scholarly journals Non-Destructive Tests for Damage Evaluation of Stone Columns: The Case Study of Sacro Monte in Ghiffa (Italy)

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (8) ◽  
pp. 2673 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alessandro Grazzini ◽  
Sara Fasana ◽  
Marco Zerbinatti ◽  
Giuseppe Lacidogna
Keyword(s):  
Static Stability ◽  
Diagnostic Techniques ◽  
Stone Columns ◽  
Damage Evaluation ◽  
Structural Elements ◽  
Heritage Sites ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Non Destructive ◽  
Different Levels

The Italian Sacri Monti are heritage sites with some unique characteristics; they are a successful symbiosis between nature and art and are unconfined structures, therefore always being accessible but exposed to atmospheric agents, with many relevant consequences with regard to conservation problems. The paper discusses some aspects related to the application of non-destructive techniques (NDT) for the interpretation of degradation phenomena occurring in stone structural elements. Ultrasonic and impact tests were used to evaluate the structural properties of the stone columns in the Via Crucis portico, within the monumental complex of the Sacro Monte in Ghiffa (Piedmont, Italy), in order to determine their conditions of maintenance and to evaluate the portico static stability. Ultrasonic tests made it possible to obtain the value of the dynamic elastic modulus, which was variable at different points of the columns due to the diversified level of material damage. The impact test, performed with an instrumented hammer in the same points of the ultrasonic test, enables, by comparison, a deeper knowledge of the surface resistance of damaged columns. These results are the first step in a research path that will require further laboratory tests to better calibrate the diagnostic techniques applied to different levels of damage to surface materials.

scholarly journals Google Earth Engine as Multi-Sensor Open-Source Tool for Supporting the Preservation of Archaeological Areas: The Case Study of Flood and Fire Mapping in Metaponto, Italy

Sensors ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (5) ◽  
pp. 1791
Author(s):  
Carmen Fattore ◽  
Nicodemo Abate ◽  
Farid Faridani ◽  
Nicola Masini ◽  
Rosa Lasaponara
Keyword(s):  
Open Source ◽  
Archaeological Site ◽  
Unsupervised Classification ◽  
Google Earth ◽  
Heritage Sites ◽  
Cultural Properties ◽  
Google Earth Engine ◽  
Archaeological Areas ◽  
The Impact

In recent years, the impact of Climate change, anthropogenic and natural hazards (such as earthquakes, landslides, floods, tsunamis, fires) has dramatically increased and adversely affected modern and past human buildings including outstanding cultural properties and UNESCO heritage sites. Research about protection/monitoring of cultural heritage is crucial to preserve our cultural properties and (with them also) our history and identity. This paper is focused on the use of the open-source Google Earth Engine tool herein used to analyze flood and fire events which affected the area of Metaponto (southern Italy), near the homonymous Greek-Roman archaeological site. The use of the Google Earth Engine has allowed the supervised and unsupervised classification of areas affected by flooding (2013–2020) and fire (2017) in the past years, obtaining remarkable results and useful information for setting up strategies to mitigate damage and support the preservation of areas and landscape rich in cultural and natural heritage.

scholarly journals Stability-based motion planning for a modular morphing wing

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael C. F. Kwong
Keyword(s):  
Selection Process ◽  
Static Stability ◽  
Path Selection ◽  
Critical Parameters ◽  
Morphing Wing ◽  
Wing Geometry ◽  
Variable Geometry Truss ◽  
Different Levels ◽  
Longitudinal Static Stability

Aircraft wing geometry morphing is a technology that has seen recent interest due to demand for aircraft to improve aerodynamic performance for fuel saving. One proposed idea to alter wing geometry is by a modular morphing wing designed through a discretization method and constructed using variable geometry truss mechanisms (VGTM). For each morphing maneuver, there are sixteen possible actuation paths for each VGTM module, and thus offering a three module morphing wing to have a total of 16(to the power of 3) permutations of actuation paths for one morphing maneuver. Focused on longitudinal static stability, critical parameters and aircraft stability theory, this thesis proposes a method to find an optimal actuation path for a designated maneuver iteratively. A case study of a three module morphing wing demonstrated the actuation path selection process. Numerically, different actuation paths had different levels of longitudinal static stability; these paths were drawn in CATIA and were visually verified.

