C. Manuel Carlevaro

Nonlinear dynamic analysis of an optimal particle damper

Abstract We study the dynamical behavior of a single degree of freedom mechanical system with a particle damper. The particle (granular) damping was optimized for the primary system operating condition by using an appropriate gap size for a prismatic enclosure. The particles absorb the kinetic energy of the vibrating structure and convert it into heat through the inelastic collisions and friction. This results in a highly nonlinear mechanical system. Considering linear signal analysis, state space reconstruction, Poincare sections and the determination of maximal Lyapunov exponents, the motion of the granular system inside the enclosure is characterized for a wide frequency range. With the excitation frequency as control parameter, either regular or chaotic motion of the granular bed is found and the influence on the damping is analyzed.

An exponential approximation for continuum percolation in dipolar hard-sphere fluids

We consider a generalized mean spherical approximation for the pair-connectedness function of a dipolar hard-sphere fluid. Based on its analytical solution, we propose an exponential approach to the continuum percolation of dipolar fluids. The mean cluster size and the critical percolation density so obtained agree well with previously reported Monte Carlo simulations. The Kirkwood factor calculated among connected dipoles, a magnitude that can be taken as a measure of the dipolar ordering inside the cluster, also compares well with the simulation results.

Effect of particle shape and fragmentation on the response of particle dampers

A particle damper (PD) is a device that can attenuate mechanical vibrations thanks to the dissipative collisions between grains contained in a cavity attached to the vibrating structure. It has been recently suggested that, under working conditions in which the damping is optimal, the PD has a universal response in the sense that the specific dissipative properties of the grains cease to be important for the design of the device. We present evidence from simulations of PDs containing grains of different sizes, shapes and restitution coefficients, that the universal response is also valid when fragmentation of the grains occurs (generally due to intensive operation of the PD). In contrast, the welding of grains (caused by operation under high temperatures) can take the PD out of the universal response and deteriorate the attenuation. Interestingly, we observed that even at working conditions off the optimal damping, the shape of the grains remains unimportant for the response of the PD.

Quaternionic representation of the genetic code

A heuristic diagram of the evolution of the standard genetic code is presented. It incorporates, in a way that resembles the energy levels of an atom, the physical notion of broken symmetry and it is consistent with original ideas by Crick on the origin and evolution of the code as well as with the chronological order of appearance of the amino acids along the evolution as inferred from work that mixtures known experimental results with theoretical speculations. Suggested by the diagram we propose a Hamilton quaternions based mathematical representation of the code as it stands now-a-days. The central object in the description is a codon function that assigns to each amino acid an integer quaternion in such a way that the observed code degeneration is preserved. We emphasize the advantages of a quaternionic representation of amino acids taking as an example the folding of proteins. With this aim we propose an algorithm to go from the quaternions sequence to the protein three dimensional structure which can be compared with the corresponding experimental one stored at the Protein Data Bank. In our criterion the mathematical representation of the genetic code in terms of quaternions merits to be taken into account because it describes not only most of the known properties of the genetic code but also opens new perspectives that are mainly derived from the close relationship between quaternions and rotations.

Genetic algorithm for the pair distribution function of the electron gas

The pair distribution function of the electron gas is calculated using a parameterized generalization of hypernetted chain approximation with the parameters being obtained by optimizing the system energy with a genetic algorithm. The functions so obtained are compared with Monte Carlo simulations performed by other authors in its variational and di_usion versions showing a very good agreement especially with the di_usion Monte Carlo results.

Exact predictions from the Edwards ensemble versus realistic simulations of tapped narrow two-dimensional granular columns

We simulate, via a discrete element method, the tapping of a narrow column of disks under gravity. For frictionless disks, this system has a simple analytical expression for the density of states in the Edwards volume ensemble. We compare the predictions of the ensemble at constant compactivity against the results for the steady states obtained in the simulations. We show that the steady states cannot be properly described since the microstates sampled are not in correspondence with the predicted distributions, suggesting that the postulates of flat measure and ergodicity are, either or both, invalid for this simple realization of a static granular system. However, we show that certain qualitative features of the volume fluctuations which are difficult to predict from simple arguments are captured by the theory.

Quantum hypernetted chain approximation for one-dimensional fermionic systems

Abstract In this comprehensible article we develop, following Fantoni and Rosati formalism, a hypernetted chain approximation for one-dimensional systems of fermions. Our scheme differs from previous treatments in the form that the whole set of diagrams is grouped: we do it in terms of non-nodal, non-composite and elementary graphs. This choice makes the deduction of equations more transparent. Equations for the pair distribution functions of one component systems as well as binary mixtures are obtained. We apply they to experimentally realizable quasi-one-dimensional systems, the so-called quantum wires which we model, within Sommerfeld–Pauli spirit, as a one-dimensional electron gas or as an electron–hole mixture. In order to use our one-dimensional equations we consider pair potentials that depend on the wires width.

Effect of the trabecular bone microstructure on measuring its thermal conductivity: A computer modeling-based study

The objective of this work is to quantify the relation between the value of the effective thermal conductivity of trabecular bone and its microstructure and marrow content. The thermal conductivity of twenty bovine trabecular bone samples was measured prior to and after defatting at 37, 47, and 57 °C. Computer models were built including the microstructure geometry and the gap between the tissue and measurement probe. The thermal conductivity (k) measured was 0.39 ± 0.06 W m-1 K-1 at 37 °C, with a temperature dependence of + 0.2%°C-1. Replacing marrow by phosphate-buffered saline (defatting) increased both the computer simulations and measurement results by 0.04 W m-1 K-1. The computer simulations showed that k increases by 0.02-0.04 W m-1 K-1 when the model includes a gap filled by phosphate-buffered saline between the tissue and measurement probe. In the presence of microstructure and fatty red marrow, k varies by ± 0.01 W m-1 K-1 compared with the case considering matrix only, which suggests that there are no significant differences between cortical and trabecular bone in terms of k. The computer results showed that the presence of a gap filled by phosphate-buffered saline around the energy applicator changes maximum temperature by < 0.7 °C, while including the bone microstructure involved a variation of < 0.2 mm in the isotherm location. Future experimental studies on measuring the value of k involving the insertion of a probe into the bone through a drill hole should consider the bias found in the simulations. Thermal models based on a homogeneous geometry (i.e. ignoring the microstructure) could provide sufficient accuracy.