Handling Qualities Assessment of a Pilot Cueing System for Autorotation Maneuvers

This paper details the design and limited flight testing of a preliminary system for visual pilot cueing during autorotation maneuvers. The cueing system is based on a fully-autonomous, multi-phase autorotation control law that has been shown to successfully achieve autonomous autorotation landing in unmanned helicopters. To transition this control law to manned systems, it is employed within a cockpit display to drive visual markers which indicate desired collective pitch and longitudinal cyclic positions throughout the entire maneuver, from autorotation entry to touchdown. A series of simulator flight experiments performed at University of Liverpool’s HELIFLIGHT-R simulator are documented, in which pilots attempt autorotation with and without the pilot cueing system in both good and degraded visual environments. Performance of the pilot cueing system is evaluated based on both subjective pilot feedback and objective measurements of landing survivability metrics, demonstrating suitable preliminary performance of the system

Rockfall threatening cumae archeological site fruition (Phlegraean fields park—naples)

Natural hazards threaten many archaeological sites in the world; therefore, susceptibility analysis is essential to reduce their impacts and support site fruition by visitors. In this paper, rockfall susceptibility analysis of the western slope of the Cumae Mount in the Cumae Archaeological Site (Phlegraean Fields, Naples), already affected by rockfall events, is described as support to a management plan for fruition and site conservation. Being the first Greek settlement in southern Italy, the site has great historical importance and offers unique historical elements such as the Cumaean Sibyl’s Cave. The analysis began with a 3D modeling of the slope through digital terrestrial photogrammetry, which forms a basis for a geomechanical analysis. Digital discontinuity measurements and cluster analysis provide data for kinematic analysis, which pointed out the planar, wedge and toppling failure potential. Subsequently, a propagation-based susceptibility analysis was completed into a GIS environment: it shows that most of the western sector of the site is susceptible to rockfall, including the access course, a segment of the Cumana Railroad and its local station. The work highlights the need for specific mitigation measures to increase visitor safety and the efficacy of filed-based digital reconstruction to support susceptibility analysis in rockfall prone areas

Surface Covering of Downed Logs: Drivers of a Neglected Process in Dead Wood Ecology

Many species use coarse woody debris (CWD) and are disadvantaged by the forestry-induced loss of this resource. A neglected process affecting CWD is the covering of the surfaces of downed logs caused by sinking into the ground (increasing soil contact, mostly covering the underside of the log), and dense overgrowth by ground vegetation. Such cover is likely to profoundly influence the quality and accessibility of CWD for wood-inhabiting organisms, but the factors affecting covering are largely unknown. In a five-year experiment we determined predictors of covering rate of fresh logs in boreal forests and clear-cuts. Logs with branches were little covered because they had low longitudinal ground contact. For branchless logs, longitudinal ground contact was most strongly related to estimated peat depth (positive relation). The strongest predictor for total cover of branchless logs was longitudinal ground contact. To evaluate the effect on cover of factors other than longitudinal ground contact, we separately analyzed data from only those log sections that were in contact with the ground. Four factors were prominent predictors of percentage cover of such log sections: estimated peat depth, canopy shade (both increasing cover), potential solar radiation calculated from slope and slope aspect, and diameter of the log (both reducing cover). Peat increased cover directly through its low resistance, which allowed logs to sink and soil contact to increase. High moisture and low temperatures in pole-ward facing slopes and under a canopy favor peat formation through lowered decomposition and enhanced growth of peat-forming mosses, which also proved to rapidly overgrow logs. We found that in some boreal forests, peat and fast-growing mosses can rapidly cover logs lying on the ground. When actively introducing CWD for conservation purposes, we recommend that such rapid covering is avoided, thereby most likely improving the CWD's longevity as habitat for many species

3D Survey for analysis and comprehension of Hitite hieroglyphic through new forms of representa

The primary goal of this research is the joint execution, for the first time on the site of Hatt usa, of a series of experimentations, which involve the application of a series of diverse 3D scanner technologies and procedures on monuments of particular artistic and epigraphic value; the development of new procedures for the interpolation and visualization of 3D models in order to identify elements on monuments, which are not visible to the human eye; the development of new strategies for the fruition of resulting models inside a museum environment