Active vibration control using delayed resonant feedback

Delayed feedback (DF) control is a well-established technique to suppress single frequency vibration of a non-minimum phase system. Modal control is also a well-established technique to control multiple vibration modes of a minimum phase system. In this paper these techniques are combined to simultaneously suppress multiple vibration modes of a non-minimum phase system involving a small time delay. The control approach is called delayed resonant feedback (DRF) where each modal controller consists of a modal filter to extract the target mode signal from the vibration response, and a phase compensator to account for the phase delay of the mode. The methodology is first discussed using a single mode system. A multi-mode system is then studied and experimental results are presented to demonstrate the efficacy of the control approach for two modes of a beam. It is shown that the system behaves as if each mode under control has a dynamic vibration absorber attached to it, even though the actuator and the sensor are not collocated and there is a time delay in the control system. © 2013 IOP Publishing Ltd.

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De Cachoeira a Belém: a inflexão das ilusões de Alfredo

Este trabalho procura demonstrar, através do percurso percorrido pela personagem Alfredo, ao longo do itinerário que vai de Cachoeira até à cidade de Belém, em uma criação dalcidiana, o processo de gradual desalienação de um menino que aos poucos vai se tornando um rapaz. A formação da personalidade passa por um sofrido processo, que na vida do herói conduz ao choque necessário provocado por algumas desilusões. Confrontando-se com sentimentos ambivalentes, com estados de indefinição e indecisão, Alfredo vai abrindo caminho através do labirinto de seu ser palmilhado pelo que representa a cidade enquanto também um labirinto não menos desafiador. Nesse processo de integração, o objetivo final é o resgate da dignidade humana que não se limita ao ser do herói, Alfredo, mas abarca um amplo projeto político que é buscado como alternativa popular.

Demonstration of non-collocated vibration control of a flexible manipulator using electrical dynamic absorbers

This paper describes an experimental study into the vibration control of a servo system comprising a servo motor and a flexible manipulator. Two modes of the system are controlled by using the servo motor and an accelerometer attached to the tip of the flexible manipulator. The control system is thus non-collocated. It consists of two electrical dynamic absorbers, each of which consists of a modal filter and, in case of an out-of-phase mode, a phase inverter. The experimental results show that each absorber acts as a mechanical dynamic vibration absorber attached to each mode and significantly reduces the settling time for the system response to a step input.

Improved Upper Limits on the Stochastic Gravitational-Wave Background from 2009-2010 LIGO and Virgo Data

Gravitational waves from a variety of sources are predicted to superpose to create a stochastic background. This background is expected to contain unique information from throughout the history of the Universe that is unavailable through standard electromagnetic observations, making its study of fundamental importance to understanding the evolution of the Universe. We carry out a search for the stochastic background with the latest data from the LIGO and Virgo detectors. Consistent with predictions from most stochastic gravitational-wave background models, the data display no evidence of a stochastic gravitational-wave signal. Assuming a gravitational-wave spectrum of Omega(GW)(f) = Omega(alpha)(f/f(ref))(alpha), we place 95% confidence level upper limits on the energy density of the background in each of four frequency bands spanning 41.5-1726 Hz. In the frequency band of 41.5-169.25 Hz for a spectral index of alpha = 0, we constrain the energy density of the stochastic background to be Omega(GW)(f) < 5.6 x 10(-6). For the 600-1000 Hz band, Omega(GW)(f) < 0.14(f/900 Hz)(3), a factor of 2.5 lower than the best previously reported upper limits. We find Omega(GW)(f) < 1.8 x 10(-4) using a spectral index of zero for 170-600 Hz and Omega(GW)(f) < 1.0(f/1300 Hz)(3) for 1000-1726 Hz, bands in which no previous direct limits have been placed. The limits in these four bands are the lowest direct measurements to date on the stochastic background. We discuss the implications of these results in light of the recent claim by the BICEP2 experiment of the possible evidence for inflationary gravitational waves.

A note about splittings of groups and commensurability under a cohomological point of view

Let G be a group, let S be a subgroup with infinite index in G and let FSG be a certain Z2G-module. In this paper, using the cohomological invariant E(G, S, FSG) or simply E˜(G, S) (defined in [2]), we analyze some results about splittings of group G over a commensurable with S subgroup which are related with the algebraic obstruction “singG(S)" defined by Kropholler and Roller ([8]. We conclude that E˜(G, S) can substitute the obstruction “singG(S)" in more general way. We also analyze splittings of groups in the case, when G and S satisfy certain duality conditions.

