Numerical modeling of the Alto Tiberina low angle normal fault

The aim of this Thesis is to obtain a better understanding of the mechanical behavior of the active Alto Tiberina normal fault (ATF). Integrating geological, geodetic and seismological data, we perform 2D and 3D quasi-static and dynamic mechanical models to simulate the interseismic phase and rupture dynamic of the ATF. Effects of ATF locking depth, synthetic and antithetic fault activity, lithology and realistic fault geometries are taken in account. The 2D and 3D quasi-static model results suggest that the deformation pattern inferred by GPS data is consistent with a very compliant ATF zone (from 5 to 15 km) and Gubbio fault activity. The presence of the ATF compliant zone is a first order condition to redistribute the stress in the Umbria-Marche region; the stress bipartition between hanging wall (high values) and footwall (low values) inferred by the ATF zone activity could explain the microseismicity rates that are higher in the hanging wall respect to the footwall. The interseismic stress build-up is mainly located along the Gubbio fault zone and near ATF patches with higher dip (30°

Pupil phase apodization for achromatic imaging of extra-solar planets

Direct imaging of extra-solar planets in the visible and infrared region has generated great interest among scientists and the general public as well. However, this is a challenging problem. Diffculties of detecting a planet (faint source) are caused, mostly, by two factors: sidelobes caused by starlight diffraction from the edge of the pupil and the randomly scattered starlight caused by the phase errors from the imperfections in the optical system. While the latter diffculty can be corrected by high density active deformable mirrors with advanced phase sensing and control technology, the optimized strategy for suppressing the diffraction sidelobes is still an open question. In this thesis, I present a new approach to the sidelobe reduction problem: pupil phase apodization. It is based on a discovery that an anti-symmetric spatial phase modulation pattern imposed over a pupil or a relay plane causes diffracted starlight suppression sufficient for imaging of extra-solar planets. Numerical simulations with specific square pupil (side D) phase functions, such as ... demonstrate annulling in at least one quadrant of the diffraction plane to the contrast level of better than 10^12 with an inner working angle down to 3.5L/D (with a = 3 and e = 10^3). Furthermore, our computer experiments show that phase apodization remains effective throughout a broad spectrum (60% of the central wavelength) covering the entire visible light range. In addition to the specific phase functions that can yield deep sidelobe reduction on one quadrant, we also found that a modified Gerchberg-Saxton algorithm can help to find small sized (101 x 101 element) discrete phase functions if regional sidelobe reduction is desired. Our simulation shows that a 101x101 segmented but gapless active mirror can also generate a dark region with Inner Working Distance about 2.8L/D in one quadrant. Phase-only modulation has the additional appeal of potential implementation via active segmented or deformable mirrors, thereby combining compensation of random phase aberrations and diffraction halo removal in a single optical element.

Two-Phase Flow In Microchannels: Morphology And Interface Phenomena

The existence and morphology, as well as the dynamics of micro-scale gas-liquid interfaces is investigated numerically and experimentally. These studies can be used to assess liquid management issues in microsystems such as PEMFC gas flow channels, and are meant to open new research perspectives in two-phase flow, particularly in film deposition on non-wetting surfaces. For example the critical plug volume data can be used to deliver desired length plugs, or to determine the plug formation frequency. The dynamics of gas-liquid interfaces, of interest for applications involving small passages (e.g. heat exchangers, phase separators and filtration systems), was investigated using high-speed microscopy - a method that also proved useful for the study of film deposition processes. The existence limit for a liquid plug forming in a mixed wetting channel is determined by numerical simulations using Surface Evolver. The plug model simulate actual conditions in the gas flow channels of PEM fuel cells, the wetting of the gas diffusion layer (GDL) side of the channel being different from the wetting of the bipolar plate walls. The minimum plug volume, denoted as critical volume is computed for a series of GDL and bipolar plate wetting properties. Critical volume data is meant to assist in the water management of PEMFC, when corroborated with experimental data. The effect of cross section geometry is assessed by computing the critical volume in square and trapezoidal channels. Droplet simulations show that water can be passively removed from the GDL surface towards the bipolar plate if we take advantage on differing wetting properties between the two surfaces, to possibly avoid the gas transport blockage through the GDL. High speed microscopy was employed in two-phase and film deposition experiments with water in round and square capillary tubes. Periodic interface destabilization was observed and the existence of compression waves in the gas phase is discussed by taking into consideration a naturally occurring convergent-divergent nozzle formed by the flowing liquid phase. The effect of channel geometry and wetting properties was investigated through two-phase water-air flow in square and round microchannels, having three static contact angles of 20, 80 and 105 degrees. Four different flow regimes are observed for a fixed flow rate, this being thought to be caused by the wetting behavior of liquid flowing in the corners as well as the liquid film stability. Film deposition experiments in wetting and non-wetting round microchannels show that a thicker film is deposited for wetting conditions departing from the ideal 0 degrees contact angle. A film thickness dependence with the contact angle theta as well as the Capillary number, in the form h_R ~ Ca^(2/3)/ cos(theta) is inferred from scaling arguments, for contact angles smaller than 36 degrees. Non-wetting film deposition experiments reveal that a film significantly thicker than the wetting Bretherton film is deposited. A hydraulic jump occurs if critical conditions are met, as given by a proposed nondimensional parameter similar to the Froude number. Film thickness correlations are also found by matching the measured and the proposed velocity derived in the shock theory. The surface wetting as well as the presence of the shock cause morphological changes in the Taylor bubble flow.

