Reliability Assessment of a Packaging Automatic Machine by Accelerated Life Testing Approach

Industrial competitiveness in innovation, the time of the market introduction of new machines and the level of reliability requested implies that the strategies for the development of products must be more and more efficient. In particular, researchers and practitioners are looking for methods to evaluate the reliability, as cheap as possible, knowing that systems are more and more reliable. This paper presents a reliability assessment procedure applied to a mechanical component of an automatic machine for packaging using the accelerated test approach. The general log-linear (GLL) model is combined based on a relationship between a number strains, in particular mechanical and time based. The complete Accelerated Life Testing - ALT approach is presented by using Weibull distribution and Maximum Likelihood verifying method. A test plan is proposed to estimate the unknown parameters of accelerated life models. Using the proposed ALT model, the reliability function of the component is evaluated and then compared with data from the field collected by customers referring to 8 years of real work on a fleet of automatic packaging machines. The results confirm that the assessment method through ALT is effective for lifetime prediction with shorter test times, and for the same reason it can improve the design process of automatic packaging machines

Numerical evaluation of protein global vibrations at terahertz frequencies by means of elastic lattice models

Proteins represent one of the most important building blocks for most biological processes. Their biological mechanisms have been found to correlate significantly with their dynamics, which is commonly investigated through molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. However, important insights on protein dynamics and biological mechanisms have also been obtained via much simpler and computationally efficient calculations based on elastic lattice models (ELMs). The application of structural mechanics approaches, such as modal analysis, to the protein ELMs has allowed to find impressive results in terms of protein dynamics and vibrations. The low-frequency vibrations extracted from the protein ELM are usually found to occur within the terahertz (THz) frequency range and correlate fairly accurately with the observed functional motions. In this contribution, the global vibrations of lysozyme will be investigated by means of a finite element (FE) truss model, and we will show that there exists complete consistency between the proposed FE approach and one of the more well-known ELMs for protein dynamics, the anisotropic network model (ANM). The proposed truss model can consequently be seen as a simple method, easily accessible to the structural mechanics community members, to analyze protein vibrations and their connections with the biological activity

Maintenance of a high-voltage overhead transmission line: Sustainability and noise impact assessment

Overhead high-voltage lines are a common choice for power transmission, but their planning, installation and management are often challenging tasks because of the surrounding public interest and of their importance as critical infrastructures. This is particularly true in the case of industrial installations requiring a high continuity of service. The working group formed by the University of Brescia (UniBS), the University of Padova (UniPD), and Torino Transmission Operating Area (AOT) of Terna Rete Italia S.p.A. (Terna) has studied an innovative solution featuring a remotely-operated switchgear mounted directly on the trellis holding the conductors. This strategy reduces visual impact, land use and vulnerability of the system to weather adversity, but noise exposure of the population requires appropriate study. This work introduces a new technical solution, discusses its benefits, and assesses the audible noise impact of the improved transmission line, considering the combined effect of switchgear action and corona discharge around the conductors. The sound emission data are fed as input into a sound propagation software enabling evaluating the noise perceived by people living in the neighborhoods. A mitigation solution is proposed and analyzed

Identification of Multiple Hard X-Ray Sources in Solar Flares: A Bayesian Analysis of the 2002 February 20 Event

The hard X-ray emission in a solar flare is typically characterized by a number of discrete sources, each with its own spectral, temporal, and spatial variability. Establishing the relationship among these sources is critical to determining the role of each in the energy release and transport processes that occur within the flare. In this paper we present a novel method to identify and characterize each source of hard X-ray emission. The\uf0a0method permits a quantitative determination of the most likely number of subsources present, and of the relative probabilities that the hard X-ray emission in a given subregion of the flare is represented by a complicated multiple source structure or by a simpler single source. We apply the method to a well-studied flare on 2002 February 20 in order to assess competing claims as to the number of chromospheric footpoint sources present, and hence to the complexity of the underlying magnetic geometry/topology. Contrary to previous claims of the need for multiple sources to account for the chromospheric hard X-ray emission at different locations and times, we find that a simple two-footpoint-plus-coronal-source model is the most probable explanation for the data. We also find that one of the footpoint sources moves quite rapidly throughout the event, a factor that presumably complicated previous analyses. The inferred velocity of the footpoint corresponds to a very high induced electric field, compatible with the fields in thin reconnecting current sheets

Small renal masses in kidney transplantation : Overview of clinical impact and management in donors and recipients

Kidney transplantation is the best replacement treatment for the end-stage renal disease. Currently, the imbalance between the number of patients on a transplant list and the number of organs available constitutes the crucial limitation of this approach. To expand the pool of organs amenable for transplantation, kidneys coming from older patients have been employed; however, the combination of these organs in conjunction with the chronic use of immunosuppressive therapy increases the risk of incidence of graft small renal tumors. This narrative review aims to provide the state of the art on the clinical impact and management of incidentally diagnosed small renal tumors in either donors or recipients. According to the most updated evidence, the use of grafts with a small renal mass, after bench table tumor excision, may be considered a safe option for high-risk patients in hemodialysis. On the other hand, an early small renal mass finding on periodic ultrasound-evaluation in the graft should allow to perform a conservative treatment in order to preserve renal function. Finally, in case of a renal tumor in native kidney, a radical nephrectomy is usually recommended

Designing multimodal interactive systems using EyesWeb XMI

This paper introduces the EyesWeb XMI platform (for eXtended Multimodal Interaction) as a tool for fast prototyping of multimodal systems, including interconnection of multiple smart devices, e.g., smartphones. EyesWeb is endowed with a visual programming language enabling users to compose modules into applications. Modules are collected in several libraries and include support of many input devices (e.g., video, audio, motion capture, accelerometers, and physiological sensors), output devices (e.g., video, audio, 2D and 3D graphics), and synchronized multimodal data processing. Specific libraries are devoted to real-time analysis of nonverbal expressive motor and social behavior. The EyesWeb platform encompasses further tools such EyesWeb Mobile supporting the development of customized Graphical User Interfaces for specific classes of users. The paper will review the EyesWeb platform and its components, starting from its historical origins, and with a particular focus on the Human-Computer Interaction aspects