Prototype Configuration Research Articles

Dynamic Systems Theory and Team Sport Coaching

This article examines the theory of dynamic systems and its use in the domains of the study and coaching of team sports. The two teams involved in a match are looked at as two interacting systems in movement, where opposition is paramount. A key element for the observation of game play is the notion of configuration of play and its ever-changing shape, namely through phases of contraction and expansion, and its moving location on the court or the field. Analysis of specific configurations of play by players, or external observers, is discussed in light of the notion of prototypical configuration of play and the process of learning by analogy. Offensive and defensive matrices of play, encompassing play in movement as a systemic whole, are presented as advance organizers that provide players with advance strategic representations of reference key points in the unfolding of game play. These various concepts, along with elements of movement in play, are integrated in a model intended to help players and observers grasp a systemic view of action play and its underlying fulcrums.

Lanzamiento asociativo vs. balístico: echar vs. tirar

The aim is to understand what motivates the choice of echar or tirar to express the notion of throwing. The literature highlights what they have in common rather than what distinguishes them. The hypothesis, however, is that since their framing differs they cannot be synonymous. The analysis tracks the conceptual differences in the preferred lexical associations in the trivalent constructions, as well as in the other constructions avai- lable for each verb. Beyond the variability of the components of the transfer event, each verb conveys its own construal, echar yielding an associative view, tirar a ballistic one. The difference in relational profile is further corroborated in the respective met- onymic and metaphoric extensions. The prototypical kinetic configuration is summarized in a final typological sketch.

Overcoming Dose Limitations Using the Orbital® Multi-Breath Dry Powder Inhaler

A new approach to delivering high doses of dry powder medicaments to the lung is presented. The Orbital(®) dry powder device is designed to deliver high doses of drugs to the respiratory tract in a single dosing unit, via multiple inhalation maneuvers, overcoming the need to prime or insert multiple capsules. The Orbital was tested in its prototype configuration and compared with a conventional RS01 capsule device. Three formulations were evaluated: 200 mg of spray-dried ciprofloxacin formulation for respiratory infection, 200 mg of spray-dried mannitol formulation for mucus clearance, and 100, 200, and 400 mg of co-spray-dried 1:8 formulations containing ciprofloxacin and mannitol as combination therapy. The systems were evaluated in terms of physicochemical properties and tested using a multistage liquid impinger at 60 L/min. Emptying rates were evaluated, and the aerosolization performance compared with 10 capsules used sequentially in the RS01. The systems were different in terms of morphology, thermal response, moisture sorption, and stability; however, they had similar sizes when measured by laser diffraction, making them suitable for comparison in the Orbital and RS01 devices. The aerosolization performance from the Orbital device and RS01 was dependent on the formulation type; however, the fine particle fraction (FPF) produced by the Orbital device was higher than that by the RS01. The FPFs for ciprofloxacin, mannitol, and co-spray-dried formulation were 67.1±1.8, 47.1±2.2, and 42.0±1.8, respectively. For the Orbital, 90% of the loaded dose was delivered within 10 inhalation maneuvers, with the profile being dependent on the formulation type. The Orbital provides a means of delivering high doses of medicine to the respiratory tract through multiple breath maneuvers after a single actuation. This approach will allow the delivery of a wide range of high-payload formulations (>100 mg) for the treatment of a variety of lung disorders. To date, no such passive device exists that meets these crucial criteria.

The LETHE© (Low Emissions Turbo-Hybrid Engine) city car of the University of Roma 1: Final proposed configuration

A longstanding interest of the Authors' research group at University of Roma Sapienza (UDR1) is the design, development and fielding of a road prototype of a new concept of Hybrid Series vehicle, endowed with a small Gas Turbine set as a thermal engine. This solution offers several advantages with respect to traditional internal combustion engines and even to the existing generation of Hybrid propulsive systems: a reduced engine weight and size, lower emissions, substantially extended range, ease of maintenance, and more efficient braking energy recovery. In the LETHE© (Low Emissions Turbo-Hybrid Engine) the GT (gas turbine set) does not directly provide traction, but serves solely as a battery pack recharger. The vehicle is, in all respects, equivalent to a purely electric vehicle, except for the presence of an on-board recharger. Much care was placed in the design phase in the quest for an “optimal” design: first of all, an original method for identifying the most convenient degree of hybridization (ratio of the installed power of the battery pack to that of the GT) was defined and formalized, so that the resulting power balance between the two units satisfies the main design specifications and guarantees a practically acceptable operational life of the battery package while enabling the vehicle to complete a typical city mission (about 25–50 km) in a purely electric mode and without recharge. This paper presents a review of the previous conceptual and design results and describes in detail a possible road prototype configuration (weights, packaging of all units within the body of the vehicle, logic control unit, GT- and electric motor size and power, battery package characteristics). Some discussion is also devoted to the foreseeable impact of the deployment of a LETHE© fleet on the mid-range scenario of the Italian urban transportation system.