Morphology and dynamics of the jets of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko: Early-phase development

Aims. The OSIRIS camera onboard the Rosetta spacecraft obtained close-up views of the dust coma of comet 67P. The jet structures can be used to trace their source regions and to examine the possible effect of gas-surface interaction. Methods. We analyzed the wide-angle images obtained in the special dust observation sequences between August and September 2014. The jet features detected in different images were compared to study their time variability. The locations of the potential source regions of some of the jets are identified by ray tracing. We used a ring-masking technique to calculate the brightness distribution of dust jets along the projected distance. Results. The jets detected between August and September 2014 mostly originated in the Hapi region. Morphological changes appeared over a timescale of several days in September. The brightness slope of the dust jets is much steeper than the background coma. This might be related to the sublimation or fragmentation of the emitted dust grains. Interaction of the expanding gas flow with the cliff walls on both sides of Hapi could lead to erosion and material down-fall to the nucleus surface.

ESTUDO COMPARATIVO DA POSIÇÃO ÂNTERO POSTERIOR DOS PRIMEIROS MOLARES INFERIORES NO TRATAMENTO ORTODÔNTICO, UTILIZANDO AS TÉCNICAS STRAIGHT-WIRE E EDGEWISE, EM CASOS DE MÁ OCLUSÃO DE CLASSE I DE ANGLE, COM EXTRAÇÃO DE PRIMEIROS PRÉ-MOLARES

Este estudo avaliou o posicionamento ântero posterior dos primeiros molares inferiores, durante o tratamento ortodôntico, utilizando o arco lingual inferior como acessório de ancoragem na técnica Straight-Wire, em comparação aos casos tratados pela técnica Edgewise, sem a utilização do arco lingual. Dois grupos foram selecionados, ambos apresentando má oclusão de Classe I de Angle7, tratados com extração dos primeiros pré-molares superiores e inferiores. Foi utilizada uma amostra de 255 telerradiografias em norma lateral, obtidas de pacientes brasileiros, de ambos os sexos, com média de idade de 13 anos e 6 meses e com diferentes padrões de crescimento facial. Embasado na análise e discussão dos resultados, concluiu-se que: 1) do início do tratamento ao fim da fase de nivelamento, a perda de ancoragem coronária do primeiro molar inferior foi maior nos casos tratados com a técnica Straight-Wire; 2) do fim da fase de nivelamento ao fim do tratamento, a perda de ancoragem coronária e radicular do primeiro molar inferior foi maior na técnica Edgewise; 3) do início ao fim tratamento a perda de ancoragem radicular foi maior nos pacientes tratados com a técnica Edgewise; e 4) o deslocamento ântero-posterior dos incisivos inferiores não apresentou diferença estatisticamente significante para ambas as técnicas, em todas as etapas observadas.(AU)

ESTUDO COMPARATIVO DA POSIÇÃO ÂNTERO POSTERIOR DOS PRIMEIROS MOLARES INFERIORES NO TRATAMENTO ORTODÔNTICO, UTILIZANDO AS TÉCNICAS STRAIGHT-WIRE E EDGEWISE, EM CASOS DE MÁ OCLUSÃO DE CLASSE I DE ANGLE, COM EXTRAÇÃO DE PRIMEIROS PRÉ-MOLARES

