Experimental characterisation of fatigue damage in single Z-pins

Z-pins have been shown to significantly improve delamination resistance and impact strength of carbon fibre reinforced (CFRP) composites. In this paper, an experimental investigation of the influence of different fatigue parameters (mean opening/sliding displacement, amplitude, frequency, number of cycles) on the through-thickness reinforcement (TTR) is presented. For mode I, it is shown that the degradation on pin behaviour during fatigue is mostly affected by the applied displacement amplitude. The degradation is primarily caused by surface wear. Due to the brittleness of the Z-pins, mode II fatigue does not have a significant effect for very small sliding displacements. Exceeding a critical displacement causes the pin to rupture within the very first cycles

Micro-mechanical finite element analysis of Z-pins under mixed-mode loading

© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.This paper presents a three-dimensional micro-mechanical finite element (FE) modelling strategy for predicting the mixed-mode response of single Z-pins inserted in a composite laminate. The modelling approach is based upon a versatile ply-level mesh, which takes into account the significant micro-mechanical features of Z-pinned laminates. The effect of post-cure cool down is also considered in the approach. The Z-pin/laminate interface is modelled by cohesive elements and frictional contact. The progressive failure of the Z-pin is simulated considering shear-driven internal splitting, accounted for using cohesive elements, and tensile fibre failure, modelled using the Weibulls criterion. The simulation strategy is calibrated and validated via experimental tests performed on single carbon/BMI Z-pins inserted in quasi-isotropic laminate. The effects of the bonding and friction at the Z-pin/laminate interface and the internal Z-pin splitting are discussed. The primary aim is to develop a robust numerical tool and guidelines for designing Z-pins with optimal bridging behaviour

Illness reporting and demand for medical care in rural Burkina Faso

This is the post-print version of the final paper published in Social Science & Medicine. The published article is available from the link below. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. Copyright @ 2010 Elsevier B.V.The issue of illness reporting in modelling demand for health care in low- and middle-income countries can be handled according to either of two conceptually-different constructs: (a) considering illness reporting behaviour as endogenous to demand; or (b) considering demand itself as the outcome of a sample selection phenomenon. In this paper, we take the second viewpoint and estimate the demand for medical care with an estimator that uses Heckman-type. Empirical estimates based on household survey data from rural Burkina Faso suggest that there are some implications of illness reporting behaviour for modelling the demand for medical care.German Science Foundatio

Piattaforma peri-urbana strategica. Modelli e tecnologie per la valorizzazione di paesaggi complessi

This study - developed for the Doctorate thesis in «Design and Technologies for the improvement of Cultural Heritage» - highlights, from a theoretical and operative point of view, the potentialities of peri-urban environments, within a general strategic framework for the requalification and improvement of 'new' landscapes, originating from sudden present-day social, cultural and economic transformations of territories

Ricordo di Tom Regan. Intervista con Luigi Lombardi Vallauri

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Unitarianism or Hierarchical Approach for Moral Status? A Very Subtle Difference

The article is inspired by Shelly Kagan’s recent book “How to Count Animals”, which focuses on the alternative between a unitarian and a hierarchical conception of the moral status of beings in the animal ethics debate. The paper finds a way of compromise between the two perspectives in the principle of equal consideration of interests, but above all it lessens the role of such opposition – especially its practical relevance – by emphasizing that, regardless of the fact of conceiving moral status in terms of all or nothing or in gradual terms, what really counts in our attitude towards non-human animals is to assign them an important moral consideration, that protects them not only from suffering, but also from an induced death in advance of natural times, a thesis that is compatible with both unitarianism and a hierarchical approach

Entre certezas y dilemas: investigación sobre la experiencia de los equipos de adopción en Italia

The article describes empirical research on the experience of the teams dealing with adoptions in Piedmont (north-west Italy), since they were set up a little more than twenty years ago. Interviews and focus groups were conducted with a representative sample of 48 social work professionals involved in the assessment of couples wanting to adopt. The interviews focused on the themes covered in assessments, on the decision-making process, on the assessment criteria, and on the representations of what an adoptive parent is. Findings confirm the importance of social workers’ representations in the decision-making process, which is often a mediation between different representations. They also show the need for a new parental identity, and systematic dialogue between all the social actors who interact in the social space of adoption practice.La contribución presenta una investigación empírica sobre la experiencia de los equipos para las adopciones nacionales e internacionales en Piamonte (región del Noroeste de Italia) veinte años después de su institución. Las entrevistas y los focus groups -dirigidos a un muestreo de 48 profesionales que trabajan en la evaluación de parejas que desean adoptar- han sido orientados al estudio de sus opiniones con respecto al proceso decisorio, prestando atención a los temas tratados, a los criterios de evaluación y a las representaciones de la parentalidad adoptiva. Los resultados de la investigación confirman tanto la incidencia de las representaciones de los profesionales en el proceso decisional -que es a menudo el resultado de una mediación entre distintas representacionescomo la necesidad de innovar algunas perspectivas de intervención que podrían ser dirigidas más a la maduración de una nueva identidad parental y a un sistemático enfrentamiento entre todos los actores que interaccionan en el espacio social de las prácticas adoptivas

What Game Are We Playing? The Learning Relationship in Social Work Placement, Italian Journal of Sociology of Education, 13(2), 283-310.

The article presents the findings of a study carried out in Italy and aimed at exploring the learning relationship activated between supervisor and student in social work education placement. Through the analysis of some barriers and opportunities, the research aims to contribute to the debate on the topic and to improve future responses by all actors involved in the organisation of learning in the field (supervisors, students, university teachers, university tutors, social service organisations). Based on the scientific debate, the first part tackles some topics that make up the theoretical frame of reference useful to define the learning relationship and gives some contextual information on social work education in Italy. The second part presents the study design and the analysis of the answers to an online questionnaire administered in the last months of 2020 to 487 social workers who served as placement supervisors. The third part, finally, concerns the discussion of the findings and final conclusions