Investigación sobre morteros y sus tratamientos para su restauración en el Retablo del Altar Mayor de la Basílica del Pilar

The altarpiece of the Assumption of Mary is located in the High Altar of the Pilar Basilica in Zaragoza and is one of the most important works of the Spanish Artistic Heritage. The work, sculptured in alabaster, was carried out between 1509 and 1518 by Damián Forment. The present paper covers the guidelines for the design of repair mortars used to restore the altarpiece. They are based on compatibility criteria with the existing materials and treatments in the altarpiece, according to research carried out during the recent works of cleaning and restoration. During the previous research, the composition of the original mortars was tested, the aggregate granulometry, and the composition of the organic additives used. The patina of the altarpiece was also analyzed and identified. The original mortars were made up of a mixture of gypsum and lime with the addition of oil or fats. In many cases various types of fibre were detected in the mortar, used to improve its mechanical characteristics. The repair mortars were designed with a composition similar to the originals, with a mixture of gypsum and lime, and their compatibility with the alabaster was studied, while also optimizing the granulometry of the aggregates used.El retablo de la Asunción de María está situado en el Altar Mayor de la Basílica del Pilar en Zaragoza y es una de las grandes obras del Patrimonio artístico español. La obra, esculpida en alabastro, fue realizada entre 1509 y ¡518 por Damián Forment. En este trabajo se recogen las directrices para el diseño de los morteros de reparación utilizados en la restauración del retablo. Se basaron en criterios de compatibilidad de los materiales y tratamientos existentes en el retablo, según la investigación realizada durante las obras de la última actuación realizada para la limpieza y restauración. En la investigación realizada se comprobó la composición de los morteros originales, la granulometría de los áridos empleados, así como la composición de los aditivos orgánicos utilizados. Igualmente se analizó e identificó la pátina del retablo. Los morteros originales estaban compuestos por una mezcla de yeso y cal con adición de aceite o grasa. En muchos casos se detectaron diversos tipos de fibras en la masa de los morteros, utilizadas para mejorar sus características mecánicas. Los morteros de reparación se han diseñado con una composición similar a la de los antiguos, con una mezcla de yeso y cal, y se estudió su compatibilidad con el alabastro, optimizándose igualmente la granulometría de los áridos a utilizar

Universal relaxation function in nonextensive systems

We have derived the dipolar relaxation function for a cluster model whose volume distribution was obtained from the generalized maximum Tsallis nonextensive entropy principle. The power law exponents of the relaxation function are simply related to a global fractal parameter $\alpha$ and for large time to the entropy nonextensivity parameter $q$. For intermediate times the relaxation follows a stretched exponential behavior. The asymptotic power law behaviors both in the time and the frequency domains coincide with those of the Weron generalized dielectric function derived from an extension of the Levy central limit theorem. They are in full agreement with the Jonscher universality principle. Moreover our model gives a physical interpretation of the mathematical parameters of the Weron stochastic theory and opens new paths to understand the ubiquity of self-similarity and power laws in the relaxation of large classes of materials in terms of their fractal and nonextensive properties.Comment: Two figures. Submitted for publicatio

Revolving rivers in sandpiles: from continuous to intermittent flows

In a previous paper [Phys. Rev. Lett. 91, 014501 (2003)], the mechanism of "revolving rivers" for sandpile formation is reported: as a steady stream of dry sand is poured onto a horizontal surface, a pile forms which has a river of sand on one side owing from the apex of the pile to the edge of the base. For small piles the river is steady, or continuous. For larger piles, it becomes intermittent. In this paper we establish experimentally the "dynamical phase diagram" of the continuous and intermittent regimes, and give further details of the piles topography, improving the previous kinematic model to describe it and shedding further light on the mechanisms of river formation. Based on experiments in Hele-Shaw cells, we also propose that a simple dimensionality reduction argument can explain the transition between the continuous and intermittent dynamics.Comment: 8 pages, 11 figures, submitted to Phys Rev

Nonextensivity in Geological Faults?

Geological fault systems, as the San Andreas fault (SAF) in USA, constitute typical examples of self-organizing systems in nature. In this paper, we have considered some geophysical properties of the SAF system to test the viability of the nonextensive models for earthquakes developed in [Phys. Rev. E {\bf 73}, 026102, 2006]. To this end, we have used 6188 earthquakes events ranging in the magnitude interval $2 < m < 8$ that were taken from the Network Earthquake International Center catalogs (NEIC, 2004-2006) and the Bulletin of the International Seismological Centre (ISC, 1964-2003). For values of the Tsallis nonextensive parameter $q \simeq 1.68$, it is shown that the energy distribution function deduced in above reference provides an excellent fit to the NEIC and ISC SAF data.Comment: 9 pages, 1 figure, standard LaTeX fil

Integracion de los algoritmos de mineria de datos 1R, PRISM e ID3 a PostgreSQL

En la presente investigación se analizaron las técnicas de minería de datos de árboles de decisión y de reglas de inducción para integrar varios de sus algoritmos al sistema gestor de base de datos (SGBD) PostgreSQL, buscando suplir las deficiencias de las herramientas libres existentes. También se propuso un mecanismo para optimizar el rendimiento de los algoritmos implementados con el objetivo de aprovechar las ventajas de PostgreSQL y se comprobó, mediante un experimento, que al utilizar los algoritmos integrados al gestor, los tiempos de respuestas y los resultados obtenidos son superiores.In this research, data mining and decision tree techniques were analyzed as well as the induction of rules to integrate their many algorithms into the database managing system (DBMS), PostgreSQL, due to the defficiencies of the free use tools avaialable. A mechanism to optimize the performance of the implemented algorithms was proposed with the purpose of taking advantage of the PostgreSQL. By means of an experiment, it was proven that the time response and results obtained are improved when the algorithms are integrated into the managing system

A Bethe lattice representation for sandpiles

Avalanches in sandpiles are represented throughout a process of percolation in a Bethe lattice with a feedback mechanism. The results indicate that the frequency spectrum and probability distribution of avalanches resemble more to experimental results than other models using cellular automata simulations. Apparent discrepancies between experiments are reconciled. Critical behavior is here expressed troughout the critical properties of percolation phenomena.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, submitted for publicatio

A prototype low-background multiwire proportional chamber

A prototype multiwire proportional chamber (MWPC) was developed to demonstrate the feasibility of constructing a radiopure time projection chamber with MWPC track readout to assay materials for alpha- and beta-emitting surface contaminants for future rare-event-search experiments as well as other scientific fields. The design features and assembly techniques described here are motivated by the position and energy resolution required to reconstruct alpha and beta tracks while efficiently rejecting backgrounds. Results from a test setup using an ^(55)Fe x-ray source indicate excellent operational stability and a near-ideal energy resolution of 15.8% FWHM at 5.89 keV and a gas gain of ~10^4