Analysis of cardiac autonomic modulation in obese and eutrophic children

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

HOPF BIFURCATION FROM LINES of EQUILIBRIA WITHOUT PARAMETERS IN MEMRISTOR OSCILLATORS

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Differential gene expression analysis of Paracoccidioides brasiliensis during keratinocyte infection

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Stress induces behavioral sensitization, increases nicotine-seeking behavior and leads to a decrease of CREB in the nucleus accumbens

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

A special BEM for elastostatic analysis of building floor slabs on columns

This work presents a boundary element formulation for the analysis of building floor slabs, without beams, in which columns are coupled with the plate. An alternative formulation of boundary element method is presented, which considers three nodal displacements values (w, partial derivativew/partial derivativen and partial derivativew/partial derivatives) for the nodes at the boundary of the plate. In this formulation three boundary equations are written for all nodes at the boundary and in the domain of the plate. As the nodes of the column-plate connections are also represented by three nodal values, all these structural elements can be easily coupled. It is supposed that the cross-sections of the columns remain flat after the deflection and consequently the assumption of linear variation of the stress in the plate-column contact surface is also valid. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. Ltd. All rights reserved.

Determination of the numerical parameters of a continuous damage model for the structural analysis of clay brick masonry

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Analysis of the different forms of application and types of cutting fluid used in plunge cylindrical grinding using conventional and superabrasive CBN grinding wheels

The work reported here involved an investigation into the grinding process, one of the last finishing processes carried out on a production line. Although several input parameters are involved in this process, attention today focuses strongly on the form and amount of cutting fluid employed, since these substances may be seriously pernicious to human health and to the environment, and involve high purchasing and maintenance costs when utilized and stored incorrectly. The type and amount of cutting fluid used directly affect some of the main output variables of the grinding process which are analyzed here, such as tangential cutting force, specific grinding energy, acoustic emission, diametrical wear, roughness, residual stress and scanning electron microscopy. To analyze the influence of these variables, an optimised fluid application methodology was developed (involving rounded 5, 4 and 3 turn diameter nozzles and high fluid application pressures) to reduce the amount of fluid used in the grinding process and improve its performance in comparison with the conventional fluid application method (of diffuser nozzles and lower fluid application pressure). To this end, two types of cutting fluid (a 5% synthetic emulsion and neat oil) and two abrasive tools (an aluminium oxide and a superabrasive CBN grinding wheel) were used. The results revealed that, in every situation, the optimised application of cutting fluid significantly improved the efficiency of the process, particularly the combined use of neat oil and CBN grinding wheel. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Analysis of surface integrity for minimum quantity lubricant - MQL in grinding

The quality of machined components is currently of high interest, for the market demands mechanical components of increasingly high performance, not only from the standpoint of functionality but also from that of safety. Components produced through operations involving the removal of material display surface irregularities resulting not only from the action of the tool itself, but also from other factors that contribute to their superficial texture. This texture can exert a decisive influence on the application and performance of the machined component. This article analyzes the behavior of the minimum quantity lubricant (MQL) technique and compares it with the conventional cooling method. To this end, an optimized fluid application method was devised using a specially designed nozzle, by the authors, through which a minimum amount of oil is sprayed in a compressed air flow, thus meeting environmental requirements. This paper, therefore, explores and discusses the concept of the MQL in the grinding process. The performance of the MQL technique in the grinding process was evaluated based on an analysis of the surface integrity (roughness, residual stress, microstructure and microhardness). The results presented here are expected to lead to technological and ecological gains in the grinding process using MQL. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Residual stress influence on fatigue lifetimes of electroplated AISI 4340 high strength steel

Residual stresses play an important role in the fatigue lives of structural engineering components. In the case of near surface tensile residual stresses, the initiation and propagation phases of fatigue process are accelerated; on the other hand, compressive residual stresses close to the surface may increase fatigue life. In both decorative and functional applications, chromium electroplating results in excellent wear and corrosion resistance. However, it is well known that it reduces the fatigue strength of a component. This is due to high tensile internal stresses and microcrack density. Efforts to improve hard chromium properties have increased in recent years. In this study, the effect of a nickel layer sulphamate process, as simple layer and interlayer, on fatigue strength of hard chromium electroplated AISI 4340 steel hardness - HRc 53, was analysed. The analysis was performed by rotating bending fatigue tests on AISI 4340 steel specimens with the following experimental groups: base material, hard chromium electroplated, sulphamate nickel electroplated, sulphamate nickel interlayer on hard chromium electroplated and electroless nickel interlayer on hard chromium electroplated. Results showed a decrease in fatigue strength in coated specimens and that both nickel plating interlayers were responsible for the increase in fatigue life of AISI 4340 chromium electroplated steel. The shot peening pre-treatment was efficient in reducing fatigue loss in the alternatives studied.