The Low Emission Turbogas Hybrid Vehicle Concept—Preliminary Simulation and Vehicle Packaging

The paper presents a comprehensive review of the gas turbine hybrid vehicle (GTHV) under development at the University of Roma “Sapienza.” A GHTV is an electric vehicle (traction entirely electric on 1 or 2 axles) equipped with a small turbogas operating as a range extender and –when needed- as a recharger for other auxiliaries. After a brief review of the history of the GTHV technology, a few configurations proposed in the past by different Authors are described and critically analyzed. Then, a complete feasibility assessment of a prototype configuration of a GTHV is presented and discussed in detail. Two possible implementations are studied: one for a small city car (peak power 4–8 kW) and one for a sport GT or passenger sedan (50–100 kW). All issues related to the system and component design, packaging, identification of the “optimal” hybridization ratio, performance of the conversion chain (gas turbine + batteries + electrical motor), kinetic energy recovery systems (KERS), mechanical and electric storage devices (flywheels, capacitors, advanced batteries), monitoring and control logic, compliance with the European vehicular ECE emission regulations, are explicitly addressed. One of the most important results of this analysis is though that there are several “nearly optimal” solutions and the final choice for a possible future industrialization would be dictated by manufacturing, commercial or marketing considerations. It because not only the system performance, but also the absolute and relative sizes (i.e., nameplate power) of the turbines and of the battery package depend substantially on the type of driving mission the car is required to perform. In the paper, both theoretical and practical issues are addressed, and on the basis of the analysis of the existing state of the art, it is argued that the GTHV is an environmentally friendly, technically and economically feasible product based on mature components.

A Prototype-Based Gate-Level Cycle-Accurate Methodology for SoC Performance Exploration and Estimation

A prototype-based SoC performance estimation methodology was proposed for consumer electronics design. Traditionally, prototypes are usually used in system verification before SoC tapeout, which is without accurate SoC performance exploration and estimation. This paper attempted to carefully model the SoC prototype as a performance estimator and explore the environment of SoC performance. The prototype met the gate-level cycle-accurate requirement, which covered the effect of embedded processor, on-chip bus structure, IP design, embedded OS, GUI systems, and application programs. The prototype configuration, chip post-layout simulation result, and the measured parameters of SoC prototypes were merged to model a target SoC design. The system performance was examined according to the proposed estimation models, the profiling result of the application programs ported on prototypes, and the timing parameters from the post-layout simulation of the target SoC. The experimental result showed that the proposed method was accompanied with only an average of 2.08% of error for an MPEG-4 decoder SoC at simple profile level 2 specifications.

Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes initialization and benchmarking in shock-driven turbulent mixing

We investigate a strategy for benchmarking Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) models by comparing moments extracted from averaged large eddy simulation (LES) data and those predicted directly by RANS. We consider the Besnard–Harlow–Rauenzahn (BHR) RANS approach designed for variable-density compressible flows, which has been previously applied to a wide variety of turbulence problems of interest. We focus on the model's ability to predict moments relevant to shock-driven material mixing. A prototypical inverse chevron shock tube configuration is considered, for which laboratory and previous LES studies are available for comparison and validation. We show that when appropriately initialized, BHR is capable of accurately capturing various characteristic integral measures of the flow; strategies for initialization are demonstrated while addressing sensitivity of BHR predictions to closure and initialization specifics, initial material interface conditions, and grid resolution. The reference simulations are performed using implicit LES based on the Los Alamos National Laboratory RAGE hydrodynamics code.

