3,961 research outputs found
Energy Conversion Using New Thermoelectric Generator
During recent years, microelectronics helped to develop complex and varied
technologies. It appears that many of these technologies can be applied
successfully to realize Seebeck micro generators: photolithography and
deposition methods allow to elaborate thin thermoelectric structures at the
micro-scale level. Our goal is to scavenge energy by developing a miniature
power source for operating electronic components. First Bi and Sb micro-devices
on silicon glass substrate have been manufactured with an area of 1cm2
including more than one hundred junctions. Each step of process fabrication has
been optimized: photolithography, deposition process, anneals conditions and
metallic connections. Different device structures have been realized with
different micro-line dimensions. Each devices performance will be reviewed and
discussed in function of their design structure.Comment: Submitted on behalf of TIMA Editions
(http://irevues.inist.fr/tima-editions
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Concept study of a novel energy harvesting-enabled tuned mass-damper-inerter (EH-TMDI) device for vibration control of harmonically-excited structures
A novel dynamic vibration absorber (DVA) configuration is introduced for simultaneous vibration suppression and energy harvesting from oscillations typically exhibited by large-scale low-frequency engineering structures and structural components. The proposed configuration, termed energy harvesting-enabled tuned mass-damper-inerter (EH-TMDI) comprises a mass grounded via an in-series electromagnetic motor (energy harvester)-inerter layout, and attached to the primary structure through linear spring and damper in parallel connection. The governing equations of motion are derived and solved in the frequency domain, for the case of harmonically-excited primary structures, here modelled as damped single-degree- of-freedom (SDOF) systems. Comprehensive parametric analyses proved that by varying the mass amplification property of the grounded inerter, and by adjusting the stiffness and the damping coefficients using simple optimum tuning formulae, enhanced vibration suppression (in terms of primary structure peak displacement) and energy harvesting (in terms of relative velocity at the terminals of the energy harvester) may be achieved concurrently and at nearresonance frequencies, for a fixed attached mass. Hence, the proposed EH-TMDI allows for relaxing the trade-off between vibration control and energy harvesting purposes, and renders a dual-objective optimisation a practically-feasible, reliable task
Integration of optical and acoustic sensors for D underwater scene reconstruction.
Combination of optical and acoustic sensors to overcome the shortcomings
presented by optical systems in underwater 3D acquisition is an emerging field
of research. In this work, an opti-acoustic system composed by a single camera and
a multibeam sonar is proposed, providing a simulation environment to validate its
potential use in 3D reconstruction. Since extrinsic calibration is a prerequisite for this
kind of feature-level sensor fusion, an effective approach to address the calibration
problem between a multibeam and a camera system is presented.Peer Reviewe
Structured light techniques for 3D surface reconstruction in robotic tasks
Robotic tasks such as navigation and path planning can be greatly enhanced by a vision system capable of providing depth perception from fast and accurate 3D surface reconstruction. Focused on robotic welding tasks we present a comparative analysis of a novel mathematical formulation for 3D surface reconstruction and discuss image processing requirements for reliable detection of patterns in the image. Models are presented for a parallel and angled configurations of light source and image sensor. It is shown that the parallel arrangement requires 35\% fewer arithmetic operations to compute a point cloud in 3D being thus more appropriate for real-time applications. Experiments show that the technique is appropriate to scan a variety of surfaces and, in particular, the intended metallic parts for robotic welding tasks
Skeleton and fractal scaling in complex networks
We find that the fractal scaling in a class of scale-free networks originates
from the underlying tree structure called skeleton, a special type of spanning
tree based on the edge betweenness centrality. The fractal skeleton has the
property of the critical branching tree. The original fractal networks are
viewed as a fractal skeleton dressed with local shortcuts. An in-silico model
with both the fractal scaling and the scale-invariance properties is also
constructed. The framework of fractal networks is useful in understanding the
utility and the redundancy in networked systems.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, final version published in PR
The origin of the Fe K features in Markarian 205 and Markarian 509
We examine the 3-10 keV EPIC spectra of Mrk 205 and Mrk 509 to investigate
their Fe K features. The most significant feature in the spectra of both
objects is an emission line at 6.4 keV. The spectra can be adequately modelled
