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Fatigue behaviour of nanoclay reinforced epoxy resin composites
Publication . Ferreira, J.A.M.; Borrego, L.P.; Costa, J.D.M.; Capela, C.
Nanoparticle filling is a feasible way to increase the mechanical properties of polymer matrices. Abundant research work has been published in the last number of years concerning the enhancement of the mechanical properties of nanoparticle filled polymers, but only a reduced number of studies have been done focusing on the fatigue behaviour. This work analyses the influence of nanoclay reinforcement and water presence on the fatigue behaviour of epoxy matrices. The nanoparticles were dispersed into the epoxy resin using a direct mixing method. The dispersion and exfoliation of nanoparticles was characterised by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Fatigue strength decreased with the nanoclay incorporation into the matrix. Fatigue life of nanoclay filled composites was significantly reduced by the notch effect and by the immersion in water.
Optimized Analog Multi-Band Carrierless Amplitude and Phase Modulation for Visible Light Communication-Based Internet of Things Systems
Publication . Rodrigues, Luis; Figueiredo, Mónica; Alves, Luis Nero
This paper presents a multi-user Visible Light Communication (VLC)-based Internet of Things (IoT) system using multi band-Carrierless Amplitude and Phase (m-CAP) modulation for IoT applications. The proposed system uses a digital m-CAP modulator embedded in a ceiling LED light fixture and analog receivers, aiming at low-cost, low-power, and small-sized IoT devices. The performance was evaluated in terms of the filtering stage design and the usage of guard bands. Different pairs of emitter and receiver filters were considered. While Bessel and Butterworth analog filters were tested in the analog receiver, the digital m-CAP modulator pulse shaping filter considered raised cosine filters, as well as digital matched filters for the analog Bessel and Butterworth filters. Regarding the guard bands, two approaches were considered: either by using the raised cosine roll-off factor (bandwidth compression) or by suppressing the even bands. The Bit Error Rate (BER) performance was obtained by simulation. The usage of the Bessel filter in the receiver, along with a digital matched filter, proved to be the best solution, achieving a BER lower than 10−3 for an Eb/No of 6 dB, using a third-order filter. Furthermore, guard bands should be used in order to mitigate inter-band interference in order to have improved performance when multiple users intend to simultaneously communicate.
A new diagnostic technique for real-time diagnosis of power converter faults in switched reluctance motor drives
Publication . Marques, Jorge F.; Estima, Jorge O.; Gameiro, Natália S.; Cardoso, A. J. Marques
Accurate fault identification allows the adoption of procedures that minimize the fault impact on the machines operation. Switched reluctance motors (SRMs) have been recognized for their fault-tolerant capabilities and they present a very robust configuration, particularly due to the absence of windings or magnets in the rotor. All these attributes make the SRM a competitive solution for aircraft and automotive applications, where systems reliability is a crucial feature. Therefore, in this paper, a new algorithm for real-time diagnosis of power converter faults in SRM drives is proposed. In contrast to other methods that use additional sensors or devices, the presented technique uses the measured phase currents only, which are already available for the drive control. The proposed algorithm effectively detects the inverter faulty phase and is capable to localize the faulty power switch. Power switch open-and short-circuit fault occurrences in an asymmetric full-bridge converter are considered and analyzed.
A comparison of 3D poly(ε-caprolactone) tissue engineering scaffolds produced with conventional and additive manufacturing techniques by means of quantitative analysis of SR μ-CT images
Publication . Brun, F; Intranuovo, F; Mohammadi, S; Domingos, M.; Favia, P; Tromba, G
The technique used to produce a 3D tissue engineering (TE) scaffold is of fundamental importance in order to guarantee its proper morphological characteristics. An accurate assessment of the resulting structural properties is therefore crucial in order to evaluate the effectiveness of the produced scaffold. Synchrotron radiation (SR) computed microtomography (μ-CT) combined with further image analysis seems to be one of the most effective techniques to this aim. However, a quantitative assessment of the morphological parameters directly from the reconstructed images is a non trivial task. This study considers two different poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) scaffolds fabricated with a conventional technique (Solvent Casting Particulate Leaching, SCPL) and an additive manufacturing (AM) technique (BioCell Printing), respectively. With the first technique it is possible to produce scaffolds with random, non-regular, rounded pore geometry. The AM technique instead is able to produce scaffolds with square-shaped interconnected pores of regular dimension. Therefore, the final morphology of the AM scaffolds can be predicted and the resulting model can be used for the validation of the applied imaging and image analysis protocols. It is here reported a SR μ-CT image analysis approach that is able to effectively and accurately reveal the differences in the pore- and throat-size distributions as well as connectivity of both AM and SCPL scaffolds.
Evolving a Multi-Classifier System for Multi-Pitch Estimation of Piano Music and Beyond: An Application of Cartesian Genetic Programming
Publication . Miragaia, Rolando; Fernández, Francisco; Reis, Gustavo; Inácio, Tiago
This paper presents a new method with a set of desirable properties for multi-pitch estimation of piano recordings. We propose a framework based on a set of classifiers to analyze audio input and to identify piano notes present in a given audio signal. Our system’s classifiers are evolved using Cartesian genetic programming: we take advantage of Cartesian genetic programming to evolve a set of mathematical functions that act as independent classifiers for piano notes. Two significant improvements are described: the use of a harmonic mask for better fitness values and a data augmentation process for improving the training stage. The proposed approach achieves com-petitive results using F-measure metrics when compared to state-of-the-art algorithms. Then, we go beyond piano and show how it can be directly applied to other musical instruments, achieving even better results. Our system’s architecture is also described to show the feasibility of its parallelization and its implementation as a real-time system. Our methodology is also a white-box optimization approach that allows for clear analysis of the solutions found and for researchers to learn and test improvements based on the new findings.