Este estudo avaliou o posicionamento ântero posterior dos primeiros molares inferiores, durante o tratamento ortodôntico, utilizando o arco lingual inferior como acessório de ancoragem na técnica Straight-Wire, em comparação aos casos tratados pela técnica Edgewise, sem a utilização do arco lingual. Dois grupos foram selecionados, ambos apresentando má oclusão de Classe I de Angle7, tratados com extração dos primeiros pré-molares superiores e inferiores. Foi utilizada uma amostra de 255 telerradiografias em norma lateral, obtidas de pacientes brasileiros, de ambos os sexos, com média de idade de 13 anos e 6 meses e com diferentes padrões de crescimento facial. Embasado na análise e discussão dos resultados, concluiu-se que: 1) do início do tratamento ao fim da fase de nivelamento, a perda de ancoragem coronária do primeiro molar inferior foi maior nos casos tratados com a técnica Straight-Wire; 2) do fim da fase de nivelamento ao fim do tratamento, a perda de ancoragem coronária e radicular do primeiro molar inferior foi maior na técnica Edgewise; 3) do início ao fim tratamento a perda de ancoragem radicular foi maior nos pacientes tratados com a técnica Edgewise; e 4) o deslocamento ântero-posterior dos incisivos inferiores não apresentou diferença estatisticamente significante para ambas as técnicas, em todas as etapas observadas.(AU)

The lipid bilayer determines helical tilt angle and function in lactose permease of Escherichia coli

The structure of lactose permease from Escherichia coli in its lipid environment was studied by attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The protein exhibits an α-helical content of about 65% and about 25% β-sheet. Unusually fast hydrogen/deuterium (H/D) exchange to 90–95% completion suggests a structure that is highly accessible to the aqueous phase. An average tilt angle of 33° for the helices was found with respect to the bilayer normal at a lipid-to-protein ratio of ≈800:1 (mol/mol), and the permease exhibits optimal activity under these conditions. However, upon decreasing the lipid-to-protein ratio, activity decreases continuously in a manner that correlates with the decrease in the lipid order parameter and the increase in the average helical tilt angle. Taken together, the data indicate that the structure and function of the permease are strongly dependent on the order and integrity of the lipid bilayer.

Pitfalls on computing liquid-liquid phase equilibria using the k-value method

Poster presented in the 11th Mediterranean Congress of Chemical Engineering, Barcelona, October 21-24, 2008.

Immobilization of aluminum chloride on MCM-41 as a new catalyst system for liquid-phase isopropylation of naphthalene

A great deal of effort has been made at searching for alternative catalysts to replace conventional Lewis acid catalyst aluminum trichloride (AlCl3). In this paper, immobilization of AlCl3 on mesoporous MCM-41 silica with and without modification was carried out. The catalytic properties of the immobilized catalyst systems for liquid-phase isopropylation of naphthalene were studied and compared with those of H/MCM-41 and H/mordenite. The structures of the surface-immobilized aluminum chloride catalysts were studied and identified by using solid-state magic angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance (MAS NMR), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), nitrogen adsorption, and X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques. The catalytic activity of the immobilized catalysts was found to be similar to that of acidic mordenite zeolite. A significant enhancement in the selectivity of 2,6-diisopropylnaphthalene (2,6-DIPN) was observed over the immobilized aluminum chloride catalysts. Immobilization of aluminum chloride on mesoporous silica coupled with surface silylation is a promising way of developing alternative catalyst system for liquid-phase Friedel-Crafts alkylation reactions. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Asymmetric Bragg mirrors for the reduction of emission wavelength dependence on the viewing angle in organic microcavity light emitting diodes

Organic microcavity light emitting diodes typically exhibit a blue shift of the emitting wavelength with increasing viewing angle. While the wavelength shift can be reduced with the appropriate choice of organic materials and metal mirrors, for further reduction of the emission wavelength shift it is necessary to consider a mirror whose phase shift can partly compensate the effect of the change of optical path within the cavity. In this work, we used a genetic algorithm (GA) to design an asymmetric Bragg mirror in order to minimize the emission wavelength shift with viewing angle. Based on simulation results, the use of asymmetric Bragg mirrors represents a promising way to reduce the emission wavelength shift. Detailed comparison between GA optimized and conventional Bragg mirrors in terms of resonant wavelength dependence on the viewing angle, spectral narrowing, and brightness enhancement is given. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Phase behavior, crystallization, and nanostructures in thermoset blends of epoxy resin and amphiphilic star-shaped block copolymers

