Recent experimental probes of shear banding

Recent experimental techniques used to investigate shear banding are reviewed. After recalling the rheological signature of shear-banded flows, we summarize the various tools for measuring locally the microstructure and the velocity field under shear. Local velocity measurements using dynamic light scattering and ultrasound are emphasized. A few results are extracted from current works to illustrate open questions and directions for future research.Comment: Review paper, 23 pages, 11 figures, 204 reference

Tratamento de esgoto sanitário em sistemas alagados construídos cultivados com lírio-amarelo

Neste artigo, avaliou-se a eficiência de quatro sistemas alagados construídos (SACs) no tratamento de esgoto sanitário após ser submetido a tratamento preliminar e, no caso de alguns SACs, a tratamento primário (tanque séptico). Os SACs foram cultivados com lírio-amarelo (Hemerocallis flava), tendo a brita #0 como meio suporte, e submetidos às taxas de carregamento orgânico (TCO) de esgoto sanitário, em termos de DBO (kg ha-1 d-1), de 44; 98; 230 e 395 kg ha-1 d-1 e tempos de detenção hidráulica (TDH) de 3,9; 2,0; 1,0 e 0,75 dias, respectivamente. Para avaliar a eficiência dos sistemas, foram realizadas, no afluente e no efluente aos SACs, análises de DBO, DQO, SST, N-total, P-total, K e Na durante 6 meses de funcionamento do sistema. Nos SACs, houve predominância do ambiente anóxico/aeróbio, com remoção de SST, DBO e DQO, suficiente para atender aos padrões de lançamento de efluentes estabelecidos na legislação ambiental do Estado de Minas Gerais

Robot navigation in multi-terrain outdoor environments

Abstract. This paper presents a methodology for motion planning in outdoor environments that takes into account specific characteristics of the terrain. Instead of decomposing the robot configuration space into “free ” and “occupied”, we consider the existence of several regions with different navigation costs. Costs are determined experimentally by navigating the robot through the regions and measuring the influence of the terrain on its motion. In this paper we measure the robot vertical acceleration, which reflects the terrain roughness. A path planning algorithm is used to determine a sequence of triangles that minimize the navigation cost. Robot control is accomplished by a piecewise continuous vector field that drives the robot through those regions. This vector field allows the robot velocity to change according to the characteristics of the terrain. Experimental results with a differential driven, all terrain mobile robot illustrate the proposed approach.