R&D and productivity in high-tech manufacturing: a comparison between Italy and Spain

Using data for twelve manufacturing industries over the period 1980-2006, we perform for Italy and Spain a dynamic panel estimation of the long-run elasticity of TFP with respect to R&D capital. The results show that in Spain high-tech industries have experienced a similar or slightly higher R&D elasticity than their Italian counterparts. This is mainly attributable to what occurred from the mid 1990s onwards when, thanks to increasing R&D efforts, the Spanish industries have been able to catch up with the respect to the Italian ones. The policy implications of the above findings are discussed.Manufacturing industries; Italy and Spain; Productivity growth; R&D capital

Unsteady cfd analysis of erosion mechanism in the coolant channels of a rotating gas turbine blade

The two-phase flow in a rotating wedge mimicking the final portion of a blade turbine internal cooling channel is here presented and discussed focusing on unsteady motion and erosion mechanisms. The rotation axis is placed to properly reproduce a configuration with a very strong deviation (90°). The flow field was modelled by using the well known k---f unsteady-RANS model based on the elliptic-relaxation concept. The model was modified by some of the authors to take into account the influence of turbulence anisotropy as well as rotation. The model was applied to the well-established and fully validated T-FlowS code. A systematic comparison of rotating and non-rotating case was carried out to show the influence of Coriolis force on flow and erosion mechanisms. The rotational effects strongly changed the flow behaviour within the channel, affecting both the unsteady flow and the particles trajectories. In the rotating case, there is no recirculation on the tip region; besides, position of the small recirculation regions above each pedestals change. These, and other minor effects, affect the particle motion thus resulting in a different erosion pattern

Computational analysis of performance deterioration of a wind turbine blade strip subjected to environmental erosion

Wind-turbine blade rain and sand erosion, over long periods of time, can degrade the aerodynamic performance and therefore the power production. Computational analysis of the erosion can help engineers have a better understanding of the maintenance and protection requirements. We present an integrated method for this class of computational analysis. The main components of the method are the streamline-upwind/Petrov–Galerkin (SUPG) and pressure-stabilizing/Petrov–Galerkin (PSPG) stabilizations, a finite element particle-cloud tracking method, an erosion model based on two time scales, and the solid-extension mesh moving technique (SEMMT). The turbulent-flow nature of the analysis is handled with a Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes model and SUPG/PSPG stabilization, the particle-cloud trajectories are calculated based on the computed flow field and closure models defined for the turbulent dispersion of particles, and one-way dependence is assumed between the flow and particle dynamics. Because the geometry update due to the erosion has a very long time scale compared to the fluid–particle dynamics, the update takes place in a sequence of “evolution steps” representing the impact of the erosion. A scale-up factor, calculated in different ways depending on the update threshold criterion, relates the erosions and particle counts in the evolution steps to those in the fluid–particle simulation. As the blade geometry evolves, the mesh is updated with the SEMMT. We present computational analysis of rain and sand erosion for a wind-turbine blade strip, including a case with actual rainfall data and experimental aerodynamic data for eroded airfoil geometries

Performance analysis of a common-rail Diesel engine fuelled with different blends of waste cooking oil and gasoil

An experimental campaign was performed to study the behavior of a common-rail Diesel engine in automotive configuration when it is fuelled with blends of Diesel fuel (DF) and waste cooking oil (WCO). In particular the tested fuels are: B20 blend, composed of 20% WCO and 80% DF; B50, composed of 50% WCO and 50% DF; WCO 100% and 100% DF. In order to fuel the engine with fuel having a similar viscosity, this quantity, together with density, has been meas-ured at temperature ranging from rom to about 80 °C. According to these measurements, before fuelling the engine B20 was heated up to 35 °C and B50 to 75 °C. An in-house software was developed to acquire the data elaborated by the electronic control unit. Results show the trend in torque and global efficiency at different gas pedal position (gpp) and different engine speed. The experiments show that larger discrepancies are measured at smaller gpp values, while at larger ones dif-ferences become smaller. A similar trend is noticed for engine global efficiency

