Deformation and rupture of armour grade steel under localised blast loading

A series of 30 blast experiments were conducted on monolithic steel panels of two armour grade steels. The two steels evaluated were a high hardness armour (HHA) and a rolled homogenous armour (RHA). Tests were conducted at two standoff distances using a fixed charge diameter. The charge weight was varied to produce specific magnitudes of blast loading and to isolate the rupture threshold of each material. The results indicated that the HHA steel, generally reserved for ballistic protection, outperformed a more ductile RHA steel in terms of both its deformation resistance and rupture threshold. Optical and scanning electron microscopy was utilised for fractographic analysis of the ruptured plates. The failure of the steels in this investigation was found to be initiated by slant shear fracture with little to no localised thinning. This is in contrast to the tensile instability and ductile tearing predicted by established theories of plate rupture for mild steels under blast loading. The deformation and rupture of the candidate steels was analysed for all experimental conditions and compared to current empirical models based on a non-dimensional impulse parameter. While deformation behaviour is well predicted, the blast rupture threshold of the armour grade steels is poorly captured by current empirical modelling approaches. The identified shear fracture mode leads to lower energy absorption capabilities of the material compared to more ductile tensile failure

Matrix elements of the electromagnetic operator between kaon and pion states

We compute the matrix elements of the electromagnetic (EM) operator between kaon and pion states, using lattice QCD with maximally twisted-mass fermions and two flavors of dynamical quarks (Nf = 2). The EM operator is renormalized non-perturbatively in the RI'/MOM scheme and our simulations cover pion masses as light as 260 MeV and three values of the lattice spacing, ranging from ~ 0.07 up to ~ 0.1 fm. At the physical point our preliminary result for the K -> pion tensor form factor at zero-momentum transfer is fT[K\pi](0) = 0.42(2_stat), which differs significantly from the old quenched result fT[K\pi](0) = 0.78(6) obtained by the SPQcdR Collaboration with pion masses above 500 MeV. We investigate the source of this difference and conclude that it is mainly related to the chiral extrapolation of the quenched data. For the case of the tensor charge of the pion we obtain the preliminary value fT[\pi\pi](0) = 0.200(14_stat), which can be compared with the result fT[\pi\pi](0) = 0.216(34) obtained at Nf = 2 by the QCDSF Collaboration using higher pion masses.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures, contribution to the XXVIII International Symposium on Lattice Field Theory, Lattice2010, June 14-19, 2010, Villasimius, Ital

Response to the Draft Report of the Productivity Commission: Submission to the Productivity Commission Inquiry into the Workplace Relations Framework

Response to the Draft Report of the Productivity Commission Inquiry into the Workplace Relations Framewor

Promoting smartness among local areas in a Southern Italian region: The Smart Basilicata Project

Making cities smarter and more competitive is one of the major challenges of climate change and energy security. Smart city initiatives have arisen Europe-wide to help cities to start planning their future in a new way to become more sustainable and resilient. New business models need to be investigated to foster local business development, innovative local administrations and industries, valorize the cultural heritage and the research outcomes and promote community’s participation. This transition is even more complex and necessary for sparsely populated regions with poor infrastructures in the buildings, manufacturing and transport domains and with a multi-layer local governance (e.g. Italian Towns, Provinces and Region). In this case, a widespread concept of smart city can be applied proposing systematic strategies for urban innovation with a regional-wide perspective. This paper focuses on a coordinated project aimed to promote smartness among local areas in a small region in Southern Italy (Basilicata). The ‘Smart Basilicata’ project constitutes a unique example in which, by working together, multi-layer public authorities, private enterprises, research organizations and universities drafted the basis for a regional strategy for smart-related issues

I primi 50 anni dell’ordine Professionale dei geologi Italiani. Almanacco tra storia, curiosità e cronaca.

Quello illustrato in queto volume, senza trattare la pretesa di trattare con rigore scientifico la storia della geologia italiana, è il racconto di mezzo secolo di attività legate ai geologi ed al loro ordine, a partire da quel lontano 3 febbraio 1963 in cui lo Stato definì, attraverso la Legge n. 112, i criteri per esercitare la professione di geologo, inserandola nel nobile proscenio di quelle regolamentate. A distanza di 50 anni abbiamo consolidato la consapevolezza di questo ruolo e ne sentiamo sempre più la responsabilità. E' il segno della nostra identità di geologi, un valore condiviso di cui andare fieri e su cui costruire il nostro futuro, come persone e come classe professionale

I primi 50 anni dell'Ordine Professionale dei geologi Italiani. Almanacco tra storia, curiosità e cronaca. I parte.

Quello illustrato in queto volume, senza trattare la pretesa di trattare con rigore scientifico la storia della geologia italiana, è il racconto di mezzo secolo di attività legate ai geologi ed al loro ordine, a partire da quel lontano 3 febbraio 1963 in cui lo Stato definì, attraverso la Legge n. 112, i criteri per esercitare la professione di geologo, inserandola nel nobile proscenio di quelle regolamentate. A distanza di 50 anni abbiamo consolidato la consapevolezza di questo ruolo e ne sentiamo sempre più la responsabilità. E' il segno della nostra identità di geologi, un valore condiviso di cui andare fieri e su cui costruire il nostro futuro, come persone e come classe professionale