Pilot-scale tests of an innovative ‘serial self-turning reactor’ composting technology in Thailand

Composting facilities in Thailand have faced various operational problems, resulting in the emission of odours, incomplete digestion of waste organics, and higher than desired costs. Composting technologies imported from developed countries tend to be sized for larger communities and are otherwise not suited for the rural communities that comprise more than 80% of all communities in Thailand. This article addresses the research and development of a novel composting technology aimed at filling this observed need. The study was divided into two parts: (1) the development of a new composting technology and fabrication of a prototype configuration of equipment; and (2) scale-up and study on a pilot-scale using real rubbish. The proposed technology, called 'serial self-turning reactor (STR)', entailed a vertical flow composting system that consisted of a set of aerobic reactors stacked on a set of gravity fed turning units. In-vessel bioreactor technology enables the operator to control composting conditions. The researchers found that a tower-like STR results in flexibility in size scale and waste processing residence time. The pilot-scale experiments showed that the proposed system can produce good quality compost while consuming comparatively little energy and occupying a compact space, compared to traditional land-intensive windrow composting facilities.

Functional single-cell analysis of T-cell activation by supported lipid bilayer-tethered ligands on arrays of nanowells.

Supported lipid bilayers are an important biomolecular tool for characterizing immunological synapses. Immobilized bilayers presenting tethered ligands on planar substrates have yielded both spatio-temporal and structural insights into how T cell receptors (TCRs) reorganize during the initial formation of synapses upon recognition of peptide antigens bound to major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules. The prototypical configuration of these assays, however, limits the extent to which the kinetics and structure of the supramolecular activation clusters of the synapse (that occur in seconds or minutes) can be related to subsequent complex cellular responses, such as cytokine secretion and proliferation, occurring over hours to days. Here we describe a new method that allows correlative measures of both attributes with single-cell resolution by using immobilized lipid bilayers and tethered ligands on the surface of dense arrays of subnanoliter wells. This modification allows each nanowell to function as an artificial antigen-presenting cell (APC), and the synapses formed upon contact can be imaged by fluorescence microscopy. We show that the lipid bilayers remain stable and mobile on the surface of the PDMS, and that modifying the ligands tethered to the bilayer alters the structure of the resulting synapses in expected ways. Finally, we demonstrate that this approach allows the subsequent characterization of secreted cytokines from the activated human T cell clones by microengraving in both antigen- and pan-specific manners. This new technique should allow detailed investigations on how biophysical and structural aspects of the synapse influence the activation of individual T cells and their complex functional responses.

Nonadiabatic effects in long-pulse mixed-field orientation of a linear polar molecule

We present a theoretical study of the impact of an electrostatic field combined with nonresonant linearly polarized laser pulses on the rotational dynamics of linear molecules. Within the rigid rotor approximation, we solve the time-dependent Schr\"odinger equation for several field configurations. Using the carbonyl sulfide molecule as the prototype, the field-dressed dynamics is analyzed in detail for experimentally accessible static-field strengths and laser pulses. Results for directional cosines are presented and compared to the predictions of the adiabatic theory. We demonstrate that for the prototypical field configuration used in current mixed-field orientation experiments, the molecular field dynamics is, in general, nonadiabatic, and a time-dependent description of these systems is mandatory. We investigate several field regimes identifying the sources of nonadiabatic effects and provide the field parameters under which the adiabatic dynamics would be achieved.

Thermal analysis and design of a solar prototype for high-temperature processes

The thermal evaluation of different prototype configurations for a volumetric solar receiver system designed for the Plataforma Solar de Almería’s Solar Furnace has been carried out by means of commercial Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) software for 3D numerical simulation.Simulation results for proposed solar-prototype configurations are discussed and compared to find the optimum configuration by which the interior of the prototype is uniformly heated to 1300–1373K by an air stream as it passes through the solar receiver. The concentrated solar radiation produces the temperature increase of the air flow. Different geometries and insulation materials with several different thicknesses have been analyzed in order to select the most appropriate prototype configuration in which high-temperature industrial processes can be carried out.

Doping and defects in YBa2Cu3O7: Results from hybrid density functional theory

Modified orbital occupation and inhomogeneous charge distribution in high-Tc oxide compounds due to doping and/or defects play a huge role for the material properties. To establish insight into the charge redistribution, we address metallic YBa2Cu3O7 in two prototypical configurations: Ca doped (hole doping) and O deficient (electron doping). By means of first principles calculations for fully relaxed structures, we evaluate the orbital occupations. We find that the change of the charge density, in particular in the CuO2 planes, shows a complex spatial pattern instead of the expected uniform (de-)population of the valence states.