This article reports thermoset blends of bisphenol A-type epoxy resin (ER) and two amphiphilic four-arm star-shaped diblock copolymers based on hydrophilic poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) and hydrophobic poly(propylene oxide) (PPO). 4,4'-Methylenedianiline (MDA) was used as a curing agent. The first star-shaped diblock copolymer with 70 wt% ethylene oxide (EO), denoted as (PPO-PEO)(4), consists of four PPO-PEO diblock arms with PPO blocks attached on an ethylenediamine core; the second one with 40 wt% EO, denoted as (PEO-PPO)(4), contains four PEO-PPO diblock arms with PEO blocks attached on an ethylenediamine core. The phase behavior, crystallization, and nanoscale structures were investigated by differential scanning calorimetry, transmission electron microscopy, and small-angle X-ray scattering. It was found that the MDA-cured ER/(PPO-PEO)(4) blends are not macroscopically phase-separated over the entire blend composition range. There exist, however, two microphases in the ER/(PPO-PEO)(4) blends. The PPO blocks form a separated microphase, whereas the ER and the PEO blocks, which are miscible, form another microphase. The ER/(PPO-PEO)(4) blends show composition-dependent nanostructures on the order of 10-30 nm. The 80/20 ER/(PPO-PEO)(4) blend displays spherical PPO micelles uniformly dispersed in a continuous ER-rich matrix. The 60/40 ER/(PPO-PEO)(4) blend displays a combined morphology of worm-like micelles and spherical micelles with characteristic of a bicontinuous microphase structure. Macroscopic phase separation took place in the MDA-cured ER/(PEO-PPO)(4) blends. The MDA-cured ER/(PEO-PPO)(4) blends with (PEO-PPO)(4) content up to 50 wt% exhibit phase-separated structures on the order of 0.5-1 mu m. This can be considered to be due to the different EO content and block sequence of the (PEO-PPO)(4) copolymer. (c) 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

ESTUDO COMPARATIVO DA POSIÇÃO ÂNTERO POSTERIOR DOS PRIMEIROS MOLARES INFERIORES NO TRATAMENTO ORTODÔNTICO, UTILIZANDO AS TÉCNICAS STRAIGHT-WIRE E EDGEWISE, EM CASOS DE MÁ OCLUSÃO DE CLASSE I DE ANGLE, COM EXTRAÇÃO DE PRIMEIROS PRÉ-MOLARES

Este estudo avaliou o posicionamento ântero posterior dos primeiros molares inferiores, durante o tratamento ortodôntico, utilizando o arco lingual inferior como acessório de ancoragem na técnica Straight-Wire, em comparação aos casos tratados pela técnica Edgewise, sem a utilização do arco lingual. Dois grupos foram selecionados, ambos apresentando má oclusão de Classe I de Angle7, tratados com extração dos primeiros pré-molares superiores e inferiores. Foi utilizada uma amostra de 255 telerradiografias em norma lateral, obtidas de pacientes brasileiros, de ambos os sexos, com média de idade de 13 anos e 6 meses e com diferentes padrões de crescimento facial. Embasado na análise e discussão dos resultados, concluiu-se que: 1) do início do tratamento ao fim da fase de nivelamento, a perda de ancoragem coronária do primeiro molar inferior foi maior nos casos tratados com a técnica Straight-Wire; 2) do fim da fase de nivelamento ao fim do tratamento, a perda de ancoragem coronária e radicular do primeiro molar inferior foi maior na técnica Edgewise; 3) do início ao fim tratamento a perda de ancoragem radicular foi maior nos pacientes tratados com a técnica Edgewise; e 4) o deslocamento ântero-posterior dos incisivos inferiores não apresentou diferença estatisticamente significante para ambas as técnicas, em todas as etapas observadas.(AU)

Optimised phase disposition pulse-width modulation strategy for hybrid-clamped multilevel inverters using switching state sequences

This study describes an optimised modulation strategy based on switching state sequences for the hybrid-clamped multilevel converter. Two key control variables defined as 'phase shift angle' and 'switching state change' for a five-level hybrid-clamped inverter are proposed to improve all switches' operation, and by changing their values, different control methods can be obtained for modulation optimisation purposes. Two example methods can solve the voltage imbalance problem of the dc-link capacitors and furthermore avoid two switches' simultaneous switching transitions and improve the inverter's performance as compared with the traditional phase disposition pulse-width modulation strategy. A 6 kW prototype inverter is developed and a range of simulation and experiments are carried out for validation. It is found that simulation and experimental results are in a good agreement and the proposed modulation strategy is verified in terms of low-order harmonic reduction.

Calibrated Polarisation Tilt Angle Recovery for Wireless Communications

In this paper, we show how the polarisation state of a linearly polarised antenna can be recovered through the use of a three-term error correction model. The approach adopted is shown to be robust in situations where some multipath exists and where the sampling channels are imperfect with regard to both their amplitude and phase tracking. In particular, it has been shown that error of the measured polarisation tilt angle can be improved from 33% to 3% and below by applying the proposed calibration method. It is described how one can use a rotating dipole antenna as both the calibration standard and as the polarisation encoder, thus simplifying the physical arrangement of the transmitter. Experimental results are provided in order to show the utility of the approach, which could have a variety of applications including bandwidth conservative polarisation sub-modulation in advanced wireless communications systems.