On situ vibration based structural health monitoring of a railway steel truss bridge: a preliminary numerical study

Railway network is subject to increasing travelling loads and traffic frequency. In addition, since most of the bridges were built in the last century, they are subject to ageing and degradation. It is therefore necessary to develop proper structural health monitoring systems that can support periodical visual inspections. In this context, direct monitoring systems represent an important and promising solution for structural health monitoring purposes. This paper is the result of a numerical study performed on a 3D FE bridge model based on an existing structure: the latter is a Warren truss railway bridge, located in Northern Italy, built few years after the end of the second world war. The purpose of the study is to numerically evaluate the effectiveness in damage detection and localization of different vibration-based techniques. This analysis has been performed for a set of different damage scenarios, suggested by the infrastructure managers

Long-term changes in the structure of a polychaete community on artificial habitats

A mediterranean polychaete community was studied for 10 years since the first settlement to examine community dynamics and to compare it with the model proposed by Hughes (1984) for benthic invertebrates. Cluster analysis (Q-mode) pointed out the presence of four main periods during the colonization process in agreement with edaphic changes produced by the colonization and disappearance of mussels. During this time the pattern of species abundance changed from a log series distribution (with few dominant species) towards a truncated log normal distribution (with many rare species) characteristic of a more complex community structure

Erratum to: Concentric Multiple Rings by Droplet Epitaxy: Fabrication and Study of the Morphological Anisotropy

We present the Molecular Beam Epitaxy fabrication of complex GaAs/AlGaAs nanostructures by Droplet Epitaxy, characterized by the presence of concentric multiple rings. We propose an innovative experimental procedure that allows the fabrication of individual portions of the structure, controlling their diameter by only changing the substrate temperature. The obtained nanocrystals show a significant anisotropy between [110] and [1–10] crystallographic directions, which can be ascribed to different activation energies for the Ga atoms migration processes

Ballast flight under high-speed trains: Wind tunnel full-scale experimental tests

The flying ballast phenomenon has become an important problem, in the last years, because of the development of high speed trains and the consequent increase of the speed up to 350. km/h. The problem is very complex since it is related to both railway infrastructure and train characteristics and since it involves mechanical and aerodynamic effects. The results of an experimental study carried out on the Italian high-speed railway and on a 1:1 real stretch of the railways in wind tunnel are presented in the paper. The study was aimed to analyze the effects of the height of the ballast level, the stone shape in the upper layer of the ballast and the compaction of the ballast bed on the problem. To this purpose a specific wind tunnel test rig was designed to reproduce in the wind tunnel a flow with the same average characteristics of the one measured on the real line, especially in the region close to the ballast and sleepers. Finally, starting from the results of these tests, possible countermeasures to ballast lifting on-set are proposed

Colonization and disappearance of Mytilus galloprovincialis Lam. on an artificial habitat in the Mediterranean Sea

A Mytilus galloprovincialis population, settled on a new artificial habitat at 12 m depth in the Central Tyrrhenian Sea, was investigated for 10 years. The new substratum, located at a depth lower than the preferential range of the species, was colonized temporarily by mussels which reached very high densities and dominated the benthic community from their colonization until the third year. The length-frequency distribution analysis showed a progressively complex population structure with up to three cohorts. The yearly recruitments were observed once a year in spring. The growth curve provided a maximum length higher than that reported for shallow waters. Nevertheless, the gregarious habits of mussels and the reduced water movement caused edaphic modifications of the substratum, which was covered progressively by sediments and biodeposits (pseudofaeces). Consequently, the population structure was affected by a reduction of the newly recruited cohorts, and mussels disappeared after 5 years of colonization. This may be explained by the reduction in the substratum available for the first settlement (hydroid covering), as well as by the modification of the surface required for final settlement. (C) 1996 Academic Press Limite

Micro-photoluminescence of GaAs/AlGaAs triple concentric quantum rings

A systematic optical study, including micro, ensemble and time resolved photoluminescence of GaAs/AlGaAs triple concentric quantum rings, self-assembled via droplet epitaxy, is presented. Clear emission from localized states belonging to the ring structures is reported. The triple rings show a fast decay dynamics, around 40 ps, which is expected to be useful for ultrafast optical switching applications

Wave function engineering in quantum dot-ring nanostructures

Modern nanotechnology allows producing, depending on application, various quantum nanostructures with the desired properties. These properties are strongly influenced by the confinement potential which can be modified, e.g., by electrical gating. In this paper we analyze a nanostructure composed of a quantum dot surrounded by a quantum ring. We show that depending on the details of the confining potential the electron wave functions can be located in different parts of the structure. Since the properties of such a nanostructure strongly depend on the distribution of the wave functions, varying the applied gate voltage one can easily control them. In particular, we illustrate the high controllability of the nanostructure by demonstrating how its coherent, optical, and conducting properties can be drastically changed by a small modification of the confining potential.Comment: 8 pages, 10 figures, 2 tables, revte

A Methodology for Continuous Monitoring of Rail Corrugation on Subway Lines Based on Axlebox Acceleration Measurements

Rail corrugation is a degradation phenomenon that manifests as a quasi-periodic irregularity on the running surface of the rail. It is a critical problem for urban railway lines because it induces ground-borne vibrations transmitted to the buildings near the infrastructure, causing complaints from the inhabitants. A typical treatment to mitigate the rail corrugation problem is the periodic grinding of the rails, performed by dedicated vehicles. The scheduling of rail maintenance is particularly critical because it can be performed only when the service is interrupted. A procedure for the continuous monitoring of rail corrugation is proposed, based on axlebox acceleration measurements. The rail irregularity is estimated from the measured acceleration by means of a frequency domain model of vertical dynamics of the wheel–rail interaction. The results obtained by using two different methods (a state-of-the-art method and a new one) are compared. Finally, the study of the evolution of the power content of the rail irregularity enables the identification of the track sections where corrugation is developing and rail grinding is necessary

Characterization and cartography of some Mediterranean soft-bottom benthic communities (Ligurian Sea, Italy)

Soft-bottom benthic communities were studied along the Western coast of the Ligurian Sea with a new approach using both videocamera surveys and collected samples. The preliminary distribution of soft-bottoms and the definition of the limits and status of seagrass beds were carried out in September 1991, using an underwater vehicle provided with a videocamera and towed by a boat. Moreover, 90 benthic samples were collected at 5-40 m depth in order to characterize the macrobenthic soft-bottom communities. Six soft-bottom benthic assemblages and two sea grass biotopes (Cymodocea nodosa and Posidonia oceanica) were revealed by means of underwater images and multivariate analysis (TWINSPAN) on samples collected. The communities inhabiting the infralittoral sandy and coarse sediments corresponded to those previously described in the Mediterranean Sea, whereas a large complex transition between sandy and muddy communities was recognized on circalittoral soft-bottoms. Information obtained with this approach was used to draw a map of the investigated areas at 1:10,000 scale. The employment of the two techniques was cost effective for both time and research effort

Photoluminescence Study of Low Thermal Budget III–V Nanostructures on Silicon by Droplet Epitaxy

We present of a detailed photoluminescence characterization of high efficiency GaAs/AlGaAs quantum nanostructures grown on silicon substrates. The whole process of formation of the GaAs/AlGaAs active layer was realized via droplet epitaxy and migration enhanced epitaxy maintaining the growth temperature ≤350°C, thus resulting in a low thermal budget procedure compatible with back-end integration of the fabricated materials on integrated circuits