The Impact of Openness on the Market Potential of Multi-Sided Platforms: A Case Study of Mobile Payment Platforms

2015 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 260-275 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Ondrus ◽  
Avinash Gannamaneni ◽  
Kalle Lyytinen
Keyword(s):  
Decision Model ◽  
Critical Mass ◽  
Market Potential ◽  
Customer Base ◽  
Key Stakeholders ◽  
Level Increase ◽  
Technology Level ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Different Levels

A multi-sided platform can only succeed if a critical mass of users can join. This is a necessary, but not sufficient, condition for a platform's success. However, there is a limited understanding of the factors that contribute to reaching such critical mass. In this study we identify ways to determine the market potential of a platform and to reach critical mass. We particularly enrich past studies by exploring how the openness of a platform influences market potential. We examine openness at three levels – provider, technology, and user level – and ask the question: to what extent can opening (or closing) each level increase or decrease a platform's market potential? The provider level recognizes the strategic involvement of key stakeholders that provide a platform. The technology level is concerned with the interoperability of a platform across different technologies. The user level relates to what extent a platform discriminates different segments of the customer base. On the basis of analytical modeling and theoretical analysis, we formulate four propositions concerning the effects of openness on platforms’ market potential. We illustrate the strength of propositions through a confirmatory case study, which is informed by five theoretically sampled cases. The cases illustrate cogently the effects of opening different levels of a multi-sided platform. In conclusion, we propose a decision model that can assist decision making concerning the opening of a platform to catalyze its growth.

scholarly journals The Spatial Perspective in Post-Earthquake Evaluation to Improve Mitigation Strategies: Geostatistical Analysis of the Seismic Damage Applied to a Real Case Study

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (15) ◽  
pp. 3182 ◽  
Author(s):  
Salvador García-Ayllón ◽  
Antonio Tomás ◽  
José Luis Ródenas
Keyword(s):  
Earthquake Engineering ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Mitigation Strategies ◽  
Statistical Point ◽  
The Real Estate ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The City ◽  
Different Levels ◽  
New Framework

The analysis of damage in cities after an earthquake to implement mitigation strategies of seismic risk is a complex job that is usually full of uncertainties. Numerous variables affect the final result of the observable damage in a set of buildings in an urban area. The use of methodologies capable of providing global explanations beyond the traditional unidisciplinary approach of disciplines, such as structural analysis, earthquake engineering, geotechnics, or seismology, can be very useful for improving the behavior of our cities against earthquakes. This article presents geostatistical post-earthquake analysis, an innovative approach in this field of research based on GIS spatial statistical tools to evaluate the importance of the different variables after an earthquake that may have caused damage in a city. This new framework will be applied to analyze, from a geostatistical perspective, the damage levels observed in the city of Lorca (Spain) after the earthquake of 2011; a case study where various studies have proposed different measures to mitigate the impact of future earthquakes as a consequence of focusing on different phenomena as the main variable for the damage produced. A bivariate GIS assessment will allow spatial correlation of the problems detected from a statistical point of view (inadequate design of buildings, age of the real estate stock, inefficient urban planning configurations, geological risk, etc.) and the different levels of damage that the technicians who participated in the post-earthquake phase evaluated in the city. The results obtained will allow one to hierarchize the importance of the different detected phenomena to prepare the city better against future earthquakes and to elaborate an improved seismic mitigation strategy.

scholarly journals Sonic and Impact Test for Structural Assessment of Historical Masonry

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (23) ◽  
pp. 5148 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alessandro Grazzini
Keyword(s):  
Impact Test ◽  
Structural Parameters ◽  
Historical Masonry ◽  
2016 Amatrice Earthquake ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Santa Maria ◽  
Non Destructive ◽  
Non Destructive Techniques

