Effect of Surface Texture on the Adhesion Performance of Laser Treated Ti6Al4V Alloy

The growing demand in lighter and safer structures generates the requirement of lighter joining strategies, particularly for lightweight metal alloys, composites, and also joining dissimilar materials together. Titanium alloys stand out as the conventional choice for materials for light weight structures. Adhesive bonding of titanium is an appealing route for joint design, also for the possibility of joining it with dissimilar materials. The realization of a strong joint depends not only on the joint design and type of adhesive, but also on the preparation of the adhering surface. Laser texturing presents advantages compared to common surface preparation processes in terms of eco-compatibility, energetic efficiency, ease of manufacturing, and repeatability. This work presents a preliminary investigation on laser texturing of Ti6Al4 V alloy with a pulsed fiber laser source with the aim to increase surface adhesion for bonding. Particularly, different surface textures are proposed, and laser machining strategies are developed. The results showed that laser texturing provided up to eightfold and 30% higher shear strength compared to plain and sand blasted surfaces, respectively. Failure analysis showed that a margin of improvement is still possible by adapting the surface texture for better cavity filling and reducing surface damage caused by the laser treatment.     

Low-power DSP system for real-time correction of fish-eye cameras in automotive driver assistance applications

The development of an embedded system for real-time correction of fish-eye effect is presented. The fish-eye lens is applied to driver assistance video systems because of its wide-angled view. A large field of view can reduce the number of cameras needed for video system and their cost, installation, maintenance and wiring issues. On the other hand, this lens causes inherent radial distortion to image that has to be corrected in real-time with a low-cost and low-power processing platform. This paper proposes a solution that can be easily adapted to different types of lens and camera, and meets real-time constraints with a power budget within 100 mW and a board size of few cm². Starting from mathematical equations, given by the geometrical optics, a state-of-the-art correction method is presented, then optimizations are introduced at different levels: algorithmic level, where a real-time correction parameter calculation avoids extra non-volatile off-chip memory cards; data transfer level, where a new pixel pair management reduces memory access and storage burden; HW-SW implementation level, where a low-power board has been developed and tested in real automotive scenarios. Other applications of the developed system, such as multi-camera and multi-dimensional video systems, are finally presented.     

Modelling of back tempering in laser hardening

Back tempering is one of the most critical problems in laser hardening of extended surfaces. In this type of treatment, several laser tracks are slightly overlapped to obtain a uniform hardened surface. Due to the overlapping, tempered zones are generated on the treated surface with the consequent lack of uniformity in the surface hardness. In this work, a regression model was developed to estimate the loss of hardness due to the tempering effect as a function of the thermal cycle. A specific test, named laser surface treatment test, was designed and executed to reproduce the hardness reduction due to the tempering effect. An analytical thermal model was developed to evaluate the thermal cycle undergone by the material during this test. By the results of the laser surface treatment test combined with the analytical model, a prediction model was estimated. Good agreement was found between predicted and measured hardness decrease, and the identified model could be integrated in a numerical code to evaluate the optimal process parameters.     

Electrochemical repair techniques in carbonated concrete. Part II: cathodic protection

The role of several factors such as concrete composition, exposure condition and pre-corrosion of steel reinforcement in concrete on the effectiveness of the electrochemical realkalisation (ER) technique was discussed in Part I of this article (Bertolini and Redaelli in J Appl Electrochem, doi:, 2011). Here the same factors will be considered in the case of cathodic protection (CP). CP differs from ER since it is a permanent technique with much lower applied current density. It was originally introduced to protect steel from corrosion in chloride-contaminated concrete; however, it can be advantageous even in carbonated concrete, in particular compared to conventional repair. CP tests were carried out on reinforced specimens made with six different types of concrete, subjected to accelerated carbonation. CP was applied with a current density of 10 mA m⁻² of steel preceded by a start-up current density of 100 mA m⁻² for 3 weeks. Reference specimens in the same conditions were also considered.     

Molecular Classification and Pharmacogenetics of Primary Plasma Cell Leukemia: An Initial Approach toward Precision Medicine

Primary plasma cell leukemia (pPCL) is a rare and aggressive variant of multiple myeloma (MM) which may represent a valid model for high-risk MM. This disease is associated with a very poor prognosis, and unfortunately, it has not significantly improved during the last three decades. New high-throughput technologies have allowed a better understanding of the molecular basis of this disease and moved toward risk stratification, providing insights for targeted therapy studies. This knowledge, added to the pharmacogenetic profile of new and old agents in the analysis of efficacy and safety, could contribute to help clinical decisions move toward a precision medicine and a better clinical outcome for these patients. In this review, we describe the available literature concerning the genomic characterization and pharmacogenetics of plasma cell leukemia (PCL).     

V2V protocols for traffic congestion discovery along routes of interest in VANETs: a quantitative study

One of the most interesting and promising challenges for Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITSs) relates to the traffic congestion problem. Congestion is a relevant issue for transportation because it reduces the efficiency of infrastructure and increases travel time, air pollution, and fuel consumption. Nowadays, the most promising technology in support of ITSs is found in the domain of Vehicular Ad Hoc Networks (VANETs). In this paper, we propose three protocols that are able to transmit traffic information for routes of interest on VANETs without any Road Side Unit (RSU) support. The proposed protocols adopt strategies to improve the performance of packet routing based on the density and location of vehicles; moreover, they enable an interesting comparison of the performance achievable with either reactive or proactive approaches. The extensive performance results reported show how it is possible to limit the congestion monitoring overhead along Routes of Interest (ROIs), while maintaining a sufficiently high performance in terms of traffic reporting. This may be done by employing context‐aware data delivery techniques that autonomously adapt to runtime conditions. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Morphology and viscoelastic properties of melt‐spun HDPE/hydrotalcite nanocomposite fibers

Viscoelastic properties of nanocomposite fibers of high density polyethylene (HDPE) and organically modified hydrotalcite were studied. Neat and nanofilled HDPE fibers (with nanofiller content between 0.5 and 3 wt%) were produced by melt spinning and hot‐drawing at different draw ratios up to 20. Effect of temperature on storage modulus, loss modulus, and creep compliance were compared. Rising nanofiller content and/or drawing ratio accounted for an increase in storage modulus in the glassy (i.e., below the γ transition at −100°C) as well as in the rubbery state of non‐crystalline regions. The α relaxation temperature read‐off for the maximum of the loss modulus peak ranged from 20 to 60°C being dependent on frequency, filler content and draw ratio. Sumita model was successfully applied to evaluate the effective volume fraction of the dispersed phase; maximum fraction of immobilized matrix was observed for the composite with 1 wt% of nanofiller. Creep behavior was evaluated by fitting experimental data with the Burgers model. The addition of a small amount of well‐dispersed hydrotalcite (0.5–1 wt%) had a beneficial effect on the creep resistance of drawn fibers at room temperature as well as at 70°C. TEM analysis evidenced a good dispersion of 0.5% nanofiller in as‐spun fibers and improved interfacial adhesion after drawing. The best mechanical properties were observed for the composition with 1 wt% of hydrotalcite, due to combined effects of nanofiller reinforcement and stiffening produced by hot drawing. POLYM. COMPOS., 288–298, 2016. © 2014 Society of Plastics Engineers