Effect of Laser Shock Peening on Fatigue Crack Propagation of Aeronautical Structures

Laser Shock Peening (LSP) is a surface enhancement treatment which induces a significant layer of beneficial compressive residual stresses up to several mm underneath the surface of metal components in order to improve the detrimental effects of crack growth behavior rate in it. The aim of this thesis is to predict the crack growth behavior of thin Aluminum specimens with one or more LSP stripes defining a compressive residual stress area. The LSP treatment has been applied as crack retardation stripes perpendicular to the crack growing direction, with the objective of slowing down the crack when approaching the LSP patterns. Different finite element approaches have been implemented to predict the residual stress field left by the laser treatment, mostly by means of the commercial software Abaqus/Explicit. The Afgrow software has been used to predict the crack growth behavior of the component following the laser peening treatment and to detect the improvement in fatigue life comparing to the specimen baseline. Furthermore, an analytical model has been implemented on the Matlab software to make more accurate predictions on fatigue life of the treated components. An educational internship at the Research and Technologies Germany- Hamburg department of Airbus helped to achieve knowledge and experience to write this thesis. The main tasks of the thesis are the following: -To up to date Literature Survey related to laser shock peening in metallic structures -To validate the FE models developed against experimental measurements at coupon level -To develop design of crack growth slow down in centered and edge cracked tension specimens based on residual stress engineering approach using laser peened patterns transversal to the crack path -To predict crack growth behavior of thin aluminum panels -To validate numerical and analytical results by means of experimental tests.

The role of language in tv shows and its impact on the audience: A linguistic analysis of Game of Thrones

Through the analysis of American TV show Game of Thrones, this dissertation will focus on the linguistic issues concerning the adaptation from books to television, the power of language over the audience, and the creation of two languages, with all the linguistic and cultural implications related to this phenomenon.

Catálogo y estudio de las gramáticas de italiano para hispanohablantes: siglos XVIII y XIX

El objetivo de la presente investigación, el catálogo y estudio de las gramáticas de italiano destinadas a hispanohablantes de los siglos XVIII y XIX, se encuadra en el macrosector gramaticográfico de la historiografía lingüística, en el cual el estudio de las gramáticas de las lenguas dirigidas a hablantes nativos y a hablantes extranjeros, con los consiguientes cruces y trasvases de tradiciones gramaticales, es de significativo interés como destacan: (i) las tesis doctorales defendidas en los últimos quince años; (ii) los proyectos de investigación dirigidos y coordinados por prestigiosos estudiosos del sector; (iii) los congresos organizados para destacar y compartir las principales actualizaciones en torno a los estudios gramaticográficos; y (iv) las publicaciones que surgen de los tres puntos anteriores. El estudio presenta dos partes centrales: la primera (constituida por los capítulos 2 y 3) es la de catálogo y estudio de las diecinueve gramáticas que conforman el corpus en base a ocho áreas descriptivas (1. información catalográfica, 2. autor, 3. editor, 4. hiperestructura, 5. elementos peritextuales, gramaticales y didácticos, 6. variedad de textos y su secuencia didáctica, 7. caracterización, fuentes e influencias, y 8. localización); la segunda (capítulo 4) es la de estudio gramaticográfico de conjunto de los datos más relevantes de las areas de estudio utilizadas en las dos primeras partes. De este modo, daremos un panorama de conjunto sobre (i) la cronología de las obras y sus ediciones y rempresiones; (ii) la nacionalidad, profesión, condición religiosa, etc. de autores; (iii) la geografía de ediciones y editores; (iv) la descripción hiperestructural de las obras; (v) la estructura de los elementos peritextuales; (vi) las partes gramaticales y elementos que las componen; (vii) el verbo: definiciones y paradigma verbal; (vii) los elementos didácticos; (viii) las líneas de descripción gramatical; (ix) la localización de las gramáticas en las bibliotecas españolas.

Learning from experience: Analysis of the civil litigation regarding building structures on the court of bologna in the years 2011/2012

The present work is aimed to the study and the analysis of the defects detected in the civil structure and that are object of civil litigation in order to create an instruments capable of helping the different actor involved in the building process. It is divided in three main sections. The first part is focused on the collection of the data related to the civil proceeding of the 2012 and the development of in depth analysis of the main aspects regarding the defects on existing buildings. The research center “Osservatorio Claudio Ceccoli” developed a system for the collection of the information coming from the civil proceedings of the Court of Bologna. Statistical analysis are been performed and the results are been shown and discussed in the first chapters.The second part analyzes the main issues emerged during the study of the real cases, related to the activities of the technical consultant. The idea is to create documents, called “focus”, addressed to clarify and codify specific problems in order to develop guidelines that help the technician editing of the technical advice.The third part is centered on the estimation of the methods used for the collection of data. The first results show that these are not efficient. The critical analysis of the database, the result and the experience and throughout, allowed the implementation of the collection system for the data.

