Skill premium effects on fertility and female labor force supply

Published as an article in: Journal of Population Economics, 2004, vol. 17, issue 1, pages 1-16.

Influence of Humidity on Fiber Bragg Grating Sensors

We demonstrate the influence of the relative humidity (RH) on the wavelength of fiber Bragg grating sensors (FBGS), performing tests with five FBGS at different humidity and temperature conditions. These tests were performed in a climate chamber whose RH changes according to a scheduled profile from 30% to 90%, in steps of 10%. These profiles were repeated for a wide range of temperatures from to , in steps of . Two different types of instrumentation methods have been tested, spot welding and epoxy bonding, in two different materials, steel and carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP). We discuss the results for each type of sensor and instrumentation method by analyzing the linearity of the Bragg wavelength with RH and temperature.

Relativistic force between fast electrons and planar targets

The full retarded electromagnetic force experienced by swift electrons moving parallel to planar boundaries is revisited, for both metallic and dielectric targets, with special emphasis on the consequences in electron microscopy experiments. The focus is placed on the sign of the transverse force experienced by the electron beam as a function of the impact parameter. For point probes, the force is found to be always attractive. The contribution of the induced magnetic field and the causality requirements of the target dielectric response, given by the Kramers-Kronig (K-K) relations, prove to be crucial issues at small impact parameters. For spatially extended probes, repulsive forces are predicted for close trajectories, in agreement with previous works. The force experienced by the target is also explored, with the finding that in insulators, the momentum associated to Cherenkov radiation (CR) is relevant at large impact parameters.

Virtual Sensors for On-line Wheel Wear and Part Roughness Measurement in the Grinding Process

Grinding is an advanced machining process for the manufacturing of valuable complex and accurate parts for high added value sectors such as aerospace, wind generation, etc. Due to the extremely severe conditions inside grinding machines, critical process variables such as part surface finish or grinding wheel wear cannot be easily and cheaply measured on-line. In this paper a virtual sensor for on-line monitoring of those variables is presented. The sensor is based on the modelling ability of Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) for stochastic and non-linear processes such as grinding; the selected architecture is the Layer-Recurrent neural network. The sensor makes use of the relation between the variables to be measured and power consumption in the wheel spindle, which can be easily measured. A sensor calibration methodology is presented, and the levels of error that can be expected are discussed. Validation of the new sensor is carried out by comparing the sensor's results with actual measurements carried out in an industrial grinding machine. Results show excellent estimation performance for both wheel wear and surface roughness. In the case of wheel wear, the absolute error is within the range of microns (average value 32 mu m). In the case of surface finish, the absolute error is well below R-a 1 mu m (average value 0.32 mu m). The present approach can be easily generalized to other grinding operations.

Influence of Humidity on Fiber Bragg Grating Sensors

We demonstrate the influence of the relative humidity (RH) on the wavelength of fiber Bragg grating sensors (FBGS), performing tests with five FBGS at different humidity and temperature conditions. These tests were performed in a climate chamber whose RH changes according to a scheduled profile from 30% to 90%, in steps of 10%. These profiles were repeated for a wide range of temperatures from 10 degrees C to 70 degrees C, in steps of 10 degrees C. Two different types of instrumentation methods have been tested, spot welding and epoxy bonding, in two different materials, steel and carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP). We discuss the results for each type of sensor and instrumentation method by analyzing the linearity of the Bragg wavelength with RH and temperature.