A new limit for the NW Río de la Plata Craton Border at about 24ºS (Argentina) detected by Magnetotellurics

Old South American structures constitute a puzzle where the Río de la Plata craton is the most important clue in the assembly of SW Gondwana. The present study was performed to improve the knowledge resulting from all the previous magnetotelluric (MT) studies focused particularly on characterizing the western border of the Rio de la Plata Craton. MT data were acquired along an approximately NW-SE 750 km profile at about 24ºS, from the Sub Andean Ranges in the province of Salta (NW) to the boundary Formosa Province frontier (SE) next to Paraguay River. Distortion and structure dimensionality analysis indicates that MT responses are two-dimensional with a NS strike orientation, consistent with the regional geological strike. A 2D inversion of the data provided a model showing a sharp lateral discontinuity, possibly associated with cratonic structures. The high resistivity (> 5000 ohm-m) observed, from about the middle of the profile toward its eastern end, may be interpreted as the terranes accreted to the Río de la Plata Craton during Neoproterozoic to Cambrian times, or even as the Río de la Plata Craton itself. Along the profile from the surface to a depth of about 10 km the resistivity model shows a significant resistivity variation in the structure. The resistive block identified at the western end of the profile represents the Sub Andean system. The markedly enhanced low-resistivity structure (~ 1 to 10 ohm-m) corresponds to a sedimentary pile whose thickness decreases from NW to SE

Efficient management of industrial electric vehicles by means of static and dynamic wireless power transfer systems

Industrial companies are moving toward the electrification of equipment and processes, in line with the broader energy transition taking place across the economy. Particularly, the energy efficiency and, consequently, the reduction of environmental pollution of intralogistics activities have become a competitive element and are now an actual research and development objective. A wireless power transfer is a contactless electrical energy transmission technology based on the magnetic coupling between coils installable under the ground level and a coil mounted under the vehicle floor, and it represents an excellent solution to decrease the demand for batteries by reducing vehicle downtimes during the recharge. This work aims to define a methodology to determine the optimal positioning of wireless charging units across the warehouse, both for static and dynamic recharging. To this aim, firstly, a mathematical model of the warehouse is proposed to describe transfers and storage/retrieval operations executed by the forklifts. Then, an integer linear programming problem is applied to find the best possible layout of the charging infrastructures. The optimal solution respects the energetic requirements given by the customer and minimizes the overall system cost. The proposed approach was applied to optimize the installation in a real-size warehouse of a tire manufacturing company. Several scenarios were computer generated through discrete event simulation in order to test the optimizer in different warehouse conditions. The obtained results show that integrated dynamic and static WPT systems ensure a constant state of charge of the electric vehicles during their operations

Open product development to support circular economy through a material lifecycle management framework

Environmental concerns are increasingly demanding for sustainable consumption of Earth's resources. The adoption of the circular economy model can potentially address the environmental sustainability challenge, but there is a need to revolutionise the way products are developed. This work aims to explore the current scientific literature related to the open product development process in support of sustainability, with a major focus on circular economy, and propose a framework to address the main obstacle emerged from it. More than 130 research articles have been scanned, and more than 50 have been deeply analysed. One of the main gaps discovered in the studied literature is the lack of shared information about materials. For this reason, we propose a framework for the establishment of a digital identity of materials by means of cyber-physical systems employed along the material lifecycle. In this way, material-related information in all the lifecycle phases can be collected and stored in a material passport to increase value chain transparency and allow resources traceability. Sharing material passports in a digital platform would form an internet of materials that would support designers and engineers in developing more sustainable products

Design and Simulation of a Battery Swapping System for Electric Vehicles

Electric vehicles show a significant potential both to reduce carbon emissions due to an energy storage system which can be recharged using renewable energy sources. The long time it takes to recharge the batteries of an electric car can be a limit to its spread and reach a "massive adoption". This work aims at evaluating the feasibility of using an automated battery swapping system for vehicles in the city of Turin in Italy. The battery swapping station was designed by using real data from a leading company in warehouse handling. (GAP nu) Various configurations were proposed by varying the number of stations operating in the city, the number of cars served simultaneously in each station and the number of automatic guided vehicles that replace the battery in the stations. The analysis was conducted by using a discrete event simulation model. The customer service, the infrastructure costs and the battery life cycle preservation were considered as performance indicators. The obtained results showed that the project is feasible both from an infrastructural point of view and an energetic point of view

