70 research outputs found
The 1999 Athens (Greece) Earthquake: Energy and Duration- Related Response Spectral Characteristics of Different Site Conditions
An earthquake of September 7, 1999 (M5.9) has occurred in the Athens (Attika) area and was felt in almost all central Greece. The earthquake caused a lot of damage and extensive loss of life. The most damaged region is located within a distance of 10 km from the epicenter and numerous modem buildings and industrial facilities collapsed. The accelerograms, which have been recorded during the main event, are processed and compared with the empirical predictive relations proposed for Greece. For each record, the bracketed and significant duration as well as various energy-related measures are estimated. The correlation of these measures with the macroseismic intensity of the particular accelerographic site is then examined. Thus, the destructiveness of the individual records, based solely on the analysis of the ground motion process, is established. The influence of duration and frequency content on structural damage is then incorporated into the response spectral values via the adoption of novel site-dependent probabilistic 3Dspectra. Finally all the above characteristics are compared in order to select the strong-motion properties and response spectral parameters that encapsulate the damage potential of the seismic action and therefore are best suited for design purposes
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Displacement spectra and displacement modification factors, based on records from Greece
Elastic and inelastic displacement spectra (for periods up to 4.0 s) are derived, using a representative sample of acceleration records from Greece, carefully selected based on magnitude, distance and peak ground acceleration criteria, and grouped into three ground type categories according to the Eurocode 8 (EC8) provisions. The modification factor for the elastic design spectrum adopted in EC8 for accounting for damping is verified herein and is found to be satisfactory in the short to medium period range and less so in the long period range. The equivalent viscous damping ratio concept is also evaluated and is found to lead to underestimation of inelastic displacement spectra. Finally, based on the previously derived elastic and inelastic spectra, equations suitable for design and/or assessment purposes, are proposed for the corresponding displacement modification factors
THESSALONIKI SEISMIC HAZARD ASSESSMENT: PROBABILISTIC AND DETERMINISTIC APPROACH FOR ROCK SITE CONDITIONS
Within the framework of four research projects (RISK-EU, EUROSEISRISK, SRM_LIFE and
LESSLOSS) extensive calculations were carried out assessing the seismic hazard in the Thessaloniki
and surrounding area. The main results were derived from probabilistic and deterministic approaches
taking into account rock site conditions for each examined site in the Metropolitan area of
Thessaloniki. The expected strong-ground motions were calculated applying different methodologies.
Two different groups worked for the assessment of the seismic hazard, the first one constituted of the
INGV (Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Italy) and LSMF (Laboratory of Soil
Mechanics and Foundation Engineering, Thessaloniki, Greece) and the second one of LSMF and
ITSAK (Institute of Engineering Seismology and Earthquake Engineering, Thessaloniki,
Greece)
Spatio-temporal Models of Lymphangiogenesis in Wound Healing
Several studies suggest that one possible cause of impaired wound healing is
failed or insufficient lymphangiogenesis, that is the formation of new
lymphatic capillaries. Although many mathematical models have been developed to
describe the formation of blood capillaries (angiogenesis), very few have been
proposed for the regeneration of the lymphatic network. Lymphangiogenesis is a
markedly different process from angiogenesis, occurring at different times and
in response to different chemical stimuli. Two main hypotheses have been
proposed: 1) lymphatic capillaries sprout from existing interrupted ones at the
edge of the wound in analogy to the blood angiogenesis case; 2) lymphatic
endothelial cells first pool in the wound region following the lymph flow and
then, once sufficiently populated, start to form a network. Here we present two
PDE models describing lymphangiogenesis according to these two different
hypotheses. Further, we include the effect of advection due to interstitial
flow and lymph flow coming from open capillaries. The variables represent
different cell densities and growth factor concentrations, and where possible
the parameters are estimated from biological data. The models are then solved
numerically and the results are compared with the available biological
literature.Comment: 29 pages, 9 Figures, 6 Tables (39 figure files in total
Superconducting spintronics
The interaction between superconducting and spin-polarized orders has recently emerged as a major research field following a series
of fundamental breakthroughs in charge transport in superconductor-ferromagnet heterodevices which promise new device
functionality. Traditional studies which combine spintronics and superconductivity have mainly focused on the injection of
spin-polarized quasiparticles into superconducting materials. However, a complete synergy between superconducting and magnetic
orders turns out to be possible through the creation of spin-triplet Cooper pairs which are generated at carefully engineered
superconductor interfaces with ferromagnetic materials. Currently, there is intense activity focused on identifying materials
combinations which merge superconductivity and spintronics in order to enhance device functionality and performance. The results
look promising: it has been shown, for example, that superconducting order can greatly enhance central effects in spintronics such as
spin injection and magnetoresistance. Here, we review the experimental and theoretical advances in this field and provide an outlook
for upcoming challenges related to the new concept of superconducting spintronics.J.L. was supported by the Research Council of Norway, Grants No. 205591 and 216700.
J.W.A.R. was supported by the UK Royal Society and the Leverhulme Trust through an
International Network Grant (IN-2013-033).This is the accepted manuscript. The final version is available at http://www.nature.com/nphys/journal/v11/n4/full/nphys3242.html
Pt and CoB trilayer Josephson π junctions with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy
We report on the electrical transport properties of Nb based Josephson junctions with Pt/Co68B32/Pt ferromagnetic barriers. The barriers exhibit perpendicular magnetic anisotropy, which has the main advantage for potential applications over magnetisation in-plane systems of not affecting the Fraunhofer response of the junction. In addition, we report that there is no magnetic dead layer at the Pt/Co68B32 interfaces, allowing us to study barriers with ultra-thin Co68B32. In the junctions, we observe that the magnitude of the critical current oscillates with increasing thickness of the Co68B32 strong ferromagnetic alloy layer. The oscillations are attributed to the ground state phase difference across the junctions being modified from zero to π. The multiple oscillations in the thickness range 0.2 ⩽ dCoB ⩽ 1.4 nm suggests that we have access to the first zero-π and π-zero phase transitions. Our results fuel the development of low-temperature memory devices based on ferromagnetic Josephson junctions
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