shows an enhancement of almost one order of magnitude when compared to other supercontinuum-based confocal systems

Pump-probe Spectroscopy Study of Ultrafast Temperature Dynamics in Nanoporous Gold

We explore the influence of the nanoporous structure on the thermal relaxation of electrons and holes excited by ultrashort laser pulses ($\sim 7$ fs) in thin gold films. Plasmon decay into hot electron-hole pairs results in the generation of a Fermi-Dirac distribution thermalized at a temperature $T_{\mathrm{e}}$ higher than the lattice temperature $T_{\mathrm{l}}$. The relaxation times of the energy exchange between electrons and lattice, here measured by pump-probe spectroscopy, is slowed down by the nanoporous structure, resulting in much higher peak $T_{\mathrm{e}}$ than for bulk gold films. The electron-phonon coupling constant and the Debye temperature are found to scale with the metal filling factor $f$ and a two-temperature model reproduces the data. The results open the way for electron temperature control in metals by engineering of the nanoporous geometry.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, submitted to Physical Review

Graphene sustained nonlinear modes in dielectric waveguides

We discuss the existence of nonlinear modes sustained by graphene layers in dielectric waveguides. Taking advantage of the almost two dimensional nature of graphene, we introduce the nonlinear effect as a parameter in the continuity equations. We then apply our modeling to a simple slab waveguide to enlighten how graphene can be used to induce huge nonlinear phase shifts at easily accessible power levels