9 research outputs found
Parallel PAB3D: Experiences with a Prototype in MPI
PAB3D is a three-dimensional Navier Stokes solver that has gained acceptance in the research and industrial communities. It takes as computational domain, a set disjoint blocks covering the physical domain. This is the first report on the implementation of PAB3D using the Message Passing Interface (MPI), a standard for parallel processing. We discuss briefly the characteristics of tile code and define a prototype for testing. The principal data structure used for communication is derived from preprocessing "patching". We describe a simple interface (COMMSYS) for MPI communication, and some general techniques likely to be encountered when working on problems of this nature. Last, we identify levels of improvement from the current version and outline future work
HISTORICAL EARTHEN WALLS: FROM KNOWLEDGE TO CONSCIOUS CONSERVATION
Abstract. Centuries-old earthen masonry presenting various stages of degradation, earthen walls that have been restored several times: these are the archeological phases of the city walls of Mascarell, on the Spanish Mediterranean coast. Founded in the first half of the 13th century, this town is the only complex in Castellon Province that preserves all its ancient walls, which were built entirely by means of the brick-faced rammed-earth technique (clay with bricks and lime). This article reports the first results of a research project conducted on the multiple information available on these artifacts: bibliographic, archival and iconographic sources and the results of direct material analysis, stratigraphic analysis and archeological analysis. The situation is complex, as these walls have undergone a long sequence of transformations, including interventions carried out since the 18th century and multiple restorations in the period 1942–2015. The research developed and refined architecture archeology tools in order to analyze the rammed-earth techniques adopted during restoration work (similar but not identical to the historical technique), to characterize the materials used in restoration, to evaluate their resistance to degradation over the years, to define a sort of 'critical evolutionary line' of rammed-earth restoration, and to conduct a cross-sectional study of this building technique from the Middle Ages to the present. Finally, we drafted some guidelines for future interventions for conservation and enhancement
On-Chip Tests for the Characterization of the Mechanical Strength of Polysilicon â€
Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) are nowadays widespread in the sensor market,
with several different applications. New production techniques and ever smaller device geometries
require a continuous investigation of potential failure mechanisms in such devices. This work
presents an experimental on-chip setup to assess the geometry- and material-dependent strength
of stoppers adopted to limit the deformation of movable parts, using an electrostatically actuated
device. A series of comb-finger and parallel plate capacitors are used to provide a rather large stroke
to a shuttle, connected to the anchors through flexible springs. Upon application of a varying voltage,
failure of stoppers of variable size is observed and confirmed by post-mortem DC–V curves. The
results of the experimental campaign are collected to infer the stochastic property of the strength of
polycrystalline, columnar silicon films
MEMS Micromirrors for Reflective Picoprojectors - Vibration Modes Detection by Laser Diode Self-mixing Interferometry
Optical detection of the electro-mechanical response of MEMS micromirrors designed for scanning picoprojectors
Some reflections on neuroscience and civil law
This chapter is about some prospects opened up by neurosciences for the
current civil law. Just think about the discovery of the mirror-neurons and the
possible use of it in the negotiation (it imposes the protection of self-determination
and consensus of the contracting party); or about the consequences deriving from
neuro-scientific knowledge for the notion of legal capacity (or actual abilities) of
natural persons. This provides a good guess of how valuable the neuro-scientific
knowledge could be for the more effective and efficient protection of the human
dignity