Diagnostics is a very important tool of knowledge in the field of historical buildings. In particular, non-destructive techniques allow to deepen the study of the mechanical characteristics of the historical walls without compromising the artistic value of the monumental building. A case study of the use of sonic and impact tests was described, performed using the same instrumented hammer, for the characterization of the masonry walls at the Sanctuary of Santa Maria delle Grazie at Varoni, one of the churches damaged in the 2016 Amatrice earthquake. Sonic tests showed the presence of a discontinous masonry texture, as well as confirming the ineffectiveness of the strengthening work made by injections of lime mortar. The impact test allowed us to obtain the elastic modulus of the omogeneous stones of the masonry. The results obtained from the non-destructive techniques were confirmed by the flat jacks test carried out on the building, confirming the great potential of the non-destructive diagnostics suitable for analyzing important structural parameters without affecting the preservation of historical masonry structures.

scholarly journals Using conceptual modeling to improve genome data management

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Óscar Pastor ◽  
Ana Palacio León ◽  
José Fabián Román Reyes ◽  
Alberto Simón García ◽  
Juan Carlos Rodenas Casamayor
Keyword(s):  
Information Overload ◽  
Conceptual Modeling ◽  
Sequencing Technology ◽  
Risk Genes ◽  
Genome Data ◽  
Wrong Diagnosis ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Different Levels

Abstract With advances in genomic sequencing technology, a large amount of data is publicly available for the research community to extract meaningful and reliable associations among risk genes and the mechanisms of disease. However, this exponential growth of data is spread in over thousand heterogeneous repositories, represented in multiple formats and with different levels of quality what hinders the differentiation of clinically valid relationships from those that are less well-sustained and that could lead to wrong diagnosis. This paper presents how conceptual models can play a key role to efficiently manage genomic data. These data must be accessible, informative and reliable enough to extract valuable knowledge in the context of the identification of evidence supporting the relationship between DNA variants and disease. The approach presented in this paper provides a solution that help researchers to organize, store and process information focusing only on the data that are relevant and minimizing the impact that the information overload has in clinical and research contexts. A case-study (epilepsy) is also presented, to demonstrate its application in a real context.

scholarly journals Stability-based motion planning for a modular morphing wing

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael C. F. Kwong
Keyword(s):  
Selection Process ◽  
Static Stability ◽  
Path Selection ◽  
Critical Parameters ◽  
Morphing Wing ◽  
Wing Geometry ◽  
Variable Geometry Truss ◽  
Different Levels ◽  
Longitudinal Static Stability

Aircraft wing geometry morphing is a technology that has seen recent interest due to demand for aircraft to improve aerodynamic performance for fuel saving. One proposed idea to alter wing geometry is by a modular morphing wing designed through a discretization method and constructed using variable geometry truss mechanisms (VGTM). For each morphing maneuver, there are sixteen possible actuation paths for each VGTM module, and thus offering a three module morphing wing to have a total of 16(to the power of 3) permutations of actuation paths for one morphing maneuver. Focused on longitudinal static stability, critical parameters and aircraft stability theory, this thesis proposes a method to find an optimal actuation path for a designated maneuver iteratively. A case study of a three module morphing wing demonstrated the actuation path selection process. Numerically, different actuation paths had different levels of longitudinal static stability; these paths were drawn in CATIA and were visually verified.

Machtsrelevantie van multi-level structuren : een algemene verkenning

Res Publica ◽  
2001 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 81-101
Author(s):  
Carl Devos
Keyword(s):  
General Question ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Capacity ◽  
Social Actors ◽  
General Proposition ◽  
Multi Level ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Different Levels ◽  
Theoretical Reflection

The general question of this theoretical reflection concerns the impact of the multi-level organisation of policy processes for the division of power between collective social actors.  Firstly, We deal with the shrinking of the political capacity in the contemporary era of postfordism and deterritorialisation. In this framework, attention is paid to the ideological significance of governance.Using the concept of 'jumping of scales', We then consider the different consequences of the sui generis European multi-level setting for organised labour and capital, which serves as a case-study for our general proposition. Multi-level governance is looked upon as a new gestalt of scales, which enables some actors and hinders others to build their own jumping strategy between the different levels. The conclusion is that the European multi-level setting is the result of, as well as, the platform for power relations.

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