Neutronic investigations of MOX and LEU fuel assemblies for VVER reactors

This work is focused on neutronic investigations of VVER reactors, especially on MOX and LEU assemblies. Two phases can be identified: the first is a depletion study and the second is an uncertainty and sensitivity analysis. The purpose of the first part of this thesis was to provide two new solutions to the OECD VVER-1000 burn-up computational benchmark with SERPENT and SCALE (TRITON), which are, respectively, a Monte Carlo and a deterministic code. The impact on the solutions of the use of modern nuclear data libraries and different depletion Monte-Carlo algorithms was an additional purpose. The uncertainty and sensitivity analysis was an application of perturbation and statistical methodologies for evaluating the uncertainties associated to the computation of integral reactor parameters typical of VVER (and generally LWRs) reactors using the test cases of the OECD VVER-1000 burn-up computational and UAM benchmarks

Analisi del framework .net maui per lo sviluppo di applicazioni multipiattaforma e realizzazione di un'applicazione come caso di studio

Sviluppare un'applicazione in modo che questa possa essere eseguita su più piattaforme o tipologie di dispositivi è sempre stato un tema caldo nell'ambito dell'ingegneria informatica. Una delle caratteristiche che probabilmente ha contributo di più al diffondersi del linguaggio C è che fosse del tipo "write once - compile everywhere". Stessa cosa vale per il linguaggio Java che grazie alla sua Java Virtual Machine permette di compilare il codice in un linguaggio intermedio che poi può essere eseguito su qualsiasi piattaforma o macchina che supporti la JVM. Tecnologie con lo scopo di ridurre il carico di lavoro dello sviluppatore nella produzione di applicativi multipiattaforma continuano a nascere anche oggi. Un esempio è .NET MAUI che, da poco sul mercato, offre la possibilità di sviluppare app mobile e desktop native che condividono un'unica codebase. L'obiettivo di questa tesi è quello di andare ad approfondire il tema dello sviluppo multipiattaforma e valutare il framework .NET MAUI a seguito della realizzazione di un'applicazione per un'azienda (questo fa sì che lo standard realizzativo debba inevitabilmente essere alto)

Experimental qualification of new instrumentation for lead-Lithium eutectic in IELLLO facility

The experimental facility IELLLO was installed in ENEA Brasimone R.C. in 2007, aiming to support the design of liquid Test Blanket Modules that will be installed in ITER and to contribute to the development of Lead-Lithium Eutectic (LLE) technologies. IELLLO has been recently upgraded by installing instrumentation relevant for ITER application. Differential pressure transducers, a Coriolis and a thermal mass flow meters were installed in the facility. An experimental campaign was planned, setting two objectives. The first objective was to qualify the instrumentation for flowing LLE The installation of a differential pressure transducer across each flow meter made also possible to characterize the pressure drops across these instruments. The second objective of this activity was to improve the knowledge on the performances of the main components of the loop at lower mass flow rates (namely 0.5-1.2 kg/s) and to quantify their pressure drops. The investigated flow rates were chosen to be relevant for the LLE loop of the WCLL TBS (Water Cooled Lead-Lithium Test Blanket System). This work presents the results of the experimental campaign, paying particular attention to underline the lessons learned on how to correctly operate instrumentation for LLE

R&D and productivity in high-tech manufacturing: a comparison between Italy and Spain

Using data for twelve manufacturing industries over the period 1980-2006, we perform for Italy and Spain a dynamic panel estimation of the long-run elasticity of TFP with respect to R&D capital. The results show that in Spain high-tech industries have experienced a similar or slightly higher R&D elasticity than their Italian counterparts. This is mainly attributable to what occurred from the mid 1990s onwards when, thanks to increasing R&D efforts, the Spanish industries have been able to catch up with the respect to the Italian ones. The policy implications of the above findings are discussed

R&D and productivity in high-tech manufacturing: a comparison between Italy and Spain

Using data for twelve manufacturing industries over the period 1980-2006, we perform for Italy and Spain a dynamic panel estimation of the long-run elasticity of TFP with respect to R&D capital. The results show that in Spain high-tech industries have experienced a similar or slightly higher R&D elasticity than their Italian counterparts. This is mainly attributable to what occurred from the mid 1990s onwards when, thanks to increasing R&D efforts, the Spanish industries have been able to catch up with the respect to the Italian ones. The policy implications of the above findings are discussed