Lingua della moda: Proposta di traduzione tecnico-scientifica dall'italiano al russo

Fashion is a mighty social phenomenon, therefore its linguistic representation, like many other aspects, serves as an opportunity to study the bonds between two languages. The first chapter of this thesis examines both the technical jargon of dress makers and the richer, more creative language used in glossy magazines, in an attempt to determine whether the language of fashion should be considered a language for specific purpose (LSP) or not. The second chapter provides a theoretical framework for translating a technical text and contributions of different scholars are taken into account. The third chapter delves deeper into the core of the work, the technical translation itself. It analyses the different strategies, the translation transformations, that proved to be necessary in the transition from Italian into Russian. Since the lexicon of special languages is their most obvious distinguishing characteristic, the commentary focuses on what are considered the most effective ways of enriching the Russian vocabulary of fashion, international words, calques and loanwords, especially form English and French. Overall, this influence has greatly accelerated in the last past decades because of dramatic changes in society and economy.

A comparative analysis of seismic design strategies for R.C. frame structures

Negli ultimi anni sono state sviluppate varie soluzioni tecniche per la progettazione sismica di strutture. Questa ricerca sviluppa un metodo di confronto basato sull'analisi di costi di costruzione e danni causati dal sisma. Il metodo viene applicato al caso di studio della scuola di Bisignano (CO, Italia). L'edificio è stato progettato conformemente alle NTC 2008 con approccio tradizionale e combinando il contributo di dissipatori viscosi e dissipazione isteretica. Le strutture vengono poi analizzate sotto diverse condizioni sismiche al fine di calcolare i costi di riparazione attesi e comprendere quale soluzione tecnica risulti più economicamente vantaggiosa a parità di azione sismica di progetto.

La competenza comunicativa in giapponese: indagine empirica sulle difficoltà frequenti degli apprendenti italofoni in interazioni orali

Smooth intercultural communication requires very complex tasks, especially when participants are very different in their cultural and linguistic backgrounds: this is the case of native Italian and Japanese speakers. A further difficulty in such a context can be found in the usage of a foreign language not mastered perfectly by speakers, which is the case for Italian intermediate learners of Japanese. The aim of this study is therefore to identify the linguistic difficulties common among Italian learners of Japanese as a foreign language and to further examine the consequences of incorrect pragma-linguistic deliveries in actual conversations. To this end, a series of linguistic aspects selected on the basis of the author's experience have been taken into consideration. Some aspects are expected to be difficult to master because of linguistic differences between Italian and Japanese, while some may be difficult due to their connection to the specific Japanese cultural context. The present study consists of six parts. The Introduction presents the state of the art on the research topic and defines the purpose of this research. Chapter 1 outlines the linguistic aspects of the Japanese language investigated in the study, specifically focusing on the following topics: writing system, phonology, loan words, numbers, ellipsis, levels of speech and honorifics. Chapter 2 presents an overview of the environment of teaching Japanese as a foreign language in the university setting in Italy. In Chapter 3 the first phase of the research is described, i.e. an online survey aimed at identifying the most problematic linguistic aspects. Chapter 4 presents the second phase of this study: a series of oral interactions between Japanese and Italian native speakers, conversing exclusively in Japanese, focusing on the management of misunderstandings with the use of actual linguistic data. The Conclusion outlines the results and possible future developments.

Application of crescent shaped braces for reinforced concrete structures

The work done is about the seismic analysis of an existing reinforced concrete structure that is equipped with a special bracing device. The main objective of the research is to provide a simple procedure that can be followed in order to design the lateral bracing system in such a way that the actual behavior of the structure matches the desired pre-defined objective curve. a great attention is devoted to the internal actions in the structural elements produced by the braces. The device used is called: Crescent shaped braces. This device is a special type of bracing because it has a banana-like geometry that allows the designer to have more control over the stiffness of the structure, especially under cyclic behavior, Unlike the conventional bracing that resists only through its axial stiffness. This device has been installed in a hospital in Italy. However, it has not been exposed to any ground motion so far. Different analysis methods, such as static pushover and dynamic time-history have been used in the analysis of the structure.

