Moving towards the maximum speed in stepping motors by means of enlarging the bandwidth of the current controller

This paper pursues to maximise the mechanical speed when using stepping motors (SM) without position sensors in order to achieve a rapid-response manufacturing whenever any equipment based on such electrical machines is involved. The novelty of this paper is the fact that not only the bandwidth of the current controllers is improved for such maximization of the SM mechanical speed, as traditionally done in previous works, but also a comprehensive approach has been addressed. Such global approach starts justifying why the traditional PI controller is not sufficient and it includes the analytical tuning of the current controllers, considering implementation tiny issues (but of paramount importance) such as the delays caused by the processor and the sample and hold current measurements. It is proved and justified that this previously mentioned issues, which are often omitted, play a crucial role when trying to maximise the speed of the SM, since the electrical fundamental frequencies of the SM move close to the sampling frequency. Therefore, the analytical process to tune and implement the current controllers will have to be done in discrete-time domain, i.e. using the Z transform and treating the SM drive as a sampled data system. Experimental waveforms and results based on real prototypes will prove the validity of the entire research. Finally, a real case-study based on Printed Circuit Board (PCB) prototyping machine which is composed by two stepper machines, is fully reported. Such PCB prototype is the fruitful collaboration between the University (research institution) and a private company (industry). © 2016 Elsevier LtdPeer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Functional and Biochemical Alterations of the Medial Frontal Cortex in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Context: The medial frontal cortex (MFC), including the dorsal anterior cingulate (dAC) and supplementary motor area (SMA), is critical for adaptive and inhibitory control of behaviour. Abnormally high MFC activity has been a consistent finding in functional neuroimaging studies of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). However, the precise regions and the neural alterations associated with this abnormality remain unclear. Objective: To examine the functional and biochemical properties of the MFC in patients with OCD. Design: Cross-sectional design combining volume localized proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS) and functional MRI (fMRI) with an inhibitory control paradigm (the Multi-Source Interference Task; MSIT) designed to activate the MFC. Setting: Healthy control participants and OCD patients recruited from the general community. Participants: Nineteen OCD patients (10 male, and 9 female) and nineteen age, gender, education and intelligence-matched healthy control participants. Main Outcome Measures: Psychometric measures of symptom severity, MSIT behavioural performance, blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) activation and 1H-MRS brain metabolite concentrations. Results: MSIT behavioural performance did not differ between OCD patients and control subjects. Reaction-time interference and response errors were correlated with BOLD activation in the dAC region in both groups. Relative to control subjects, OCD patients showed hyper- activation of the SMA during high response-conflict (incongruent > congruent) trials and hyper-activation of the rostral anterior cingulate (rAC) region during low response- conflict (incongruent < congruent) trials. OCD patients also showed reduced levels of neuronal N-acetylaspartate in the dAC region, which was negatively correlated with their BOLD activation of the region. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that hyper-activation of the medial frontal cortex in OCD patients may be a compensatory response to neural pathology in the region. This relationship may partly explain the nature of inhibitory control deficits that are frequently seen in this group and may serve as a focus of future treatment studies

Polimerización de benzoxazinas funcionalizadas. Estudio mecanístico.

