Evaluation of concrete structures by combining non-destructive testing methods (SENSO project)

The management and maintenance of the built heritage is one of the main interests of the owners of concrete structures. The engineers wish to obtain quantitative information about concrete properties and their variability. Non-destructive testing (NDT) is very popular in this context as it quickly provides relevant information on the integrity and evolution of the material, but several kinds of indicators representative of the concrete condition need to be evaluated. A French Project, named SENSO, aims to develop methods for the non-destructive evaluation of concrete based on a multi-techniques approach. Several families of techniques are concerned (ultrasonic, electromagnetic, electrical, etc.). The main objective is to define the sensitivity of the techniques and the variability of the evaluation for each indicator concerned. To achieve this, a large experimental programme, involving a representative range of concretes and several indicators, has been carried out. A large database, linking the NDT observables and the indicators, allows the different observables to be distinguished in terms of quality (linked to the variability) and in terms of relevance for the characterisation of each indicator. The improvement of the indicator evaluation by means of technique combinatio

Natural nanoparticules against cancer: mature dendritic cell-derived exosomes

Deep insight on Natural nanoparticules against cancer: mature dendritic cell-derived exosomes

A new efficient and flexible algorithm for the design of testable subsystems

In complex industrial plants, there are usually many sensors and the modeling of plants leads to lots of mathematical relations. This paper presents a general method for finding all the possible testable subsystems, i.e., sets of relations that can lead to various types of detection tests. This method, which is based on structural analysis, provides the constraints that have to be used for the design of each detection test and manages situations where constraints contain non-deductible variables and where some constraints cannot be gathered in the same test. Thanks to these results, it becomes possible to select the most interesting testable subsystems regarding detectability and diagnosability criteria. Application examples dealing with a road network, a digital counter and an electronic circuit are presented

The organization and kinematics of tropical rainfall systems ground tracked at mesoscale with gages : first results from the campaigns 1999-2006 on the Upper Oueme Valley (Benin)

A dense network of rain gages, set up in the Upper Oueme Valley in Benin is used to study the spatial organization and the kinematics of the convective systems that cross the region. The study area is situated under Soudanian climate and set up as part of the AMMA-CATCH (African Monsoon Multidisciplinary Analysis - Couplage de l'Atmosphere Tropicale et du Cycle Hydrologique) observing system. Previous works focusing on the rainy events that occur in the Sahelian region of Niamey have shown that most of the rainfall in that region is provided by Organized Convective System that cover several thousand km(2) and usually propagate with a strong westward component. It was shown also that the time evolution of these Sahelian rainy events usually exhibits a convective peak followed by longer lasting and weaker stratiform rainfall. The aim of the present study is to analyze the spatial organization and kinematics of the rainy events occurring further south under the distinct, much more humid, Soudanian climate. These events have been poorly documented so far and the extent to which the Soudanian rainfall events behave like their Sahelian counterparts remains unclear. Seven years of rainfall data gathered over the AMMA-CATCH Benin site are studied. A new method called the 'Average Synchronized Hyetograph' (ASH) is proposed to analyze the kinematics of the rain patterns. The method also allows the assessment of the spatial organization of the system. A classification of the rainy events is proposed. It is based on assessing if (i) the rain patterns show a global propagation velocity and direction and (ii) if the time evolution of the rain rate within the network is typical of organized tropical Mesoscale Convective Systems (MCS) with a well-defined convective peak. The present study shows that about 55% of the events have a signature typical of those of MCS. Conversely, about 27% of rainfall events do not show evidence of being associated with MCS or even propagating. The kinematic properties of the events classified as MCS appear to be globally consistent with what was observed for the Sahelian zone from satellite tracking; the dominant direction is south-southwest but with a large departure from this average trend; their velocity ranges mostly between 20 and 50 km/h but a significant number of events are faster than that. MCS remains the dominant type of events during the whole rainy season but the period between mid July and mid August. The classification of rainfall events resulting from ground tracking has been compared with METEOSAT satellite tracking for the years 2003 and 2004. There is a significant correspondence of classes of rainfall events between the two tracking methods despite differences of scales and criterions in their definition

Advantages of MAS for the resolution of a power management problem in smart homes

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