Insertion of Dissipative Devices in Precast RC Structures

Viscous dampers are characterized as very effective devices applied for seismic design and retrofitting. The objective of this thesis is to apply the Five-Step Procedure ,developed by a research group in University of Bologna, for sizing the viscous dampers to be installed in an existing precast RC structure. The idea is to apply the viscous damping devices in different positions in the structure then to identify and compare the performance of all types placement position.

"Linguistic Imperialism" di Robert Phillipson: proposta di traduzione di alcuni estratti

L'oggetto di questo elaborato è la proposta di traduzione di alcuni passaggi tratti dal terzo capitolo dal manuale Linguistic Imperialism di Robert Phillipson. L'autore ha scritto un saggio di linguistica applicata che discute dell'esistenza dell'imperialismo linguistico e delle conseguenze che ha sulla realtà linguistica moderna. Il terzo capitolo, in particolar modo, descrive i fondamenti teorici su cui si basa l'intera teoria.

Habibi. Proposta di traduzione di un romanzo young adult

This dissertation intends to present and analyse the translation from English into Italian of the first twenty-five chapters of Habibi, a teenager and young adult’s novel written by the Palestinian-American author Naomi Shihab Nye. It has been necessary to present the theoretical approach to the literary translation studies, in order to focus the attention on the translation problems and provide suitable solutions and strategies. The first chapter gives an historical perspective on children’s literature from the end of the Nineteenth century till today, distinguishing the Italian and the American contexts. The description of the evolution process of this literary genre, which developed to satisfy the needs of the educational system, is its central issue. At the end of the chapter, we outline the main traits characterizing children’s literature and the image of the ideal reader. The second chapter provides an overview on Palestinian literature, especially on the features of the contemporary novel and the Diaspora literature. Afterwards, we present the author Naomi Shihab Nye and the book Habibi. In the third chapter we analyze the novel, focusing the attention on the rhythm of the narration, on the linguistic registers and the textual peculiarities found during the reading stage, according to the features of the children’s literature. The fourth chapter consists of the translation of the first twenty-five chapters of the novel. The fifth chapter begins with a section about the translation theory, the literary translation studies, focusing on the translation of children’s literature. Finally, there is the translation analysis. Here we present the strategies and the choices of the translation process, along with some practical examples with reference to theoretical studies. Special attention is paid to culture-specific items, lexicon and syntax.The source text can be found in appendix.

Reinforcement learning in dendritic structures

The discovery of binary dendritic events such as local NMDA spikes in dendritic subbranches led to the suggestion that dendritic trees could be computationally equivalent to a 2-layer network of point neurons, with a single output unit represented by the soma, and input units represented by the dendritic branches. Although this interpretation endows a neuron with a high computational power, it is functionally not clear why nature would have preferred the dendritic solution with a single but complex neuron, as opposed to the network solution with many but simple units. We show that the dendritic solution has a distinguished advantage over the network solution when considering different learning tasks. Its key property is that the dendritic branches receive an immediate feedback from the somatic output spike, while in the corresponding network architecture the feedback would require additional backpropagating connections to the input units. Assuming a reinforcement learning scenario we formally derive a learning rule for the synaptic contacts on the individual dendritic trees which depends on the presynaptic activity, the local NMDA spikes, the somatic action potential, and a delayed reinforcement signal. We test the model for two scenarios: the learning of binary classifications and of precise spike timings. We show that the immediate feedback represented by the backpropagating action potential supplies the individual dendritic branches with enough information to efficiently adapt their synapses and to speed up the learning process.

Reinforcement learning in dendritic structures

The discovery of binary dendritic events such as local NMDA spikes in dendritic subbranches led to the suggestion that dendritic trees could be computationally equivalent to a 2-layer network of point neurons, with a single output unit represented by the soma, and input units represented by the dendritic branches. Although this interpretation endows a neuron with a high computational power, it is functionally not clear why nature would have preferred the dendritic solution with a single but complex neuron, as opposed to the network solution with many but simple units. We show that the dendritic solution has a distinguished advantage over the network solution when considering different learning tasks. Its key property is that the dendritic branches receive an immediate feedback from the somatic output spike, while in the corresponding network architecture the feedback would require additional backpropagating connections to the input units. Assuming a reinforcement learning scenario we formally derive a learning rule for the synaptic contacts on the individual dendritic trees which depends on the presynaptic activity, the local NMDA spikes, the somatic action potential, and a delayed reinforcement signal. We test the model for two scenarios: the learning of binary classifications and of precise spike timings. We show that the immediate feedback represented by the backpropagating action potential supplies the individual dendritic branches with enough information to efficiently adapt their synapses and to speed up the learning process.