Biomass burning fuel consumption rates: a field measurement database

Landscape fires show large variability in the amount of biomass or fuel consumed per unit area burned. Fuel consumption (FC) depends on the biomass available to burn and the fraction of the biomass that is actually combusted, and can be combined with estimates of area burned to assess emissions. While burned area can be detected from space and estimates are becoming more reliable due to improved algorithms and sensors, FC is usually modeled or taken selectively from the literature. We compiled the peerreviewed literature on FC for various biomes and fuel categories to understand FC and its variability better, and to provide a database that can be used to constrain biogeochemical models with fire modules. We compiled in total 77 studies covering 11 biomes including savanna (15 studies, average FC of 4.6 t DM (dry matter) ha 1 with a standard deviation of 2.2), tropical forest (n = 19, FC = 126 +/- 77), temperate forest (n = 12, FC = 58 +/- 72), boreal forest (n = 16, FC = 35 +/- 24), pasture (n = 4, FC = 28 +/- 9.3), shifting cultivation (n = 2, FC = 23, with a range of 4.0-43), crop residue (n = 4, FC = 6.5 +/- 9.0), chaparral (n = 3, FC = 27 +/- 19), tropical peatland (n = 4, FC = 314 +/- 196), boreal peatland (n = 2, FC = 42 [42-43]), and tundra (n = 1, FC = 40). Within biomes the regional variability in the number of measurements was sometimes large, with e. g. only three measurement locations in boreal Russia and 35 sites in North America. Substantial regional differences in FC were found within the defined biomes: for example, FC of temperate pine forests in the USA was 37% lower than Australian forests dominated by eucalypt trees. Besides showing the differences between biomes, FC estimates were also grouped into different fuel classes. Our results highlight the large variability in FC, not only between biomes but also within biomes and fuel classes. This implies that substantial uncertainties are associated with using biome-averaged values to represent FC for whole biomes. Comparing the compiled FC values with co-located Global Fire Emissions Database version 3 (GFED3) FC indicates that modeling studies that aim to represent variability in FC also within biomes, still require improvements as they have difficulty in representing the dynamics governing FC.

Tractor perfomance as a function of speed and seeder s tire inflation pressure

O desempenho de tratores agrícolas em condições de campo resulta da interação entre pneu e rodado, influenciado pela velocidade de deslocamento. O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar o desempenho de um trator agrícola sob diferentes pressões de inflação dos pneus da semeadora (518, 483, and 414kPa) e em duas marchas que proporcionaram velocidades de 3,0 e 6,0km h-1. O experimento foi realizado no campus de Jaboticabal da Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). O delineamento experimental utilizado foi fatorial inteiramente casualizado (3x2), com quatro repetições. A força de tração foi influenciada pela marcha e pela potência exigida; no entanto, a pressão de inflação do pneu da semeadora não alterou esses parâmetros. Além disso, o consumo de combustível foi influenciado apenas pela marcha do trator. O consumo de energia foi maior com o aumento da velocidade, ocasionada pela mudança de marcha. A velocidade de deslocamento foi maior para a pressão de 518kPa, em razão da menor patinagem da semeadora promovida por essa pressão. A patinagem do trator não foi alterada pelos fatores testados.

Biogeochemistry of an Amazonian podzol-ferralsol soil system with white kaolin

The podzol-ferralsol soil systems, which cover great areas of Amazonia and other equatorial regions, are frequently associated with kaolin deposits and store and export large amounts of carbon. Although natural organic matter (NOM) plays a key role in their dynamics, little is known about their biogeochemistry. In order to assess the specific role of dissolved organic matter (DOM) on NOM storage in deep horizons and to determine possible relationships between kaolin formation and DOM properties, we studied the groundwater composition of a typical podzol-ferralsol soil catena from the Alto Rio Negro region, Brazil. Groundwater was sampled using tension-free lysimeters placed according to soil morphology. DOC, E-H, p(H), and dissolved Si, Al3+, Fe2+, and Fe3+ were analyzed for all samples and values are given in a database. Quantification of other dissolved ions, small carboxylic acids and SUVA(254) index and acid-base microtitration was achieved on selected samples. Part of the DOM produced by the hydromorphic podzols is directly exported to the blackwater streams; another part percolates at greater depth, and more than 90% of it adsorbs in the Bh-Bhs horizons, allowing carbon storage at depth. Humic substances are preferentially adsorbed with regard to small carboxylic compounds. With regard to kaolin genesis, kaolinite precipitation is favored by Al release from NOM mineralization within the Bh-Bhs and kaolin bleaching is ensured by iron reduction due to acidity and relatively low E-H. Fe2+ mobility can be related to small E-H variations and enhanced by the significant concentration of small carboxylic acids. The long-term result of these processes is the thickening of the kaolin, and it can be inferred that kaolin is likely to occur where active, giant podzols are close to a slope gradient sufficient enough to lower the deep water table.