Design of concrete platforms offshore using the three-layer shell theory

The concrete offshore platforms, which are subjected a several loading combinations and, thus, requires an analysis more generic possible, can be designed using the concepts adopted to shell elements, but the resistance must be verify in particular cross-sections to shear forces. This work about design of shell elements will be make using the three-layer shell theory. The elements are subject to combined loading of membrane and plate, totalizing eight components of internal forces, which are three membrane forces, three moments (two out-of-plane bending moments and one in-plane, or torsion, moment) and two shear forces. The design method adopted, utilizing the iterative process proposed by Lourenco & Figueiras (1993) obtained from equations of equilibrium developed by Gupta (1896) , will be compared to results of experimentally tested shell elements found in the literature using the program DIANA.

Modal transformation analyses for double three-phase transmission lines

Eigenvector and eigenvalue analyses are carried out for double three-phase transmission lines, studying the application of a constant and real phase-mode transformation matrix and the errors of this application to mode line models. Employing some line transposition types, exact results are obtained with a single real transformation matrix based on Clarke's matrix and line geometrical characteristics. It is shown that the proposed technique leads to insignificant errors when a nontransposed case is considered. For both cases, transposed and nontransposed, the access to the electrical values (voltage and current, for example) is provided through a simple matrix multiplication without convolution methods. Using this facility, an interesting model for transmission line analysis is obtained even though the nontransposed case errors are not eliminated. The main advantages of the model are related to the transformation matrix: single, real, frequency independent, and identical for voltage and current.

Sensitivity analysis for transient stability studies

The paper presents a method for security control of electric power systems effected by generation reallocation, determined by sensitivity analysis and optimisation. The model is developed considering the dynamic aspects of the network (transient stability). Security control methodology is developed using sensitivity analysis of the security margin in relation to the mechanical power of synchronous machines in the system. The power reallocated to each machine is determined by means of linear programming. To illustrate the proposed methodology, an example is presented which considers a multimachine system composed of 10 synchronous machines, 45 buses, and 72 transmission lines, based on the configuration of a southern Brazilian system.

Neural network based on adaptive resonance theory with continuous training for multi-configuration transient stability analysis of electric power systems

This work presents a methodology to analyze electric power systems transient stability for first swing using a neural network based on adaptive resonance theory (ART) architecture, called Euclidean ARTMAP neural network. The ART architectures present plasticity and stability characteristics, which are very important for the training and to execute the analysis in a fast way. The Euclidean ARTMAP version provides more accurate and faster solutions, when compared to the fuzzy ARTMAP configuration. Three steps are necessary for the network working, training, analysis and continuous training. The training step requires much effort (processing) while the analysis is effectuated almost without computational effort. The proposed network allows approaching several topologies of the electric system at the same time; therefore it is an alternative for real time transient stability of electric power systems. To illustrate the proposed neural network an application is presented for a multi-machine electric power systems composed of 10 synchronous machines, 45 buses and 73 transmission lines. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A Parameterization Technique for the Continuation Power Flow Developed from the Analysis of Power Flow Curves

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Systematic analysis of the Fourier transform spectrum of (CH3OH)-C-13 between 400 and 950 cm(-1)

We have investigated a high-resolution Fourier transform (FT) absorption spectrum of the (CH3OH)-C-13 isotopomer of methanol from 400 to 950 cm(-1) with the Ritz program. We present the assignments of 7160 transitions, 3021 of which belong to Asymmetry, and 4139 to E-symmetry. These transitions occur between states labeled by K quantum numbers up to 14, and by torsional quantum numbers n up to 4. The Ritz program evaluated the energies of the 4684 involved levels with an accuracy of the order of 10(-4) cm(-1). All of the assigned lines correspond to transitions involving torsionally excited levels within the ground small-amplitude vibrational state. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.