Electromagnetic interaction of moving conductors with magnets: kinematic solutions for infinitely long square and cylindrical geometries

AbstractThe electromagnetic drag force on a point dipole near a moving conductor caused by the induced electric currents is investigated by numerical and analytical computations. Our focus is on prototypical configurations for Lorentz force velocimetry, i.e. velocity measurement from the electromagnetic drag force on the dipole. We examine the particular cases of conducting infinite bars of square or round cross‐section, which are moving with constant velocity in the field of arbitrary oriented magnetic dipole. In addition, we study the laminar liquid‐metal flow in a square duct. The motion of the conductor is prescribed. (© 2011 Wiley‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

The radial-hedgehog solution in Landau–de Gennes' theory for nematic liquid crystals

We study the radial-hedgehog solution in a three-dimensional spherical droplet, with homeotropic boundary conditions, within the Landau–de Gennes theory for nematic liquid crystals. The radial-hedgehog solution is a candidate for a global Landau–de Gennes minimiser in this model framework and is also a prototype configuration for studying isolated point defects in condensed matter physics. The static properties of the radial-hedgehog solution are governed by a non-linear singular ordinary differential equation. We study the analogies betweenGinzburg–Landauvortices and the radial-hedgehog solution and demonstrate a Ginzburg–Landau limit for the Landau–de Gennes theory. We prove that the radial-hedgehog solution is not the global Landau–de Gennes minimiser for droplets of finite radius and sufficiently low temperatures and prove the stability of the radial-hedgehog solution in other parameter regimes. These results contain quantitative information about the effect of geometry and temperature on the properties of the radial-hedgehog solution and the associated biaxial instabilities.

Sorption characterization and actuation of a gas-gap heat switch

Cryogenic gas-gap heat switches are rendered compact by using a sorption pump as actuating device. The sorption pump adsorbs gas when it is cooled and releases gas when it is heated. Upon desorption, the released gas lies in the gap between two blocks and increases the conduction heat transfer between them; in the reverse case – when the gas is adsorbed – the gap space between the two blocks behaves as an insulator. The temperatures at which there is sufficient desorption and adsorption of gas for actuating the ON an OFF states depend on several parameters of the gas-adsorbent system. The adsorption characteristics of helium gas on several carbon adsorbents were studied at pressures ranging from 50 Pa to 120 kPa and temperatures from 10 to 100 K. One of the carbons was successfully used in a heat switch at 6 K under different configurations in order to access different actuation characteristics. The experimental helium adsorption equilibrium data for each carbon were successfully fitted by a semi-empirical adsorption isotherm model. A thermal model of the heat switch, whose actuation can be tailored upon specifications, was developed based on the adsorption data. The thermal model was validated by reproducing the experimental data for two different configurations of a heat switch prototype.

FEM multigrid techniques for fluid–structure interaction with application to hemodynamics

We present special finite element and multigrid techniques for solving prototypical cerebral aneurysm hemodynamics problems numerically. An arbitrary Lagrangian–Eulerian (ALE) formulation is employed for this fluid–structure interaction (FSI) application. We utilize the well-known high order finite element pair Q2P1 for discretization in space to gain high accuracy and robustness and perform as time-stepping a fully implicit second order accurate time integrator. The resulting nonlinear discretized algebraic system is solved by an iterative Newton solver which approximates the Jacobian matrix by the divided difference approach, and the resulting linear system is solved by means of Krylov type and geometrical multigrid solvers with a Vanka-like smoother. The aim of this paper is to study the interaction of the elastic walls of an aneurysm with the geometrical shape of an implanted stent structure for prototypical 2D configurations. Preliminary results for the stent-assisted occlusion of a cerebral aneurysm and a qualitative analysis of the behavior of the elasticity of the walls vs. the geometrical details of the stent for prototypical flow situation are presented. Additionally, our approach is designed in such a way that complicated realistic constitutive relations for biomechanics applications for blood vessel simulations can be easily integrated.