with a power law and a relatively narrow (sigma < 0.2 keV) Fe K alpha emission
line. Better fits are obtained when an additional Gaussian emission line,
relativistic accretion-disk line, or Compton reflection from cold material, is
added to the spectral model. We obtain similar goodness of fit for any of these
three models, but the model including Compton reflection from cold material
offers the simplest, physically self-consistent solution, because it only
requires one reprocessing region. Thus the Fe K spectral features in Mrk 205
and Mrk 509 do not present strong evidence for reprocessing in the inner,
relativistic parts of accretion disks.Comment: accepted for publication in MNRA
Salicylate toxicity model of tinnitus
Salicylate, the active component of the common drug aspirin, has mild analgesic, antipyretic, and anti-inflammatory effects at moderate doses. At higher doses, however, salicylate temporarily induces moderate hearing loss and the perception of a high-pitch ringing in humans and animals. This phantom perception of sound known as tinnitus is qualitatively similar to the persistent subjective tinnitus induced by high-level noise exposure, ototoxic drugs, or aging, which affects ∼14% of the general population. For over a quarter century, auditory scientists have used the salicylate toxicity model to investigate candidate biochemical and neurophysiological mechanisms underlying phantom sound perception. In this review, we summarize some of the intriguing biochemical and physiological effects associated with salicylate-induced tinnitus, some of which occur in the periphery and others in the central nervous system. The relevance and general utility of the salicylate toxicity model in understanding phantom sound perception in general are discussed
Characteristics of somatic tinnitus patients with and without hyperacusis
Objective: Determine if somatic tinnitus patients with hyperacusis have different characteristics from those without hyperacusis. Patients and methods: 172 somatic tinnitus patients with (n = 82) and without (n = 90) hyperacusis referred to the Tinnitus Unit of Sapienza University of Rome between June 2012 and June 2016 were compared for demographic characteristics, tinnitus features, self-administered questionnaire scores, nature of somatic modulation and history. Results: Compared to those without hyperacusis, patients with somatic tinnitus and hyperacusis: (a) were older (43.38 vs 39.12 years, p = 0.05), (b) were more likely to have bilateral tinnitus (67.08% vs 55.56%, p = 0.04), (c) had a higher prevalence of somatic modulation of tinnitus (53.65% vs 36.66%, p = 0.02) and (d) scored significantly worse on tinnitus annoyance (39.34 vs 22.81, p<0.001) and subjective hearing level (8.04 vs 1.83, p<0.001). Conclusion: Our study shows significantly higher tinnitus modulation and worse self-rating of tinnitus and hearing ability in somatic tinnitus patients with hyperacusis versus somatic tinnitus patients without hyperacusis. These differences could prove useful in developing a better understanding of the pathophysiology and establishing a course of treatment for these two groups of patients
Evolutionary history of the Maltese wall lizard Podarcis filfolensis : insights on the 'expansion-contraction' model of Pleistocene biogeography
The expansion-contraction (EC) model predicts demographic and range contraction of temperate species during Pleistocene glaciations as a consequence of climate-related habitat changes, and provides a paradigm for explaining the high intraspecific diversity found in refugia in terms of long-term demographic stability. However, recent evidence has revealed a weak predictive power of this model for terrestrial species in insular and coastal settings. We investigated the Pleistocene EC dynamics and their evolutionary consequences on temperate species using the Maltese archipelago and its endemic lizard Podarcis filfolensis as a model system. The evolutionary and demographic history of P. filfolensis as inferred from mitochondrial and nuclear sequences data does not conform to the EC model predictions, supporting (i) demographic and spatial stability or expansion, rather than contraction, of the northern and southern lineages during the last glacial period; and (ii) a major role for allopatric differentiation primed by sea-level dynamics, rather than prolonged demographic stability, in the formation of the observed genetic diversity. When combined with evidence from other Mediterranean refugia, this study shows how the incorporation of Pleistocene sea-level variations in the EC model accounts for a reverse demographic and range response of insular and coastal temperate biotas relative to continental ones. Furthermore, this cross-archipelago pattern in which allopatric diversity is formed and shaped by EC cycles resembles that seen between isolated populations within mainland refugia and suggests that the EC model, originally developed to explain population fluctuations into and out-of refugia, may be appropriate for describing the demographic and evolutionary dynamics driving the high genetic diversity observed in these areas.peer-reviewe
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