Massimo Cardone

Brassica carinata as an alternative oil crop for the production of biodiesel in Italy: agronomic evaluation, fuel production by transesterification and characterization.

In this study, the non-food use of Brassica carinata oil for biodiesel production was investigated. B. carinata, a native plant of the Ethiopian highlands widely used as food by the Ethiopians, has recently become object of increasing interest. This is due to its better agronomic performances in areas such as Spain, California and Italy that are characterized by unfavorable environmental conditions for the cultivation of Brassica napus (by far the most common rapeseed cultivated in continental Europe). The agronomic performance and the energetic balance described here confirmed that B. carinata adapted better and was more productive both in adverse conditions (clay- and sandy-type soils and in semi-arid temperate climate) and under low cropping system when compared with B. napus. The biodiesel, produced by transesterification of the oil extracted from the B. carinata seeds, displayed physical–chemical properties suitable for the use as diesel car fuel. A comparison of the performance of B. carinata oil-derived biodiesel with a commercial biodiesel and petroleum diesel fuel was conducted as regards engine performance, regulated and unregulated exhaust emissions. These results make B. carinata a promising oil feedstock for cultivation in coastal areas of central-southern Italy, where it is more difficult to achieve the productivity potentials of B. napus, and could offer the possibility of exploiting the Mediterranean marginal areas for energetic purposes.

A comparison of nonlinear actuator disk methods for the performance analysis of ducted marine propellers

This paper presents the validation of a generalised semi-analytical actuator disk model as applied to the study of the flow around ducted propellers. The method, which returns the exact solution as a superposition of ring vortex, duly accounts for the rotation of the wake, the convergence of the slipstream, and the nonlinear mutual interaction between the duct and the propeller. Furthermore, it can deal with an arbitrary radial distribution of the load and ducts of general shape. In order to validate the previously mentioned actuator disk model, results obtained through it are compared with those provided by the so-called “CFD actuator disk method”. The latter is a widely diffused tool for the analysis of the flow around open and ducted propellers which models the rotor by means of radial profiles of blade forces distributed over a disk surface. In this paper, evidence has been given of the excellent agreement between the results of the two methods. Thanks to its extremely reduced computational cost the semi-analytical method is well suited to be integrated into design systems based on the repeated analysis scheme of hierarchical type.

Fluid-Dynamic Analysis of Earthquake Shaking Table Hydraulic Circuit

This paper presents a fluid-dynamic analysis of the hydraulic circuit of a shaking table for seismic tests; the model was developed adopting a commercial code. The aim of the study is to provide useful indications for the design of a new optimized control system. The model was developed taking into account all the components of the hydraulic circuit that is made of by the following main items: the axial piston pump, the pressure relief valve, the main control valve, the accumulators, the hydraulic cylinder with variable displacement and all the connecting pipes. Particular attention was given to the modelling of internal resistance of the hydraulic system, that can greatly affect the performance of the shaking table. It has also been accurately modelled the main valve dead zone to highlight its influence on the system dynamics. The results of numerical simulations obtained for different operational conditions are reported and compared with experimental data to show the validation and the performances of the developed model.© 2012 ASME

Analysis of a New Measurement System of the Chain Strength for Electrically Assisted Bicycles

This paper presents an activity concerning a theoretical/experimental analysis of a new measurement system of the chain strength functional for the control of the electrically assisted bicycles. Such systems are characterized by a driving torque due to the contribution of an electric motor and of the rider. The electrical assistance is commonly regulated taking into account informations such as chain ring rotation, bicycle speed and/or the torque given by the rider. As a consequence, suitable measurements have to be made on board in order to handle the assistance performances and to improve drivability.Copyright

Performance Evaluation and Environmental Analysis of an Electrically Assisted Bicycle Under Real Driving Conditions

This paper describes the on-road test program that was used for a performance study and environmental analysis of an electrically assisted bicycle in the urban area of Naples. For this purpose, the vehicle was tested on different test tracks, cycling over 2000 km, and then making a general assessment about the driving behavior under real conditions.Based on the findings obtained during the different test samples, an appraisal of the electric traction offered by this bicycle on the driving comfort was evaluated for different conditions: electrical assistance at start, on a flat road and when riding uphill. The power requirements in different typical riding situations were also calculated: these results were estimated by experimental kinematic parameters that describe the driving dynamics collected during the real-life applications. An environmental analysis was made and also put against the environmental impact of a thermal moped.Copyright

Optimal power-assistance system for a new pedelec model

This paper presents an activity concerning the modeling and the control of an innovative power-assisted electric bicycle. The proposed control method is based on a torque control designed via an optimal approach to achieve multi-objective performances regarding the external disturbance input, control signal magnitude, and velocity tracking error. The performance of the methodology has been evaluated applying the proposed control to a new pedelec (pedal electric cycle) model characterized by the measurement of the total torque (rider torque and electric motor one) employed as a feedback for the control. To this aim, a mathematical model of the bicycle, equipped with the electric motor, has been developed. Simulations have been performed in order to evaluate the tracking capability and the disturbance rejection. The performances have been compared with the ones referred to a traditional assistance approach, and the results demonstrate that the proposed approach provides improvements in terms of riding comfort and energy employment.

Emission Inventory for the Road Transport Sector in the Urban Area of Naples: Methodology and Results

The most recent European directives and Italian legislative decrees that have regulated the environmental matter are oriented to planning and determination of the more opportune strategies for health safeguard and for ecosystem protection. It appears obvious, therefore, that the national and regional programming must use appropriate cognitive instruments to estimate the air quality state and the origins of air pollutions in order to support prevention and reorganization decisions.

Fluid-Dynamic Analysis of Motorbike Race Engine Injection System

The working conditions of all components of a competition engine are very hard: they must assure durability and reliability during a race where the running conditions changes very rapidly. The injection system of a competition engine must ensure a great amount of injected fuel and a great precision about control (timing and quantity) of the injected fuel. In this paper a simulated analysis of a competition engine injection system is shown. The engine was developed by the race team of Aprilia and it will be employed in 4 stroke racing application. The simulation model of the injection system was accurately validated by experimental data. The model was performed by a mono-dimensional and commercial code, which ensures a good reliability and fast calculation times. The model was performed during the engine development, so in the beginning of this activity only design data was used to realize the model. In the first step only experimental data performed on system components by their own manufacturers was used to calibrate the model then, when the engine was realized and tested on an experimental bench, the model was validated by dedicated experimental test performed on the injection system. The model was used to test several design solutions, in particular it was used during the design and the choice of the injectors, furthermore it was used to test several system configurations. This model is an interesting example of a modellistic approach and methodology that could be employed during the development of a new engine and its components of high specific power.Copyright

HIGH PERFORMANCE ENGINE WARM-UP THERMO-FLUID-DYNAMIC ANALYSIS

Luxury car market is characterized by a more and more increasing demand of high performance engines, and this requires high specific power outputs and a continuous evolution of technical solutions. This trend implies consequently, higher amounts of heat to be released from the cooling system. The latter requires special care in design since it must release as much heat as possible from the engine without compromising the aerodynamic performance of the car. In this paper the results of thermo-fluid-dynamic model of an 8 cylinder highperformance engine cooling system are shown. The model has been validated by both thermal and hydraulic experimental data. In particular, this study has been carried out on simulation of the warm up procedure and deep attention was given to the thermostat behavior and to the heat exchange phenomena during this procedure. The goal of this activity was not only to perform a dedicated simulation model to analyze the complex heat exchange phenomena and to highlight eventual critical aspects, but also to define a methodology to optimize the cooling system and its components.