A hybrid technique for damage detection on laminated plates

This work presents an experimental/numerical technique for delamination damage detection on thin laminated composite plates. The delamination is identified using a technique based on the curvature differences of the plate modes shapes measured before and after impact damage. The natural frequencies are extracted from Frequency Response Functions. A double pulse TV holography is used for no-contact and accurate measurement of the amplitude mode shapes. The curvature is obtained by applying an improved differentiation /smoothing technique to the experimental data. Finally, the curvatures of each mode are subtracted and the damage is located

A numerical-experimental method for damage location based on rotation fields spatial differentiation

This paper presents a structural damage location method that decreases the number of spatial differentiations needed to compute modal curvature fields. The method is numerically and experimentally applied to isotropic and laminated rectangular plates, respectively. A speckle shear interferometer is used to measure the rotation fields of the laminated plate, while the isotropic plate is analysed by finite elements. It was found that the Gaussian differentiation is the most suited technique to compute the curvature fields. It is also demonstrated the superior performance of the curvature method using measured rotation fields instead of measured displacement fields

Environmental heterogeneity caused by anthropogenic disturbance drives forest structure and dynamics in Brazilian Atlantic Forest

We evaluated how tree community floristic composition, forest structure and dynamics varied over a period of 13 years across a topographic gradient of ravines created by anthropic disturbance in Brazilian Atlantic Forest. The study area is located within a fragment of Atlantic Forest (21° 09' S, 44° 54' W), in Minas Gerais state, Brazil. This work was based on data of tree diameter at 1.3 m from the soil, collected in four inventories. Each individual was recorded as being in one of three stratified topographic classes: hilltop, slope and bottom. We used direct gradient analysis to evaluate floristic compositional changes, phytosociological analysis to evaluate structural variations, and assessed demographic and biomass changes over time through analysis of rates of forest dynamics. The results did not reflect modifications in the patterns of floristic composition and species diversity along the topographic gradient, while differences in forest structural attributes and dynamics may be detected at these smaller spatial scales. Thus, the same species group may employ different strategies against different restrictive environmental factors. Finally, we suggest that floristic composition and species diversity may be less sensitive parameters for post-disturbance responses than forest dynamics and structure

Fabrication and characterization of etched facets in InP for advanced packaging of Photonic Integrated circuits

In this work we describe the fabrication and characterization of straight and angled etched facets compatible with the standard COBRA active-passive process. The implementation of these structures enables advanced packaging of photonic integrated circuits with multiple optical inputs and outputs

Fabrication and characterization of etched facets in InP for advanced packaging of Photonic Integrated circuits

In this work we describe the fabrication and characterization of straight and angled etched facets compatible with the standard COBRA active-passive process. The implementation of these structures enables advanced packaging of photonic integrated circuits with multiple optical inputs and outputs