Actualmente en el campo de los materiales poliméricos se está desarrollando un nuevo tipo de resinas fenólicas a partir de las 3,4-dihidro-2H-1,3-benzoxazinas. La síntesis de estos compuestos heterocíclicos tiene lugar por reacción de un fenol, una amina primaria y formaldehído. Estos monómeros bajo la acción de temperatura o catalizadores dan lugar a las polibenzoxazinas mediante un proceso de apertura de anillo.Los polímeros resultantes poseen buena estabilidad térmica, interesantes propiedades mecánicas, además de una excelente resistencia química y a la radiación UV. El pequeño cambio de volumen que experimentan durante el proceso de polimerización junto con su baja viscosidad que facilita el procesado los hacen muy útiles en la industria. Su baja constante dieléctrica y su bajo nivel de absorción de agua hacen que sean especialmente utilizados como soportes electrónicos. Por último, cabe destacar que la presencia de nitrógeno y anillos aromáticos les confiere cierto carácter retardante a la llama.Normalmente la polimerización de benzoxazinas transcurre a elevadas temperaturas, generalmente superiores a 200ºC. Sin embargo, es habitual el uso de catalizadores de naturaleza ácida para facilitar el proceso. Así, los mecanismos de propagación descritos en la literatura para la polimerización de este tipo de monómeros son de naturaleza catiónica y están basados en el ataque de las posiciones nucleófilas al anillo heterocíclico activado.La mayoría de las benzoxazinas utilizadas a nivel industrial para la obtención de materiales son difuncionales, como las derivadas del Bisfenol-A, ya que dan lugar a estructuras entrecruzadas. Este hecho hace que la mayoría de estudios realizados hasta el momento hagan referencia a este tipo de compuestos y no a las benzoxazinas monofuncionales, por lo que existe poca información acerca del mecanismo y la estructura de este tipo de polímeros. Por esta razón, en este trabajo se ha estudiado la formación de polímeros mediante la polimerización de benzoxazinas monofuncionales preparadas expresamente para dicho fin.Así, el objetivo principal ha consistido en la realización de un minucioso estudio del mecanismo de polimerización. Para ello, se ha llevado a cabo la síntesis de una familia de benzoxazinas que contienen grupos con distinto carácter electrónico, a partir de distintos fenoles y aminas aromáticas, optimizando los métodos de síntesis existentes.En primer lugar se ha estudiado la polimerización térmica de dichos monómeros mediante calorimetría diferencial de barrido, teniendo en cuenta principalmente la influencia de sustituyentes con diferente carácter electrónico sobre la temperatura de polimerización. Además, también se ha estudiado la polimerización térmica en monómeros altamente reactivos que contienen grupos ácido y fenol, observando el efecto activador que originan estos grupos sobre la polimerización.Se ha propuesto un nuevo sistema iniciador consistente en la combinación de trifluoruro de boro con alcoholes basándose en los resultados obtenidos en la polimerización térmica. Este sistema resulta especialmente efectivo en la polimerización en solución de este tipo de monómeros, permitiendo obtener los correspondientes polímeros con elevadas conversiones en unas condiciones de polimerización muy suaves. Se ha demostrado que con este sistema iniciador el mecanismo de propagación es distinto al descrito en la literatura. Se ha propuesto un nuevo mecanismo de polimerización en base a estudios cinéticos, a la caracterización microestructural por RMN, y a la realización de experimentos con monómeros marcados isotópicamente con deuterio.Finalmente, se ha llevado a cabo un estudio de la polimerización térmica de monómeros benzoxazínicos que contienen a la vez grupos glicidilo en su estructura, pudiéndose llegar a separar los dos procesos de polimerización con el uso de catalizadores. Este hecho ha permitido la obtención de poliéteres lineales con grupos benzoxazina laterales, pudiendo ser entrecruzados a temperaturas superiores.Nowadays, in the field of polymeric materials a new type of phenolic resins are being developed from 3,4-dihydro-2H-1,3-benzoxazines. The synthesis of these compounds takes place by reaction of a phenol, a primary amine and formaldehyde. These monomers give polybenzoxazines by means of temperature or catalysts by a ring-opening process.The resulting polymers exhibit good thermal stability, interesting mechanical properties, and excellent resistance to chemicals and radiation UV. The low change of volume during polymerization together with their low viscosity facilitates its processing in industrial applications. Their low dielectric constant and low water absorption make them useful in electronic applications. Finally, the presence of nitrogen and aromatic rings contributes to confer them a flame retardant character.Usually, the benzoxazine polymerization is carried out at high temperatures, generally exceeding 200ºC. Nevertheless, is typical to use acidic catalyst to accelerate the process. The propagation mechanism of benzoxazine polimerization described in the literature is cationic and proceeds through the attack of the nucleophilic positions to the oxonium activated heterocyclic ring.Most benzoxazines used in the industry are difunctional like the Bisphenol-A derivate, and lead to crosslinked materials. Consequently there is not much information concerning the mechanism of polymerization and the structure of these polymers. For this reason this work is focused on the study of the polymer formation by means the use of monofunctional benzoxazines that have been synthesised for this purpose.The main aim of this work is to establish a feasible polymerization mechanism. For this reason a family of benzoxazines containing functional groups with different electron-withdrawing o electron-donating capacity has been prepared.First, the thermal polymerization of these monomers has been studied by differential scanning calorimetry, analysing the influence of the electronic character of the substituents in the polymerization temperature. Moreover, the thermal polymerization of highly reactive monomers that containing acid and phenol groups has been studied. In this case a relationship between the acidity of these groups and the activating effect has been established.Based in the thermal polymerization results a new initiator system consisting in a combination of BF3 and alcohols has been proposed. This initiator system results especially effective in the polymerization in solution of this type of monomers allowing to obtain the corresponding polymers with high conversions in mild polymerization conditions. It has been demonstrated that with this initiator the propagation mechanism is different to the described in the literature. A new polymerization mechanism has been proposed in basis of kinetic studies, NMR microstructural characterization of the polymers and deuterium isotopic labelling experiments.Finally, the thermal polymerization of benzoxazinic monomers that contain glycidyl groups in their structure has been studied. It has been possible to separate the two polymerization processes with the use of an appropriate catalyst. This result allows to prepare linear polyethers with pendant benzoxazine groups that can be further crosslinked at higher temperatures