A new limit of the Rio de la Plata Craton NW Boundary at about 24ºS (Argentina) by Magnetotellurics

Old South American structures constitute a puzzle where the Río de la Plata craton is the most important clue in the assembly of SW Gondwana. The present study was performed to improve the knowledge resulting from all the previous magnetotelluric (MT) studies focused particularly on characterizing the western border of the Rio de la Plata Craton. MT data were acquired along an approximately NW-SE 750 km profile at about 24ºS, from the Sub Andean Ranges in the province of Salta (NW) to the boundary Formosa Province frontier (SE) next to Paraguay River. Distortion and structure dimensionality analysis indicates that MT responses are two-dimensional with a NS strike orientation, consistent with the regional geological strike. A 2D inversion of the data provided a model showing a sharp lateral discontinuity, possibly associated with cratonic structures. The high resistivity (> 5000 ohm-m) observed, from about the middle of the profile toward its eastern end, may be interpreted as the terranes accreted to the Río de la Plata Craton during Neoproterozoic to Cambrian times, or even as the Río de la Plata Craton itself. Along the profile from the surface to a depth of about 10 km the resistivity model shows a significant resistivity variation in the structure. The resistive block identified at the western end of the profile represents the Sub Andean system. The markedly enhanced low-resistivity structure (~ 1 to 10 ohm-m) corresponds to a sedimentary pile whose thickness decreases from NW to SE

A new limit for the NW Río de la Plata Craton Border at about 24ºS (Argentina) detected by Magnetotellurics

Old South American structures constitute a puzzle where the Río de la Plata craton is the most important clue in the assembly of SW Gondwana. The present study was performed to improve the knowledge resulting from all the previous magnetotelluric (MT) studies focused particularly on characterizing the western border of the Rio de la Plata Craton. MT data were acquired along an approximately NW-SE 750 km profile at about 24ºS, from the Sub Andean Ranges in the province of Salta (NW) to the boundary Formosa Province frontier (SE) next to Paraguay River. Distortion and structure dimensionality analysis indicates that MT responses are two-dimensional with a NS strike orientation, consistent with the regional geological strike. A 2D inversion of the data provided a model showing a sharp lateral discontinuity, possibly associated with cratonic structures. The high resistivity (> 5000 ohm-m) observed, from about the middle of the profile toward its eastern end, may be interpreted as the terranes accreted to the Río de la Plata Craton during Neoproterozoic to Cambrian times, or even as the Río de la Plata Craton itself. Along the profile from the surface to a depth of about 10 km the resistivity model shows a significant resistivity variation in the structure. The resistive block identified at the western end of the profile represents the Sub Andean system. The markedly enhanced low-resistivity structure (~ 1 to 10 ohm-m) corresponds to a sedimentary pile whose thickness decreases from NW to SE

Surgical management of intracardiac myxomas. A 16-year experience.

Twenty-six patients with an intracardiac myxoma underwent surgical resection at our institution from 1977 through 1992. Left atrial myxoma was diagnosed in 22 patients, left ventricular in 1, right atrial in 2, and right ventricular in 1. Six patients were asymptomatic; preoperative symptoms included dyspnea, arrhythmias, embolic episodes, and syncope. The diagnosis was established with transthoracic echocardiography in all cases but one. Surgery was performed in all cases with the aid of cardiopulmonary bypass with moderate hypothermia and cold crystalloid cardioplegia. One patient with a left ventricular myxoma died in a comatose state during the immediate postoperative period. Long-term clinical and echocardiographic evaluation was performed in 19 patients; results were excellent (all the patients were in New York Heart Association functional class I or II), and no recurrences were documented. The clinical characteristics, diagnostic methods, and surgical approach are presented and discussed