Dynamic Response of an Optomechanical System to a Stationary Random Excitation in the Time Domain

Modern electro-optical instruments are typically designed with assemblies of optomechanical members that support optics such that alignment is maintained in service environments that include random vibration loads. This paper presents a nonlinear numerical analysis that calculates statistics for the peak lateral response of optics in an optomechanical sub-assembly subject to random excitation of the housing. The work is unique in that the prior art does not address peak response probability distribution for stationary random vibration in the time domain for a common lens-retainer-housing system with Coulomb damping. Analytical results are validated by using displacement response data from random vibration testing of representative prototype sub-assemblies. A comparison of predictions to experimental results yields reasonable agreement. The Type I Asymptotic form provides the cumulative distribution function for peak response probabilities. Probabilities are calculated for actual lens centration tolerances. The probability that peak response will not exceed the centration tolerance is greater than 80% for prototype configurations where the tolerance is high (on the order of 30 micrometers). Conversely, the probability is low for those where the tolerance is less than 20 micrometers. The analysis suggests a design paradigm based on the influence of lateral stiffness on the magnitude of the response.

Dynamic Response of an Optomechanical System to a Stationary Random Excitation in the Time Domain

Modern electro-optical instruments are typically designed with assemblies of optomechanical members that support optics such that alignment is maintained in service environments that include random vibration loads. This paper presents a nonlinear numerical analysis that calculates statistics for the peak lateral response of optics in an optomechanical sub-assembly subject to random excitation of the housing. The work is unique in that the prior art does not address peak response probability distribution for stationary random vibration in the time domain for a common lens-retainer-housing system with Coulomb damping. Analytical results are validated by using displacement response data from random vibration testing of representative prototype sub-assemblies. A comparison of predictions to experimental results yields reasonable agreement. The Type I Asymptotic form provides the cumulative distribution function for peak response probabilities. Probabilities are calculated for actual lens centration tolerances. The probability that peak response will not exceed the centration tolerance is greater than 80% for prototype configurations where the tolerance is high (on the order of 30 micrometers). Conversely, the probability is low for those where the tolerance is less than 20 micrometers. The analysis suggests a design paradigm based on the influence of lateral stiffness on the magnitude of the response.

Filament Support Spindle for an Intravascular Cavopulmonary Assist Device

We are developing an intravascular axial flow blood pump to support adolescent and adult Fontan patients. To protect the blood vessel, this pump has an outer cage with radially arranged filaments and a newly designed spindle at the pump outlet. The outlet spindle is included to limit the axial movement of the rotor and to house bearings that support the rotor. This study evaluates the impact of the outlet spindle on pump performance using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and experimental testing of a prototype configuration. We measured the pressure-flow performance of the prototype with a protective cage using a blood analog fluid. The pump with the cage filaments and spindle generated 1 to 16mmHg of pressure rise for flow rates of 1 to 4L/min at 4000 to 7000rpm. The difference between the CFD predictions and experimental results was found to be approximately 9.8%. Scalar stress levels remained below 570Pa with exposure times on the order of 1.5s. These results are acceptable and support the continued development of this cavopulmonary assist device with an outlet spindle to reinforce the protective cage filament design.

Inversion effects on the structural encoding and recognition of biological motion

The human visual system is very sensitive to animate motion patterns. Humans can detect efficiently another living being in a visual scene and retrieve many features of psychological, biological and social relevance. By representing the main joints of a person's body by bright dots against a dark background, observers can easily recognize a human walker and determine his/her gender, recognize various action patterns and identify individual persons. The importance of the perception of biologically relevant motion patterns is reflected by the identification of a specific neural circuitry as shown by brain imaging studies. Whereas basic principles of the neural basis of perception of biological motion are understood, many issues concerning the temporal characteristics of the processing of such kind of information are as yet unclear. In the present study we investigated how inversion of biological motion stimuli affects components of event related potentials (ERP). ERPs were recorded in response to point-light displays of an upright walking person, point-light displays of an inverted walking person and displays of scrambled motion, in which the moving dots had the same motion vectors as in biological motion displays with their initial starting positions being randomized. Analysis yielded a N170 component at parieto-occipital electrodes, which was more pronounced for upright walkers than for inverted walkers and scrambled motion. A later component in the time window between 300 and 400 ms after stimulus onset had a larger amplitude for upright walkers and inverted walkers as compared to scrambled walkers. We hypothesize that the N 170 component reflects the holistic recognition of prototypical configurations of a human body, whereas the later component is associated with the integration of the dots' interrelations to a coherent percept.