Tree height integrated into pantropical forest biomass estimates

Aboveground tropical tree biomass and carbon storage estimates commonly ignore tree height (H). We estimate the effect of incorporating H on tropics-wide forest biomass estimates in 327 plots across four continents using 42 656 H and diameter measurements and harvested trees from 20 sites to answer the following questions: 1. What is the best H-model form and geographic unit to include in biomass models to minimise site-level uncertainty in estimates of destructive biomass? 2. To what extent does including H estimates derived in (1) reduce uncertainty in biomass estimates across all 327 plots? 3. What effect does accounting for H have on plot- and continental-scale forest biomass estimates? The mean relative error in biomass estimates of destructively harvested trees when including H (mean 0.06), was half that when excluding H (mean 0.13). Power- and Weibull-H models provided the greatest reduction in uncertainty, with regional Weibull-H models preferred because they reduce uncertainty in smaller-diameter classes (< 40 cm D) that store about one-third of biomass per hectare in most forests. Propagating the relationships from destructively harvested tree biomass to each of the 327 plots from across the tropics shows that including H reduces errors from 41.8 Mg ha(-1) (range 6.6 to 112.4) to 8.0 Mg ha(-1) (-2.5 to 23.0).

Compulsive features in behavioural addictions: the case of pathological gambling

Aims To describe, in the context of DSM-V, how a focus on addiction and compulsion is emerging in the consideration of pathological gambling (PG). Methods A systematic literature review of evidence for the proposed re-classification of PG as an addiction. Results Findings include: (i) phenomenological models of addiction highlighting a motivational shift from impulsivity to compulsivity associated with a protracted withdrawal syndrome and blurring of the ego-syntonic/ego-dystonic dichotomy; (ii) common neurotransmitter (dopamine, serotonin) contributions to PG and substance use disorders (SUDs); (iii) neuroimaging support for shared neurocircuitries between behavioural and substance addictions and differences between obsessivecompulsive disorder (OCD), impulse control disorders (ICDs) and SUDs; (iv) genetic findings more closely related to endophenotypic constructs such as compulsivity and impulsivity than to psychiatric disorders; (v) psychological measures such as harm avoidance identifying a closer association between SUDs and PG than with OCD; (vi) community and pharmacotherapeutic trials data supporting a closer association between SUDs and PG than with OCD. Adapted behavioural therapies, such as exposure therapy, appear applicable to OCD, PG or SUDs, suggesting some commonalities across disorders. Conclusions PG shares more similarities with SUDs than with OCD. Similar to the investigation of impulsivity, studies of compulsivity hold promising insights concerning the course, differential diagnosis and treatment of PG, SUDs, and OCD.

Biogeography in the air: fungal diversity over land and oceans

Biogenic aerosols are relevant for the Earth system, climate, and public health on local, regional, and global scales. Up to now, however, little is known about the diversity and biogeography of airborne microorganisms. We present the first DNA-based analysis of airborne fungi on global scales, showing pronounced geographic patterns and boundaries. In particular we find that the ratio of species richness between Basidiomycota and Ascomycota is much higher in continental air than in marine air. This may be an important difference between the 'blue ocean' and 'green ocean' regimes in the formation of clouds and precipitation, for which fungal spores can act as nuclei. Our findings also suggest that air flow patterns and the global atmospheric circulation are important for the understanding of global changes in biodiversity.

Designing piezoresistive plate-based sensors with distribution of piezoresistive material using topology optimization

Piezoresistive sensors are commonly made of a piezoresistive membrane attached to a flexible substrate, a plate. They have been widely studied and used in several applications. It has been found that the size, position and geometry of the piezoresistive membrane may affect the performance of the sensors. Based on this remark, in this work, a topology optimization methodology for the design of piezoresistive plate-based sensors, for which both the piezoresistive membrane and the flexible substrate disposition can be optimized, is evaluated. Perfect coupling conditions between the substrate and the membrane based on the `layerwise' theory for laminated plates, and a material model for the piezoresistive membrane based on the solid isotropic material with penalization model, are employed. The design goal is to obtain the configuration of material that maximizes the sensor sensitivity to external loading, as well as the stiffness of the sensor to particular loads, which depend on the case (application) studied. The proposed approach is evaluated by studying two distinct examples: the optimization of an atomic force microscope probe and a pressure sensor. The results suggest that the performance of the sensors can be improved by using the proposed approach.