A Spatial Connectivity Approach to Landscapes of Conflict: Julius Caesar and the Assault to Puig Ciutat (NE Iberian Peninsula)

Landscape plays a vital role in the development of military campaigns through the definition of geostrategic landmarks that structure the control of the territory, the imposition of constraints to the movement of armies and the identification of features that facilitate defence against attackers. These factors are linked to the study of past spatial mobility which is typically done by finding optimal pathways between pairs of points using Least-Cost Path analysis. This emphasis on optimality may not be ideal for case studies that need a general approach to spatial connectivity such as the study of conflict-related dynamics. Connectivity modelling based on Circuit Theory (CT) is an alternative approach to spatial mobility that captures the connectivity of an entire region identifying not only optimal paths but also bottlenecks, dead-ends and any other spatial feature that may impact movement. We present here a framework to study landscapes of conflict using connectivity modelling; the framework combines CT, visibility analysis and statistical hypothesis testing to understand the reasons behind the assault and destruction of Puig Ciutat (NE Iberian Peninsula) during Julius Caesar's civil war. Results suggest that the site exerted decisive control over a highly connected area linking two possible logistical bases (Emporion and Massalia) to the armies fighting at Ilerda (49 BC)

Reducing the cogging torque effects in hybrid stepper machines by means of resonant controllers

Permanent magnet machines are not free from the interaction between magnets and the stator and rotor slots, which causes an undesired disturbing torque. Such cogging or detent torque is especially larger with salient pole machines, as it is the case of the Permanent Magnet Hybrid Stepper Machines (PMHSM). Depending on the application requirements, these torque perturbations can be unacceptable and the application of solutions that minimizes the cogging torque effects are mandatory. This paper originally faces the minimization of the cogging torque using resonant controllers. More specifically, the paper details the analysis and design of a speed-adaptive resonant controller, which not only is directly designed in Z domain but also considers the current (or torque) inner loop delay. Pole-zero placement and the disturbance rejection frequency response have been attained in the design of the speed and position speedadaptive controllers. Experimental results with two off-theshelf PMHSMs demonstrate the superior performance of the proposal in both speed and position closed-loop applications for tracking, as well as in disturbance (load impact) rejection tests and against inertia variations. A comparison with a conventional PI has been carried out from the design stage to experimental results and the improvement of the proposal has been numerically quantified.Postprint (published version